Rating summary
Movie | | 4.0 |
Video | | 3.5 |
Audio | | 4.0 |
Extras | | 4.5 |
Overall | | 4.0 |
The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season Blu-ray Movie Review
Sweet Sixteen.
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 3, 2013
It’s indicative of The Simpsons unparalleled longevity that when I first started loving this lovably dysfunctional
family—as part of the
sadly underappreciated Tracey Ullman Show—I was still years away from creating my own
(lovably dysfunctional?) family,
not yet having met my future wife nor having fathered two boys who became rabid Simpsons fans in their
younger years. In fact, it’s further indication of the series’ long life that my boys absorbed much of their anarchic senses
of humor from their childhood viewing of the show, but both are now alarmingly close to adulthood themselves, carrying
on Bart’s “don’t have a cow, man” ethos in only slightly modulated form. But perhaps the biggest indicator of
just how indestructible The Simpsons seems to be is the fact that the latest Blu-ray release of The
Simpsons is “only” its sixteenth season—which aired virtually a decade ago from fall 2004 to spring 2005! Those of
us who live in Portland, Oregon have always felt a special relationship to Homer, Marge and the rest of the extended
Springfield clan—as many know, series creator Matt Groening grew up in Portland and many of the main characters’
surnames in the show are actually street names in and around Portland. And while Portlandia has received the lion’s share of recent
attention for my semi-isolated little burg, in a very real way The Simpsons was the first series to really exploit
the “Keep Portland Weird” ambience. The show has frankly fallen largely off the cultural radar as it has trundled into its
third (third!) decade of broadcasting history, but it still occasionally makes news—its recent gigantic syndication
sale was huge entertainment industry news, and on a much sadder note, the death of Marcia Wallace, the unmistakable
voice of Bart’s teacher and (eventually) Ned’s wife Edna Krabappel made headlines in even mainstream news outlets.
The Simpsons may indeed have lost some of its cultural mojo, but the show continues to be a prime example of
character driven comedy, and as this sixteenth season proves, the show can still tap into the “current” zeitgeist
with often alarming acuity, and sometimes even amazing prescience. The Simpsons continues to mine an
astounding array of voice talent—in fact, is there any other animated show that could command the involvement of such
disparate talents as Thomas Pynchon, Stephen Hawking and (just for good measure) 50 Cent and Gary Busey?
Usually when a critic throws around an epithet like “it’s more of the same”, it’s an unabashed insult, but in the case of
The Simpsons, it’s actually a compliment—and a rather wondrous one at that, given the show’s duration. While
there’s nothing new under the Springfield sun in this sixteenth season, and indeed at least a few episodes seem like
partial retreads of those from previous seasons, there
is a generally excellent consistency in the writing, which
continues to provide choice comedic nuggets for all of the central cast as well as the revolving door of fantastic
supporting
characters and the usual assortment of (often rather odd) guest stars.
The season starts with yet another
Treehouse of Horror, with its attendant send ups of both films (
The Ned
Zone apes
The Dead Zone and history (Lisa and Bart investigate a Jack the Ripper-esque set of murders)
and ends with a rather piquant examination of the longstanding rift between Protestantism and Catholicism.
Sandwiched in between are 19 other episodes with varying degrees of hilarity. A brief rundown of each follows:
1. Treehouse of Horror XV: In addition to the two segments mentioned above, there’s a third which riffs
on the science fiction classic
Fantastic
Voyage.
2. All’s Fair in Oven War: Two parallel stories play out in this episode, one involving Marge deciding to
cheat in a baking competition (a plotline which was
just recycled, albeit with Gloria and Manny, in a recent
episode of
Modern Family. The other has Bart “rescuing” Homer’s discarded
Playdude magazines and becoming
something of a 10 year old swinger.
3. Sleeping With the Enemy: Once again
The Simpsons tackles a rather serious subject—
anorexia—with its typically insouciant sense of humor. Lisa gets teased about the size of her posterior and immediately
goes on a dieting binge. Meanwhile, Marge decides to take in town bully Nelson as her new adopted son, leading to
some jealousy on the part of Bart.
4. She Used to be My Girl: Kim Cattrall guest stars as an old chum of Marge’s, who has gone on to
considerable fame and fortune as a globe trotting reporter. Much like Bart in the previous episode, this provokes
feelings of jealousy in Marge, especially when Lisa starts hero worshipping the visitor.
5. Fat Man and Little Boy: “Little” Bart is growing up—and he’s none too happy about it. His childhood
“midlife” crisis leads to some unexpected riches, shunting Homer off to the sidelines, where he suddenly finds he has a
daughter named Lisa waiting.
The Simpsons is probably the only show on television which can make the threat
of nuclear holocaust (which also crops up in the
Treehouse of Horror episode this season) fodder for a joke.
6. Midnight Rx: The ever dastardly Mr. Burns, never the most generous of employers, decides to cut his
employees’ health benefits (and this was
years before Obamacare). That leads to some unlikely drug smuggling
which ultimately ensnares Smithers, Grampa, Apu and (diddly!) even Ned Flanders.
7. Mommie Beerest: It seems like virtually every season of
The Simpsons has had an episode
dealing with either a makeover or shutdown of Moe’s, and this is this season’s version of that story. In fact, there’s
both a shutdown
and a makeover in this iteration, and Moe’s long not so repressed urges for Marge finally burst
through when the two become business partners.
8. Homer and Ned’s Hail Mary Pass: We’ve already seen Homer as a carnival attraction in a previous
season, as a human cannonball. Here, he wows a crowd with some off the cuff dance moves and becomes a football
game halftime choreographer. Ned meanwhile takes a page out of
The Passion of the Christ and starts producing hilariously
inappropriately graphic Biblically themed movies. Several sports stars are featured as guest voice artists.
9. Pranksta Rap: Bart’s nonstop scheming sets off a very funny set of dominoes in this episode (see
the supplements if you’d like to hear this episode in a variety of exotic languages). When Homer and Marge forbid him
to attend a rap concert, Bart of course goes anyway, and then has to fake his own kidnapping to make his
disappearance plausible. That in turn sets off a chain of events that sees Kirk Van Houten both jailed and then lionized
as a frightening felon.
10. There’s Something About Marrying:: This turns out to be one of the more forward thinking episodes
of this season, a nicely done piece on tolerance and gay marriage. Marge gets a shock when an unexpected (to her,
anyway) character comes out of the closet. And to top everything off, Homer gets an internet ordination so that he can
rake in the bucks marrying gays right and left.
11. On a Clear Day I Can’t See My Sister: The typical dual plotline approach is highlighted again in this
episode, with the first one dealing with Lisa filing a restraining order against Bart, who then has to live in the Simpsons’
backyard, and the second dealing with Homer going to work at Sprawlmart as a greeter (evidently Costington’s doesn’t
have greeters). Again,
The Simpsons manages to work in acute little digs at pressing contemporary issues—in
this case how big box stores treat (or mistreat) their employees—while never forsaking its inherently snarky and cyncical
take on the vagaries of human nature.
12. Goo Goo Gai Pan: In another odd linking with
Modern Family (which of course would not
debut until a few years after this season of
The Simpsons), Selma decides to adopt an Asian baby (in this case
Chinese, unlike
Modern Family’s Vietnamese Lily). Unfortunately, she’s required to name a husband, and
suddenly Homer’s worst nightmare has become reality—he’s “married” to his sister-in-law.
13. Mobile Homer: This has elements of several episodes in previous seasons, including Homer injuring
himself and Marge going on a major economizing effort, not to mention the introduction of a recreational vehicle just for
good measure.
14. The Seven Beer Snitch: For me, this was one of the highlights of this season, if only because in yet
another totally bizarre yet hilarious voice acting coup, this episode features architect Frank Gehry as the designer of
Springfield’s immense new concert hall, which of course goes bankrupt on opening night and is instantly turned into a
jail. Things get even more deliriously funny when Homer ends up in the luxurious new jail and decides it’s just the place
for him.
15. Future-Drama: Professor Frink, who is this season’s mascot (and who “wrote” the insert booklet’s
“What Has Science Done For Me Lately?”, allows Bart and Lisa to peer into their future (another trope the series has
utilized previously, as fans will probably remember). Things do not go swimmingly (literally) for Homer, who is separated
from Marge and living “under the sea”. Meanwhile, Bart’s future shenanigans threaten Lisa’s chances at happiness—so
what else is new?
16. Don’t Fear the Roofer: This is one of the odder, but more enjoyable, episodes of this season, with
Homer maybe (or maybe not) hallucinating a “special friend” voiced by Ray Romano. Once again the series gets into
rather serious philosophical matters (like the nature of perception and reality) without making things serious at all.
Stephen Hawking also shows up to help straighten everyone out.
17. The Heartbroke Kid: There might just be a recessive gene in the Simpsons clan leading to
substance abuse—after all, Homer is not exactly a disciplined drinker, and it turns out that Bart develops a similar
addiction for junk food. That leads to disastrous health consequences for the lad, which in turn ends up with him being
shipped off to a “fat farm”, while the Simpsons struggle with a strategy to pay for it all.
18. A Star is Torn: Lisa participates in an
American Idol style competition, and is initially
coached by Homer, but ends up firing him when he turns into a marauding “stage father”. He then decides to use his
talents to help her chief rival.
19. Thank God, It’s Doomsday: The Rapture once again pokes its (disappearing) head into a
Simpsons storyline, though in a rather unlikely turn of events, Homer becomes the apocalypse’s major prophet.
This well done takeoff on prognosticators of the last days has a great series of gags, as Homer first predicts the end of
the world and then is mortified when it doesn’t actually happen.
20. Home Away from Homer: Karma’s a you-know-what, as Homer finds out in this very funny episode.
Poor, trusting Ned rents a room in his house to two young nubile females who run a webcam site (if you catch my drift)
from the Flanders household. Ned has no clue, but
Homer does, and Homer lets the entire town know about it.
A mortified Ned moves away and the bully who moves into Flanders’ home end up out-Homering Homer.
21. Father, Son and Holy Guest Star: This finale is mentioned above, and guest stars Liam Neeson as a
hip priest trying to get Bart and Homer to accept Catholicism in their hearts.
The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1 (some of the supplemental features are in 1.78:1). As my colleague Casey
Broadwater mentioned in his The Simpsons: The Fifteenth Season Blu-ray review, The Simpsons didn't matriculate to
HD workflow until halfway through its twentieth season. This sixteenth year follows in the footsteps of previous native SD
seasons. The best elements here are probably with regard to the color, which is deeply saturated and nicely varied. Line
detail on the other hand is frequently unstable and fuzzy looking. I personally did not witness any banding or other
compression issues during this season.
The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season offers each episode with a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, but the
series tends to exploit the front channels much more consistently than the sides or rear channels. Dialogue is cleanly
presented, and the always fun and inventive score does spill into the surround channels, as do occasional foley effects.
The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
- Audio Commentaries on every episode of the season. Though time considerations prevented me from
listening to all of
these all of the way through, sampling several proved they're the usual incredibly funny and chatty commentaries from
the cast and crew.
Disc One:
- Greetings, Junior Scienteers! (1080p; 2:35) is a kind of overview of the series with Matt Groening offering
hyperkinetic narration.
- Sketch Gallery I (1080p; 2:14)
- "Lisa's Wedding" Bonus Episode - Season 6 (1080p; 22:34)
Disc Two:
- Special Language Feature - Pranksta Rap (1080p; 22:10) offers this episode in Portuguese, Italian, Czech, or
Hungarian.
- Sketch Gallery II (1080p; 2:35)
- Living in the Moment (1080p; 3:38) supposedly features "The Longest Daycare" and "Tapped Out", but
seems to really only have
"Tapped Out" along with a couple of stills.
- "Bart to the Future" Bonus Episode - Season 11 (1080p; 22:28)
Disc Three:
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary (1080p; 11:45)
- Animation Showcase Future-Drama (1080p; 7:47) features Storyboards and Animatics accessible by toggling
with the remote
"Angle" button.
- Live! It's The Simpsons! (1080p; 36:00) is a more or less audio supplement of a table read, with the script
scrolling by.
- "Holidays of Future Passed" Bonus Episode - Season 23 (1080p; 21:41)
The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season may in fact be "more of the same", but in this case, that's decidedly good
news. The series did go through a bit of a slump a bit after this year, but this season has a wealth of finely tuned character
comedy. The video and audio quality are completely in line with previous seasons, and the supplementary package is quite
impressive. Recommended.