Customer Reviews

The Simpsons - The Complete Fourth Season

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I love the Simpsons. I'm not on either end of the spectrum, either the fans who think the show used to be great and now it's terrible, or the fans who think it is still as great as ever. I'm somewhere in the middle. I think, for awhile it was the smartest and funniest writing on TV. It is no longer at that level, but it is still more clever than most of what's out there. That's a pretty good accomplishment after all these years.

I am biased towards the early episodes. I even like the first season. I'm not bothered by the cruder animation or the fact that Homer's voice had not yet settled in to its eventual timbre. I like the early episodes, because back then Springfield was a parody of any small town or suburb in the United States. As the show went on, it became more and more clear that Springfield was Hollywood. Celebrity pals of the producers started showing up in episodes to be shamelessly flattered, there were more and more in-jokes about the world of entertainment, and then Matt Groening started making cameos. It was a sign of a decline. The show became too self-conscious, and eventually came around to be extra mean-spirited, meanness for the sake of meanness, as if that was the only the writers could prove they were still edgy. But enough about what started going wrong.

For the best of the Simpsons, I think the third and fourth seasons are it. The fourth season in particular has some episodes which are funny from beginning to end, funny no matter how many times you've watched them. There are more than a few episodes in this season that could arguably make a list of the ten bests. The episode Last Exit to Springfield, where they srike at the nuclear power plant, is as dense with comedy as the Marx Brothers at their finest. The episode displays a full-range of emotions. Lisa plays a moving protest song on the guitar, we get Mr. Burn's and Smithers at their most exuberant, we get the psychelic Yellow Sub sequence with Lisa on nitrous oxide, and some moments of true comedic courage, really pushing how long we can listen to Homor ruminate over the same thoughts.

This is the season that has Homor the Heretic, where Reverend Lovejoy categorizes Apu's religion as "miscellaneous." There's also A Streetcar Named Marge, Mr. Plow, Marge Vs. the Monorail, and many other solid episodes.

There are some early signs of the impending slide towards mediocrity, such as the first Simpsons clip show, and Krusty Gets Kancelled, an early example of nauseating kissing-up to celebrity guests. The extras don't add a whole lot to this set either. Like on the earlier seasons, the audio commentary can be interesting but is mostly the amimators talking about the animation. If that is your interest, you might like it. I'm more interested in other aspects, such as the writing, myself. But I'm hard to satisfy, because I actually find it disappointing when I find out where something is from. For some reason it seems more impressive when I think it's original.

If you're a true Simpsons fan, I think you'll agree with me in saying that this was one of the Finest seasons in the show's ongoing history. And Hey, its only taken 4 years for it to grace the DVD format...about time! But enough procrastinating, here are the goods, 22 episodes in all with a truckload of extras (like all Simpsons Boxsets) So here are the episodes and what happens in them if you need a little reminder. Enjoy!

Kamp Krusty - After making a deal with Homer to get good grades in school, Bart and Lisa go away to Kamp Krusty, "The Krustiest Place on Earth!" While they're initially excited about their summer, they soon learn that Kamp Krusty is a run-down prison run by the tyrannical Mr. Black and his C.I.T. henchmen, Dolph, Kearney and Jimbo Jones.

A Streetcar Named Marge - Marge is cast in the role of Blanche DuBois in Oh! Streetcar, the musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire directed by the flamboyant Llewellyn Sinclair at the Springfield Community Center.

Homer the Heretic - One Sunday morning, Homer decides that he'd rather sleep late than go to church. Marge is disappointed, but doesn't argue with him. While home alone, Homer dances in his underwear, drinks waffle batter and loafs around watching TV.

Lisa the Beauty Queen - To help Lisa get over her insecurities about her looks, Homer enters her into the Little Miss Springfield Pageant.

Treehouse of Horror III - In this year's scarifying special, the Simpsons gather for a Halloween party and exchange ghost stories.

Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie - Every kid in the world waits with bated breath for the Itchy & Scratchy movie, but Bart is the only one who's not allowed to see it.

Marge Gets A Job - When the Simpsons' house begins sliding off its foundation, Marge is forced to get a job to help make ends meet. Where else can she turn other than The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant?!

The New Kid on the Block - Evergreen Terrace welcomes two new neighbors, Ruth Powers and her lovely teenage daughter, Laura. Bart falls hard for Laura, but she thinks of him as just a little friend.

Mr. Plow - At the auto show, Homer impulsively buys a snow plow and starts a business as Mr. Plow. An incredibly snowy winter sets the business rolling, making Homer a success and earning him the key to the city from Mayor Quimby.

Lisa's First Word - While trying to get Maggie to say her first words, Marge tells Bart and Lisa about what they were like as babies.

Homer's Triple Bypass - In a series of terrifying X-ray shots of Homer's chest, we see that his heart is dangerously clogged with plaque and doughnut residue and that he is in need of a triple bypass operation.

Marge Vs. The Monorail - Mr. Burns is forced to pay a $3 million fine for illegally dumping toxic waste under trees in the park. At a town meeting where Springfield's citizens discuss how to best use the new fund. All agree on a Monorail.

Selma's Choice - Aunt Selma realizes that she might wind up dying all alone and thinks that having a baby can relieve her loneliness. She takes Bart and Lisa to Duff Gardens to test if she can handle Parenthood.

Brother from the Same Planet - When Homer leaves Bart waiting in the pouring rain after soccer practice, he must earn back his son's love. Bart expresses his anger by going to a Big Brother program and claiming to be an abandoned child so he can get a new "father".

I Love Lisa - Trying to be nice to Ralph Wiggum, Lisa gives him a Valentine's Day card. Ralph misinterprets the gesture and thinks that Lisa is in love with him.

Duffless - Lisa conducts a secret experiment for the Springfield Elementary School science fair to see who's smarter, Bart or a hamster. Meanwhile, Homer is forced to swear off beer after being arrested on a D.U.I.

Last Exit to Springfield - Homer finds himself filling in for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's union leader when it comes time to negotiate their new contract with Mr. Burns.

So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show - Bart's April Fools' prank backfires and lands Homer in the hospital in a coma. At Homer's bedside, The Simpson family reminisces about all of the good times they've had over the years.

The Front - Convinced they can write better Itchy & Scratchy scripts than the writers who currently work on the cartoon, Bart and Lisa set out to write their own shows.

Whacking Day - Everyone in Springfield is excited for Whacking Day, but as the holiday approaches, Lisa condemns it as violent.

Marge in Chains - Marge gets busted for shoplifting at the Kwik-E-Mart and is sentenced to thirty days in prison.

Krusty Gets Kancelled - After the most successful advertising campaign Springfield has ever seen, The Krusty the Clown show gets bumped in the ratings by Arthur Crandall, a droll ventriloquist, and Gabbo, his excitable dummy. Krusty puts together a huge TV Special to rival Gabbo after word his show would be cancelled.

EXTRAS - We can be guaranteed the Commentaries on each episode, Featurettes, Early Drawings, Animatics, TV Specials and so forth. Forget about the Extras though, that's just the glazing on the Donut so to speak. What you want this set for is the...

...EPISODES. This is a definite MUST HAVE. Some of the greatest episodes ever created are in this box set. Do what Homer would do and act on impulse by pre ordering this baby ASAP. You will not regret it!

Mmm, DVD!

How worthless is a long review, listing all the episodes in the season, information available elsewhere, from someone writing before the package has been released. Thanks Darth, very helpful.

But he's right that this is a great season and worth the bucks.

In my ever-so-humble opinion, Season 4 represents the acme of the Simpsons television show. Don't get me wrong - everything up to season 10 is funnier than anything else on TV - but Season 4 is the best of the best. The shows are packed with jokes in all forms - visual, verbal, puns, innuendo, and crude bathroom fare. The plots are thick - there are often several subplots happening simultaneously. And finally, there's the cutaways - musings (Homer talking to his brain), flashbacks, fantasies, etc. - that are consistently hilarious and insightful.

Using the same ranking criteria that I would use for the first three seasons, every episode would rank special mention. Therefore, I'll be a little more selective in what are the highlights of the highlights:

Last Exit to Springfield - Mr. Burns tries to cut the power plant employees' dental plan, so Homer leads them on strike after learning that Lisa needs braces. For my money, the greatest episode in the series (and for many others - it routinely wins "Best Episode Ever" polls).

Homer the Heretic - Homer starts his own religion after God appears to him in a dream.

Marge vs. the Monorail - Springfield is conned into buying a monorail in this Music Man parody. Leonard Nimoy makes the first of several memorable guest appearances.

Selma's Choice - After Homer gets food poisoning (in what is the funniest subplot in the series), Aunt Selma takes Lisa and Bart to Duff Gardens as a test drive to see how good a mother she'd be.

A Streetcar Named Marge - Marge and Ned star as Madge and Stanley in Oh! Streetcar! (The Musical). John Lovitz is brilliant as the obsessive director.

Homer's Triple Bypass - Homer needs a coronary artery bypass but can't afford the cost, so goes to cut-rate surgeon Nick Riviera.

New Kid on the Block - Bart sabatoges his babysitter's date with Jimbo because he has a crush on her. Meanwhile, Homer gets kicked out of an all-you-can-eat buffet and decides to sue the restaurant.

Lisa's First Word - a flashback episode that tells the story of how Bart dealt with the pregnancy of his mother and birth of his sister.

Such a list doesn't even begin to suggest the joys each and every episode brings. Even the much maligned clip show has some great moments, such as Homer imagining himself as a pagan burning Flanders, the Christian Missionary, on the first April Fool's Day.

So why buy the DVD edition if the Simpsons is available every hour of every day if you have a basic cable package? Well, most important is the lack of commercials and the ability to watch the episodes completely uncut. There are also some neat extras, not the least of which being the audio commentaries on every episode. After 100 or so episodes, some of the commentaries are somewhat thin, but others include guests such as Conan O'Brien and John Lovitz, which are as entertaining as the shows themselves.

If you only buy one Simpson's disc, make it this one. If you only show one episode to a skeptic of the show, make it Lisa's Substitute from Season 2 But A Streetcar Named Marge would be an excellent second choice. Unless the person you're showing it to is from New Orleans.

In my opinion this season ranks among the best, both in terms of overall episode quality and in standout, favorite-episode candidates. This season is very strong--there is hardly a weak or mediocre episode here--and makes for a great continuous viewing. On top of that, I count several of these episodes among my favorites. Kamp Krusty, Marge vs. the Monorail (donuts--is there anything they CAN'T do?), Homer the Heretic, and Homer's Triple Bypass (mmm..ham) are classics, and these are just some of the best in this spectacular season of one of America's greatest sitcoms.

Season 4 is a must-own for any simpsons fan. The episodes include:

Kamp Krusty - Bart and Lisa are disappointed at the crapiness of summer camp. Bart leads a revolt and Krusty must return to appease the children.

A Streetcar Named Marge - Marge takes a part in the local production of the musical version of a streetcar named desire.

Homer the Heretic - Homer skips church and has the best day of his life, he decides to quit going. (Episode includes Homer's famous recipie for space waffles).

Lisa the beauty queen - Lisa becomes beauty queen, when the original queen is struck by lightning. She uses her position to crusade against the pagent's cigarette sponsor.

Treehouse of horror - The three episodes are "A clown without Pity", "King Homer", and "Dial Z for Zombies".

Itchy & Scratchy: the movie - When Bart misbehaves, Homer forbids him from watching the biggest movie of the summer.

Marge gets a job - Marge works with Homer at the powerplant, but Mr. Burns is smitten by her.

New Kid on the Block - Bart falls in love with the new kid on the block. Homer sues the all-you-can eat seafood place.

Mr. Plow - Homer buys a snowplow and makes money plowing drives. Then Barney muscles in on the market.

Lisa's first word - a funny flashback to the early 80s when Lisa was born. Maggie utters her first word.

Homer's triple bypass - Homer has a heart-attack and has to have a triple bypass. This episodes proves heart-attacks ARE funny.

Marge v. the Monorail - When the town comes into money, a mysterious stranger convinces them to spend it on a monorail. Homer gets a job conducting the monorail.

Selma's Choice - Selma begins to want to have children before it's too late. That all changes when she takes Bart and Lisa to Duff Gardens.

Brother from the same planet - Bart gets a big brother when Homer lets him down. Homer gets revenge by mentoring a little brother.

I love lisa - After an exchange of valentine's cards, Ralph falls in love with Lisa.

Duffless - after getting a DWI, Homer agrees to give up beer for a month. Hiliarous consequences ensue.

Last Exit to Springfield - "Dental plan, Lisa needs braces." Homer becomes union president and fights for the employees' dental plan.

So it's come to this a simpson's clipshow - is an explanation really necessary?

The Front - Bart and Lisa write episodes for Itchy and Scratchy using Grandpa Simpson as a Front.

Whacking Day - the town of springfield gears up for a snake killing day. Bart is expelled from school, and marge home-schools him.

Marge in Chains - after accidentally walking out of the quickie mart with a pint of whiskey, Marge goes to jail.

Krusty gets Kancelled - Krusty is cancelled, and Bart and Lisa arrange his comeback special with tons of special guests including Johnny Carson, Bette Midler, the red hot chili peppers, and others.

this is the best Tv show i've ever seen, always puts me in a good mood everytime i see it, i've seen about all of the episodes released thats how much i love it. if you happen to be one of the few who havent seen this yet i ORDER you to check it out! 5/5
10/10, perfect in my opinion! Way to Go Matt Groening /applaud

The fourth season isn't just TV, it's a thing of beauty. These episodes are distinguished by one simple idea: humor with heart. This general unifying vision makes this season unique. Watch the DVDs again and you will find that there is no substitute for characters with three dimensions. They are the foundation for the biting social commentary, sparkling wit (not to be confused with "cleverness!"), and legitimately funny situations that make the show entertaining and memorable. Any Simpsons-on-DVD is worth owning, but this season is worth a deeper, more challenging look. It's the pinnacle of animated TV.

I have to disagree with many reviewers (probably 'Family Guy' fans) when I say that the first three seasons had plenty of warmth and charm, and were far better than anything after season nine (at the latest). I believe many fans are correct in their assumption, though, that the fourth season is where the humor really begins to shine. For me, it's also where it peaked. The fifth and sixth seasons both have fine moments (much like season three) but never achieve the balance of big humor and big heart that seems to operate in perfect equilibrium during the fourth. After this season the show began to focus too heavily on random, silly situations and clever banter, which can be funny if used subtly and sparingly. They are no match, however, for situation-based story and plot. Situational humor isn't "old-fashioned," it's good writing. Quite simply, the show got too successful, and it slipped; when this happened, it was still approved by a public of humorist starving classes willing to settle for anything even resembling "funny" or "intelligent" (or just "not-your-average-sitcom"). In a flash, the three-dimensional characters we once knew and loved were gone. Without lovable characters, TV comedy isn't worth much at all.

The third season was a good indication of where the show was going to go. Episodes like "When Flanders Failed" are funny but also touching, and display genuinely interesting character development, especially in Homer. Episodes like "Flaming Moe's" or "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" are really hilarious, and "Bart the Lover," written by the genius Jon Vitti (a pillar of Simpsons greatness), is probably the best episode in the bunch. So along comes Season Four, and the show really took off. The magic of the fourth season is the delightful way in which the peripheral characters are employed. Krusty and Mr. Burns, in particular, are riotously funny and distinctly three-dimensional. Additionally, Chief Wiggum, Ralph, Selma, Barney, and Principal Skinner, to name a few, are all brilliantly and subtly developed. Still, the five members of the Simpson family are the main characters of the show, especially Bart, who, for the first few years, is absolutely the best character, almost simultaneously overrated and underrated. The humorous and at times tender brother/sister relationship between him and Lisa is a notable facet of the season. In some episodes, their rapport is fairly obvious, as in "Lisa's First Word," but it's there throughout: Bart's memorable line "You're not ugly" in "Lisa the Beauty Queen," or their hectic travels together in "Kamp Krusty," or their Itchy and Scratchy cartoons in "The Front." All really touching.

A few examples of this season's overwhelming greatness: the completely laugh-out-loud musical number in "A Streetcar Named Marge" (which, incidentally, is one of the best parodies of community theatre other than Waiting for Guffman), Bart's falling in love with the "New Kid on the Block," Homer's fake commercials in "Mr. Plow," the insanely funny sandwich bit and Duff Gardens adventure in "Selma's Choice," and Krusty trying to match his ventriloquist competition in "Krusty Gets Kancelled." The crown jewels, however, are two episodes that aired exactly within one month of each other, and should be considered the greatest in the show's history: "I Love Lisa" and "Last Exit to Springfield." Excellently crafted with subtle wit and sharp, vitriolic social criticism, these episodes were written with a true sense of structure, pace, dialogue, etc., and showcase a rare combination of entertaining and thought-provoking humor. Television simply doesn't get any better. The absurd "Monster Mash" intro is a memorable one in "I Love Lisa," the best in the history of the show; later on, Krusty's anniversary special has one terrific joke after another (I'm giggling about Robert Frost and Sideshow Rahim even as I write this), and Springfield Elementary's take on the US Presidency is uproarious. "Last Exit" might be the overall best, though, especially when Mr. Burns and Homer get together in the mansion: the line "It doesn't take a wiz to see that you're looking out for number one!" is one of the funniest things I have ever heard, representing how the show can be both high-brow and low-brow at once. But these episodes aren't just streams of good chuckles and one-liners, they're much, much more.

Do yourself a favor and discover what the Simpsons accomplished back in Season Four. The flat, one-dimensional characters and abundant random situations that plague the later years WILL NOT be remembered fondly when the show is long gone. But THIS will. Imagine: it's back when Lisa wasn't so whiny, snobbish and pestering -- back when Homer was only mildly stupid, and when Marge was a great TV mom on par with June Cleaver -- and Bart was feisty and lovable. They did it right once, and I have it on DVD for as long as I care to watch and laugh and learn. Thanks for reading.

Season Four was the beginning of the best for the Simpsons. Sure, there were a few flashes of brilliance in season three (Flaming Moes, for instance) but real Simpsons fans know that the show went from being simply entertaining to undisputable classic in season four. Episodes like The Monorail, A Streetcar Named Marge, Last Exit to Springfild, Homer the Heretic, and Mr. Plow were all so original, funny, and smart that even Simpsons haters have to give them a little credit.

In my opinion, season four was the the beginning of the golden age of the Simpsons which lasted until about season ten, when the show became more dependent on guest stars, exotic locales, and nonsensical plots. The show is dying now, slowly, like an old man easing into a nice, warm bath, but at least we'll always have the DVD's. Some might argue that season three deserves to be part of the golden age. I'll admit that season three includes some gems, but the show was still solidifying its characters and finding its niche in popular culture. Season four was the first year the show was able to stand on its own legs. When I was about ten years old, I remember recording some of the shows in seasons three and four and watching them over and over again. Even at that age, when most of the jokes were over my head, I knew The Simpsons was something special, which indeed it has proven itself to be. I'm not a big fan of the commentaries and extras on the discs. If you're into that stuff, then help yourself; there's plenty. But the DVD's are worth the price. We have witnessed the greatest television show in the history of the universe mature and evolve right before our eyes, as the DVD's prove. Enjoy!

After fifteen seasons of which four are now on DVD, there is only so much that can be said about "The Simpsons" DVD collections, so I'll keep this fairly brief. That said, Season 4 is worth reviewing in that it completes the evolution that began in Season 3. Voices and figures have achieved their familiar standards, and from Season 4 forward, advances in animation and coloring are incremental rather than great leaps forward. Moreover, satire/movie/book tributes and music begin to take a bigger, and more familiar role in Season 4.

Which brings us to the highlights of the season. "Kamp Krusty" beautifully subverts the traditional miserable summer camp milieu and pays tribute to "Lord of the Flies". Season 4 features some of Homer's greatest episodes including "Homer the Heretic", "Mr. Plow", "Duffless", and "Whacking Day". Fans are also treated to two of the best Simpsons' musical moments in "A Streetcar Named Marge" and "Marge vs. the Monorail".

The DVD's themselves continue to refine the major improvements witnessed in Season 3. As usual, color and sound are excellent, and episodes edited for syndication have been returned to their full length. New to this set is a series of on screen icons that appear during the episodes and allow links to deleted scenes, animatics, etc. While a little awkward, they represent a step forward in DVD extra content, and I fully expect they will be greatly improved upon in Season 5. In addition, all content is accessible from the DVD menus, so the icons need not be used at all.

Likewise, the extras are a nice step forward from the previous seasons. In particular, there are far more deleted scenes than in the prior sets. I imagine this is due to the more established nature of the show by the fourth season, and the greater resources it could command. Some of the scenes are really funny, and I would hope they will become even more prevalent in future seasons.

My only other comment would be that these sets should be viewed as items for the diehard fan. From start to finish there may not be a more solid season than Season 4, and the episodes are certainly accessible to the casual fan. Moreover, considering the volume of content, they are very reasonably priced, and hence would make a great purchase for even the casual fan.

Jake Mohlman