The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season (1998)

Mike Scully's reign of terror continues.

Ok, so this season isn't as good as Season 9 but that doesn't make it bad. In fact there are some really excellent episodes in this season. As someone who thinks the show should've ended after Season 11, how can I possibly reject this season. And now a brief summary.

1. Lard of the Dance - For this episode, the Lisa "A" story with Lisa Kudrow has its laughs but for me, it's all about the Homer and Bart "B" story where Homer thinks he can make a fortune by selling grease. You can't go wrong with Homer and a crazy scheme.

2. The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace - Written by the prolific John Schwartzwelder, this episode features Homer attempting to emulate Thomas Edison's prolific inventing after suffering a mid-life crisis.

3. Bart the Mother - An episode that got too sappy IMO. Bart accidently shoots a mother bird and decides to care for the eggs she apparently left. Nice third act though.

4. Treehouse of Horror IX - Funny at the time but ages real fast. I - after Snake is executed, his toupee is donated to the one man that needs it most, Homer. II - What? Bart and Lisa are trapped in an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon? How humiliating! III - Hey kids, remember Jerry Springer. Well when he's not dancing with the real dancers, he has time to give a voice-over.

5. When You Dish upon a Star - What? There are celebrities who choose to live in Springfield? Specifically Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger (in happier times) not only live there but choose to hire Homer as an assistant. Also, you get the occasional pop-in by Ron Howard who is there to raid the liquor cabinet.

6. D'oh-in in the Wind - After visiting the commune where his mother hid, Homer decides that he wants to be a hippie which is due to infuriate the other hippies who live there (guest voiced by Martin Mull and the great George Carlin).

7. Lisa Gets an "A" - Lisa cheated on a test? Well its true. Again the Homer B story is better when he takes care of a misunderstood lobster named Pinchy. The first episode with that great educator State Comptroller Atkins.

8. Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble" - Just because Homer caused Grandpa to lost functionality in both off his kidneys, that doesn't mean that Homer actually has to donate one of his own kidneys to save Grandpa's life! Does it? Written by John Schwartzwelder.

9. Mayored to the Mob - This is a hilarious episode from the BiMonSciFiCon to Mark Hamill in "Guys and Dolls" Yes, Luke be a Jedi tonight! Also, after protecting Mayor Quimby from a horde of angry sci-fiers, Quimby decides to hire Homer as his bodyguard.

10. Viva Ned Flanders - Probably because there was already a casino in Springfield, none of the Simpsons ever decided to go to Las Vegas, that is until now. When Ned Flanders decides to make up for a life of not living on the edge, he decides to call Homer. While it was a funny episode, it helped spawn that undying premise of the Vegas wives.

11. Wild Barts Can't Be Broken - After a spree of wanton vandalism (caused of course by Homer, Lenny, Carl, and Barney) the town enacts a curfew that prevents the kids from leaving the house.

12. Sunday, Cruddy Sunday - Fred Willard guest voices as the travel agent who books a large group of the Springfield gents to a trip to Super Bowl XXXIII. A note of trivia, the date that this aired was also the premiere date of Family Guy. Read into that any meaning you like.

13. Homer to the Max - Written by John Schwartzwelder, this episode still makes me laugh. Homer gets a lot of respect when a cool detective on TV named Homer Simpson hits the screen. However, after the pilot, they turn Det. Homer Simpson into a lazy, dumb ignoramus forcing Homer to change his name to (drumroll) MAX POWER. Remember, nobody snuggles with Max Power, you strap yourself in and feel the Gs.

14. I'm with Cupid - Apu's extravagant gifts and affection for Manjula on Valentine's day force the rest of the male Springfield population to become irate. Guest appearance by Sir Elton John.

15. Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers" - Probably the first sitcom to take on road rage (not to mention the burgeoning phenom of female SUV driving) was the Simpsons. When Homer accidentally buys a lady Canyonero (Canyonero Yeee Hah!) Marge decides to drive it causing her to develop road rage.

16. Make Room for Lisa - A nice Homer-Lisa story where for the first time, Lisa explores her own insensitivity to Homer. Also, a lot of Lindsay Naegle (before she was Lindsay Neagle) as the OmniTouch rep.

17. Maximum Homerdrive - After losing a steak eating contest to a truck driver who eventually dies, Homer decides to deliver the dead man's payload. BTW, who knew that those trucks could drive themselves? Written by John Schwartzwelder.

18. Simpsons Bible Stories - Rather than just explore Halloween themed ideas, why not try a more scary book like....I dunno.....the Bible. I - Homer and Marge are at the Garden of Eden, II - the Jews will escape the wrath of the evil pharoah by the leadership of Milhouse? III - Bart as David who now has to face Goliath's son, who is just as tall, and angrier.

19. Mom and Pop Art - Underrated episode where Homer becomes a conceptual artist by accident. But when the art community rebuffs his newer work, Homer decides to try an artistic stunt so revolutionary that the art community would have to respect him. Also some great Arizona State bashing by Ned.

20. The Old Man and the "C" Student - After Bart pulls a stunt that forces the IOC to reject Springfield as the site of the Olympic games, he has to do community service at the old folks' home. Meanwhile, Homer is dejected when his mascot idea, the Springfield Spring, is rendered useless forcing him to come up with other ideas for using the spring.

21. Monty Can't Buy Me Love - Why don't the people like Monty Burns? That's what Monty wants to know especially after the dashing billionaire Arthur Fortune comes to town. Written by John Schwartzwelder.

22. They Saved Lisa's Brain - Now this is a great episode. After witnessing the crude and idiotic behavior of the townspeople, Lisa writes an op-ed which allows her to join Springfield's Mensa society. Soon they take over the town which causes an uproar. Some great Comic Book Guy lines and oh btw, did I mention that Stephen Hawking makes an appearance as the voice of reason.

23. Thirty Minutes over Tokyo - The Simpsons desire for an economical vacation leads them to take a trip to Japan. Because after going to Australia, why not try their luck at another country?

The DVD set inclues audio commentary on every episode (odd but the audio commentaries are funnier than the new batch of shows), animation showcases, and many other special features.

This is still pretty darn good comedy but for those who have followed the intricate humor of the Simpsons this season is the beginning of the slide into mediocrity that they are wallowing in today. Probably one of the last seasons I'll buy.

To me this season is where the running gags start losing some steam and the reliance on "star" cameos really started to outshine the story and plotlines.

I do agree there are plenty of good moments but this is truly the pivotal season where the number of laugh out loud, quotable, classic scenes can be counted and from here on out they began to dwindle to where we are today. Not to say that America's favorite family doesn't still make us laugh , it's just not as often, generally not as loud and sometimes not for the intended reasons.

Homer generates most of the chuckles this season, from his beer fueled drive through the halls of Sringfield Elementary to his stint as bodyguard to the Mayor. He gets a pet lobster, becomes Max Power, takes an introspective journey in a "whale egg" (according to Ralph Wiggum), discovers his middle name, and of course takes Flanders to Las Vegas in one of the season's stand-out episodes (including one of my favorite lines, something about "Vegas doesn't take kindly to out-of-towners, take your money someplace else")

Of course the die-hards will buy this anyway and why not? It will entertain us. I will, however, bet we don't watch these episodes with the frequency and level of enjoyment of the first 8 or 9 seasons.