The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season DVD Review:

"Mr Burns has been shot"

Bart of Darkness
It is really hot and the Simpson family does not have air conditioning. They try to live in a tent beside the refrigerator, but that does not work. Otto drives by with a travelling swimming pool. This gives Bart and Lisa the idea to hound Homer for a pool which they relentlessly do until he caves in and buys them one. All the kids in the neighbourhood come by to use it. Bart tries to jump from his tree house into the pool, but winds up breaking his leg. He will have to spend the rest of the summer in a cast, so there will be no more swimming for him.

Lisa's Rival
Lisa wants to practice her saxophone because she is auditioning for first chair in the school band. A new student named Allison enters her class. Allison was skipped ahead a grade by Principal Skinner. Lisa is really jealous of her and is horrified to learn that Allison is going for first chair saxophone, too.

Another Simpson Clip Show
Through a series of clips from past episodes, the family recounts their trials and tribulations with love. Itchy & Scratchy land Bart and Lisa see an advertisement for a new theme park, "Itchy & Scratchy land". They beg their parents to go, but Marge resists. She remembers all the times that Homer has ruined family vacations. Eventually she caves in and they hit the road. The park is very violent, raising Marge's old concerns.

Sideshow Bob Roberts
Homer has been listening to a conservative radio talk show host. One day Sideshow Bob calls in from prison, voicing his conservative views. The host, Barlow, gets Sideshow Bob released from prison. Upon Sideshow Bob's release, the town's Republicans want him to run for mayor against Quimby.

Treehouse of Horror V
A). "The Shinning" The family become caretakers of an estate in the mountains, where no beer and television make Homer go crazy. B). "Time & Punishment" Homer fixes the toaster and it becomes a time machine. While visiting the past, he kills a bug, which affects the future in a big way. C). "Nightmare Cafeteria" Principal Skinner finds a solution to his overcrowding problem and the quality of meat in the cafeteria.

Bart's Girlfriend
The parents stop the kids in the middle of their game and bring them to church. Bart sees Lovejoy's daughter, Jessica and its love at first sight for him. He tries to impress her, even by trying to become a good person, but nothing is working. So he goes back to being the devil's cabana boy and pulls a prank on Willie. This is what impresses Jessica, so she invites him over for dinner.

Lisa on Ice
Bart has to give a report, but Skinner calls all the students down for an assembly. He passes out slips that tell the students if they are failing. To Lisa's horror, she is failing gym. She has to join an outside sports program to pass. They all go to see Bart play hockey under Chief Wiggum and Homer is one of those hyper-competitive dads. Apu is the coach of the opposing team, and he thinks that Lisa has similar talent to Bart's. He makes her his goalie and she is very good as she develops the "eye of the tiger" and the "mouth of a teamster," and she soon makes her team a winner.

Homer Badman
After hiring a feminist babysitter, Homer and Marge go to a candy trade show. They smuggle out candy for the kids. Homer steals a rare piece of candy, but he can't find it when he gets home. When he gives the babysitter a ride home he sees the candy stuck to her posterior. When he grabs for it, she screams and runs away. He awakes the next morning to find protestors on his lawn and the babysitter leads them in a sexual harassment campaign.

Grandpa vs. Sexual Inadequacy
Homer is having trouble in the bedroom with Marge. They buy an audio book to rekindle their love life. Homer and Marge start trying the books ideas, but nothing works. Abe tells Homer of a home remedy that will give him an instant reaction. After it works like a charm, Homer has the idea to market it.

Fear of Flying
Homer gets banned from Moe's and while searching for a new place "where everybody knows his name" stumbles into an airport bar and ends up almost flying a plane after being mistaken for a pilot.

Homer the Great
Homer has trouble with a plumber and at work he begins noticing that Lenny and Carl have a lot of mysterious privileges at work. Lenny keeps giving hints that they are part of a secret. Homer follows them one night when they go to their secret meeting place. Every male in Springfield that he knows is in the place. Lenny lets it slip that they are the Stonecutters and Homer wants to be a member.

And Maggie Makes Three
Family time together has Homer telling the story of why there are no pictures of Maggie in the house.

Bart's Comet
Principal Skinner releases a weather balloon, but Bart turns it into an anti-Skinner prank. Principal Skinner is upset, so Bart's punishment is to help him log amateur astronomy sky coordinates. Bart gets up at 4:30 AM to assist Skinner. When Skinner steps away, Bart discovers a comet. The nerds of the school, super friends, soon embrace him. When they figure out that his comet is approaching Springfield and will annihilate the town.

Homie the Clown
Onstage, Krusty entertains children with his antics on television; offstage, he spends money like a madman. Fat Tony shows up to his office and demands the money he is owed. Krusty has been gambling and his various products have been highly unsuccessful. At his accountant's advice him to regionalize, Krusty establishes a Clown College. Homer sees the billboard advertising the school and cannot get it out of his head.

Bart vs. Australia
Lisa explains the Coriolis Effect to Bart, but he does not believe it, so he makes a collect call to Australia to ask them about which way their water drains. When Bart doesn't hang up, the Australian he calls ends up owing $900. They want Bart to pay, but he insults them. Bart soon gets dozens of letters in the mail. Then Australia indicts him for fraud, so America wants to send him to Australia to make an apology.

Homer vs. Patty and Selma
Homer invests in pumpkins and loses all his money. Homer struggles to pay his debts. Patty and Selma recently got promotions and raises at work and despite his blinding hatred for them; Homer asks Patty and Selma to lend him money. He can't let Marge know, so they blackmail and torture him.

A Star Is Burns
Springfield is the least popular town in America. They have a town meeting on how to attract tourists and Marge pitches the idea for a film festival. Mr. Burns decides to enter the festival to boost his reputation, and makes a horribly self-indulgent film.

Lisa's Wedding
The family visits a Renaissance Faire. When Lisa runs off while chasing a bunny she meets a mysterious fortune teller offers to tell her about her future by reading her cards. We flash forward to 2010 at an Eastern university where she meets an arrogant proper young English gentleman named Hugh. They manage to fall in love and he asks her to marry him.

Two Dozen and One Greyhound
The family notices that Santa's Little Helper has been destroying the house. He soon runs away and goes back to the dog track from which he came. He finds another greyhound there and become far too friendly with her in front of everyone. When the family decides to bring her home, the two dogs quickly fall in love.

The PTA Disbands
Skinner's elementary school is dilapidated, the bus is in terrible shape and the food is unsatisfactory. Bart sees Krabappel and Skinner arguing about this, so he pushes both their buttons to try to bring about a teacher's strike.

Round Springfield
Bart eats the jagged metal prize in his box of cereal and he has to have it and his appendix removed after he collapses at school. At the hospital Lisa happens to see "Bleeding Gums" Murphy and he gives her his saxophone. When "Bleeding Gums" Murphy dies it makes Lisa very distraught. When his funeral does not properly honour him, she vows to make Springfield remember him.

Springfield Connection
Homer and Marge listen to some classical music at an outdoor concert. On their way home, Marge stops a thief (Snake) when she gets a surge of adrenaline. She soon finds that her life isn't thrilling enough. She looks for ways to fill the void and decides to join the police department.

Lemon of Troy
Bart gets a big lecture from Marge after vandalizing a sidewalk, she tells him to have pride in his town. When the kids run out of lemons for lemonade, they head to the town's lemon tree and get in a confrontation with the kids of Shelbyville. When the tree is gone, Bart and five other kids go to wage war with Shelbyville.

Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part 1)
When Mr. Burns is shot the whole of Springfield seems to have a motive for doing the dreadful deed but can Chief Wiggum find out who the shooter is?

When it comes to defining TV animated series that have become an institution, one show instantly comes to mind, The Simpsons.

Since its first appearance as a sketch in 'The Tracy Ullman Show' in 1989, 'The Simpsons' have become part of television history. Never in the history of animation has one show had such broad appeal across the age groups. Everyone from children to adults, whatever there age got something out of the show. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie became the quintessential American family.

The population of Springfield has become as well known as any real life celebrities. The average person can name at least ten characters from that famous town and even manage an impression or two. From bar tender Mo to Krusty the Clown and from do-gooder Ned Flanders to Principle Skinner, every single inhabitant of Springfield has become an integral character, making the show very unique.

From its first season the popularity of 'The Simpsons' had been steadily growing but it was season six that really made the show a mammoth hit. While it was another break through season with classic episodes like excellent 'Rear Window' parody 'Bart of Darkness', the future been shown in 'Lisa's Wedding', doggy love in 'Two Dozen and One Greyhound', Bart getting on the bad side of a whole continent in 'Bart vs. Australia', Maggie's story in 'And Maggie makes three' and the return of Sideshow Bob in 'Sideshow Bob Roberts', it was the cliffhanging episode 'Who Shot Mr. Burns?' that gripped the entire US population and later the television watching world.

Bigger than the 'Who Shot J.R.?' plot in Dallas years earlier, this storyline brought the show to the attention of the world and sent viewing figures through the roof. The biggest 'who-done-it' mystery in animation made national and international news with bookmakers taking bets on which Springfield citizen had pulled the trigger. This was classic television and the remarkable thing was that it came from an animated show.

'The Simpsons' is a televisual institution. The sixth season was when the show really started to run. Filled with classic episodes and the first part of the 'Who Shot Mr Burns?' mystery, this is an excellent season that shows why the animated series is so popular.

PICTURE AND SOUND

Presented in 4:3 full screen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack the transfer is very good, as you'd expect from an animated feature.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary Tracks
Every single episode has a commentary track from various members of the production team. Each one is a really good listen and a must for all fans. This is a rarity for a season box set and a real plus for Simpsons fans.

Deleted Scenes (26.56 mins)
These scenes can be watched separately or inserted back into the episodes 'Bart of Darkness', 'Itchy & Scratchy Land', 'Sideshow Bob Roberts', 'Treehouse of Horror V', 'Homer Badman', 'Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy', 'Fear of Flying', 'Homer the Great', 'And Maggie makes three', 'Bart's Comet', 'Homie the Clown', 'Bart vs. Australia', 'Homer vs. Patty & Selma', 'A Star is Burns', Lisa's Wedding', 'Two Dozen and One Greyhound', 'The PTA Disbands', 'Round Springfield', 'Springfield Connection' and 'Who Shot Mr Burns?'.

A Confession from Matt Groening (2.06 mins)
The Simpsons creator himself introduces the 6th season boxset, outlining the special features and offering his own opinion on the sixth year.

Springfield's Most Wanted (21.15 mins)
A mockumentary that outlines the main suspects in the case of 'Who Shot Mr Burns?' Psychologists, law enforcement professionals and bookmakers talk about the characters involved and who they think did the crime.

The Simpsons Plane (1.51 mins)
Series creator Matt Groening and season six show-runner Dave Merkin provide commentary for the season six publicity that saw Western Pacific Airlines decorate one of their planes with the Simpsons.

Commercials (1.15 mins)
Watch 'Church's Chicken 'Picnic'', 'Church's Chicken 'Piggy Bank'' and '1-800 Collect' adverts featuring 'The Simpsons'.

Special Language Feature
Watch 'Who Shot Mr Burns?' in Parisan French, Czech, Castilian Spanish and Russian languages by pressing the 'audio' button on your DVD remote.

Art & Animation

Animation Showcase
Switch between storyboard, animatic and complete footage for the episodes 'Treehouse of Horror V', 'Lisa's Wedding' and 'Who Shot Mr Burns?'

Animatic (17.47 mins)
David Silverman, Geoff Lynch, Jim Redman and Matt Groening provide a fun illustrated commentary for the animatic for 'Who Shot Mr Burns?'

Suspect Profiles
Text profiles of all the main suspects in the Mr Burns shooting.

OVERALL

Matt Groening and his DVD team have done an exceptional job with the DVD package for the sixth season of 'The Simpsons'. With commentaries for every single episode and some fun featurettes, this is an exceptional package for fans of the long running animation. This is an example of how a DVD season boxset should be done.



Jamie Kelwick