Review: The Simpsons Complete Fifth Season DVD

In Stores Now

I just love these Simpsons audio commentaries. Of course, they could have Hank Azaria read the dictionary in the voice of Comic Book Guy and I’d be happy, but these commentaries are still full of wonderful stories. Every episode has something interesting that happened on it, and I could listen to them all if I had 11 hours free.

There’s plenty of technical material as well for animation fans. They’ve preserved production elements and are now presenting them with commentary to take you through how the hand drawn process works.

The deleted scenes are funny too. You’re getting more Simpsons brilliance from elements that were lifted simply for time. See Bart sorting through Krusty’s mail, Martin getting kicked out of Bart’s casino, some obscure barbershop quartet scenes, an expected Principal Skinner breakdown and more.

Another spot that’s short but nice is James L. Brooks’ look back. It’s a recollection of the first time The Simpsons became a phenomenon and it puts you right back in the early ‘90s, only from the perspective of producer Brooks. Also, the retelling of Matt Groening’s 9 ways to die in LA is hilarious.