The Simpsons: The Fifteenth Season Blu-ray Review
Pie Man! Ms. Krabappel dating Comic Book Guy! Bart mooning the flag!
Reviewed by Casey Broadwater, December 17, 2012
There's a common consensus among
Simpsons fans that seasons nine through twelve, presided over by showrunner Mike Scully, were the
series' lean years, marked by a decline in quality and a shift in tone towards the more cartoonish and absurd. When writer Al Jean came back to lead
the show in season thirteen, he began to reverse that downward spiral, and although the series would never re-reach the highs of its golden years, it's
remained fairly consistently funny. It's not quite as culturally relevant as it once was—no one really
talks about
The Simpsons
anymore—but it's still an insightful chronicler of our times, jabbing its satirical finger into the tender side of American life.
The show's fifteenth season, which ran from November 2003 to May 2004, is a strong batch of 22 episodes, with no real clunkers in the bunch. Some
are funnier than others, of course, but even the dullest entries—I'm thinking
Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore—have at least a few good
laughs. If you're a hardcore fan, you'll definitely want to pick up the 3-disc Blu-ray set—no questions asked—but for more casual followers, I've included
a brief synopsis of the series to jog your memory. It's hard to believe these aired nearly 10 years ago.
1. Treehouse of Horror XIV: The season starts with of the more so-so
Treehouse of Horror episodes, but there are some
decent riffs here. Homer kills Death and is forced to
become Death, nerdy Professor Frink plays Frankenstein with the frozen body of his dead
father, and Bart and Milhouse pull pranks galore when they find a watch that can stop time. Highlight? Bart giving the Pope a wedgie.
2. My Mother the Carjacker: Glenn Close returns as the voice of Homer's mother, a political radical and fugitive who mysteriously
reappears in the Simpsons' lives, dragging the family into significant trouble with the law. Highlight? Learning that Homer doesn't just write letters to
movie stars, he writes to
movies: "Dear
Diehard, you rock."
3. The President Wore Pearls: A parody of
Evita, complete with a spoof cover of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," with Lisa—
running for student body president—singing "Don't cry for me kids of Springfield, unless you want an effective leader." The musical numbers are well
done, actually. Highlight? Michael Moore showing up to take the side of the striking students.
4. The Regina Monologues: Quite possibly my favorite episode of the season. When Bart makes a killing opening a museum in his
treehouse—to showcase a $1000 bill he found on the ground, belonging to Mr. Burns—he pays to take the family to London, where they're basically
the most obnoxious American tourists ever. Highlight? Some terrific guest bits, including J.K. Rowling, Tony Blair with a jet pack, and Ian McKellen
getting struck by lightening.
5. The Fat and the Furriest: Homer creates a giant, gross-out ball of deep-fried candy using his newly purchased "Kitchen Carnival,"
but when he takes it to the dump on Marge's orders, he's attacked by a bear. Facing up to his fears, he dons some make-shift armor and goes
a'hunting for the beast. Highlight? Homer becoming best pals with his furry quarry.
6. Today I Am A Clown: Krusty the Clown is denied a star on Springfield's "Jewish Walk of Fame" because he was never bar
mitzvah'd. In an effort to become more Jewish, he stops doing shows on the Sabbath and has Homer take over his time slot with a talk show featuring
Lenny, Moe, and Carl. Highlight? Mr. T shows up as the "Super-Star of David."
7. 'Tis the Fifteenth Season: In a
Christmas Carol-style turn of events, Homer endeavors to be the "nicest guy in town,"
outdoing Flanders in the good-deeds department. Highlight? A special holiday appearance by "The California Prunes" that prompts Lisa to say, "This is
offensive to Christians
and prunes."
8. Marge Versus Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays: Maggie gets hooked on a children's entertainer named
Roofi, but his concert in Springfield turns from a baby hippy Woodstock to a riotous Altamont-style disaster. The town's childless adults form an anti-kid
alliance in response, but Marge stands up to the social pressure with her own family-friendly initiative. Highlight? Either Steve Irwin getting torn apart
by a crocodile—R.I.P.—or the Teletubbies "making their first live appearance since Tinky-Winky was acquitted of manslaughter."
9. I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot: The sweetest, saddest episode of the season. When Homer realizes that his mechanical ineptitude keeps
Bart from looking up to him, he pretends to build a robot—actually, he's
inside the robot—and enters a Robot Rumble contest, risking severe
bodily harm. Meanwhile, the family cat—Snowball II—is hit by a car, prompting Lisa to adopt a series of replacements, two of which also die in
increasingly bizarre circumstances. Highlight? Learning that the music of John Coltrane provokes feline suicide.
10. Diatribe of a Mad Housewife: Another personal favorite from season 15, this episode finds Marge writing a romance novel—set in
"whaling times"—that too obviously reveals her and Homer's marriage troubles. Hint: The book stars a muscle-bound Flanders with Fabio hair and his
ruffled shirt unbuttoned to mid-sternum. Highlight? Reclusive writer Thomas Pynchon makes a guest appearance, wearing a paper bag over his head.
11. Margical History Tour: In the grand
Simpsons tradition of anthology-style episodes,
Margical History Tour
features Marge telling the kids three historical stories at the library. Homer plays Henry VIII, Lisa is Sacajawea on the Oregon Trail, and Bart rocking
Vienna as Mozart. Highlight? Bart-as-Mozart's dying words: "Eat my pantaloons."
12. Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore: Another weirdly sweet episode. When Milhouse moves away with his mom, Bart and Lisa
become best pals and share some brother/sister bonding, culminating in a hug. "That's what sit-coms call a 'schmaltzy ending,'" says Isabel Sanford,
former star of
All in the Family and
The Jeffersons. Highlight? Sanford's appearance, obviously.
13. Smart & Smarter: A jealous Lisa loses her title of "the smart one" when it's discovered that Maggie—tested at a competitive pre-
preschool—is actually a baby genius with an IQ of 167. In response, Lisa tries on several new identities—my favorite is the goth "Ravencrow
Neversmiles"—and leaves the family to live in Springfield's Natural History Museum. Highlight?
American Idol's Simon Cowell as the school's
uber-critical admissions officer.
14. The Ziff Who Came to Dinner:: When Marge's annoying former prom date, Artie Ziff (Jon Lovitz), is found living in the Simpsons'
attic, he pawns off control of his scandal-ridden company to Homer, who lands in trouble with the SEC. Highlight? In the opening sequence, Homer
takes the Flanders boys to go see "The Redeadening," a horror movie that borrows that score from
Rosemary's Baby.
15. Co-Dependents' Day: George Lucas apologists beware. Here, Bart and Lisa are so disappointed in the new installment of "Cosmic
Wars" that they travel to Californian wine country to confront the director, "Randall Curtiss." Meanwhile, Homer and Marge become serious winos.
Highlight? The numerous jabs at the
Star Wars prequels, especially Jar-Jar Binks, who's referred to as "Jim-Jam."
16. The Wandering Juvie: Bart pulls of an impressive prank—registering for gifts at a department store and pulling off a fake wedding
—but winds up in juvenile hall, where he has a love/hate relationship with a female inmate, voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Highlight? Bart trying to
buy his way out of trouble with his ill-obtained presents and Chief Wiggum pointing to his badge, which reads "Cash Bribes Only."
17. My Big Fat Geek Wedding: I love everything about this episode. Principal Skinner sets a date to marry his fiancé, Edna, but when
he backs out at the last minute, she rebounds with Comic Book Guy at Sci-Fi-Con, where they have a Klingon ceremony. Highlight by far? Skinner
dressed up as Catwoman. Runner up? A cameo by Matt Groening himself.
18. Catch 'Em if You Can: Homer and Marge go on an impromptu second honeymoon, but they're trailed
Catch Me If You
Can-style by Bart and Lisa, who are mad at being left at home with Grandpa. Highlight? Sexytimes in a bouncy castle...that goes over Niagara
Falls.
19. Simple Simpson: A strong contestant for most memorable episode of the season,
Simple Simple follows Homer as he
becomes a Superhero—Pie Man—and eventually has to weigh his morals against the anonymity of his pie-throwing alter-ego. Expect lots of small
references to the first Sam Raimi
Spiderman. Highlight? A country singer at a state fair crooning, "If you don't buy my record, / al-Qaeda
wins."
20. The Way We Weren't: A flashback episode to Marge and Homer's first kiss, at Camp-See-A-Tree, a summer camp for
underprivileged kids. It'd be a cute story, but Homer doesn't remember that the girl was actually Marge. Highlight? Either Homer trying to escape from
a nearby fat camp, or giving his name over the phone—in a desperate attempt to sound cool—as "Elvis Jagger Abdul-Jabbar."
21. Bart-Mangled Banner: It seems there's always one episode each season that courts controversy, and here it's
Bart-Mangled
Banner, which spoofs the American obsession with over-the-top patriotism. When Bart accidentally moons the U.S flag during a school assembly,
the Simpsons become local outcasts and are sent to the "Ronald Reagan Reeducation Center," a facility that also detains The Dixie Chicks, Elmo, Bill
Clinton, and Michael Moore. Highlight? Springfield changing its traffic lights from red, yellow, and green to red, white, and blue.
22. Fraudcast News: The season closes out with Burns deciding to buy up every media outlet in Springfield so that he can control his
public image. The one hold-out, however, is Lisa's underdog Red Dress Press. The highlight? The intro "couch gag" portrays members of the Simpson
family as anime characters, including Homer as Ultraman and Bart as Astro-Boy.
