The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season on DVD

This four-disc boxed set is designed or molded after the wild and crazy superstar prankster himself, Bart Simpson. And considering the fact that the little Springfield scamp is such a cultural icon with his "Cowabunga" or "Eat my shorts" one-liners, I say that it's about time.

A "Studio Tour" is the theme carried through the set by Bart and the rest of the Simpsons gang.

There are 23 episodes of Season 10.

Homer always wanted to be a hippie in "D'oh-in' in the Wind."

Homer doesn't make a very good bodyguard for Mayor Quimby; however, he is absolutely perfecting for defending Mark Hamill against hordes of nerds in "Mayored in the Mob."

Marge has road rage in "Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers."

The Simpsons family all deserve to go to hell in "Simpson Bible Stories."

Homer thinks Simpson's creator Matt Groening can't draw in "Mom and Pop Art."

Ned Flanders is actually 60 years old in "Viva Ned Flanders."

There is actually a Loch Ness Monster in "Monty Can't buy me Love."

Homer can't eat a 16 lbs slab of steak but he can drive a big rig in "Maximum Homerdrive."

Homer can be pretty scary when he's trying to create something in "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" and "Mom and Pop Art."

It takes a sensory deprivation tank for Lisa to learn how much Homer loves her in "Make Room for Lisa."

Watching cartoons in Japan can cause seizures in "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo."

Finally, Ron Howard should never try to jump onto a moving 'Museum of Celebrity Jerks' RV in "When you Dish Upon a Star."

Product specs

All fours discs offer audio commentary for every episode.

All four discs offer deleted scenes.

Disc 1 offers "A Line From Matt Groening".

Disc 2 has a "Special Language Featurette".

Discs 1 and 3 have "Multi-Angle Animation Showcases.

Disc 4 includes such bonus material as "The Crank Calls," commercials, "A Glimpse Inside," original sketches, and "A Sneak Peek from The Simpsons Movie DVD."

Principal cast

Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Grandpa Simpson, Krust the Clown and many more)
Julie Kavner (Marge, Patty & Selma)
Nancy Cartwright (Bart and many more characters)
Yeardley Smith (Lisa)
Hank Azaria (Apu, Carl and many more characters)
Harry Shearer (Kent Brockman, Principal Seymour Skinner, Lenny and many more)

Celebrity guest voices to look for in Season 10

Lisa Kudrow
William Daniels
Phil Hartman
Robert Englund
Ed McMahon
Jerry Springfield
Alec Baldwin
Kim Basinger
Ron Howard
Brian Grazer
George Carlin
Martin Mull
Mark Hamill
Dick Tufeld
The Moody Blues (Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward, John Lodge, and Ray Thomas)
Cyndi Lauper
Troy Aikman
Rosey Grier
John Madden
Dan Marino
Rupert Murdoch
Dolly Parton
Pat Summerall
Fred Willard
Elton John
Jan Hooks
Hank Williams, Jr.
Jasper Johns
Isabella Rossellini
Jack LaLanne
Michael McKean
Stephen Hawking
George Takei

And less we forget, the ever-returning, most-important, most underrated voice of Marcia Wallace

Best of the Season

"Mayored to the Mob" in which Homer becomes the bodyguard for Mayor Quimby comes close. Mark Hamill is perfect as Mark Hamill. Of course, the Star Wars actor had plenty of experience in this kind of work playing The Joker on the Batman Animated series. But his comedy stylings for The Simpsons is so good, you might say that he was born to play Mark Hamill in the patented Simpsons' style. Then again, I do enjoy watching Homer kicking the crap out of nerds to the Whitney Houston Bodyguard theme.

There are many other great moment from many other episodes throughout the season. Sadly, not one episode is really a concrete winner. But Homer Simpson really delivers in such episodes as "Maximum Homerdrive". Maybe it's just the sight of Homer Simpson falling asleep at the wheel of a giant truck and wake up at a gas pump the next morning that tickles me. Watching the entire Simpsons family re-enact some of the more adventurous tales of The Bible in "Simpsons Bible Stories" is positively and respectfully fun. Watching Kim Basinger hang on for dear life while Homer is trying to throw her off his celebrity-hating RV museum in "When you Dish Upon a Star" is uproariously funny. Homer losing control over a ransacked attempt to build his very own barbeque pit, trashing someone else's car with the mess, and getting ready to shoot whomever comes questioning about the accident in "Mom and Pop Art" makes me laugh every time. Then of course, who can forget Homer calling Stephen Hawking, 'Larry Flynt' in "They Saved Lisa's Brain."

Worst of the Season

Joke stability and character charm is starting to slide all over Season 10. Even though the classic prankster is featured on the cover, Bart Simpson's fire is burning out. They are starting to pay too much attention to the wild and dumb stylings of Homer Simpson, and trashing the flare of Bart "Cowabunga" Simpson. Lisa is becoming less demanding, and perhaps even becoming dumber - as she's always feared. None of this really detracts from the overall enjoyability of Season 10, but it keeps this collection from reaching the high standards set by previous seasons.

Listing of every episode in the box set as they aired

"Lard of the Dance"
"The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace"
"Bart the Mother"
"Treehouse of Horror IX"
"When you Dish Upon a Star"
"D'oh-in' in the Wind"
"Lisa Gets an 'A'"
"Homer Simpson in: 'Kidney Trouble'"
"Mayored to the Mob"
"Viva Ned Flanders"
"Wild Barts can't be Broken"
"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday"
"Homer to the Max"
"I'm with Cupid"
"Marge Simpsons in: 'Screaming Yellow Honkers'"
"Make Room for Lisa"
"Maximum Homerdrive"
"Simpsons Bible Stories"
"Mom and Pop Art"
"The Old Man and the 'C' Student"
"Monty can't buy me Love"
"They saved Lisa's Brain"
"Thirty Minutes over Tokyo"