I think this subject has yielded more email than anything except Back to the Future.

A+deleted+scene+from+'Anna+Nicole+Smith+stops+by+to+breastfeed',+cut+from+the+series.

Three+frames+before+the+police+come+to+apprehend+Lee+Harvey+Oswald.

Good+to+know+Bart+eats+Thai+food.

The+que+for+the+Charon's+ferry.

Commentaries on each episode



Bart the Genius: Original Script



Bart the General: Original Script



Moaning Lisa: Original Script



Disc 2:



Commentaries on each episode



Disc 3:



Some Enchanted Evening: Original Script



Unaired Episode with Optional Commentary



Animatic: Bart the General w/Commentary, Albert Brooks



Outtakes



America's First Family BBC Special



Bart T-shirt Controversy ABC News



Tracy Ullman: Good Night Simpsons



Foreign Language Clips (7)



Early Sketches (Still Gallery-100)



12 stills and magazine covers

"When is The Simpsons coming out?"The answer is September 25th, and I think it's safe to say the wait was worth it.I have seen maybe ten episodes of the show before this magnificent silver box arrived in my mail, but I knew how sharp the writing and creative juices for this show were from my days of reading Groening's "Life in Hell" books all through high school (1986-90) and from the insanely spot-on jabs in the few episodes I did see.It's a show that improved with age and outlived its humble beginnings and knowing it's the longest running prime time comedy series is a wonderful thing that gives me a tiny bit of faith in the boob tube.Watching it in sequence, and with commentary by the people who made the shows is a whole new world.The world of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson is well known and not one that needs a whole lot of introduction. Through their reign on TV (which continues as I type this), they've invaded more homes than termites and embedded themselves into the social consciousness enough to have the term "d'oh!" added to the dictionary.While the show has been more focused on the family, and Homer in particular (thank God), and is loaded with guest stars galore, it started out as a rather rough animated show geared around the troublesome ways of Bart Simpson. His antics led to t-shirts and video games and all sorts of merchandising, which led to more freedom for the creators to stretch the limits of what they could accomplish in their time slot. Instead of resting on their laurels, they took the show to comedic genius and became so much more than the show viewers were treated to in the early seasons.Looking at them now, in sequence... it's almost like a different universe.While a lot of the trademarks are there, it's so much different stylistically and in the performances of the impeccable voice cast.The episodes in the first season range from tales of Bart's troublemaking, Homer's job woes, financial problems, the threat of extramartial affairs, and more... and while the series has revisited those themes it's obvious they were feeling their way still.What's great is seeing the characters start to find their personas and how the laughs were achieved through some inventive animation and crackerjack writing.It's a true testament that the crew working today features many of the same folks who were around in those days.So, while it's rough around the edges, it's still The Simpsons and I look even more forward to the subsequent (and better) episodes on the horizon as one of those rare TV shows actually worth investing time in joins the massing legion of great DVD titles.Presented in fullscreen (hey, it's TV!) mode, the video ranges from pretty sharp to downright murky.In its early days, the animation was done a lot less efficiently and expert as now, and the results are far from what you'd want to demonstrate the format with.In the same ways that the 1st X-Files seasons were in terms of audio/visual presentation, this one is equally bland and that an most be attributed to the limitations of the source material.It'll get better as the seasons arrive, though.There's the expected 5.1 treatment, and it's really pretty solid considering the lack of focus on the technical front. The huge evolutionary step from the skits on the Tracy Ullman Show is evident in the cartoon, but it hadn't reached the stage where much bragging was in order.It sounds fine, but don't expect much usage of the total soundtsage. Ultimately it's a glorified 2.0.Still, for what it is, it's hard to overly criticize.For a relatively cheap price (you should be able to nab it for around 30 clams), you get a truly impressive set of features on this 3 disc offering:Pretty impressive, eh?I'll admit, the commentaries ultimately don't lend too much insight to the inception of the show, because the creators tend to talk about the stuff at hand and usually end up enjoying revisiting the old shows...Also, you'll hear a lot of overlap as issues about the changes in the opening sequence vary and about which shows featured the first appearances of different characters, design criticisms, and discussions on how they've changed or abandoned characters and/or running jokes.Still, it's a blast and for hardcore fans of the show I expect it to be a real gift.In addition, the documentary is solid and seeing these scripts is an eye opener for someone who'd never seen a script for a cartoon like this before.Pretty intriguing, though the unaired episode is pretty hard to watch. It's so bad that producer James L. Brooks walks out of the commentary halfway through!Good stuff.In other words, buy this thing as soon as possible.