The Simpsons had already entered its peak years when the sixth season opened for business in 1994. However, by the time the credits rolled for the closing episode of the season, few could have guessed the fever pitch that the show’s popularity would reach thanks to a clever marketing ploy on the part of the writers. Fans now have the opportunity to relive the classic sixth season on more than just mix VHS tapes or low-quality Internet downloads (not that that sort of behavior is condoned here at DVDFanatic.com, of course). Keeping on track once again with the trend of releasing two seasons per year (here’s hoping for a late-December arrival of number 7), The Simpsons masterminds have released The Complete Sixth Season on DVD.

THE GOODS
Like the previous season, this lineup of episodes features classic after classic. It’s hard to know where to begin. There’s Homie the Clown (ep#2F12), in which Homer goes to clown college and trains to become a stand-in for Krusty, only to inherit the real clown’s debts with the mob as well. Or how about Homer the Great (#2F09), in which Homer blunders his way into joining Springfield’s secret men’s club, the Stonecutters. And then there’s A Star is Burns (ep#2F31), which was a series crossover with The Critic. Springfield hosts a film festival and invites New York City critic Jay Sherman (Jon Lovitz) to serve on the judging committee with Marge, Krusty, Mayor Quimby and Homer.

If you’re noticing a very Homer-centric theme to the above episodes, you’re on the right track. One of the main reasons the show remained so consistently funny for this period was because the writers realized that Bart’s iconic status as America’s Bad Boy was no match for Homer’s unintended buffoonery. The nitpicky critics of the series (i.e. it’s most ardent fans) generally contend that the early seasons don’t do enough to highlight Homer’s stupidity, while the later ones overdo it to the point of absurdity. Whatever the case, the Homer seen during these years strikes a perfect balance between believable loving father and overtly stupid deadbeat. ‘American everyman,’ indeed.

There can’t be much talk of The Simpsons’ sixth season without at least mentioning the final episode, Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One). The fact that this was the first cliffhanger episode for the series, and a season-ending one at that, is beside the point. The writers came up with this great idea (which they actually credit to series creator Matt Groening in the episode’s commentary) of creating a mystery-themed episode in which Mr. Burns is shot by an unnamed character. Fans were challenged to decipher clues within the episode and figure out who the shooter was during the break between seasons. The contest was tremendously successful as a marketing tool for the series. The winner was promised a cash prize and an appearance on the show in animated form. As it turned out, no one actually figured out who the real shooter was and the winner was chosen at random. But the contest deserves a lot of credit for giving the series an added boost in its sixth season. The virtual rebirth of the show’s popularity at this point is at least partially responsible for the fact that it’s still going strong after 16 seasons (and the word is that everyone is signed on for a full 20).

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
The DVD producers maintain the high standards of quality with the sixth season that they’ve set with the audio/video transfers for the five seasons previously released. What can really be said? Each episode is presented in Full Screen format and is available in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and French and Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo Surround. In addition, subtitles are available in English and Spanish. Basically, these episodes look and sound better than they ever have before and the transfer quality should only provide more impetus for potential buyers to pick this release up.

THE BOX AND THE MENUS
Those who have kept up with each of the previous releases will notice a marked change in the design of the DVD case. The four discs are packaged in folding cardboard case, which comes in a light, flimsy plastic version of Homer’s head, which is itself packaged in a plastic sleeve. The pictures of the case that are all over the Internet look pretty good, but this time the nay-sayers have got it right. Rather than spend more money on making this case everything it could’ve been (how about a puffy Homer head over a hard plastic case?), the folks in charge of this project at Fox Home Video decided to take an all style, no substance route. The case is very flimsy and will not happily cooperate with any traditional DVD shelf. You’re bound to damage, or at least dent, the light plastic of Homer’s head before long. If you’re a collector or you’re just a diehard fan who wants to keep his or her Simpsons box sets in pristine condition, you’re going to have a tough time with this one. Hopefully they’ll correct this shoddy packaging with the next four releases, which will reportedly be the heads of the other four immediate family members.

Thankfully, the sub-par efforts with the packaging of this release don’t extend to the menu design for the DVDs. There is actually no change between the menus of the fifth season and those of the sixth. The producers walk the line between fun animated content and easy accessibility. In keeping with the whodunit theme of the season’s last episode, each main menu features a lineup of characters, one from each episode on the disc (drawn in the context of that episode, of course). Viewers have the option of playing the episodes individually or all together from this menu, or dropping into a sub-menu where episode-specific features can be fiddled with (more on that below). At the left side of the main menu is a prominent button that opens up the disc’s special features menu. In all, the DVD producers have managed to come up with a very intuitive menu design that’s evolved nicely from the user-unfriendly versions seen in the initial releases. Hopefully this new direction with the packaging will evolve in the same way. Perhaps a slightly more expensive version, maybe even a limited edition to save money, for fans who actually care about keeping their case in good condition? Is anyone from Fox Home Entertainment reading this? Please?

BONUS CONTENT
As with the menu design, the DVD producers maintain their high standard of quality for the bonus content included with this release:

• As has become the norm, each of the season’s 25 episodes has an optional AUDIO COMMENTARY track. These are always great fun to listen to, especially for the more fanatical fans, as the series’ writers, producers, actors, and even its creator show up to provide anecdotes and background information on different jokes. The commentary on Who Shot Mr. Burns (Part One) is particularly good as the crew takes viewers through the different clues that pop up during the episode. They also share a particularly interesting anecdote about a guy on the Internet who actually had the shooter figured out, though this person never won because they didn’t enter the contest through the proper channels and the e-mail address was deactivated before anyone involved with the show could reach him.
• Also like the previous release, a most of the episodes (20 out of 25) have DELETED FOOTAGE Viewers have the option of turning on the cut footage in each episode sub-menu. Like the last release, when a point is reached during the episode that footage is available, a pair of yellow scissors appears at the bottom right corner of the screen. Viewers must then press ‘Enter’ on their remote and they will be taken to the cut scene. This is actually somewhat cumbersome; if viewers are choosing to turn on deleted scenes anyway, isn’t it possible to just have them play automatically within the context of the episode rather than forcing people to fumble with their remote controls? Once again… anyone from Fox Home Entertainment who happens to read this, please take note. For those who don’t want to fumble with their remote several times over 20 episodes, there’s a ‘Play All Deleted Scenes’ selection in the special features menu on disc four (with commentary and an introduction no less). That’s not all for disc four, however…
• There’s a short (about 5 minutes) feature, with commentary, on the Simpsons’ plane, a Boeing 737 that was painted yellow with the family members on it. This isn’t a particularly enlightening feature, but it sure is fun to see Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie painted on an airplane!
• There are also three COMMERCIALS, two for Church’s Chicken and one for 1-800-COLLECT (which has a great nod to Wile E. Coyote).
• The last of the noteworthy features is a spoof episode of America’s Most Wanted (SPRINGFIELD’S MOST WANTED) that aired on television between seasons six and seven. This special is one of those that have been lost to time, only available on the Internet as a low-quality video (until now). Great stuff… fans should be just excited to see this glorified clip show and examination of the craze surrounding the contest, as they are to see the rest of the season’s episodes.
• The rest of the bonus content is pretty standard for a Simpsons season release, though no less exciting. The SPECIAL LANGUAGE FEATURE, which has been included in some form on every seasonal Simpsons release to date, adds a Parisian French, Castillian Spanish, Czechoslovakian, and Russian language track to Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One).
• The ANIMATION SHOWCASE, which breaks down parts of episodes into their most basic form (i.e. animatics, sketches, storyboards), has also returned. The ‘Animation Showcase’ on disc one looks at the first act of Treehouse of Horror V. Pre-production sketches of the show are set into motion (animatics) and play with the audio of the episode in the background. In addition, there’s an illustrated commentary for this feature in which Matt Groening, Jim Reardon, and David Silverman talk while doodling on the screen. The showcase on disc three (there’s none on the second disc) allows you to watch Lisa’s Wedding in either storyboard form (static sketches) or animatic form (storyboards in motion). As an added bonus, the final cut of the episode plays as a picture-in-picture in tandem with the artwork. The showcase on disc four has all of the options available for the other two in this set (the animatics with commentary and the animatic/storyboard PIP) available for, naturally, Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One).
• Finally, on top of the usual SKETCH GALLERY, there’s a SUSPECT PROFILE, which allows you to select a Sprinfieldian from a photo (there are many) on the screen and get a complete look at their ‘file.’

WHO SHOT MR. BURNS?
As they insist during the commentary for the episode, you don’t find out until the seventh season. In the meantime, this release is overflowing with many of the funniest moments from The Simpsons series. When you factor in the amount of bonus content and the slick execution with regards to DVD production, this release is a real winner. We’ll overlook the shoddy case this time… everyone’s entitled to think outside the box (no pun intended). Let’s hope the next one comes in something a little more durable. Until then, this release more than many others proves that old adage to be true… you can’t judge a book by its cover.

DVD Season Score: A+
DVD Audio/Video Score: A
DVD Packaging and Layout Score: B- (hey, the menus are still great!)
DVD Special Features Score: A+
Overall Score: A-