The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season DVD Boxset

[dapper dan]

Got mine today, frabjous day, callooh-cahlay!

Everyone on this thread had me built up for a huge downer as far as the packaging went, but I don't have a problem with it at all. Once you make the opening wider the discs are easy to get out, and i don't reckon they'll scratch.

Artwork's cool. + the removable Krusty face.
I chortle in my joy.

[Jouni]

Michael D's R4 page doesn't have an answer yet, so does anyone here know if region 4 version is actually region 2+4 coded? Australia seems to be the cheapest place for getting the head pack this time, at least for us in Euro.

[Ramier Wolfcastle]

I'm still making my way through this DVD set because of school and all, but I just found an audio "outtake" in the credits of "The Mansion Family". During the credits, Homer complains about how all the people are rich. Apparently I've never heard this before. According to the SNPP capsule and syndication cuts guide, this gag appeared on the Fox network airings, but the credits were cut off to allow a promo to air. However, it did not appear in syndication (just the standard theme).

On the DVD, however, the full credits are restored, and the entire gag is heard. So we get to hear part of the episode we haven't gotten to hear (it's not a visual gag, it's during the credits) for 8 years!

[dapper dan]

Yeah, I remember this gag, and I've never had cable so they must have aired it once or twice in Australian syndication.

[Ramier Wolfcastle]

Yeah, I remember this gag, and I've never had cable so they must have aired it once or twice in Australian syndication.

The gag has probably been always present in the UK and Austraila, but not in the US until now with the DVD release. That's why I'm mentioning it.

[CousinMerl]

I don't own the set yet and i'm curious: how does the episode sub menu, extras menu, language selection menu and the scene selection menu look like?

Could any nice member post a few screenshots perhaps?

[wheres_the_any_key?]

OK finally got it. And seriously this is the biggest box set controversy since the Homer head box set controversy (which I bought anyway). Somehow all of my discs have got glue on them! I think it may have been from me pushing the discs too far in, when I was trying to get them out. It's like they don't want us to watch these episodes...
Getting a refund slash new one tomorrow.

[Charlie]

I don't own the set yet and i'm curious: how does the episode sub menu, extras menu, language selection menu and the scene selection menu look like?

Could any nice member post a few screenshots perhaps?

If you go back a few pages Scott (Rich Uncle Skeleton) posted the main menus for each disc.

[Disgruntled Goat]

I also added some of the special features menus to my page at http://www.simpsoncrazy.com/dvd/11.php

[wheres_the_any_key?]

OK, got the new DVD and the DVD person at JB said to always take the discs out from the right, otherwise you get glue on them, as there's some kind of backing or something.

[violent jase]

...I wish someone told me that. Two of the discs got glue all over them. And to get them off I basically had to scratch the discs. Luckily they still work OK, but gah.

Seriously, out of the 200-300 DVDs I have, this has the WORST packaging of all of them. Absolutely terrible. Season 12 better be different

[Capt Hammer]

I Wonder when season 12 comes out?

[violent jase]

Well they were on a routine of 4 month wait then 8 month wait then 4 month wait and so on before the year long wait for Season 11 so who knows. I'd like to be optimistic and say around February but I doubt it.

[Green_Peaness]

Guessing between Feb and May, I doubt they'd wait another whole year.

[dapper dan]

Yeah, I got glue on my discs too, but a bit of mineral turpentine took it off no problem. So yeah, always remove discs from the right if you wanna avoid this.

[JoshG]

The "Did You Know?" feature on "Behind the Laughter" seems to be on by default. There is nowhere on the menu to toggle it on or off. Anyone know if there's a way to keep that question mark from appearing?

[Gold Homer]

No. I don't have it yet. I NEED it to complete my 10 season collection!!!

[Otis P Jivefunk]

I Wonder when season 12 comes out?

I think it'll be another year for Season 12, but I hope not. I really want Trilogy Of Error in my collection. I had thought that maybe the reason for only 1 Season this year was for a double disc re-issue of The Simpsons Movie, but that never happened...

[kgbbulgar]

Has anyone notice that for the commentary for Guess Who's Comming to Criticise Dinner, when the credit for Written by Al Jean comes up at the start when they are parking, in the commentary they forget to beep Al Jean saying fuck you.

[Ramier Wolfcastle]

For those of you who haven't found it yet, one of the "Easter Egg" deleted scenes for Bart to the Future is astronaut Maggie! It was in the Fox promo back in 2000, but then deleted from the episode, but has resurfaced for our viewing pleasure!

Also, should we start a Season 12 thread soon?

[Capt Hammer]

i think so

[Tyler]

For those of you who haven't found it yet, one of the "Easter Egg" deleted scenes for Bart to the Future is astronaut Maggie! It was in the Fox promo back in 2000, but then deleted from the episode, but has resurfaced for our viewing pleasure!

i noticed that and its great that some of these commercial scenes deleted from the episode are coming back on the dvd.

as for my review, here goes:
package: really love the artwork inside. the smaller box really doesn't bother me, it did at first, but i've grown to like it. the way the discs are packaged are really bad (to say for the 100th time), but i haven't had many problems with the discs skipping or glue being stuck to them. not bad overall, aside from the disc placement.
episodes themselves: of course, season 11 is what it is. the video really looks, as usual, spectacular in this set. i wish they had done a featurette on the simpsons global fanfest though.

overall, nice set, can't wait for season 12.

by the way, interesting to note is that in about a year or two, we'll have commenaries on season 13 a decade after the season 1 commentaries were done (while they were working on season 13). i kinda think thats neat.

[The Governor]

OK finally got it. And seriously this is the biggest box set controversy since the Homer head box set controversy (which I bought anyway). Somehow all of my discs have got glue on them! I think it may have been from me pushing the discs too far in, when I was trying to get them out. It's like they don't want us to watch these episodes...
Getting a refund slash new one tomorrow.

As Homer would say:

[Gold Homer]

I just bought it. Pretty bad season. I think KTAAR is the worst episode. So.

[lionelhutz123]

Hey, what boxset would you guys recommend me getting? The Krusty head or the standard boxset? Which one doesn't have cardboard sleeves to hold the disc? I saw the krusty head in the mall, and I thought it was kind of "meh". I don't collect the head boxes, but since my season 6 is a head box, I won't be too upset if I have the krusty head. Do they both have the same artwork inside? If you guys were me, which one would you get?

[Ramier Wolfcastle]

Hey, what boxset would you guys recommend me getting? The Krusty head or the standard boxset? Which one doesn't have cardboard sleeves to hold the disc? I saw the krusty head in the mall, and I thought it was kind of "meh". I don't collect the head boxes, but since my season 6 is a head box, I won't be too upset if I have the krusty head. Do they both have the same artwork inside? If you guys were me, which one would you get?

Get the Krusty head. It's the same as the standard box with an embossed, removable Krusty face. Anyways, I've now made it through all the episodes on the DVD. My quick review:

Beyond Blunderdome D+
Brother's Little Helper B
Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner? B
Treehouse of Horror X B+
E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt) B+
Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder B-
Eight Misbehavin' D-
Take My Wife, Sleaze B-
Grift of the Magi A
Little Big Mom C+
Faith Off A-
The Mansion Family C
Saddlesore Galactica F
Alone Again, Natura-Diddily C-
Missionary: Impossible B-
Pygmoelian A-
Bart to the Future D-
Days of Wine and D'oh'ses B-
Kill the Alligator and Run F
Last Tap Dance in Springfield B
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge D
Behind the Laughter A

Overall: C+

Only 4 outstanding episodes, but 2 total failures, 4 absolutely horrendous story lines, and 3 major continuity changes makes this my least favorite season.

[dapper dan]

I just finished getting through it and I have to say I liked this one more than last season, simply because I had such low expectations due to all the hate directed at it by most people. Turns out I really only disliked Bart to the Future and Hello Gutter, Fadder, and even those I can appreciate a little more now that I've heard the commentary.

Speaking of commentaries, the were good fun. And I like how Mike Scully stands behind his creations, while openly admitting how certain episodes were received by the public. It's good to hear their perspective, and how it isn't anywhere near as neurotic as a lot of ours. Looking forward to season 12 now.

[The Governor]

It's good to hear their perspective, and how it isn't anywhere near as neurotic as a lot of ours. Looking forward to season 12 now.

Of course he's going to stand behind what he's done. It's not like he's going to say: "God, that was shit-terrible. Those fans online were RIGHT."

On the otherhand, it's kind of disheartening to hear how S11 is getting all this "Scully-encomium" around here just becasue he says so. But truth be told is this is the early stages of the Simpsons no longer being classified as a TV show, but being classified as an institution.

A well aged turd is still a turd, even if the person who pooped it out says otherwise.

(Puts on flame-wear)

[dapper dan]

Actually, after hearing the commentaries I don't make a large distinction between their (Scully & Co.) over-arching view of the show to that of Oakley and Weinstein (probably the most beloved showrunners on this board). Obviously their execution of the stories were different, but they both were trying to push the boundaries of the show in an attempt to keep it fresh. Clearly this is at odds with those that would prefer a more emotional foundation to the show, but I guess Scully had the support of the show's creators, and who own's the characters if not its creators? (This sounds like an entire new thread by itself). Besides, it's not like the Mirkin years were all that emotional, either. So that would mean we're basing our idea of what OFF should be on the first 4 seasons, which seems a little nuts if you ask me.

And as we've seen more recently, attempts at emotion can come off as contrived [see Exchange Crosswords R&R thread], I believe simply because it's been done to death. They can't continually have repeat performances of the denouement of Lisa's Substitute without people yelling contrived. Jean makes a lot of attempts at returning the show to a more emotional base (especially compared to the Scully years), but it doesn't seem all that appreciated. You couldn't blame him (if he does in fact waste his time reading our rambling posts, that is) for thinking us just a bunch of Veruca Salts, spoiled children who aren't happy even when we get what we ask for.

[Not really wanting a flame war, Jake, just an interesting discussion]

[The Governor]

Actually, after hearing the commentaries I don't make a large distinction between their (Scully & Co.) over-arching view of the show to that of Oakley and Weinstein (probably the most beloved showrunners on this board).

Other than the 'facts' of what went into the episodes, like where a joke came from, I don't buy into any of the personal opinions of any of the showrunners as being more than the best face for the product they're describing. Not to mention they know of the whiny fans who bitch about everything, so they just dismiss us as their retarded step children they wish they didn't have. But, I've beleived that when you work in the creative field such as being a writer, it's not what you put into it that matters, it's what the audience gets out of it that truly counts. Otherwise, you're just being a writer for the sake of keeping your hands busy.

Obviously their execution of the stories were different, but they both were trying to push the boundaries of the show in an attempt to keep it fresh.

Maybe O&W disliked wacky and avoided it, and Scully hated 'emotion' and avoided it and the way Scully, IMO, changed the show's formula is like making coffee out of lima beans, and then telling the drinkers to 'stop whining!' because 'it says coffee on the container!'.

Clearly this is at odds with those that would prefer a more emotional foundation to the show, but I guess Scully had the support of the show's creators, and who own's the characters if not its creators? (This sounds like an entire new thread by itself). Besides, it's not like the Mirkin years were all that emotional, either. So that would mean we're basing our idea of what OFF should be on the first 4 seasons, which seems a little nuts if you ask me.

The whole issue, which you seem to be missing, IMO, is Scully (and the later solo-jean years) made the characters less interesting, which made the stories themselves less interesting, regardless if the goal was "pure comedy" or "pure emotion." Seasons 10 and up replaced the SYMPATHETIC characters with PATHETIC characters, but by this time, the show had become such a well-known name, the mentality of "It's the Simpsons, who cares!" started.

As you know, it's easier to say why certain periods / episodes sucked, but it's much more difficult to say why the first 8 seasons were truly better (and I don't mean just because it was 'funny'). Before Scully, the the show seemed to reek of quality, where the plots, truth layered upon humor, allusions, satire and most importantly, well-defined characters were all woven into a quality product that made people want to tune and become 'hooked' on the show. It felt like you were tuning into an 'experience' rather than a TV show. In comparison, the Scully years and now the Jean seasons have this 'manufactured' feel to them, like your watching something that's 'trendy' and marketed as a disposable consumer good where all you get is a couple of cheap laughs, then it's onto next week.

And as we've seen more recently, attempts at emotion can come off as contrived [see Exchange Crosswords R&R thread], I believe simply because it's been done to death.

Pretty much 90 percent of the Jean era's 'emotion' is contrived, IMO. About the only episode where I genuinely felt for any of the characters was "Moe baby Blues" and the video scene from the Movie. His biggest problem is when they start to even attempt to pause the humor to make a point, it's like the writers go: "Oh my god! We've gone 4 seconds without a joke, put one in, quick!".

They can't continually have repeat performances of the denouement of Lisa's Substitute without people yelling contrived. Jean makes a lot of attempts at returning the show to a more emotional base (especially compared to the Scully years), but it doesn't seem all that appreciated.

There's basically two types of fans: The fans that want the earlier, empathatic stuff with more direct dialog and down to earthness, and then there's fans who think the show is a cartoon, and cartoons are supposed to be nothing more than crazy gag after gag. In Scully's defense (I can't belive I am saying this) Scully aimed low and hit it. Jean, on the other hand, can't seem to know who his goal fanbase is, so now we have a show that tries to be funny with wacko gags and it's not really pleasing either side, except for the fans who love everything the show does no matter what.

You couldn't blame him (if he does in fact waste his time reading our rambling posts, that is) for thinking us just a bunch of Veruca Salts, spoiled children who aren't happy even when we get what we ask for.

I want real gruel, not the Al Jean, cheap immtation gruel (sp). Four outta Five NHC members can't tell the difference.