Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Theatrical: 20th Century Fox Television

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• Featurette - "The 20th Anniversary Special Sneak Peek by Morgan Spurlock" (3:31 in HD!)

Sample Episode Bitrate:

 

 

 

Description: The world's longest running – and best - animated adult comedy television series arrives for its 20th season.... and they have finally gone both HD (for the regular season TV show) AND 11 of the 20 episodes are in 1.78 widescreen looking gorgeous. The entire package is 1080P and is once again filled with the bitingly satirical adventures of America's best known family. Entertainment value far exceeds The Simpsons Movie (also available on Blu-ray) with over 8 hours of entertainment spanning 2 Blu-ray discs.

 

 

Disc 1 (1.33): 218 Minutes
 

The widescreen (disc 2) offers a spanking new opening sequence:

NOTE: The last three captures above are from a unique episode - not part of the standard new opening!

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.
 

I'm sure a lot of fans are saying "about time" for The Simpsons iconic TV series moving to both HD (on Blu-ray) and to widescreen - which comparatively looks like night and day in terms of image quality. Differences appear to be as if the second half of Season 20 was direct digital animation - that is essentially flawless as , example: it has none of the common deficiencies that we can find when transferring live-action film to high-definition digital - things like edge-enhancement or noise removal manipulation. Haze and blurriness are intentional effects to create the perception of motion. By rendering digital animation to1080P Blu-ray we should be able to obtain the highest accuracy of the original, flawless intent. The 4:3 episodes have many more 'jaggies' and are definitely softer almost as if they have been bumped up from SD (I know this is not the case). The 1:78 aspect ratio widescreen episodes look absolutely brilliant - smooth clean, bright and fabulous colors. The 1.33 are a notch behind being slightly less sharp but colors are likewise impressive.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Simpsons episodes can have some aggressive audio effects and the DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 3668 kbps sounds perfect handling explosions to Barney's burps and Homer's 'D'oh's'. It supports with ease the mostly dialogue-driven episodes and when bass is called upon it respnds well - as does the higher end with the theme music sounding crisp and toe-tapping. There are English (SDH), Spanish and Portuguese subtitles (no French as the box indicates- but there is a French DUB) and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

Unfortunately the only supplements is "The 20th Anniversary Special Sneak Peek by Morgan Spurlock" featurette running a skimpy 3.5 minutes. It is simply whetting the whistle for this 'Special' that seems strange not to include in this package - nor any amusing commentaries. The 'Special' seems to have some focus on the obsessive fans and one who even owns 30,000 pieces of Simpsons paraphernalia. It looks to be quite interesting/funny.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
This is the best The Simpsons TV episodes have ever looked for my viewing pleasure. The second disc Blu-ray renderings are quite eye-popping at times and I think this is one of the best content seasons in the past 4 or 5. A huge plus here is having so many shows on one disc and being able to 'Play All' while putzing around the house. I hope this is just the start and we get more Simpsons and other classic TV in the new format (ala The Prisoner). This is definitely the best way to watch this addictive show and while I am slightly disappointed about the lack of extras - we still give a VERY strong endorsement. 

Gary Tooze

January 9th, 2010