The Simpsons: Season 5

This is without a doubt the BEST SEASON EVER. The most classic, 5 star episodes are on this. The Scriptwriting goes above and beyond the call of duty with awesome work from Swartzwelder, Vitti and O'Brien. No matter how many times you see these episodes you can still watch them over and over again and get new quote-worthy material. Below are the episodes and a brief summary of each.Homer's Barbershop Quartet - While flipping through records at a flea market, Bart and Lisa discover an album by the Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet comprised of Homer, Barney, Apu and Principal Skinner.Cape Feare - Bart begins receiving threatening letters from Sideshow Bob. To protect Bart, the entire Simpson family undergoes Witness Relocation and moves to a houseboat docked on the aptly named Terror Lake.Homer Goes to College - When it is revealed that Homer is grossly unqualified to be a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, he goes to Springfield University to study nuclear physics.Rosebud - During a touching birthday slide presentation Smithers makes for Mr. Burns, we see the early life of Springfield's richest man and learn that despite all his power and money, he'll never be whole without Bobo, his favorite childhood teddy bear.Treehouse of Horror IV - In this year's tricky triptych of terror, Bart presents three Halloween treats based on paintings in the "Fright Gallery".Marge on the Lam - Marge spends some time with her neighbor, Ruth Powers, and the two find that they enjoy each other's company very much. Which, leads to Thelma and Louise proportions.Bart's Inner Child - Homer and Marge are entranced by a charismatic self-help guru named Brad Goodman. While attending a Brad Goodman seminar with his parents, Bart is asked to appear on stage with the man himself and, as usual, misbehaves.Boy-Scoutz 'N The Hood - Experimenting with a dangerous all-syrup Squishee, Bart and Milhouse get loopy and run around Springfield singing and having adventures. Waking up with a massive Squishee hangover, Bart remembers that he enlisted in the Junior Campers.The Last Temptation of Homer - Homer finds he's falling in love with Mindy Simmons, the beautiful new engineer at the plant. Things only get worse when Homer and Mindy are sent to represent the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant at the National Energy Convention in Capital City.$pringfield - When gambling is legalized in Springfield, Mr. Burns opens an extravagant casino on the boardwalk. Homer is hired as a blackjack dealer despite his counting difficulties and Marge finds herself drawn to the slots.Homer the Vigilante - A cunning cat burglar named Molloy is robbing Springfield's citizens of their most prized possessions. Homer forms a citizens' watch group that winds up breaking more laws than they protect.Bart Gets Famous - While working as Krusty the Clown's personal assistant, Bart accidentally steals the limelight when he knocks over a set on live TV and says four magic words: "I didn't do it".Homer and Apu - After Homer eats tainted meat from the Kwik-E-Mart, Apu finds himself out of a job. As an apology to Homer, Apu moves in with the Simpsons and becomes their personal chef and valet.Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy - After years of loving her Malibu Stacy doll, it begins to dawn on Lisa that her favorite toy sets a bad example for little girls. So, she begins to make a doll of her own.Deep Space Homer - Homer and Barney are recruited to be NASA astronauts, so the organization will be more appealing to the common man.Homer Loves Flanders - When Homer discovers that Ned Flanders has season football tickets, the two men begin spending a lot of time together. Homer takes a real liking to Ned, but Ned isn't so sure how he feels about his new best friend.Bart Gets an Elephant - Bart wins first prize in a wacky radio contest and becomes the proud owner of a giant elephant he names Stampy.Burns' Heir - Well into his eighth or ninth decade, Monty Burns realizes that he has no children and therefore no heir for his vast fortune. After an audition process in which every child in Springfield vies for the coveted position as Burns' kid.Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song - Principal Skinner must learn to live without his beloved elementary school when Bart gets him fired. Ned Flanders is brought in to act as principal in Skinner's place.The Boy Who Knew Too Much - In a case ripped right out of the headlines, Bart is the only witness when Mayor Quimby's ne'er-do-well nephew, Freddy, allegedly assaults a snooty French butler.Lady Bouvier's Lover - Having already fallen hard for Marge, Mr. Burns now finds himself smitten with Marge's mother, Jacqueline Bouvier. Competing for the old lady's affection is Grandpa Simpson, who also thinks that she's the bee's arthritic knees.Secrets of A Successful Marriage - Somehow Homer comes to teach an adult education class on how to have a successful marriage. Even stranger, he turns out to be pretty good at it, dispensing homespun advice that his students find useful. Although, in the end, he dispenses too much.EXTRAS - We can always expect the great commentary, animatics, audio outtakes, commercials, featurettes and anything and everything else that relates to that season of Simpsons with plenty of Easter Eggs thrown in.If you HAD to choose only ONE season of the Simpsons to get on DVD this HAS to be the one. This is Comedic Genius at its peak. This is a definite for all collections. Remember the finer points of the Simpsons with this pivotal set that oozes grace and social decour. Do what any person would do in this situation and pre-order this season RIGHT NOW! There's no buts about it.Its worth the D'oh.

I still watch The Simpsons, looking forward to each episode as a new treasure. However, to my mind, the series will never get any better than Season 5. As with the first three James Bond films, there have been great moments since this pinnacle, but it was never better than this. Season 5 of The Simpsons is not only the funniest and best season of this show, it's one of the best seasons of comedy -- live action or animated -- ever seen. A few of my favorites from this great set:Homer's Barbershop Quartet: Homer tells Bart and Lisa about the time he hit it big with a barbershop quartet with Apu, Principal Skinner and Barney (who replaces Chief Wiggum). Although the music is barbershop, the show is a hilarious send-up of the Beatles. From their Meet the Beatles-style debut album cover to screaming fans at JFK Airport to Barney's "Japanese conceptual artist girlfriend" to the climactic rooftop concert on top of Moe's, the episode hits every note perfectly. For good measure, the late George Harrison has a hilarious cameo. "I'll take a single plum, floating in perfume, served in a man's hat ..."Deep Space Homer: The Right Stuff, Star Trek, Star Wars, 2001, Outland -- if it's a space drama, this episode spoofs it. Homer gets the chance to go into space as NASA's first "Averagenaut" -- an astronaut who appeals to the commone blue collar slob. Naturally, Homer messes everything up and the capsule ends up with dirt, ants and ruffled potato chips flying all over. Homer actually manages to morph into Popeye AND Richard Nixon in this episode. Voice cameos include Buzz Aldrin and James Taylor.Homer Loves Flanders: Flanders offers Homer a ticket to a sold-out NFL game. In return, Homer drops his hatred of Flanders and becomes his best friend -- much to the chagrin of Flanders as Homer smothers him, driving Ned to the brink of mass murder. In the best Simpsons tradition, a hilarious reference to Terminator 2 comes out of nowhere. It's great to see Homer get under Flanders' skin for a change.The Last Temptation of Homer: Michelle Pfeiffer guest voices as Mindy Simmons, a female technician Mr. Burns is forced to hire by the government. Slovenly, lazy, donut addicted, Mindy is basically a curvaceous, sexy female version of Homer. Naturally, Homer falls in love with her. This is my favorite Simpsons episode of all time. Werner Klemperer voices Homer's guardian angel in the form of his Hogan's Heroes character Colonel Klink. This episode absolutely had me when Pfeiffer utters the phrase "Mmmmmmmmmm!! Double glaze!! 'Gurgle!!'" Gaspingly hilarious!Those are just four episodes of a nearly perfect season. There have been many, many laughs since then, but Season 5 will always be special to me. If anyone is mystified as to why the show has lasted 17 seasons (and counting), they need only watch Season 5 to find out why. A classic.

The Simpsons - how can you go wrong?