Simpsons - Season Four

[Damage]

If this has been covered before, please forgive me. (I did a search and didn't see anything.) TVShowsOnDVD.com (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=1129) has a few tidbits in regards to extras for Simpsons - Season Four:


A Little Something About Extras for the 4th Season
Posted by David Lambert
2/16/2004


Want the inside scoop on guest commentary tracks for The Simpsons - Season 4 DVD set? Well, Fox hasn't announced it yet, but a website called DVDFanatic.com seems to have found out about a couple of them.

Last week they posted this interview with Simpsons (and The Critic) Producer Mike Reiss. He had this to say about Jon Lovitz:

DVDFanatic.com (Tom Chau): Are you currently working on the next season's "Simpsons" DVD?

Mike Reiss: Yes I am. In fact, it's funny, I'm going in, in a couple hours to do more commentary and Jon Lovitz will be there. We could not get Jon Lovitz, he just wasn't available to do "The Critic" commentary and he's in town so he'll be doing some "Simpsons" commentary on the episodes he appeared in.

Very nice, but that's not all. Today DVDFanatic posted this new tidbit about Conan O'Brien also participating in the Season 4 release:

Thanks to "Tall Al" for this little scoop. After seeing a Conan O'Brien show, one of our devoted readers asked Conan if he was going to do The Simpsons: Season 4 Commentary track. Apparently, Conan told him that he recorded them the week prior. "Tall Al" asked, "Even the Monorail?" and Conan replied back, "Yeah, Monorail!"

So we are going to get a nice commentary on that episode! For those of you who are big fans of commentary tracks and Conan O'Brien, tune into Season 4 of The Simpsons DVD.
Not too shabby, eh? We thought you fans who had missed this would like us to pass it along. Our thanks to Rich, Michael, and Tom for the tip-offs about those articles. Stay tuned, because we'll have more reports about this highly anticipated release as further information becomes available.

[drjay]

Any idea for release date?

And Conan doing commentary rules! How many seasons did he write for the show?

[Simpson Purist]

Release date will probably be around the August/September frame.

Conan was a writer for seasons 4-5, he only wrote 3 episodes as I recall (Marge vs. the Monorail, New Kids on the Block, and Homer Goes to College. He also wrote the introductions for Treehouse of Horror IV's segments).

[calhoun07]

I might be in a minority here, I don't know, but I'd rather see a more quick release schedule for these things than news stories on how they track down people to make glib comments for commentaries that most people will listen to once, if at all.

[fumanstan]

Like it has been mentioned in just about every Simpsons on DVD thread here... i love the commentaries. They make the set worth buying.

[JestersTear]

Originally posted by calhoun07
I might be in a minority here, I don't know, but I'd rather see a more quick release schedule for these things than news stories on how they track down people to make glib comments for commentaries that most people will listen to once, if at all.

I agree. I'd rather see a quicxker release schedule and maybe one or two commentaries per disc, if that.

Season 1's commentary was a cure for insomnia, as every one boiled down to this:

"Hey, look at that"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that"

"We're so cool"

[Skull]

Great news, now we just need to know when this thing comes out.

[Cardinal Fang]

Another vote for commentaries from me. I've got a big enough unwatched pile as it is, so a slow release schedule resulting in a better package is fine by me.

[Rogue588]

Originally posted by calhoun07
I might be in a minority here, I don't know, but I'd rather see a more quick release schedule for these things than news stories on how they track down people to make glib comments for commentaries that most people will listen to once, if at all. Amen.

[Sir_Fireboard]

For me the commentaries make the set. I wouldn't buy it if they didn't have them. In fact, when I watch the episodes (which is alot) I listen to the commentaries 90% of the time. I think they're really funny and informative.

Plus the fact I'm only going to buy up to season 8, and that I have tons of other things to buy. All in all, I don't mind waiting. Sure it would be good for it to come out faster, but as long as it doesn't come out any slower then I'm fine.

[drjay]

I could certainly deal with them coming out faster. After the first season I wasn't terribly anxious, but now that its at season 3 and the series has hit its stride, my appetite has been wet, and I'm wanting the next 4 or 5 seasons quite alot, heh.

[Numes]

Originally posted by Sir_Fireboard
For me the commentaries make the set. I wouldn't buy it if they didn't have them. In fact, when I watch the episodes (which is alot) I listen to the commentaries 90% of the time. I think they're really funny and informative.

I believe the commentaries also make the set. They are very informative and I would have to disagree with JestersTear commenting about the content of the commentaries on season 1. I thought they all gave a lot of insight into the show and I found myself looking more forward to the commentary than the actual show. I've seen them all so many times, the commentaries make me appreciate every episode on a whole new level.

Like some others, I have way too many unwatched DVD's, that I don't mind a slow release schedule. However, even if I didn't I would still wait for one set a year (or more) to keep the commentaries (sometimes 2 per episode!)

I guarantee that when I watch these episodes again from the existing (and future) sets, I will listen to the commentaries again, not just once.

[Seantn]

I think it is an obvious choice to put the commentaries on there. This show has been on the air for how many years? We've all seen the episodes numerous, numberous times. The discs should have something a little extra on them to make them worth buying, otherwise some people will just keep watching them on tv.

[Red Dog]

Originally posted by calhoun07
I might be in a minority here, I don't know, but I'd rather see a more quick release schedule for these things than news stories on how they track down people to make glib comments for commentaries that most people will listen to once, if at all.


I'm in that minority as well.

[Groucho]

Great great news. "Marge vs. the Monorail" is my all-time favorite Simpsons episode, and it'll be well worth the wait for the Conan O'Brian commentary. :thumbsup:

[steebo777]

Great news, can't wait for this set. And, as has been said a million times, I wish they'd release these sets quicker.

[jough]

I love the commentaries AND I wish they'd release these sets quicker.

But given the option, I'd rather have the extra features and have to wait a little longer for them.

[RalphWiggum80]

I read this today, and I was wondering if this 'Tall Al' was credible. It sounds like a dream come true, because the Conan produced episodes are my all-time favorites, and this is the one thing I really wanted for the sets.

As for commentary versus delays, they have already said the commentaries don't delay the sets. Even if they did, the commentaries are the reason I watch these DVDs over and over again. If you don't listen to them, you should. You'd learn that Conan himself wrote an episode, quite possibly the greatest episode ever, but it was shelved because a certain celebrity didn't like it.

[fumanstan]

Really? I've heard mixed reasons for why the sets are taking so long. A believe that in an interview with one of the producers, i think it was Al Jean, said that commentaries were an issue because it was hard rounding up particular people to do them, since many have come back to work on the simpsons, or were working on other shows.

[RalphWiggum80]

Originally posted by fumanstan
Really? I've heard mixed reasons for why the sets are taking so long. A believe that in an interview with one of the producers, i think it was Al Jean, said that commentaries were an issue because it was hard rounding up particular people to do them, since many have come back to work on the simpsons, or were working on other shows.

Hmm... I could have sworn I read somewhere (probably in this forum) that the commentaries for Season 3 and Season 2 were done really early, and that the delay between releases had nothing to do with it. I'll try to find it.

EDIT: I found what you were talking about fumanstan. Here is a quote from the interview Al Jean did in 2003.

"IGN DVD: Now that you are finishing up on season 14, do you expect to be able to put a little more time into DVDs and get season four and five out this year?

Al Jean: Well four won't be out this year. I imagine it will be the same as last year where we record them over the winter months. I would imagine season four will be out next year. I ran the show for seasons three and four, so once those are done, maybe the season five and six people will be a little quicker. But as I say, the reason it's late is because we're trying to keep the quality up on the current episodes."

I can't find the article or post that I remembered about the commentaries being recorded well in advance, and other things delaying the set.

[dcprules]

I can't wait for the Conan commentary. I really don't mind the one year wait in between. At least they keep releasing the seasons, unlike Columbia/TriStar with a great little show called The Larry Sanders Show!!!!!!!!!!

[funkyryno]

Cool. Season four has some of my favorite episodes.