The Simpsons - The Complete Eighth Season - The Complete Eighth Season (Maggie Collectible Packaging)

Animation, Comedy

Doris Grau
Marcia Mitzman Gaven
Dan Castellaneta	Homer Simpson
Julie Kavner	Marge Simpson
Nancy Cartwright	Bart Simpson
Yeardley Smith	Lisa Simpson
Hank Azaria	Moe Szyslak/Chief Wiggum
Harry Shearer	Montgomery Burns/Waylon Smithers/Ned Flanders/Kent Brockman/Rev. Lovejoy/Principal Skinner/Dr. Hibbe
Phil Hartman	Bill Clinton

Director	David Silverman; Mikel B. Anderson; Mike B. Anderson; Bob Anderson; Chuck Sheetz
Producer	James L. Brooks; Matt Groening; Richard Appel
Writer	Matt Groening; James L. Brooks

Most TV shows never make it eight seasons, but then The Simpsons is not most TV shows. At a point where other shows would generally become stale and repetitive, Matt Groening & Co. pull out the stops to come up with one of the most creative and hilarious seasons in the whole series. Cases in point for season eight (1996-1997) include "Treehouse of Horror VII," in which aliens Kang and Kodos make a bizarre run for President having taken on the appearances of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole; "Bart After Dark," in which Bart gets a job at The Maison Derriere (featuring one of their most popular songs, "The Spring in Springfield"); and one of the great all-time episodes, "The Simpsons Spin-off Showcase," a trilogy of Simpsons spin-offs that never made it to prime-time (the final segment--"The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour"--is about the best six minutes of parody in the entire Simpsons canon). Season eight also features some of the most notable guest appearances: Rodney Dangerfield as Mr. Burns's long lost son; Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny as Scully and Mulder from X-Files in "The Springfield Files;" "The Brother from Another Series" which brilliantly pairs up Kelsey Grammar as Sideshow Bob with his brother Cecil (David Hyde Pierce) in a parallel of their Frasier characters; and in a major casting coup, Johnny Cash shows up in the form of a red fox as Homer's spirit guide in "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer" (also known as "The Chili Pepper episode"). Other notable episodes include "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show," a fun wink to the audience from the writers about keeping the show fresh without ruining it, and the send up of Mary Poppins "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(annoyed grunt)cious," which has one of their most memorable endings when Shary Bobbins floats off under her umbrella ("So long Superman," Barney cries)... only to get sucked into a jet engine from a passing airplane. That's the thanks she gets for offering her help. Good to see that, eight seasons in, The Simpsons still don't need it. --Daniel Vancini