The Simpsons - Risky Business

It’s time to moisten your eyeballs, Simpsons fans, for here comes another four episodes of our favourite family! What? Only four, ohhhhhh it’s not fair!!! If anybody wants me I’ll be in my room.

(In case it isn’t glaringly obvious, the foursome that’s been sticky-taped together here all revolves around employment of one kind or another…)

Hoonin' with the Homie...

Realty Bites (season 9)
While Homer’s latest folly is hooning about in one L’il Bandit he picked up at the police auction, much to owner Snake’s chagrin, Marge decides to take on the cutthroat world of real estate. Unfortunately she discovers that integrity isn’t exactly the most desirable trait at Red Blazer Realty…

"What in the heck is a dwelling?" – Marge Simpson

Is it about my cube?

Homer the Smithers (season 7)
After an incident at the drag races, Mr Burns decides that poor Smithers just can’t quite grovel properly anymore. Sent on vacation he’s asked to find a temporary replacement, and plumps for the most incompetent option in Homer, after all, he doesn’t want to be outshone. But when Monty learns to fend for himself, Waylon may just be facing unemployment…

"I think Smithers picked me because of my motivational skills – everyone always says they have to work a lot harder when I’m around." – Homer Simpson

The Fat Stuff...

Deep Space Homer (season 5)
With Homer the only SNPP worker not to receive a ‘worker of the week’ award, and the next one going to an inanimate carbon rod, the head of the Simpson clan is none too impressed. When the TV gets stuck on another boring space launch, his complaint call to NASA offers an opportunity for him to become a hero - he just has to contend with a dried out Barney… Make rocket go now!

"Yeah, maybe I do have the right… what’s that stuff?" – Homer Simpson

Eww. Just eww.

Marge Gets a Job (season 4)
As the west side of Casa Del Simpson sinks speedily into the ground, money troubles are again at the fore for the Simpsons. With an opening at the power plant, Marge decides to rejoin the workforce, however she doesn’t count on being wooed by Monty Burns…

"Marge, we're getting some drive-thru and then we're doin' it twice!" – Homer Simpson

You guessed it – full frame, just how they was done and made like. The savvier out there will have also guessed that quality varies a little throughout, with episodes plucked from 1992 through 1997. The odd speckle and slight animation glitch appears here and there, however things are best summed up by saying it looks better than it does on those endless reruns we still tune into religiously on telly.

Once again there’s no spectacular sonic reworking here, simply a default Dolby Digital stereo mix – ooh, default – the two greatest words in the English language!

There’s little to say about a cartoon like The Simpsons that hasn’t already been said, said again, reiterated, recapped, restated, regurgitated and otherwise repeated ad infinitum, so we won’t try it again – it sounds as good as it does on the TV, with no noticeable problems – unless you don’t like the musical stylings of guests Tom Jones or James Taylor.

Yawn… Huh?! Whassat?! AGH! Oh… sorry, umm, erm… right. Anybody hankering for some extras will scarcely have their appetite satiated by another feeble single bonus. Labelled Chief Wiggum’s Finest Moments on the soaringly unexpiring static and silent menu, what was actually christened The Wiggum Files is a 3:31 featurette which doesn’t even come close (but no donut) to summarising the many great moments Chief Piggum has given us over the years. Still, at least there are a few appearances from Ralph.

With no end in sight for the Simpsons DVD drought – the current release rate of one season per annum is patently ridiculous – at least Risky Business offers up something to slake our thirsts a tad, including one of the more popular episodes ever in Deep Space Homer. Sadly it’s another sloppily assembled affair, hell they even get the title for Realty Bites wrong on the menu, which kind of kills the pun.

Meanwhile, we can only hope that Fox will de-assign that idiot Tibor from handling the Simpsons releases and get somebody capable on the case…