The Simpsons: The Twelfth Season

"Limited Edition" packaging or standard? Comic Book Guy Head is BOTH!
Just a quick note about the packaging:

If you aren't sure whether to go with Comic Book Guy "limited" packaging or standard, (and I've notice some retailers, perhaps anticipating the unpopularity of the bulky "limited" packaging, are selling it at a considerable discount over the standard packaging) here's a little secret:

The "limited edition" packaging is little more than a 3-D molded Comic Book Guy face attached with rubber-cement to the front of the standard edition packaging. That's right--the standard packaging artwork is right there underneath Comic Book Guy's fat face! You can EASILY peel the Comic Book Guy face off the front of the box without damaging either, and you now have the standard DVD packaging, which will fit on your DVD shelf, as well as a Comic Book Guy face that you can display or toss in the trash.

Get It For The 1st Acts
By this point the series had settled into a too-comfortable format that this season exemplifies.
1. Hilarious first act that is soon left behind by the actual plot.
2. So-so second act that introduces the gratuitous guest voice and expands on the plot.
3. Hit or miss third act that either veers completely away from the general plot or takes the premise to an absurd level. Depending on the execution and one's personal tastes, this makes the episode either decent or awful.

Individual episodes deviate from this at times, but for the most part they stick fairly religiously to it. Did I say the guest voices are gratuitous? The stories should not be notable mainly because of the guest voice. This season leads off with The Who episode (which the commentary reveals doesn't feature the entire group, even as it existed then), a symbol of what's to come.

That said, I still give this 4 stars because of the mostly great first acts, which this period of...

DVD Packaging is UNACCEPTABLE!
What is WRONG with this company? Season 11 was released with packaging that didn't allow for removing the discs without destroying them. You can't take them out to play or you risk ruining them. STUPID!!!
Virtually every review by customers complained about this and it looks like sales plummented for season 12. I am a hardcore fan, BUT...I want new boxes for seasons 11 and 12, or I won't be purchasing ANYTHING from them again.

Season six shipped with a new format package and cover (which didn't ruin the DVDs) and eventually FOX offered a replacement box so that it matched seasons 1 - 5. You would have figured that FOX learned their lesson from this. The show is great, no denying it, but their decision to change the packaging to this complete crap format cannot be tolerated.A mistake for season 11, it is inexcusable to repeat the mistake for season 12!

I am done...up yours, FOX...

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