"Actor: Pamela Hayden"

• The Simpsons: Complete Season 1 | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £11.99   |  Saving you £30.00 (300.30%)   |  RRP £39.99

  From practically the first episode, broadcast in 1989, The Simpsons impacted on planet TV like a giant multi-coloured meteor. With a claim to being the defining pop cultural phenomenon of the 1990s--hip, fast, sharp and primary--there was nothing even in rock & roll to match this. The Simpsons is possibly the greatest sitcom ever made. Although the animation was initially primitive, never before had cartoon characters been so well drawn. There had been loveable middle-aged layabouts on TV before, but Homer Simpson successfully stole their crown and out-slobbed them all in every department ("The guys at the plant are gonna have a field day with this," he grumbles in "Call of The Simpsons" as he watches scientists on a TV news item who can't decide whether he is incredibly dense or a brilliant beast). However, in this first series he isn't quite yet the bloated man-child he would become in later series; instead he's a growling patriarch with a Walter Matthau-type voice. His sensible half Marge's croak, meanwhile, has yet to settle down, while the vast cast of minor Springfield characters have yet to find their place. Bart, however, was a smash from the start: dumb as Homer but spiky-haired and resourceful, he sets out his manifesto in "Bart the Genius"; while "Moaning Lisa" spotlights his over-achieving sister and is a good early example of the series' clever handling of melancholy bass notes. Throughout its life there's always been confusion as to whether The Simpsons is a show for kids or adults, but with allusions in these first 13 episodes to Kubrick, Diane Arbus, Citizen Kane and (in a very satisfyingly anti-French episode) Manon des Sources, it should already have been clear that this was a programme for all ages and all IQs from 0 to 200. Dysfunctional they may have been, but the Simpsons stuck together, and audiences stuck with them into the 21st century. --David Stubbs On the DVD: The packaging is good but the 13 episodes are spread very thinly here, with just five each on discs one and two . The commentary track is intermittently interesting though a tad repetitive, as creator David Groening is joined by various other members of the team. The third disc has some neat extra stuff, including outtakes, the original Tracey Ullman Show shorts and a five-minute BBC documentary, but is again fairly brief. The menu interfaces are pretty clunky, annoyingly forcing you to watch endless copyright warnings after each episode and with no facility to "play all". The content is wonderful, of course, but three discs looks like overkill. --Mark Walker

• The Simpsons: Complete Season 3 | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  First broadcast in 1991 the third series of The Simpsons contains a clutch of candidates for "Best Simpsons Episode Ever". Homer is on such appallingly good form throughout this series that a reasonable case can be made for asserting that he has superseded the importance of his Greek namesake in the annals of culture and civilisation. The opening "Stark Raving Dad", for instance, features a guest appearance by an un-credited Michael Jackson, who plays an obese white inmate whom Homer meets while confined to a mental institution. Other standout episodes include "Like Father, Like Clown", in which Krusty reveals he is estranged from his Rabbi father; this is The Simpsons at the height of its powers, mature, ironic, erudite and touching while bristling with slapstick and Bart-inspired cheek. "Flaming Moe's" features Aerosmith and sees Homer invent a cocktail which desperate, sleazy bartender Moe steals from him. "Radio Bart" is another demonstration of the series' knack for cultural references, parodying the Billy Wilder movie Ace in the Hole. Finally, there's "Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes", in which Danny DeVito reprises his role as Homer's brother, regaining the fortune Homer lost him by inventing a Baby Translator. Immensely enjoyable at anything from a primary to a doctoral thesis level, this third year of the show demonstrates conclusively that The Simpsons is quite simply, and by a large margin, the greatest television programme ever made. --David Stubbs

• The Simpsons: Complete Season 5 | DVD | (21/03/2005) from £28.98   |  Saving you £11.01 (37.99%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Sixteen seasons (and counting) of pop culture-rocking brilliance, the first four of which have already been gloriously archived on DVD. But in the words of Krusty the Clown: "What has The Simpsons done for me lately?" Well, how about all 22 episodes of season 5, each accompanied by commentary, deleted scenes, and other encyclopedic extras that hopelessly devoted Simpsons fans crave, no, demand? Season 5 is perhaps not as classics-packed as the third or fourth seasons, but no self-respecting Simpsons fan should be without the episodes "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", featuring George Harrison, "Cape Feare", one of Sideshow Bob's (and guest voice Kelsey Grammer's) finest half-hours, "Rosebud", "Springfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" and "Bart Gets Famous", with the Springfield-sweeping catchphrase "I didn't do it". Plus, the star power this season is impressive: Michelle Pfeiffer as Homer's comely, donut-loving co-worker in "The Last Temptation of Homer", Albert Brooks as a self-help guru who unleashes "Bart's Inner Child", Kathleen Turner as the creator of Malibu Stacy in "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", and, as themselves, the Ramones ("Rosebud"), James Woods ("Homer and Apu"), Buzz Aldren ("Deep Space Homer"), and even Robert Goulet ("Springfield"). But it is the writers and the core ensemble cast who exhibit, to quote "Deep Space Homer", "the right... What's that stuff?" Series milestones include the first appearance of yokel Cletus in "Bart Gets an Elephant" and Maggie's infant nemesis, The Baby with One Eyebrow in "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Badasssss Song" which also happens to be The Simpsons' 100th episode. Add in a very good "Treehouse of Horror" episode, (which outs Ned Flanders as the Devil and Marge as the head vampire), and one Emmy-nominated musical extravaganza ("Who Needs the Quick-E-Mart" from "Homer and Apu"), and you have a Simpsons season that's not just great, it's DVD-box-set great. --Donald Liebenson

• The Simpsons: Complete Season 2 | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £30.99   |  Saving you £9.00 (29.04%)   |  RRP £39.99

  First aired in 1990-91, the second series of The Simpsons proved that, far from being a one-joke sitcom about the all-American dysfunctional family, it had the potential to become a whole hilarious universe. The animation had settled down (in the first series, the characters look eerily distorted when viewed years later), while Dan Castellaneta, who voiced Homer, decided to switch from a grumpy Walter Matthau impression to a more full-on, bulbous wail. The series' population of minor characters began to grow with the inclusion of Dr Hibbert, McBain and attorney Lionel Hutz, while the writers became more seamless in their ability to weave pastiche of classic movies into the plot lines. While relatively "straight" by later standards (the surreal forays of future seasons are kept in check here), Season Two contains some of the most memorable episodes ever made, indeed some of the finest American comedy ever made. These include "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", in which Homer is reunited with, and ruins the business of, his long-lost brother ("He was an unbridled success--until he discovered he was a Simpson"), "Dead Putting Society", in which Homer lives out his rivalry with neighbour Ned Flanders through a crazy-golf competition between the sons ("If you lose, you're out of the family!") and one of the greatest ever episodes, "Lisa's Substitute", which not only features poor little Lisa's crush on a supply teacher voiced by Dustin Hoffman but also Bart's campaign to become class president. "A vote for Bart is a vote for anarchy!", warns Martin, the rival candidate. By way of a retort, Bart promises faithfully, "A vote for Bart is a vote for anarchy!". --David Stubbs On the DVD: The Simpsons, Season 2, like its DVD predecessor, has neat animated menus on all four discs as well as apparently endless copyright warnings, but nothing as useful as a "play all" facility. The discs are more generously filled than Season 1, however, and each episode has an optional group commentary from Matt Groening and various members of his team. The fourth disc has sundry snippets including the Springfield family at the Emmy Awards ceremony, Julie Kavner dressed up as Bart at the American Music Awards and videos for both "Do the Bartman" and "Deep, Deep Trouble" (all with optional commentary). There are two short features dating from 1991: director David Silverman on the creation of an episode and an interview with Matt Groening. TV commercials for butterfinger bars, foreign language clips and picture galleries round out the selection. Picture is standard 4:3 and the sound is good Dolby 5.1. --Mark Walker

• The Simpsons: Christmas 2 | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £3.19   |  Saving you £9.80 (307.21%)   |  RRP £12.99

  More yuletide fun with Springfield's first family! Homer VS. Dignity: With Smithers away Burns hires a cash-hungry Homer as his 'prank monkey' to peform stunts that ultimately damage Homer's dignity. Skinner's Sense Of Snow: A blizzard traps Skinner and Groundskeeper Willie with an assortment of students at Springfield Elementary. Dude Where's My Ranch?: While out Christmas carolling the famliy finds out from a lawyer that the carol they are singing is copyr

• The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror | DVD | (28/10/2002) from £8.08   |  Saving you £4.91 (60.77%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror collection proves that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, 2001, Harry Potter, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Tron get the inimitable Simpsons skewering in this shockingly funny collection of four mostly classic episodes. Best is "V" in which no TV and no beer make Homer go crazy in "The Shinning" ("You mean The Shining", Bart corrects. "Shh, you want to get sued?" Homer reprimands him). "VI" contains the ambitious, computer-animated "Homer3". "VII" features aliens Kang and Hados's finest quarter half-hour as they assume the identities of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. "XII" boasts the star power of Pierce Brosnan as the voice of a mechanised house that falls in love with Marge and lures Homer to his apparent death with "unexplained bacon". For Halloween and beyond, this crypt-kicking collection is full of screamingly funny treats. --Donald Liebenson

• The Simpsons: Christmas with the Simpsons | DVD | (03/11/2003) from £4.87   |  Saving you £0.68 (13.96%)   |  RRP £5.55

  The Simpsons have never been as big on Christmas as they have on Halloween and while Christmas with The Simpsons contains five episodes, one of them, "Mr Plow", is only seasonal insofar as it contains snow. Fortunately, it's also a cracker, with Homer resorting to low-budget screen advertising to launch his snowploughing business ("It may be a lousy channel but the Simpsons are on TV!") before a pep-talk he gives to inebriate buddy Barney encourages the latter to set up as a rival. This compilation also contains "The Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", the very first Simpsons episode broadcast, in which their dog Santa's Little Helper is introduced. Years on, this episode looks ancient and a little average by later, stratospheric standards. "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" is a slightly downbeat parody of It's a Wonderful Life, in which the town turns on the Simpsons after helping them out when Bart lied about their presents being burgled. "Grift of the Magi" features luckless ex-sitcom star Gary Coleman reprising his real-life job as a security guard as an unscrupulous toy company aggressively merchandise a faddish new toy in time for Christmas ("If you don't have Funzo, you're nothing".) The plot is very similar to "She of Little Faith"--uncharacteristic repetition for this show--but that's forgiven as Lisa is forced to become a Buddhist following the commercialisation of the church in another episode that's as un-seasonally un-cosy as you'd expect from the greatest TV programme ever made. On the DVD: Christmas with The Simpsonscontains one extra feature: a short montage of evil power plant boss Mr Burns' finest comedic moments, including his tussle with baby Maggie over ownership of teddybear BoBo and a money fight with the servile Smithers. --David Stubbs

• The Simpsons Go to Hollywood | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Episodes comprise: When You Dish Upon A Star; After a parasailing attempt that goes amok Homer meets Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin. He becomes their personal assistant before turning on them and their friend Ron Howard. Fear of Flying: Crazy is as crazy does! By impersonating a pilot and wrecking a plane Homer wins the entire family free air travel driving Marge into the clutches of a mysterious childhood phobia. Does Homer find the bar of his dreams? Will the Sim

• The Simpsons: Greatest Hits | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £6.73   |  Saving you £6.26 (93.02%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Episodes comprise: The Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire: It's better to take than to receive! After Bart's tattoo removal Homer's failure as a department store Santa and a bad day at the dog track Christmas prospects look dim for the Simpsons. But Homer seizes the day and with the help of Santa's Little Helper blunders home with thebest gift of al - something to share the family's love. And frighten prowlers. Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song: Be careful

• The Simpsons: Gone Wild | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £4.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (61.60%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Four classic episodes together for the first time... Homers Night Out Sunday Cruddy Sunday The Mansion Family and Homer The Moe.

• The Simpsons: Bart Wars | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £6.42   |  Saving you £6.57 (102.34%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Mayored To The Mob (Season 10): Set your Phasers on fun! It's Homer Simpson -Nerdbuster! By rescuing Mayor Quimby from rioting geeks at a Sci-Fi Convention Homer becomes the official mayoral bodyguard only to discover he's got to battle Fat Tony's wacky gangsters. A deadly ballet fraught with musical mayhem!! Dog Of Death (Season 3): The Dog: Man's best.. and most expensive friend? A potentially fatal illness strikes Santa's Little Helper testing the Simpsons family

• The Simpsons: Risky Business | DVD | (07/04/2003) from £9.85   |  Saving you £3.14 (31.88%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Contains the following episodes: Reality Bites: Marge gets a real estate licence and working under Lionel Hutz (Phil Hartman) tries to sell homes. When he says she must succeed in the first week or be fired Marge sells a house to the Flanders family but neglects to tell them several former owners were murdered inside! Homer The Smithers: Smithers decides to take a vacation (at an exculsive all-male resort) and names Homer as his replacement in order that he wi

• The Simpsons: Too Hot for TV | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £5.24   |  Saving you £7.75 (147.90%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Episodes comprise: Treehouse of Horror IX: A hell-raising hair-transplant turns harmless Homer into a homicidal hatchetman in Hell Toupee! A radioactive remote zaps Bart & Lisa into Itchy & Scratchy's cartoon universe where the stakes are not only life and death they're sharp and pointy! In The Terror of Tiny Town! Jerry Springer presides as Kang a drooling alien from Rigel 7 dukes it out with Homer over Maggie's paternity in Starship Poopers. The Cartridge Family:

• The Simpsons: Against the World | DVD | (16/08/2004) from £8.32   |  Saving you £4.67 (56.13%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Homer vs Patty And Selma: Homer turns to Patty and Selma for help when faced with financial ruin - a secret they must keep from Marge. Bart fails to show up at school in time to sign up for P.E. so he resolves to take the only class left: ballet. Guest voices: Susan Sarandon Mel Brooks. Marge vs The Monorail:. When fast-talking salesman Lyle Lanley gets the people of Springfield to back his monorail project Marge is not so convinced. Her fears are confirmed when s

• The Simpsons: Backstage Pass | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Simpsons: Backstage Pass is a veritable rock & roll extravaganza: you'll hear a classical version of "Insane in the Membrane" and watch The Who destroying rubbish with pure guitar power. It also features guest performances by The Who, Cypress Hill, The Smashing Pumpkins, Peter Frampton and Spinal Tap. In "Homerpalooza", Homer has a mini mid-life crisis caused by his inability to recognise new bands in the local record store (not even Sonic Youth). The result is a trip for him and the kids to the "Hullabalooza" festival where Homer fulfils his rock star dreams by touring as part of the freak show. "A Tale of Two Springfields" sees the town divided by a change in area code, which only The Who can solve with their infinite wisdom: "Why don't you get phones with auto-dial?". In "The Otto Show" Milhouse and Bart enjoy their first outing to a rock gig to see top super-group, Spinal Tap. Finally, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" offers the rare opportunity to see Homer sing as part of Springfield's B Sharps, who allegedly rocked America back in 1985! On the DVD: The Simpsons: Backstage Pass offers a collection of Otto's finest moments, proving what a cooool guy the local bus driver is. Otherwise the disc is barren of extras. Picture is standard 4:3 and you can choose between English, French and German audio languages with a vast range of European subtitle options. --Nikki Disney

• The Simpsons Film Festival | DVD | (01/04/2002) from £7.55   |  Saving you £5.44 (72.05%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Any four episodes of The Simpsons chosen at random would make perfectly acceptable entertainment, but The Simpsons’ Film Festival is a particularly happy selection. One of the show’s many delights has always been its unending stream of movie parodies, and here we have four episodes devoted to just that. In "Beyond Blunderdome", Mel Gibson (playing himself) sends up his tough-guy persona when he hires Homer to produce his latest movie. Then in "A Star is Burns" Springfield hosts its own film festival (with acerbic guest critic Jay Sherman in attendance). The competition boils down to Barney’s haunting cinema verité short about the horrors of alcohol or Mr Burns’ grandiose vanity project (though Homer prefers Hans Moleman being hit by a football). "22 Short Films About Springfield" is a series of parodies within a parody featuring Springfield’s secondary characters, including Milhouse’s dad and Chief Wiggum in a glorious Pulp Fiction sequence. Finally, the show’s own internal parody cartoon duo hit the big screen in "The Itchy and Scratchy Movie", while Bart and Homer lock horns about going to see it. They sell Soylent Green in the future cinema foyer; and Homer loves it, of course.On the DVD: just four episodes is hardly stunning value for money, but it’s perhaps quality not quantity that counts here. Annoyingly there is no "Play All" facility, a serious let down in all the Simpsons DVD releases (Futurama had the same problem, too). The only extra feature of any note is a three-minute montage of Troy McClure’s finest moments. Sound is unexceptional Dolby Stereo and the picture is standard 4:3 ratio. --Mark Walker

• The Simpsons: Dark Secrets | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £7.23   |  Saving you £5.76 (79.67%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Episodes: Homer to the Max: The Springfield Files: X-Files Agents Mulder and Scully investigate Homer's encounter with an ""alleged"" extraterrestrial. Lisa The Iconoclast: Lisa discovers that her town's beloved founding father Jebediah Springfield was in fact a vicious pirate. Homer wins the coveted role of town crier in an upcoming Bicentennial parade. Homer Badman: Homer is wrongly accused of sexual harassment when he tries to enthusiastically

• The Simpsons: Too Hot For TV / Dark Secrets / Bart Wars | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

• The Simpsons: Christmas / Bart Wars | DVD | (03/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Christmas With The Simpsons Episode titles: Simpsons Roasting On An open Fire Mr Plow Miracle On Evergreen Terrace Grift Of The Magi She Of Little Faith. Bart Wars Episode titles: Mayored To The Mob Dog Of Death The Secret War Of Lisa Simpson Marge Be Not Proud.

• Simpsons Triple Pack - Bart Wars/Too Hot for TV/Dark Secrets | DVD | (16/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Too Hot For TV: Includes four episodes: Treehouse of Horror IX The Cartridge Family Natural Born Kissers and Grandpa Vs Sexual Inadequacy. Dark Secrets: Episodes include: Homer To The Max The Springfield Files Lisa The Iconoclast and Homer Badman. Bart Wars: Episodes include: Mayored To The Mob Dog Of Death The Secret War Of Lisa Simpson and Marge Be Not Proud.