Season 11 DVD guide

The Eleventh Season DVD was released on October 6, 2008 in the UK and October 7, 2008 in the US. The theme follows on from the last five Seasons: this box features Krusty on the cover, while the inside is styled as a theme park with obvious inspiration from recently-opened The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios, Hollywood.

The box set caused a little unrest in the fan community due to the fact that the discs themselves are not held in the normal plastic trays; rather, they slip inside cardboard 'wallets.' While Fox's environmental concerns are certainly commendable, the design of the set is such that it is too easy to scratch the discs or get fingerprints on them when taking them out of the box, making them skip or fail to play.

DVD SEASON: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 101112

The traditional box style with Krusty against a starburst background (left); the alternate Krusty 'head' box (center); and DVD menu designs (right)

Audio Commentaries

Beyond Blunderdome: Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, Ron Hauge, Matt Selman, Steven Dean Moore
Brother's Little Helper: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Mark Kirkland, Tim Long
Guess Who's Coming To Criticize Dinner?: Mike Scully, Al Jean, George Meyer, Dan Greaney, Matt Selman, Nancy Kruse
Treehouse Of Horror X: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Ron Hauge, Donick Cary, Tim Long, Matt Selman, Pete Michels
E-I-E-I (Annoyed Grunt): Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, Matt Selman, Rob Baur
Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder: Mike Scully, Al Jean, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Mike B. Anderson
Eight Misbehavin': Mike Scully, George Meyer, Matt Selman, Julie Thacker, Gary Marshall, Steven Dean Moore
Take My Wife, Sleaze: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Julie Thacker, Dan Castellaneta, Neil Affleck
Grift Of The Magi: Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tom Martin, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Lance Kramer
Little Big Mom: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Matt Selman, Carolyn Omine, Mark Kirkland
Faith Off: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Matt Selman, Nancy Kruse
The Mansion Family: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ron Hauge, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Michael Polcino, Donick Cary, Pete Michels
Saddlesore Galactica: Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim Long, Matt Selman, Tom Martin, Lance Kramer
Alone Again, Natura-Diddily: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Jim Reardon, Mark Kirkland
Missionary: Impossible: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ron Hauge, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Steven Dean Moore
Pygmoelian: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Larry Doyle, Matt Selman, Caroline Omine, Mark Kirkland
Bart To The Future: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Dan Greaney, Matt Selman
Days Of Wine And D'oh'ses: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Dan Castellaneta, Deb Lacusta, Neil Affleck
Kill The Alligator And Run: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Julie Thacker, Dan Castellaneta, Diedrich Bader, Steven Dean Moore
Last Tap Dance In Springfield: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Julie Thacker, Yeardley Smith, Nancy Kruse
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Larry Doyle, Steven Dean Moore
Behind The Laughter: Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Mark Kirkland

Matt Groening says:

ATTENTION DEVOTED FANS!

Welcome to the wee mini-booklet that accompanies Season Eleven of The Simpsons, in which I prattle on for a few goopy sentences about the wise purchase you have just made. Indeed, what an absolutely-no-refunds collectible this is: here are some of the best, or at least most disturbing, episodes ever, including the ones in which Bart and Homer end up in a leper colony, Apu and Manjula have octuplets, Moe gets a facelift, Homer annoys Mel Gibson, Maude Flanders gets killed, Bart goes beserk and plows through Springfield in a tank, Lisa grows up to be president, and Homer is abducted by evil horse-jockey trolls. Not to drop names, but this season we exploited the voice talents of Lucy Lawless, Gary Coleman, Kid Rock, Dick Clark, Edward Asner, Charlie Rose, Jan Hooks, Penn & Teller, and Britney Spears. I could go on and on. So I will: Tim Robbins, Shawn Colvin, John Goodman, Parker Posey, Don Cheadle, Butch Patrick, Jay North, Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, The B-52's, and Willie Nelson. All this and the usual bonus detritus: deleted scenes, animation showcases, a tribute to Krusty the Clown and jabber-filled audio commentaries for every episode. It's a nifty little package.

So on behalf of everyone at the Simpsons Creative Unit, thank you for the pure joy of your ongoing enthusiasm, which we find truly inspiring as we endeavour to keep on amusing and surprising you. The money helps a little bit too.

Your cartoon chum,
Matt Groening

Easter Eggs

You can enjoy a glimpse of The Simpsons Ride from Universal Studios, Hollywood. Simply press up on the Disc 4 main menu to make a question mark appear on the orange tent in the background, and press Enter.

There are also some hidden deleted scenes for several episodes (KTAAR is just a promo poster). They are found on the episode "extras" screen by highlighting Bart's crystal ball and/or notepad. Some of them are hard to select on a standard DVD player.

Beyond Blunderdome: crystal ball, notepad
Hint: highlight "scene selection" and press Left

Hello Gudder, Hello Fadder: crystal ball
Hint: highlight "scene selection" and press Left

Eight Misbehavin': crystal ball
Hint: highlight "deleted scenes off" and press Right

Take My Wife, Sleaze: crystal ball
Hint: highlight "main menu" and press Up

Little Big Mom: crystal ball, notepad
Hint: highlight "play episode with commentary" and press Left

Faith Off: crystal ball
Hint: highlight "main menu" and press Up

The Mansion Family: crystal ball, notepad
Hint: highlight "extras" and press Right

Saddlesore Galactica: crystal ball
Hint: highlight "play episode with commentary" and press Left

Alone Again, Natura-Diddily: crystal ball, notepad
Hint: highlight "main menu" and press Up

Bart to the Future: crystal ball
Hint: highlight "main menu" and press Up

Days of Wine and D'ohses: crystal ball
Hint: highlight "play episode" and press Up

Kill the Alligator and Run: crystal ball
Hint: highlight "play episode" and press Up

Last Tap Dance in Springfield: crystal ball
Hint: highlight "play episode" and press Up

Behind the Laughter: crystal ball, notepad
Hint: highlight "play episode" and press Up, highlight "main menu" and press Down

The discs

The disc designs feature each of the main family in a 'House of Mirrors' gallery. The mirror part is actually a reflective surface on the discs, hence the rainbow effect in these scans.

Animations

Characters from the episodes on each disc are present. A bowling ball bounces into the scene and causes havoc.

Other menus

Extras menu

This menu is a Ferris wheel; different characters cycle through, including Flanders turning into a werewolf and Homer taking a bite of Lisa's candyfloss.

Language menu

The language menu features posters for made-up rides, and are in fact taken from the real Simpsons Ride in Universal Studios, Hollywood.

Chapter selection menu

The chapter selection menu is a haunted house. When Burns and Smithers come through, the lights go out. When they come back on, Smithers' arm is around Burns.