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"The Simpsons" debuted in 1989 on Fox television. The network was young and struggling. They needed a hit to stay afloat and compete with the Big Three. They found it with their animated prime time series depicting life among a dysfunctional family of misfits. The first season of "The Simpsons" found the creators feeling out and fleshing out their characters. The animation, voices and attitudes of "The Simpsons" were all works in progress during season one. However, the second season found the formulas falling into place and it was the second season that found "The Simpsons" becoming the sensation that Fox desperately needed. Its controversial second season sparked a marketing blitz for Bart and the rest of the Simpson family. Bart T-Shirts, keychains and toys were everywhere and the popularity of the series grew with every episode.
It is hard to imagine that there is somebody out there who has not heard of Bart or Homer Simpson. "The Simpsons" are one of the longest running television shows in history. They have long eclipsed "The Flintstones" as the longest running animated sitcom. Next year, they will tie "Bewitched" as the longest running sitcom of all time, and with the primary talent just signing new two-year contracts, it looks as if "The Simpsons" will hit the magical mark of fifteen seasons. That is a lot of DVDs folks, and a lot of episodes featuring Homer, Bart, Maggie, Lisa and Marge Simpson. Many suggest that the show is running out of breath and has become too long in the tooth. None-the-less, nobody in 1990 could have foreseen that "The Simpsons" would be going strong in 2002 and thanks to DVD, we are able to look back at the second season, one that is considered one of the finest seasons the show offered.
For those that have lived under a rock or not embraced the technology we affectionately call television, "The Simpsons" is about a family that lives in Springfield. The family is comprised of both parents, and three children. The father, Homer, works in a nuclear power plant and is generally considered a worthless idiot. However, he manages to remain employed through numerous near apocalyptic accidents. His tall-haired wife Marge keeps the family going and is the brains of the "Simpsons." She is loving and very tolerant of Homer. The youngest of the children is Maggy. She is a toddler that just crawls around and sucks on a pacifier, sometimes finding herself in precarious situations. The next oldest is the saxophone playing Lisa, a girl who wants to fit in, but her incredible intelligence and maturity distances her from others. Then, there is the shows central character, Bart Simpson. Bart is the quintessential troublemaking dunce. He lacks any intelligence or drive to succeed and his entire purpose seems to cause trouble.
Here is a quick look at the Episodes contained in "The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season:"
Bart Gets An F (October 11, 1990)
Though not one of the best episodes of the second season, this episode primarily focuses on Bart and how he desperately wants to get a grade higher than a failing grade of F. To get a higher grade, he makes a deal with classmate Martin. The deal is that he will make Martin popular and Martin will teach him how to study and pass a test and make it to the fifth grade. Episode Grade: B
Simpson and Delilah (October 18, 1990)
Harvey Fierstein guest stars in this episode that finds himself portraying a personal assistant to Homer Simpson when Homer secures an executive position at the nuclear power plant when a miracle hair grow product cures his baldness. The show gives a good character arc for Homer as he changes to a different person when he has a full head of hair and the letdown he suffers when the hair is lost. Episode Grade: A
Simpson´s Halloween Special: Tree House of Horror I (October 25, 1990)
Each Halloween, it became tradition for myself and a group of friends to watch "The Simpsons Halloween Special." Even though I wasn´t a fan of the series at the time, everybody else wanted to watch it, so I went along. This episode marked the first of the Halloween Specials and finds Bart and Lisa exchanging spooky stories in the tree house. The only problem is that the stories are not particularly scary. The final part of this series covered Edgar Allen Poe´s "The Raven." It was a complete pointless bore. Episode Grade: D
Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes On Every Fish (November 1, 1990)
Bart Simpson catches a three-eyed fish and this sparks an in-depth probe into the safety of the nuclear plant. Mr. Burns is forced to make costly repairs to his power plant and decides that he wants to become governor and avoid making any repairs. Homer decides to be loyal to Burns and support him, while Marge and the rest of the family embrace the logical choice for governor. This puts strife among the family and is a good political satire that easily entertains. Episode Grade: B
Dancin´ Homer (November 8, 1990)
Homer attends a company sponsored outing to a Springfield´s minor league baseball game. He drinks a large amount of beer and finds himself dancing in the outfield and ends the team´s disastrous losing streak. This lands him a job as the team´s mascot and sends the Isotopes on a huge winning streak. Homer even gets the call to go to the big leagues. Of course, Homer fails in life, but entertains in his misery. Episode Grade: B
Dead Putting Society (November 15, 1990)
This was the first episode to prominently feature Homer´s successful and family oriented neighbor Ned Flanders. Ned and the Flanders represent everything that Homer and the Simpsons are not. In this episode, Homer decides to do something to show Ned that the Simpsons are better. He sets Bart up to take on Ned´s son in a round of mini-golf. This show successfully started the inclusion of the Flanders as an integral part of "The Simpsons." Episode Grade: A
Bart Vs. Thanksgiving (November 22, 1990)
Bart selfishly destroys a centerpiece made by Lisa for Thanksgiving and refuses to offer even an apology. He finds himself leaving home and spending time with the homeless and needy. This sets him into thinking about Lisa and returning home. "Bart Vs. Thanksgiving" set out to make a solid point about family life and appreciating the good of life. It did so in a funny and intelligent manner. Episode Grade: B
Bart the Daredevil (December 6, 1990)
The Simpsons set out on a family evening that first finds them watching Lisa perform in a school musical. Afterwards, they attend a monster truck rally and Bart finds a hero in the form of daredevil Lance Murdock. Bart sees the limelight potential in performing stunts and decides that he too wants to be a daredevil. What begins with simple skateboarding stunts lands him in the hospital and after talking to Lance, Bart decides that bigger is better and wants to jump the dangerous Springfield Gorge on his skateboard. Episode Grade: A
Itchy and Scratchy And Marge (December 20, 1990)
"The Simpsons" start to really hit their stride in "Itchy and Scratchy and Marge." Maggie tries to kill Homer and watching episodes of Itchy and Scratchy with Bart and Lisa. Marge sees the dangers of the mindless violence that Itchy and Scratchy inspires young Maggie with. She sets off to get the show canceled. This is one of the first times that "The Simpsons" set out to tackle an important social topic and the show does so perfectly. This is one of the best, if not the best episodes of the second season. Episode Grade: A
Bart Gets Hit By A Car (January 10, 1991)
Mr. Burns and his butt-kissing personal assistant Smithers strike Bart with their car. No serious damage is done to Bart, but cash-hungry lawyer Lionel Hertz sets out to sue Burns for a ton of money. Burns offers Homer a generous settlement, but Homer buys into Hertz greed. Phil Hartman does great as Hertz and though this show misses on a few jokes, it is entertaining. Episode Grade: C
One Fish Two Fish Blowfish Blue Fish (January 14, 1991)
My personal favorite episode of Season Two is this little gem that finds Homer and the family going to a sushi restaurant as a family building exercise and break from the normal menu of Pork and Meatloaf. Homer finds that his original fear of sushi was wrong and discovers a huge fondness for the delicacy. This leads him into eating a poisonous variety and fearing that his life may be soon ending. He is given a short time to live and sets out on correcting much of what is wrong with his life. This is a solid episode that includes a great moment where Bart and Lisa perform "Shaft" at the restaurant´s karaoke bar. Episode Grade: A
The Way We Was (January 31, 1991)
The backstory to how Homer met Marge is told in "The Way We Was." Homer is depicted as your typical shop-class, muscle car driving, cigarette smoking type. Marge is a bra-burning flower child. One day, they meet in detention and Homer makes his move, but he faces competition from somebody that could be perceived as perfect. When that person turns out to be less than ideal for Marge, Homer gets his chance, but not until after Homer goes to the prom stag. A funny episode that shed some light into the elder Simpson´s characters. Episode Grade: B
Homer Vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment (February 7, 1991)
The rights and wrongs of illegal cable is the topic of discussion for this hilarious episode. Homer becomes king of the block when he allows a cable man to wire him for free cable. Mr. Burns and the police even come to his door to watch a highly touted prize fight. However, Lisa finds herself morally opposed to stealing cable and pits herself against Homer for her beliefs in what is right. Episode Grade: A
Principal Charming (February 14, 1991)
The Valentine´s Day episode has Mr. Skinner falling in love with one of Marge´s chain-smoking sisters. The downside to this is that Skinner finds himself asking Bart for help and kowtowing to Bart´s demands. Bart is able to get away with any mischief that his heart desires. Ironically, Selma was the sister looking for love, but circumstances found Skinner wanting the male-hating Patty instead. In the end, Skinner fails to win the heart of Patty and Bart looses his grip over Skinner. Episode Grade: C
Oh Brother Where Are Thou? (February 21, 1991)
Danny DeVito becomes the next big name to guest star on "The Simpsons." He is Homer´s long lost half-brother that was given up as a child due to Grandpa´s infidelity. The lost Simpson, Herb is the head of a huge auto company in Detroit. When Homer comes calling, Herb is quick to embrace the Simpsons and puts enough faith in Homer to give him a job as the person in charge of a costly car program. Homer goofs up his assignment and ruins Herb´s company. Episode Grade: B
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