The Simpsons (season 15)

The Simpsons (season 15)
DVD cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	November 2, 2003 – May 23, 2004

The Simpsons' 15th season began on Sunday, November 2, 2003, with "Treehouse of Horror XIV". The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 (EABF) production line. The most watched episode had 16.2 million viewers and the least watched had 6.2 million viewers.

Response

Critical reception

Season 15 received positive reviews, though many reviewers had not seen the episodes before reviewing them, and commented that though enjoyable, they were lesser shows than those of the series' first decade. The general consensus is that this marked an improvement over the early teen seasons.

High Def Digest gave a rating of 4 stars, writing "The Simpsons' is one of only a handful of shows that I know I'm guaranteed to laugh out loud at least once an episode (usually more). Even though the cutting wit of the first decade lost its edge a bit, I still find 'The Simpsons' an extremely enjoyable way to spend my time. There aren't many things that are better than sitting down with a new season of 'The Simpsons' on Blu-ray and watching every episode back to back as fast as I possibly can. While the episodes sort of blend together, the humor is still there, and I still end up having quite a few genuine laughs".^[1] CraveOnline rated the season 8.5/10, noting "Some "Simpsons" fans gave up during a perceived rough patch around season 12, and boy have they missed out. Season 13 was a particular favorite of mine, but now we're over the hump on the DVD releases. Season 15 is kind of a sweet spot, because it's got some highlight episodes I love, but also plenty that I don't remember."^[2] DVDActive said "The Simpsons season 15 isn't one of the series' best, but I'm pretty sure it isn't one of the worst either".^[3] ScreenJabber gave a rating of 4 stars, writing "Imagine my surprise when I sat down to review Season 15...and realised that I had never seen most of its episodes. Imagine, then, my joy at being able to enjoy almost 22 episodes of factory-fresh Simpsons, even though they were made about a decade ago. And even though some of the cultural references are a little dated, there's still an awful lot to laugh at and enjoy here. As always, this season of The Simpsons features a stellar line-up of guest stars. And, as always, there are some standout episodes. All in all, a more than decent season of this long, long-running show."^[4] DIY wrote "While Season 15 of The Simpsons may not be golden from start to finish it has a higher great to soggy episode ratio than more recent seasons. In fact, there are some real gems amongst the 22 episodes".^[5] Boxofficebuz gave it 4 stars, and said "...Throw in flashback episode 'The Way We Were,' Pie-Man antics in 'Simple Simpson' and a Catch Me If You Can spoof in 'Catch 'Em If You Can,' you have a solid, solid season. A definite uptick over the previous couple seasons".^[6] BubbleBlabber rated it 9.0 out of 10, and concluded "In terms of the content, Season 15 was a highly underrated season for The Simpsons and brought along a number of now well-known classics".^[7] DVDMg gave the season a B, and wrote "Should viewers expect greatness from Season 15 of The Simpsons? No, as the year comes with some mediocre shows. Still, it delivers a reasonable number of good episodes and seems worthwhile overall...S15 won't win over new fans, but it's usually fun".^[8]

Nielsen ratings

The season ranked 42 in the seasonal ratings below its repeat timeslot at 36. The average viewership was 10.59 million viewers.^[9]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
314	1	"Treehouse of Horror XIV"	Steven Dean Moore	John Swartzwelder	November 2, 2003	EABF21	16.22[10]
Reaper Madness – Homer enjoys his new life as The Grim Reaper after killing the old one and plaguing the world with immortality, but becomes conflicted when Marge is next on his death list. Frinkenstein – Prof. Frink wins the Nobel Prize in science, but is sad that his dead father is not with him to share in his success, so Frink rebuilds him out of his father's real body with mechanical parts, but the latter is not happy with this and he will steal the body parts of other corpses. Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off – Bart and Milhouse order a stopwatch from the back of a comic book that possesses the power to manipulate time. Guest star: Jerry Lewis, Dudley Herschbach, Jennifer Garner and Oscar De La Hoya
315	2	"My Mother the Carjacker"	Nancy Kruse	Michael Price	November 9, 2003	EABF18	12.4[11]
Homer's mother returns, and after being cleared of all charges, is re-imprisoned on a technicality. Guest star: Glenn Close
316	3	"The President Wore Pearls"	Mike B. Anderson	Dana Gould	November 16, 2003	EABF20	N/A
In this loose parody of the musical/movie Evita, Lisa is elected Student Body president, but is unaware that the school staff is using her for their own devices and as a scapegoat if something goes wrong. Guest star: Michael Moore
317	4	"The Regina Monologues"	Mark Kirkland	John Swartzwelder	November 23, 2003	EABF22	N/A
After making over $3000 from his own museum featuring a $1000 bill, Bart takes the family to London (on the suggestion of Grampa), where Homer is arrested for treason after crashing into the Queen. Guest star: Tony Blair, J.K. Rowling, Ian McKellen, Jane Leeves and Evan Marriott
318	5	"The Fat and the Furriest"	Matthew Nastuk	Joel H. Cohen	November 30, 2003	EABF19	N/A
Homer is humiliated when he appears on the news running from a bear that nearly attacks him at the city dump. After Grampa scolds him, he swears to fight the bear himself. Guest star: Charles Napier
319	6	"Today I Am a Clown"	Nancy Kruse	Joel H. Cohen	December 7, 2003	FABF01	N/A
Krusty discovers that he never had a bar mitzvah as a child. He quits his show to have it as an adult, with the help of his father, Rabbi Krustofski. Meanwhile, Homer hosts a late-night talk show a la "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher" as a replacement for Krusty's show. Guest star: Jackie Mason and Mr. T
320	7	"'Tis the Fifteenth Season"	Steven Dean Moore	Michael Price	December 14, 2003	FABF02	N/A
Homer realizes how selfish he is after he spends all the family's Christmas money on a present for himself. He becomes the nicest guy in town, making Ned Flanders jealous (again).
321	8	"Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays"	Bob Anderson	Jon Vitti	January 4, 2004	FABF03	N/A
When a group of singles, seniors, childless couples, teens and gays band together to protest having to accommodate families (including paying property taxes used to teach children they do not have) after a riot at a children's concert, Marge takes up the cause for the families, with some help from Bart and Lisa.
322	9	"I, (Annoyed Grunt)-bot"	Lauren MacMullan	Dan Greaney & Allen Glazier	January 11, 2004	FABF04	N/A
Homer builds a battle robot to win Bart's respect, and places it in a tournament against other robots. What Bart does not know, though, is that the robot is actually Homer in costume. Meanwhile, Snowball II dies and Lisa tries to find a replacement cat.
323	10	"Diatribe of a Mad Housewife"	Mark Kirkland	Robin J. Stein	January 25, 2004	FABF05	N/A
Marge writes a romance novel with characters based on Homer and Ned Flanders that becomes a hit. Meanwhile, Homer gets fired from the power plant again and becomes an ambulance driver. Guest star: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Thomas Pynchon and Tom Clancy
324	11	"Margical History Tour"	Mike B. Anderson	Brian Kelley	February 8, 2004	FABF06	N/A
When the local library proves to be useless for the kids' class project, Marge tells Milhouse, Bart, and Lisa three Simpsons-style historical accounts: Henry VIII's (Homer's) attempts at siring a son, Lewis and Clark (Lenny and Carl) exploring the USA's wilderness with Sacagawea (Lisa), and Salieri (Lisa again) out to ruin piano-playing virtuoso Mozart (Bart).
325	12	"Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore"	Matthew Nastuk	Julie Chambers & David Chambers	February 15, 2004	FABF07	N/A
Bart finds a friend in his own sister Lisa after Milhouse moves away to Capitol City to live with his divorced mom. Meanwhile Homer goes into panhandling to buy an anniversary gift for Marge. Guest star: Isabel Sanford, Nick Bakay, William Daniels, Dick Tufeld and Casey Kasem
326	13	"Smart & Smarter"	Steven Dean Moore	Carolyn Omine	February 22, 2004	FABF09	N/A
When Maggie does better than Lisa on an IQ test, Lisa becomes so despondent over no longer being the smart one that she tries to change her identity. Guest star: Simon Cowell
327	14	"The Ziff Who Came to Dinner"	Nancy Kruse	Deb Lacusta & Dan Castellaneta	March 14, 2004	FABF08	N/A
The Simpsons go on a late-night attic search after Bart and Lisa (who are freaked out over a horror movie Homer let them watch) begin hearing voices -- and find Marge's ex-prom date Artie Ziff, who's on the run for cheating the shareholders of his company. Guest star: Jon Lovitz
328	15	"Co-Dependents' Day"	Bob Anderson	Matt Warburton	March 21, 2004	FABF10	N/A
Homer and Marge's bond becomes stronger when they both get drunk on wine, but soon the bond unravels when Homer blames Marge for crashing the car and Marge gets sent to rehab. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa complain to Randall Curtis (a George Lucas-esque science fiction movie director) about his latest film. Guest star: Brave Combo
329	16	"The Wandering Juvie"	Lauren MacMullan	John Frink & Don Payne	March 28, 2004	FABF11	N/A
Bart gets sent to juvenile hall after fooling everyone that there was a marriage concerning him. He encounters a dangerous girl there... He flees with Gina, but then the two are caught by Wiggum. Guest star: Sarah Michelle Gellar and Charles Napier
330	17	"My Big Fat Geek Wedding"	Mark Kirkland	Kevin Curran	April 18, 2004	FABF12	N/A
After hearing that Skinner is getting cold feet about their wedding, Edna leaves Skinner at the altar and, after sending back one marriage gift, hooks up with Comic Book Guy. Meanwhile, Homer and Marge have an argument about if their marriage is still solid or not. Guest star: Matt Groening
331	18	"Catch 'Em If You Can"	Matthew Nastuk	Ian Maxtone-Graham	April 25, 2004	FABF14	N/A
After a ruined movie night, thanks to Bart and Lisa, Homer and Marge take a vacation away from them, but decide to go to Miami instead of going to see an uncle. When Bart and Lisa catch wind of their parents' secret plan, Bart steals Rod's credit card (just like Homer stole Ned's) and go after them.
332	19	"Simple Simpson"	Jim Reardon	Jon Vitti	May 2, 2004	FABF15	N/A
Homer becomes "Pie Man", a masked vigilante who delivers a pie in the face of justice to evildoers. However, after attacking Mr Burns, Burns hires him as a personal hitman, until Homer is ordered to attack the Dalai Lama. Guest star: Nichelle Nichols
333	20	"The Way We Weren't"	Mike B. Anderson	J. Stewart Burns	May 9, 2004	FABF13	N/A
Homer and Marge recall the story of their first kiss at summer camp when they were children, which was not all that happy. Homer betrayed (unwillingly) Marge by standing her up on their second date.
334	21	"Bart-Mangled Banner"	Steven Dean Moore	John Frink	May 16, 2004	FABF17	N/A
After receiving an injection from Dr. Hibbert, Bart becomes temporarily deaf, which makes him impervious to being bullied, until he accidentally moons the American flag during a donkey basketball game, prompting everyone in town to accuse the Simpsons of being unpatriotic under the new "Government Knows Best" Act.
335	22	"Fraudcast News"	Bob Anderson	Don Payne	May 23, 2004	FABF18	9.2[12]
Mr. Burns buys out Springfield's media outlets after a newspaper mistakenly reports his death, and Lisa's homemade newspaper is next on his list.

Blu-ray and DVD release

The Complete Fifteenth Season
Set Details			Special Features
22 episodes 3-disc set (Blu-ray) 4-disc set (DVD) 1.33:1 aspect ratio Languages: English (Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles) Latin Spanish (Dolby Digital, with subtitles) French Canadian(Dolby Digital) Special Language Feature for "My Big Fat Geek Wedding" (German, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Italian)			Introduction from Matt Groening Optional commentaries for all 22 episodes Animation showcases for "The Wandering Juvie" Deleted Scenes Featurette: "The Unusual Ones" Featurette: "Living in the Moment" Sketch Galleries Commercials Bonus Episodes (Blu-ray only): "The Otto Show" "Das Bus" "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge"
Release Dates
Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
December 4, 2012[13]	December 3, 2012[14]	December 12, 2012[15]

References

1. http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/7719/simpsons_s15.html
2. http://www.craveonline.com.au/tv/reviews/200643-the-simpsons-season-15-dvd-review
3. http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/dvd/simpsons-season-15-the.html
4. http://www.screenjabber.com/the-simpsons-S15-DVD-review
5. http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/television/review-the-simpsons-season-15/
6. http://reviews.boxofficebuz.com/review/the-simpsons-season-15-dvd-review
7. In terms of the content, Season 15 was a highly underrated season for The Simpsons and brought along a number of now well-known classics
8. http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfifteen.shtml
9. "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. 2007-09-30. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
10. unknown (3 November 2003). "Ratings: Treehouse Of Horror". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
11. "Simpsons Channel News Archive; RATINGS: "My Mother the Carjacker"". The Simpsons. 2003-11-09. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
12. "Ratings: Fraudcast News". simpsonschannel. 2004-05-24. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011.
13. "The Simpsons DVD news: Announcement for The Simpsons — The Complete 15th Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2007-05-25. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
14. "The Simpsons — Season 15 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
15. "Simpsons, The - Season 15". Sanity. Retrieved 2012-11-12.

Bibliography

• Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Foreword by Douglas Coupland. (1st ed.). Toronto: Random House Canada. ISBN 978-0-679-31318-2. OCLC 55682258.

External links

• Season 15 at The Simpsons.com