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With Season 3 coming out August 26, I thought this would be a good time to look back at the first season DVD set. Do you really need it? It's the Simpsons! Of course you do!

Simpsons fan, eh? Got a lot of DVD's and looking for a new one to add to your collection? Well I'm sure you already have this Season 1 DVD set, but if you don't, hang your head in shame and check out the following review.

"He's my idol. I've based my whole life on his teachings." Here Bart was referring to Krusty the Clown, but I think for many of us it could of been The Simpsons animated TV show itself (it's a what now?). Who doesn't love the Simpsons? Maybe Hitler, but he's long dead. Ever since I first got a DVD player I knew a collectio of Simpsons episodes was the sole reason the medium was created. After a long wait, it finally came out last Fall.

The first season like most initial seasons only had 13 episodes in case it didn't take. Long story short, Simpsons are still going to this very day. However, this first season was really a learning period for the creators. They had done short 2 minute long clips for the Tracy Ullman Show (Fox), but expanding that into 22-23 minutes while creating something people would tune into exclusively to see was a whole new game. So really the first season was to began setting up the whole Simpson Universe by bringing in most of the major players that are still seen today. It was to try and figure out what would make an enjoyable show. So sometimes the first season wasn't as funny as many future seasons would soon become. At times they didn't know what they were doing, and it shows.

Still, it's great to go back and see where it all started. At the very least the episode "Krusty Gets Busted" sets up the whole 'Krusty vs. Bart' battle that has been the subject of so many episodes since then. The animation itself can be very 'amateurish' at times. Many people look like mere shadows of their current self. Just keep telling yourself, this was the FIRST season. Here is a quick rundown of the 13 shows:

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire: While not all that funny, it is a nice Christmas story that has become as much of a classic as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. At the very least, it is the first episode ever where Santa's Little Helper becomes the family dog. It also sets Bart as the 'star' of the series, over the years of course the focus has slowly shifted mo re on Homer then anyone.

Bart the Genius: The biggest note here is the use of the word "Kwyjibo" in a game of Scrabble.

Homer's Odyssey: Homer get's fired for the first time from the nuclear fanerplant. When he is rehired he gets his current job as Safety Inspector. And oh yeah, Smithers is black.

There's No Disgrace Like Homer: Classic scene of the family shocking each other in therapy. Otherwise justs send home the point: this family is the definition of 'disfunctional', and they are proud of it. Well that and to see Marge get piss drunk.

Bart the General: Ah yes the classic battle of Bully vs. the World. God bless you Nelson Muntz. Herman still scare's me. They should use him more often.

Moaning Lisa: I don't really like this episode at all. Over the year any episode that seems to focus on any female member of the family has usually disappointed me. Lisa's sad. Plays blues. Fun. Well Bart taking on Homer in video boxing provides some entertainment value.

The Call of the Simpsons: Another just OK episode. Basically sets up the Homer trying to keep up with the Flanders theme seen in many episodes.

The Telltale Head: Some how this became a very controversial episode when Bart gives into peer pressure to try and become 'cool'. Who knows, it was 1990.

Life on the Fast Lane: Like I brought up before, this episode focuses on Marge going bowling. Since Marge is female, yawn.

Homer's Night Out: Homer gets caught with a belly dancer at a bachelor party. Wow, steamy stuff. Oh wait, you didn't say stripper.

The Crepes of Wrath: Again trying to push across the fact that Bart is a 'bad seed' by deporting him, er having him take part in a foreign exchange to France. This episode is actually enjoyable, and does have its humorous moments.

Krusty Gets Busted: If you see any first season episode, this is it. Not only is it entertaining, but who does enjoy a good 'who-dun-it'? Most every Krusty episode over the years has been good. This one isn't nearly as good as most, but not bad for being first.

Some Enchanted Evening: If Homer wasn't dumb enough yet, having him untie the Baby Sitter Bandit set the level all future stupid acts would try to top. Otherwise, watching Bart squirm as he is forced to watch the Happy Little Elves is the highlight.

Phew. So like I said, some decent episodes with some good moments here and there and a few classic lines ("You made me bleed my own blood!"), but basically it just sets up where the series would go from here. There are also plenty of 'experiments' as some characters are quite different from how they eventually turned out.

The 3-disc DVD set is pretty nice. A few extras like the first ever Simpsons clip from the Tracy Ullman show are nice, but more were needed. I guess they plan to spread out these extras over future season collections (season 2 coming out in late July is said to have a lot more). The commentary tracks are quite interesting though. You may learn a thing or two about how they created it, the thought process behind it. You may notice a few things in the show you never saw before. And you may even learn a few things. Like how "Some Enchanted Evening" was to be the first episode, but when they got the animation back, it was horrible. There are outtakes from this unaired version and it is quite bad, even for being the first season. I see what they mean that after seeing it they didn't think this was going to work. 'This' as in the Simpsons. Thank goodness they fixed the problem. They did have to redo that episode (and why it fell and became the last episode that season).

I also was reminded that the intro we have all grown to love, wasn't quite the same that first season. It was changed slightly going into the second season. They cut a clip of Lisa on her bike bouncing over a rock. A clip of people standing at a bus stop that Bart on his skateboard rolls by grabbing the bus stop sign causing the bus to miss the stop was replaced with the now classic quick "Springfield fly-by" scene. Just seeing this original opening was worth the price of admission.

There is also a cool Easter Egg. It is a clip from a news story on how schools were banning Simpsons T-shirts and other memorabilia since it was a 'bad influence on kids'. Yes it's a REAL story. See if you can find it. (Just move around in every sub-menu you can find...)

All in all, it's a nice DVD set. While the episodes arn't the best. While there arn't that many extras. It is still the Simpsons. And in the end you know you are going to want to have each season to complete your collection. So in short, a MUST have for all fans.