The Simpsons: The Seventeenth Season

Sporting Bart's nemesis Sideshow Bob on the cover, this collection compiles all 22 episodes from the 2005-06 17th season of Matt Groening's long-running comedy series. Although season opener “The Bonfire of the Manatees” sounds pretty good on paper—featuring the Mafia, a “snuggle” film, and Alec Baldwin as an attractive biologist—the results are so-so, setting the tone for the rest of the run in this series that continues to show its age as time wears on, despite this season's Emmy-winning labyrinthine “The Seemingly Never-Ending Story.” The three-part “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween special stands out: Bart is replaced by a more impressive robot (who responds to Bart's request to “eat my shorts” by processing them into a toy for Maggie); Mr. Burns is featured as the hunter in a Most Dangerous Game parody; and the townspeople are transformed into their costumes (very cute are Lisa as Albert Einstein, and bully Nelson, whose cheaply made Lone Ranger outfit is embarrassingly mistaken for a raccoon). Probably the best of the lot is “The Italian Bob,” featuring Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer in an Emmy-winning role), which follows the Simpsons to Italy, where Bob has built a new life with a wife and son (who relishes vendettas just as much as his villainous father). Featuring guest voices by Lily Tomlin, Joe Frazier, Richard Dean Anderson (a favorite of Marge's sisters Patty and Selma in his role of MacGyver), Susan Sarandon, and Ricky Gervais, bonus features include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, production featurettes, and original sketches. Not nearly as belly-laughable as previous seasons, this one is still recommended, overall. (J. Williams-Wood)