Simpsons deliver the goods, but DVD has nothing more

The Simpsons have long been America’s favorite animated family, and they have continually embraced Halloween every year since 1990 by putting their own spin on classic tales and modern fiction. The end result are three short tales that combine irrelevant humor and obvious horror into one episode of the Treehouse of Horror, a collection of four Treehouse episodes, which is now available on DVD.

Treehouse of Horror will be a stronger purchase once October rolls around despite the fact that the studios didn’t give fans any reason to spend their hard earned cash on this collection. The DVD is basically nothing more than a collection of episodes, and it has only one special feature, but for fewer than 10 dollars, you get what you pay for.

Besides, The Simpsons’ Halloween specials are arguably the only thing worth watching on a night when witches fly the night skies and children dress as ghouls.

From The Shining to The Raven, The Simpsons have covered it all, and the disc just highlights some of the family’s most freaky and bizarre journeys through the supernatural.

If you don’t have two hours to watch the disc in its entirety, the best bets are “The Shinning,” “Nightmare On Evergreen Terrace” and “The Thing and I.”

“The Shinning” show the Simpsons tackling the Stephen King classic “The Shining” as Homer makes Jack Nicholson’s performance look like that of an amateur actor waiting for a big break. “The Shinning” also delivers one of Homer’s most memorable lines “No TV and no beer make Homer go something, something.”

“Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace” has groundskeeper Willy becoming a famous child murderer a la Freddy Krueger and haunting the children of Springfield in their dreams. He plots revenge after the parents of the town ignored his cries for help at the PTA meeting where he was burned alive.

“The Thing and I” reveals a shocking surprise; Bart has an evil twin by the name of Hugo. Bart was a conjoined twin at birth, but doctors removed Hugo and kept him contained in the attic … That is, until now.

Though the DVD itself is filled with episodes that will air countless times in syndication throughout October, it still is a good watch, and at $9.99 not a bad investment for those sleepless nights before class.