10 Worst Things FOX Did To The Simpsons
8. Cancelling The DVDs
Currently, the first 18 seasons of The Simpsons are available on DVD. Given the declining quality of the show, you’d be forgiven for thinking that enough is enough. However, The Simpsons box sets are probably the best of any show on television.
That’s not just hyperbole of a mega fan. It’s not the episodes which made them great, but the extra features. Matt Groening did commentary on every single episode, joined by cast, producers and writers. They also had deleted scenes (with optional commentary), storyboards, original artwork, mini documentaries... they were crammed.
Fox stopped DVDs after Season 17, but after lobbying from Groening, decided to release Season 18 too, a few years after announcing it was stopping. Low sales figures were cited, despite it lingering around the top of the Amazon charts around Christmas. Possibly they knew something we didn’t with regards to Disney’s merger and subsequent change of DVD royalties.
Which brings us to Disney+ and the aspect ratio. It’s not fair to include it as an entry - categorically it’s Disney’s fault, not Fox’s - but it does mean that, for now at least, streaming isn’t the easy solution to the lack of DVDs.