You remember Where’s Waldo, right?
Well, over the years I’ve been playing my own little version of the game.
Whenever I stumble across a photo that has someone’s DVD collection in it, I’m on
the lookout for something.
Not a man in striped clothing.
But, this hunk of plastic.
It’s the original season six DVD release of The Simpsons.
Surrounded by the other season’s cardboard boxes, this plastic case sticks out like a
sore thumb.
I would know, it’s been in my peripheral vision for over a decade.
Sure, it’s mildly annoying in a collection.
But I’m not going to buy a cardboard box replacement.
The same can not be said for all.
“This packaging sucks.”
“Maybe it's time that 20th Century Fox entered the 21st century.”
[Ramblings]
“I like my Homer Head.”
“JEFF!”
Okay, if this sounds like it’s some dumb drama from 2005… well it is.
But just bare with me.
I found something I wasn’t supposed to.
Cool!
This story’s got a little of everything.
From corporations being extremely passive aggressive to accidentally leaking customer’s personal
information
Welcome to what just might be one of the most obscure Simpsons controversies ever.
The Curious Case of Homer’s Head
Let’s speed through this obligatory history paragraph.
The Simpsons was created by cartoonist Matt Greoning in 1987.
It first aired as 30-second shorts on the FOX variety program, the Tracey Ullman Show.
Fans loved it, so the network greenlit a full series two years later.
Fast forward 31 seasons and fill in the blank.
The Simpsons would get frequent VHS home releases throughout its first decade of existence.
There were dozens of these things, but each tape wouldn’t have more than 2-3 episodes
on them.
That was mostly a technical limitation.
There were box sets that included multiple tapes.
But you get the gist.
It just wasn’t all that convenient to watch the Simpsons on your own time.
That would change with the switch to DVD in September 2001.
When Twentieth Century FOX Home Entertainment would release the complete first season of
the Simpsons on DVD.
Meanwhile, networks were getting ready to premier season 13.
Despite this 12-season gap, the season one release became the best-selling television
show DVD ever -- dethroned only by Chappelle’s Show three years later.
And man did these Simpsons DVDs earn their great sales.
They’re content rich!
“With special features like commentaries from producers, directors, and creator Matt
Groening.”
“Never before seen outtakes.”
“Behind the scenes footage.”
“Foreign clips.”
[Foreign dialogue]
“Plus much, much more from the show that defined a generation.”
Suffice to say, the first five seasons pleased fans and FOX alike.
It’s now July 2005 and there’s an announcement of the season six DVD release.
Ooh, I wonder what color they’ll choose for the box.
We already have light silver, aqua, purple, blue, red.
The possibilities are--
Hmm...
Let me just...
People did not like this.
It’s not that Homer’s Head is a bad design.
It’s fun and in the spirit of the show.
Rather, most criticism wound up being the lack of the case’s strength.
The outer shell was made of a flimsy plastic, comparable to a 7-11 soda cup.
I can attest.
I need a piece of scotch tape to keep my case shut.
And FOX was well aware of these problems before any were even sold.
Packaged inside the Homer heads was this slip of paper with a phone number printed on it.
You could call it for information on how to get your plastic case replaced with a cardboard
box in line with seasons one through five.
One problem… the number they printed was incorrect for some time.
The 800 should have been 888.
But if you figured this out and called the correct number, you’d be greeted by a Homer
voice clip.
They didn’t hire Dan Castellaneta.
Homer was voiced by a sound-alike.
The number is no longer in service and I can’t find any recordings online.
But I don’t think we’re missing out on any great Simpson's lost media.
After Homer convinces you this isn’t a scam, he would refer you to an official website.
Here you could get your replacement cardboard box through what they called “The Simpsons
Season 6 Alternative Packing Program”.
The program stopped around April 2011, and FOX stopped renewing the domain soon thereafter.
It’s now a Japanese postpartum website(?)
Fortunately, there are archives of the original website available.
It’s full of mostly playful banter.
You’re greeted with “Welcome Complainers”.
“Click the button to receive a very derivative, old style, nothing new, just like before box”.
And one of the requirements for the cardboard box is “A dislike for storing your digital
media inside a hollowed out human head”.
It’s funny stuff and on-brand.
But, some dialog on the website didn’t sit well with paying customers vocalizing their
valid feedback.
An example of this is a different requirement being “A solemn promise to stop your whining”.
Or, this dropdown menu where you need to choose why you want to receive a box.
The reasons are, quote:
“anal retentive”,
“lonely”,
“Will sell new box to collector nerds for a huge profit”,
“just like free stuff”,
and “big baby”.
I’d probably have gone with anal retentive.
Anyway, I was exploring the archives.
Poking around the page sources.
I noticed a few fun things, like this image of Homer in the corner being named “homey”.
Just like Marge’s nickname for him.
Cute.
But then, I found something I really wasn’t supposed to.
We’re talking web security 101 stuff.
I found the full names and addresses of people who requested the cardboard box.
Yeah…
I reported my findings to the necessary parties in hopes of them removing the offending files.
15 years later is too little too late.
Let’s just say when you filled out the redemption form, it appears to have generated a printable
version that was saved to a publicly-accessible folder on the website.
Even worse, the website’s robots.txt file was configured incorrectly.
This meant that some search engines, and archivers, undeniably preserved the contents of that
folder.
I mean, how else would I be looking at an archive of this stuff?
So if you used the online season six redemption form, there’s a chance your information’s
been floating around out there.
Sorry to break the news to you 15 years late...
In brighter news, later in 2005, the seventh season of the Simpsons released on DVD.
And did FOX listen to its fans?
Yes!
By now, the UK was already selling cardboard season six boxes in retail stores.
And in the US, if you wanted a special edition season seven plastic Marge head to match your
plastic Homer head, retailers would give you the option between either the cardboard or
the plastic.
That’s why in all these photos, season six is the odd one out.
After Marge, there was Maggie with season eight.
Lisa with season nine.
And Bart with season ten.
Starting with season eleven, we get a hybrid cardboard-plastic Krusty the Clown specialty
box.
The default cardboard boxes took a noticeable downgrade in quality starting here.
You have to slide the DVDs into these sleeves instead of plastic containers.
I don’t really like it.
Season twelve gives us Comic Book Guy.
Thirteen is horrifying Ralph Wiggum.
Fourteen is Kang… or Kodos.
I can never really tell.
Fifteen is Otto.
Sixteen is Professor Frink.
And season seventeen is Sideshow Bob.
Season 20 got a special release date early in 2010 to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary.
You may have noticed I skipped over seasons 18 and 19.
And that’s because FOX did too for the better part of a decade.
With the decline in physical media sales and rise in streaming services, the twice-per-year
DVDs dwindled.
Gradually to yearly seasons, and then to a season every two to three years.
From 2017 to 2019, there was an annoying gap in collections that fans feared would never
be filled.
But there was a surprising turn of events ater Disney’s acquisition of Fox in March
of 2019.
And let me just say, the artwork for the Season 19 case and menus are beautiful.
It’s done by Bill Plympton, a familiar guest animator of the show.
Will season 21 and onwards get physical releases?
I’m not holding my breath honestly.
I could go on about the benefits of physical media.
But that’s beside the point.
C’mon Disney!
Keep ‘em coming.
There are dozens of us.
And that’s the story of the Simpsons DVD fiasco.
Finding that website security flaw totally threw me off guard.
But if you want to stay smart online, consider using...
Brain and Nerve Tonic.
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