In the first season, Bart was the series' breakout star, but in the second, The Simpsons established itself as a true ensemble series. Each character came into their own with career-best episodes. Marge, the family's long-suffering voice of reason, crusades against cartoon violence in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge." Lisa, the heart and tortured soul of the series, develops an ill-fated crush on her new teacher in "Lisa's Substitute." Bart desperately tries to raise the money to buy Radioactive Man No. 1 in "Three Men and a Comic Book." Homer's stock rises when he grows hair in "Simpson and Delilah." Joining the Simpsons roster of scene-stealing supporting characters are Dr. Hibbert ("Bart the Daredevil"), shyster lawyer Lionel Hutz (voiced by the late, great Phil Hartman in "Bart Gets Hit by a Car"), the Ahnold-esque action hero McBain ("The Way We Was"), slobbering aliens Kang and Kodos ("Treehouse of Horror"), and "nutty professor" Frink ("Old Money"). This essential, extras-laden DVD set is illustrative of why The Simpsons is, in the parlance of Comic Book Guy, funniest show ever. --Donald Liebenson