5/5 The Simpsons 9th Season
  by Jennifer G. Casoli Vant (Boston, Massachusetts United States)
Great. Got these for my brother-in-law as a Christmas gift. He loves watching them with his four sons who are now into them.

3/5 They should have stopped at seasons 7 or 8...but this season isn't horrible
  by Spiral_Carpet
The Simpsons started one of the first adult yet all-age cartoons that had moral teachings, humor and relatable characters all carried within a unique reflection of the American middle class family. The characters and environments are created in a very surreal yet very realistic way like no other cartoon or even comic book series before. The show spawned 8 awesome seasons that took animation and American pop culture to different heights. However the mild profanity, moral stories and Springfield world started to get tame and dry by the 8th season and wasn't used as creatively as in the previous 7 seasons. Some say it was that the creators ran out of ideas or it could have been the time era that made it dated, as cartoons around the same time as this season such as Duckman, South Park, and later on Family Guy were taking over with more progressive, creative and entertaining storylines and content than the Simpsons. By this time the show wasn't as powerful as it had been in the early 90's, neither had it been dreadful, but definitely not the most popular show anymore.

4/5 A very good season, but with a high number of "average" shows
  by Craig MACKINNON (Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada)
To say that the Simpsons season 9 contained more than its share of "just average" shows is a bit misleading, as an average Simpsons is generally better than anything else on TV. No, I mean that there are very few shows that are both memorable AND very funny. Season 9 is more memorable for starting the great continuity breaks that have (after 18+ seasons) have become a hallmark of the show. Animation, by its very nature, frees the scriptwriter to explore anything. With this freedom comes the temptation to experiment with characters and situations. For example, it's easy to add an enormous mountain to the outskirts of Springfield ("King of the Hill") - even if there were never any mountains there before! This season had a number of controversial additions to the "canon" of the show. My favourite controvery was the identity theft by Armand Tanzarian, who becomes Principal Skinner ("The Principal and the Pauper"). There is also the most blatant (to this point) disregard for continuity in "Das Bus," where, at the end of the story, the kids are still trapped on a desert island. The 1-line voiceover to resolve this ending is classic, but had the virtue of not having been done. Social commentary becomes very prevalent in certain episodes as well, especially in the guise of "Lisa the Skeptic", which includes voice work by evolutionary biologist and athiest poster boy Stephen J. Gould.

Of the "classic" Simpsons seasons (1-10), I think this one is the most obvious bridge to the early-teens seasons that were generally criticised as being unfaithful to the spirit of the show (and not as funny to boot!). There are, however, many very funny episodes. A complete list here is redundant, as others have listed all the episodes. Absolute favourite episodes of mine include:

"The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" - this episode will necessarily always be associated with 9/11 due to the prominence in the episode of the Twin Towers. If you can get around that, it's really the best and funniest episode of the season, and one of the best in the whole series!

"The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" - It's time for Apu's arranged marriage, just as he's learning how much fun bachelor life is. Manjula was added to the Simpsons pantheon as a recurring character, one that I have thoroughly enjoyed over the years.

"The Joy of Sect" - not on a lot of favourites lists, but I found this episode hilarious. Homer joins a cult and Marge enlists Rev. Lovejoy and Willy to try and deprogram him.

"The Last Temptation of Krust" - not a classic because of the guest stars (including Leno and other stand-up comics), but because of Krusty's hilarious rants (and Homer's responses to them).

"Trash of the Titans" - Homer runs for sanitation commisioner, beating Steve Martin (well, a character he voiced). Includes a classic original song about Garbage Men, with guest-performers U2 lending a hand.

There are the usual slate of commentaries (although these are getting a little repetative after this many seasons; what do they even talk about in Season 18 commentaries?) The best extras are, of course, the deleted scenes. There's even an entire extra verse to the aforementioned Garbage Man Song. It's certainly a better way to watch these shows than through syndication.

5/5 Another wonderful edition to your collection of Simpson season dvds!
  by M. Overly (Asheboro, NC USA)
I don't really have much to say because this season speaks volumes on it's own. If you have made it this far with your collection of Simpsons dvds you already know what you are getting...great, quality entertainment without the commercials and other fillers you would have to deal with trying to watch it on regular TV. For me, this will be my last dvd for The Simpsons (I have seasons 1-9) because I feel like the quality starts to slowly go downhill from season 10 on out. Even though this will be my last, it's a great dvd to end with. Most of what I could say has already been reviewed by others but if you like U2, meeting Homer's side of the family (learning about "The Simpson gene" that affects the male Simpsons), the kids being washed ashore on a deserted island (aka. The Lord of the Flies spin-off), and other well thought out masterpieces then this is the dvd for you!

5/5 Pretty Darn Funny
  by Wade H. Millward (Orange County, CA USA)
Great simpsons season.. my wife and I watch it all the time.

I recomend you buy it... NOW!!!