See, it's OUR fault...

So, Simpsons Season 6 came out a few weeks ago. Problem is, the box sucks. It's this flimsy plastic replica of Homer's head, which is fragile as hell and doesn't stand up on it's own without an uber-ugly plastic slip-sleeve. Quite simply a bad design idea, and most of the world seems to agree.

So, Matt's a huge Simpsons fan, and picked up season 6, as upset about the packaging as anyone. But fear not! You can get a DVD case just like the previous boxes, pretty much for free from Fox (you spring for S&H), just by calling a special number or by visiting simpsonsbox.com. Nice of them, huh?

Well, then you read the slip inside and that warm and fuzzy feeling kinda goes away...

"For all those that fear change...For all those anal-retentive nerds who like their DVD boxes to line up perfectly on the shelf...For all those who dislike storing their digital media inside a hollowed-out human headm have we got a deal for you: Just call (yadda yadda) for a very derivative, old-style, just-like-before box with almost nothing new or creative to annoy or terrify you. Enjoy!"

Hmm. So, if I don't like the box, I'm a nerd who fears change. Tongue firmly in cheek, I'm sure, but it irks me that the idea that the new design is quite simply a bad idea never apparently even occured to them. In fact, on the simpsonsbox.com page, the "reasons for wanting a new box" are as follows: "Anal retentive (box must be identical); Lonely (will pretend box is new best friend); Will sell new box to collector nerds for huge profit; Just like free stuff; Big baby."

I sat there for a bit before deciding on one. No write-in for "your design staff are clods for thinking of this new marketing ploy and also big babies for mocking fans who dislike shelling out 40 bucks for cheap and flimsy packaging," sadly.