Far, far away, in a little mushroom village, live a group of little blue pixies called Smurfs who wear short trousers and white bonnets. Only as tall as three apples, they speak in 'Smurf', a language that only they understand. The Smurfs are carefree, peaceful creatures that live in harmony with nature. But they have a nasty habit of wanting to act like man, which causes them 1,001 problems...

The Smurfs: Complete 3rd Season collects 31 episodes from season three of the '80s Hanna-Barbera animated TV series. Each episode ran for 22 minutes with about half of these split into two different stories of 11 minutes each. The episodes presented here were originally broadcast between September and November 1983.

As with the previous season releases, the episodes appear to be slightly out of order when compared to the original broadcast run, something that should not be an issue to most viewers.

I have to admit that I found the writing in these episodes stronger than in previous seasons - as though they were finally finding their stride. The introduction of new Smurfs (like Baby and Nat) also help to flesh out the storylines a little more.

Highlights in this collection include:

The First Telesmurf: Large vines appear all over the forest, from the Smurf village to Gargamel's hovel, and when they sprout flowers the Smurfs soon discover that they can use the flower heads like telephones - unfortunately Gargamel can listen in on their conversations.

No Time for Smurf: Sees a handful of the Smurfs discovering a hidden cave with lots of old artefacts, including a strange hourglass. When they crank the handle of this hourglass time starts to run backwards.

Smurfette for a Day: When a gnome arrives in the Smurf village he falls in love with Smurfette and won't leave her alone. To trick him, Hefty dresses as Smurfette.

The Miracle Smurfer: A quack travelling doctor discovers that Smurf juice can cure most ailments and sets about capturing as many of them as he can. But by far the most amusing thing about this episode is that Gargamel appears to yell: "Fraudulent Tw*t."

A Gift for Papa's Day: The Smurfs combine their creative skills to create a new hat for Papa Smurf. He hates it and tries to find ways of losing it without offending his beloved Smurfs.

Willpower Smurfs: Jokey Smurf promises he won't play jokes for a year if each of the other Smurfs stop doing the things they are best known for.

The Little Witch: When a young witch enters the Smurf village they try to teach her what good is. Although, I was a little worried that Hefty said: "Good is keeping thin and taking care of your health".

Extras are identical to the previous season box set extras: I Smurf the Smurfs (16 min, 43 sec feature that interviews z-list celebrity fans and experts about the Smurfs. There are also interviews with cast and crew from the series); Character Biographies (text based); and Smurf Info (12 min text based featurette where text, that covers just about every aspect of The Smurfs, scrolls up the screen).

This collection represents better stories and production values as well at a much cheaper retail price. All in all, this is an enjoyable collection for young viewers.

8

Darren Rea