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The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

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The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season (2001)

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

On with the D'oh

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Hitting the airwaves less than two months after the 9/11 attacks, the thirteenth season of "The Simpsons" may have seemed a bit misplaced at the time, but watching it today reveals a show that -- even if it did not live up to its best -- was still the greatest show on television. Aside from some jokes about weight and medical marijuana, these episodes weren't all that topical, which makes them frankly more timeless and all the more fun to watch today.

It kicks off with "Treehouse of Horror XII," including segments about a gypsy curse, a killer computer, and a school for wizards. Other highlights include "The Blunder Years," in which a hypnotist unlocks a terrible hidden memory of Homer's; "Blame It on Lisa," which offended the entire country of Brazil; and "Tales from the Public Domain," a three-parter with riffs on Joan of Arc, The Odyssey and Hamlet.

Guest stars this season include Pierce Brosnan, R.E.M., George Takei, Julie Louis-Dreyfuss, Paul Newman, Richard Gere, Delroy Lindo, Jane Kaczmarek, Ben Stiller, Reese Witherspoon, Wolfgang Puck, Dennis Weaver, Frank Welker, Olympia Dukakis, Stan Lee, Carmen Electra and the band Phish. Fox released the 22 episodes on a 3-disc Blu-Ray set for 2010, complete with lots of funny little extras (including "Ralphisms"), commentary tracks, and Easter eggs.

Buy DVD | Buy Blu-Ray

Trailer | Poster | Soundtrack

With: (voices) Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Karl Wiedergott, Maggie Roswell, Marcia Wallace, Russi Taylor, Joe Mantegna
Written by: Joel H. Cohen, John Frink, Carolyn Omine, George Meyer, Mike Scully, Dana Gould, John Swartzwelder, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Bill Freiberger, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Don Payne, John Vitti, Andrew Kreisberg, Josh Lieb, Matt Warburton, Bob Bendetson, Deb Lacusta, Dan Castellaneta
Directed by: Jim Reardon, Mark Kirkland, Jen Kamerman, Lance Kramer, Steven Dean Moore, Matthew Nastuk, Nancy Kruse, Lauren MacMullan, Michael Polcino, Bob Anderson, Mike B. Anderson, Michael Marcantel, Chuck Sheetz, Pete Michaels
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 491 minutes
Date: September 1, 2010