The Simpsons - The Twelfth Season

The year that I was twelve I was dealing with both a lingering Star Wars fixation and a newly found interest in both cheap weed and my best friend's father. Oh, heady times indeed, caught somewhere between childhood and rehab.

Twelve is not an easy year, but it can have its memorable moments, and that applies to television shows as well. It's remarkable that any show even gets to a twelfth season; The Simpsons is still going strong, and while Season 12 is not its best set ever, it's still far superior to most programs that were on the air at the time. By this point in time, 2000-2001, the show was also airing in the company of other, harsher animated shows it had surely influenced, including "South Park" and "Family Guy."

There are some priceless moments in Season 12, such as the infamous line, "Quick Mr. Nibbles chew through my ball sack!" from the Christmas episode "Skinner's Sense of Snow."

Other highlights of Season 12 include "Sold Separately," ueber-poof Mr. Smithers' musical theater homage to fashion doll Malibu Stacy, as well as the brilliantly over-the-top episode "Trilogy of Error," in which we see the same day unfold from the various perspectives of Homer, Lisa, and Bart. It's also interesting to see the state of the internet circa 2000 (dancing Jesus?) and relative novelty of the web in "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes."

Returning characters include murderous Sideshow Bob, voiced by Kelsey Grammer, in "Day of the Jackanapes." Some other guest stars of season 12 are rather campy, such as Bruce Villanch, Leeza Gibbons, Drew Barrymore, and Kathy Griffin as butch school bully Francine in "Bye Bye Nerdie."

The DVD extras are plenty, including deleted scenes and the amusing Featurette "Comic Book Guy: Best. Moments. Ever."

By this point the episode commentaries are pretty uninteresting; they seem to consist mainly of the writers playfully ribbing each other with inside jokes. (I like to play them before bedtime; puts me right to sleep.)

The episodes themselves are still enjoyable, though Season 12 may be a purchase for Simpsons diehards only.

Special Features include:
- Optional commentaries for all 21 episodes
- Introduction from Matt Groening
- Deleted scenes with optional commentaries and option to watch during the episodes.
- Featurette: "Comic Book Guy: Best. Moments. Ever."
- Featurette: "The Global Fanfest"
- Sketch gallery
- Animation Showcases
- Illustrated commentaries
- Special language feature
- Commercials