Toon Zone Talkback - "The Simpsons" Season 13 DVD/Blu-ray Coming in August

Season 13 is probably the worst season in the show's history, combining the mindless gags of the Mike Scully era with the general dullness of the "modern Al Jean" era. But I'm intrigued that they're releasing it on Blu-ray. Even if there's only a marginal quality increase (due to the lack of compression), I'd be glad if they released all of the seasons on Blu-ray eventually. It's just fewer discs, y'know.
 
Wait....if they didn't have to skip ahead to season 20 to start Blu-ray releases, then why'd they do it???

What's really going on here? Are they taking the original film negatives and running them through in 1080p? Or are they just upconverting the standard-def masters through the same process we can make at home with our DVDs?
 
My understanding is that there are no film negatives for production season EABF (starting with the sixth episode of the 14th broadcast season) through KABF (broadcast season 20, episode nine). For those years, all they can do is upconvert it...

Since the 13th season is before that, film does exist, but not as the final product. They could probably do a thing where they re-edit episodes, essentially redoing a lot of post-productions stuff, and made a true HD copy for episodes through S14, E5.

Bottom line:
S1 E1 through S14 E5: Could be in true HD with a lot of work...
S14 E6 through S20 E9: Only possible through upconverting - they will never be true HD...
S20 E10 onward: Produced in 720p or greater...
 
Normally, the kind of HD reediting job Dogbert is referring to would be out of the question due to expense, but.... this is the Simpsons. Fox's #1 cash cow. They'd immediately break even with any expense incurred going back to film.

Of course, how well the film has held up over the years could be a problem. The earlier Klasky-Csupo elements especially could be tricky.
 
Phew! Commentaries are back! I suspected they would be after the slapdash Season 20 DVD, but a nagging voice in the back of my mind kept saying "What if they skimp on the special features for all forthcoming releases?" Glad to see that wasn't the case.

Commentaries are the one saving grace of the post-classic season releases. I'll buy the worst episodes of "The Simpsons" just for a chance to hear the writers try to defend themselves for them.
 
Netflix or rent them. I'm sure that would be cheaper than buying them outright if the episodes are that bad, in your opinion.

Personally, I'm actually tempted to pick this up on DVD (or a 'remastered' BR set) since Seasons 13-16 are the only decent seasons after Season 9.
 
Awesome news. I'll be picking it up on Blu-Ray. Now they just gotta rerelease 1-12.

And I'm not buying them on BR for the HD, I'm buying these on BR for the discs. For one thing, I won't have to deal with Fox's assnine DVD packaging they did for 11 and 12. Secondly, because the discs are harder to damaged.
 
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