When a TV series has been running for over 20 years, it’s easy to say that it’s not as funny as it used to be. Lazy even. However, there are very few shows currently on that can match the show for its LPE (Laughs per Episode) ratio. Even a relatively poor episode has roughly ten times more gags than say your average BBC3 comedy.

And what should also be factored into this comedic equation is the fact that the show’s DVD release schedule is slower than a one legged man who’s just been shot several times in the foot. This season just released first aired in the US in 2002. The good news then is that it could be argued that the writing was still as fresh as a really fresh thing; the bad news is that anything remotely topical is now well and truly history. The same can be said for some of its guest stars too sadly; this series for instance features the late, great Paul Newman.

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding, and series 13 is yet another serving of The Simpsons that you’ll want to stuff your face with until you’re ready to burp yourself silly or violent vomit, whichever comes first.

My name's Stan Lee, now where's this Spiderpig of yours?

Not only are there 22 episodes of yellow loveliness to indulge in, including a top notch Treehouse of Horrors, but there are more extras than you can throw a six-pack of Duff at.

It also appears to have a bit of a bloodlust on, mostly for Homer. Could this be the goriest series yet? Quite possibly.

As you would expect, the animation is to the usual high standard. They may well send off the show to foreign climes for children with no shoes on their feet to do all the colouring in within the lines, but they really do a fab job.

And then there’s the writing. Bottom line is, if you usually find The Simpsons funny, you won’t be disappointed. And quite frankly, it’s difficult not to be entertained by anything that Homer says or does.

For fans of the series, it’s just a question of preaching to the converted. This release will no doubt sit nicely on top of the previous twelve, in a haphazard pile in the corner. And by the time the rest of the series is released, the pile will resemble the world’s most precarious Jenga tower.

But if you’re not a die-hard Simpsonian, there would be absolutely nothing wrong with you dipping your toe into the not-so-unlucky waters of series 13; after all, what’s not to love about Springfield’s most dysfunctional family even after all these years?