Difference between revisions of "Good Night"

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"G-good night!"

―Maggie Simpson

Good Night

Short Information Airdate: April 19, 1987 Short season: 1 Short number: 1 Production code: MG01 Writer: Matt Groening

"Good Night" is the first Simpsons short of the first season of the Tracy Ullman shorts, and was the first one made. It was first aired as a commercial bumper for the third episode of the The Tracy Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. It was also the Simpson family's first ever debut.

Synopsis

Homer and Marge say good night to the kids and what they say to them worries the kids in the night.

Plot

Dad tucks Bart into bed and says good night to him. Bart then questions to him about "the mind" and how it works. Homer replies that it is not something to be worried. Dad then turns off the lights and Bart becomes worried.

Mom tucks Lisa into bed, saying good night, and to sleep tight. Mom then tells Lisa, "Don't let the bedbugs bite!" Lisa then becomes worried and thinks that bedbugs are harmful to her.

Marge heads off to Maggie's room to sing Rock-a-bye Baby to her. Following with the lyrics, Maggie imagines she is in a crib on a tree, a tree branch with the crib on snaps and Maggie collapses off the tree. Marge that wishes sweet dreams to Maggie, currently traumatized by the song's context. Maggie's bedroom lights are then turned off.

Mom and Dad then go to bed only to think that they are the best parents in the world and for thinking they lulled the kids to sleep soundly. Bart, Lisa, and Maggie come to Mom and Dad's bedroom in a panic. Bart worried about "the mind", Lisa worried about bed bugs and Maggie non-verbally complains about the Rock-a-Bye Baby song. Mom and Dad allow the three to climb into bed with them to sleep. The lights turn out and Maggie takes out her pacifier to say good night to the audience.

Production

See also: History.

Matt Groening was invited by James L. Brooks to animate bumpers of his comic strip, Life in Hell, between the advertisement breaks of The Tracey Ullman Show. With only a few minutes left until the meeting, Groening thought about if this all went wrong and then Fox would own his characters.^[1] So, he hurridly drew up what is now known as the Simpson family. He used names from his family to name the characters, substituting Bart for his name, an anagram for "brat". This short was written and storyboarded by Groening. The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up, but instead they just traced over his drawings.^[1] The animation was produced at Klasky Csupo, with Wesley Archer, David Silverman, and Bill Kopp animating the short.

Gallery

Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to Good Night.

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  Marge in the short

International airdates

References