Difference between revisions of "Season 1"

"The Simpsons Christmas Special"

Christmas is coming, and it's going to be a difficult one due to the family's financial woes: Homer's expected Christmas bonus at work doesn't come through, and the family is forced to spend money previously set aside for shopping on an expensive tattoo removal procedure for Bart. Homer tries to earn money by other means such as being a department store Santa Claus, and the family does their best to have a good holiday in spite of the circumstances. This episode introduces Santa's Little Helper as the family dog.

Springfield Elementary School has an intelligence test, and Bart cheats by switching his name with that of class brain Martin Prince on their test papers. With his name associated with Martin's test score, Bart is considered to be a genius. Bart is then enrolled at the Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children, but struggles both academically and socially at his new school. With no one aware that Bart cheated, Homer and Bart develop a close father/son relationship. Everything goes back to normal, however, when Bart confesses to the switch.
Guest star: Marcia Wallace.^[8]

Homer is fired after he causes an accident due to being distracted by greeting Bart and his class on their field trip to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Depressed and unemployed, Homer considers suicide until he notices the dangers around town and becomes a safety crusader. When Homer targets the nuclear power plant, Mr. Burns re-hires him and promotes him to safety inspector. Waylon Smithers, Chief Wiggum, and Otto Mann the school bus driver make their first appearances.
Guest star: Marcia Wallace.^[9]

The Simpson family attends the company picnic at the Burns manor. After seeing the other families at the picnic, Homer notices his own family's shortcomings and dysfunctions and decides to improve everyone's behavior. The episode introduces Springfield police officers Eddie and Lou, as well as Dr. Marvin Monroe, and marks the first series appearance of Itchy and Scratchy.^[10]

Lisa is bullied at school by Nelson Muntz and Bart stands up for her, only to find himself the target of constant bullying by Nelson and his two Weasels. With Grampa's help, Bart then organizes many other students at school into an army to fight back against Nelson. They succeed, and with their victory they force Nelson to sign a treaty which curtails his bullying. Nelson Muntz and Herman the military antiques dealer make their first appearances.^[11]

Lisa is continually unhappy, and it begins to affect her performance at school. Nothing that Marge and Homer try seems to help. Lisa then meets jazz musician and fellow saxophone player Bleeding Gums Murphy, who helps Lisa to express her depression by playing the blues on her sax. They write a blues number together, and the family visits a jazz club to hear Bleeding Gums sing and play it.^[12]

The Simpsons go camping in their dilapidated RV, and problems arise when the RV is destroyed by falling off a cliff. The family are separated in the woods, where Maggie is cared for by bears and Homer (who has lost his clothes and is wearing a heavy coating of mud instead) is mistaken for a hideous Bigfoot-like monster. Homer is captured and taken to a lab, and not allowed to return home until the scientists are convinced that he really is a human being.
Guest star: Albert Brooks.^[13]

Sam Simon & Matt Groening

Bart severs the head of Jebediah Springfield's statue as the trio of troublemakers would be impressed if it happened to try to befriend them. This act of vandalism also draws public attention and nerves him. When he founds out that the boys would be appalled and beat up whomever had the head of the Jebediah Springfield, Bart decides to reveal himself to his his family and the raged townspeople, the latter which trap him and Homer where they were going to put back the head to the statue after having told the early part of the episode. The episode marks the first appearances of Sideshow Bob, Jimbo, Dolph, Kearney, Rev. Lovejoy, and Apu; as well as the first series appearance of Krusty the Clown.^[14]

Marge becomes unhappy when her birthday present from Homer is a bowling ball (which he clearly intended for himself) as she does not even bowl. To spite Homer, Marge sets out to learn to bowl, and ends up taking lessons from an instructor named Jacques, who pursues an affair with her. Marge nearly gives in, but at the last minute chooses to stay with Homer, surprising him by showing up at the nuclear power plant.
Guest star: Albert Brooks.^[15]

Bart takes a picture of Homer dancing with Princess Kashmir, a belly dancer. The photo is then copied all over Springfield, and when Marge sees it she at first thinks that Homer is having an affair. Homer explains the photo, but a still-angry Marge kicks him out of the house and demands that Homer introduce Bart to Princess Kashmir in person to show him that women are not sex objects.^[16]

After Bart blows up Springfield Elementary's toilets by flushing a cherry bomb, Principal Skinner decides to put Bart into a student exchange program. Bart ends up in France, where he is hosted by a pair of criminals and becomes a national hero when he exposes their plan to spike wine with antifreeze. Back in Springfield, the Simpsons host an Albanian student named Adil. Unbeknownst to the family, he is actually a spy in search of nuclear secrets. Touched by Adil's interest in his work, Homer ends up giving Adil the secrets he's after by showing him all over the nuclear plant.^[17]

Krusty the Clown is accused, tried, and convicted of robbing the Kwik-E-Mart, and Sideshow Bob takes his place as TV show host. Bart, however, believes that Krusty was framed. He enlists Lisa's help, and together they uncover evidence showing that the robber was actually Sideshow Bob in disguise. Krusty is freed and Sideshow Bob goes to jail, thus beginning the long-standing enmity between Sideshow Bob and Bart.
Guest star: Kelsey Grammer.^[18]

Homer and Marge spend an evening out on the town, leaving the kids with a babysitter named Ms. Botz. Bart and Lisa, however, learn from watching TV that Ms. Botz is actually a wanted fugitive named Lucille Botzkowski, better known as the "Babysitter Bandit". They succeed in capturing the sitter, but Homer, ignorant of her real identity, turns her loose.
Guest star: Penny Marshall.^[19]

• 13 episodes
• 3-disc set
• 1.33:1 aspect ratio
• Languages:
  • English (Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles) ^[19][22]
  • French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)^[19][22]
  • Spanish (subtitles only)^[19][22]

• Optional commentaries for all 13 episodes
• Original scripts for "Bart the Genius", "Bart the General", "Moaning Lisa" and "Some Enchanted Evening"
• Unaired version of "Enchanted Evening" with Optional Commentary
• Albert Brooks outtakes
• BBC Special: America's First Family
• ABC News: Bart T-shirt Controversy
• Tracy Ullman Show short: Good Night"
• Foreign Language Clips
• Early Sketches
• Stills and magazine covers

September 24th 2001