Season 1

Season 1

Season Information Original run: December 17, 1989 – May 13, 1990 No. of episodes: 13 Previous season: Ullman shorts Next season: 2 DVD boxset: The Complete First Season

The first season of the Simpsons began on 17th December 1989 with the first episode of the series, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" and ended on 13th May 1990 with "Some Enchanted Evening". Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon were the show runners of the season.

It was originally intended that the season finale, "Some Enchanted Evening", would be the first episode of the season as well as the series which would have aired at Autumn of 1989. However, after a poorly received workprint of the episode, 70% of it had to be redone, delaying it to months throughout the season until finally being aired on May 1990,late in the season. Subsequent episodes in their production such as "Bart the Genius" had minor problems that were easy to fix and were suitable for airing. As "Some Enchanted Evening" was being overhauled, the producers considered to air the Christmas special, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", which had the nearest airdate and would be the season premiere and the first episode of the series.

The season had four nominations and won one of them. It won Outstanding Animated Program from "Life on the Fast Lane", which the episode was tied with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was nominated for "Outstanding Editing in a Miniseries or Special", "The Call of the Simpsons" was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special" and "The Simpsons Theme", composed by Danny Elfman, was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music".

All of the 13 episodes of Season 1, including extras such as the "Some Enchanted Evening" workprint, were released on DVD on 25th September 2001 in Region 1 and 24th September 2001 in Region 2 and 4. This is the First of the Complete Seasons of The Simpsons released in boxsets for home media.

Episodes

# width=15%	Original title (top) Alternate title (bottom) width=25%	Written by width=10%	Directed by	Original airdate	Prod. code	April 19, 1987	"Good Night"
Marge and Homer say goodnight to their kids but all doesn't go to plan. Bart philosophically contemplates (first time and last) the wonders of the mind, Lisa hears Marge say "don't let the bed bugs bite" and fears that her bed bugs will eat her, and Maggie is traumatized by the lyrics of "rock-a-bye-baby"
2 - 102	May 3, 1987	"Watching TV"
Bart and Lisa quarrel over what channel they should watch. Repeatedly Maggie comes up to the television and changes the channel. The only thing they eventually agree on is to stop Maggie changing the channel. Later Homer is saying a speech about family matters and stops when the show comes back on.
3 - 103	May 10, 1987	"Jumping Bart"
Homer makes several attempts to have Bart jump into his arms. Each time Bart jumps Homer is distracted and fails to catch him.
4 - 104	May 31, 1987	"Babysitting Maggie"
Marge puts Bart and Lisa in charge of babysitting Maggie. They totally ignore her, and she gets electrocuted, falls down the stairs and chases a butterfly onto the roof only to fall off the roof.
5 - 105	June 21, 1987	"The Pacifier"
Bart and Lisa take Maggie's pacifier away to stop her from sucking on it. Maggie has an entire drawerful of them and refuses to kick the habit.
6 - 106	June 28, 1987	"Burping Contest"
Bart, Lisa and Maggie compete in a contest to see who can make the most disgusting burp. Marge objects several times, but to no avail.
7 - 107	July 12, 1987	"Dinnertime
Marge serves the family dinner and the family sits down for the meal. Marge insists that family should have table manners, but the family's crude eating habits are hard to stop.Season 2

#	Airdate	Title
8 - 201	September 22, 1987	"Making Faces"	120px
The kids make scary faces at each other. Marge warns them that if they make scary faces, the faces will stay there forever. This warning has the opposite effect.
9 - 202	October 4, 1987	"The Funeral"
Uncle Hubert is dead and the family attends his funeral. Bart is determined to see his uncle's corpse, but passes out when he glances into the casket.
10 - 203	October 11, 1987	"What Maggie's Thinking"
Bart and Lisa wonder what's inside Maggie's mind when looking at her in her crib. Maggie sees them as demons and later as infants with her being the grown up.
11 - 204	October 18, 1987	"Football"
Homer promises the kids chocolate milkshakes if Bart can catch one of his father's long football passes. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles to overcome.
12 - 205	October 25, 1987	"House of Cards"
Bart tries to make a house of cards, but Lisa and Maggie make noises that cause the house to fall every time.
13 - 206	November 1, 1987	"Bart and Homer's Dinner"
The girls are out watching a ballet and Homer is in charge of the dinner. Bart is relunctantly forced to eat a mix of fish nuggets and pork-a-roni.
14 - 207	November , 1987	"Space Patrol"
Bart, Lisa and Maggie play a game of "Space Patrol" while Homer and Marge are out. Lisa plays a superhero with Maggie as her sidekick, while Bart puts a jug on his head with the pretense of it being the helmet of an alien warlord. However, his head stuck in the jug and Lisa "frees" Bart using a croquet mallet.
15 - 208	November 15, 1987	"Bart's Haircut"
Bart's hair is too long and he is sent to a barber. His hair cut is too short and he tries multiple ways to hide it.
16 - 209	November 22, 1987	"World War III"	120px
Homer wakes up the family to practice for a nuclear drill. After multiple drills the family gets tired of him and traps him in the basement.
17 - 210	December 13, 1987	"The Perfect Crime"	120px
Marge bakes a batch of delicious cookies and Bart attempts to steal them, when everyone except him and Maggie leave the kitchen. Homer and Marge come back to find the tray empty, but Maggie guides them along a trail of cookies running across the floor. The family catches Bart lying on his back in his bedroom amidst a pile of cookie crumbs.
18 - 211	December 20, 1987	"Scary Stories"
Bart tells Lisa and Maggie a series of scary stories in the dark only to believe they're coming true.
19 - 212	January 10, 1988	"Grampa and the Kids"
Grampa tells the kids stories from the good old days. When the kids stop paying attention to him, he feigns his own death to recapture their attention.
20 - 213	January 24, 1988	"Gone Fishin'"
Bart and Homer go on a fishing trip. Homer asks Bart for a balogna sandwich, but Bart forgot the bologna. He puts the bait on the sandwich instead. When they get the boat in the water they hit rapids and later fall off of a waterfall.
21 - 214	February 7, 1988	"Skateboarding"
Bart teaches his sisters how to skateboard, but is outdone every time he tries to show off.