Season 1

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	Season Episode
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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 originally aired from December 17, 1989 with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", to May 13, 1990 with "Some Enchanted Evening". Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon were the show runners of the season.

The Simpsons and the season was intended to debut in Autumn of 1989 with "Some Enchanted Evening", which also includes much of the main characters' debut. But, after the workprint of the episode was met unfavourably and being deemed as unusable, 70% of its animation had to be redone, thus delaying "Some Enchanted Evening" until having finally being aired as the season finale on May 13, 1990. It was originally thought that subsequent episodes such as "Bart the Genius" would turn out just as bad as "Some Enchanted Evening" but there were only minor problems in production that were fortunately easy to fix and were suitable for airing. As "Some Enchanted Evening" was being overhauled, the producers decided to replace it with the season's Christmas special, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", on December 17, 1989 as the season premiere. The timing was very fortunate, as the episode would have had to be aired in the Christmas holidays of 1989 regardless of any other issues. "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" would also become The Simpsons' first ever episode broadcast.

The season won an Emmy award and had four other nominations. "Life on the Fast Lane" won "Outstanding Animated Program," for which "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was also a nominee. "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 13 episodes of Season 1, including extras such as the "Some Enchanted Evening" workprint, were released on DVD on September 25, 2001 in Region 1 and September 24, 2001 in Regions 2 and 4. It is the first of the Complete Seasons of The Simpsons released in boxsets for home media.

History

"Some Enchanted Evening" was originally intended to be broadcast in the fall of 1989, which would have made it the first episode of the season and of the series. However, the workprint was of such poor quality that the series premiere was delayed, as the episode had to be redone. 70 percent of "Some Enchanted Evening" had to be redone, so the episode remained in production until being broadcast at last on May 13, 1990, which made it the season's final episode. The FOX producers persuaded the Simpsons creative team to open the series "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" airing it just before Christmas the same year on December 17, 1989 as it had to be for it was a making it the season premiere and The Simpsons first episode. As the episode was a Christmas special, the producers were already locked into airing it on or near that date. The producers considered aborting The Simpsons completely if the second episode in production, "Bart the Genius", turned out as bad as "Some Enchanted Evening". Fortunately, only minor errors were present, which were easily fixed.

Episodes

Key

• In the # column;
  • The first number refers to the order it aired during the entire series.
  • The second number refers to the episode number within its season.
• The production code refers to the code assigned to the episode by the production team. The first two characters refer to the season the episode was made for: 7F for season two, 8F for season three. The second number is the order the episode was produced, not the airing order.

Picture	#	Original title (top) Alternate title (bottom)	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate	Prod. code
100px	1 - 1	"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" "The Simpsons Christmas Special"	David Silverman	Mimi Pond	December 17, 1989	7G08
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.
	2 - 2	"Bart the Genius"	David Silverman	Jon Vitti	January 14, 1990	7G02
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.
100px	3 - 3	"Homer's Odyssey"	Wes Archer	Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky	January 21, 1990	7G03
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.
100px	4 - 4	"There's No Disgrace Like Home"	Gregg Vanzo & Kent Butterworth	Al Jean & Mike Reiss	January 28, 1990	7G04
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, pawning the family's television set to pay for a family therapy session at Dr. Marvin Monroe's clinic. The session is a flop, but when Homer forces Monroe to honor his "double your money back" guarantee, the family ends up with enough money to buy a much better TV. 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.
100px	5 - 5	"Bart the General"	David Silverman	John Swartzwelder	February 4, 1990	7G05
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.
	6 - 6	"Moaning Lisa"	Wes Archer	Al Jean & Mike Reiss	February 11, 1990	7G06
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. Guest star: Ron Taylor.
100px	7 - 7	"The Call of the Simpsons"	Wes Archer	John Swartzwelder	February 18, 1990	7G09
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.
100px	8 - 8	"The Telltale Head"	Rich Moore	Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon & Matt Groening	February 25, 1990	7G07
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.
	9 - 9	"Life on the Fast Lane"	David Silverman	John Swartzwelder	March 18, 1990	7G11
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.
100px	10 - 10	"Homer's Night Out"	Rich Moore	Jon Vitti	March 25, 1990	7G10
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.
100px	11 - 11	"The Crepes of Wrath"	Wesley Archer & Milton Gray	George Meyer, Sam Simon, John Swartzwelder & Jon Vitti	April 15, 1990	7G13
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.
100px	12 - 12	"Krusty Gets Busted"	Brad Bird	Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky	April 29, 1990	7G12
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.
100px	13 - 13	"Some Enchanted Evening"	David Silverman & Kent Butterworth	Matt Groening & Sam Simon	May 13, 1990	7G01
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 stars: Penny Marshall, Paul Willson.

DVD Release

Season 1 was released on DVD by 20th Century Fox in Region 2 and 4 on September 24, 2001, and on September 25, 2001 in Region 1. While primarily consisting of the original 13 episodes, the DVD release features bonus material including deleted scenes, Animatics, and commentaries for every episode. The set sold 1.9 million units, becoming the highest-selling television program on DVD—a record which it held until October 2004 when it was passed by the first season of Chappelle's Show.

The Complete First Season
Set Details			Special Features
13 episodes 3-disc set 1.33:1 aspect ratio Languages: English (Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles) French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) Spanish (subtitles only)			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
Release Dates
Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
September 25, 2001	September 24, 2001	September 24, 2001

Awards

The season won an Emmy award and had four other nominations. "Life on the Fast Lane" won "Outstanding Animated Program," for which "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was also a nominee. "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."

References

• Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. pp. 14–15. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.

Seasons

Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4 • Season 5 • Season 6 • Season 7 • Season 8 • Season 9 • Season 10 • Season 11 • Season 12 Season 13 • Season 14 • Season 15 • Season 16 • Season 17 • Season 18 • Season 19 • Season 20 • Season 21 • Season 22 • Season 23 • Season 24 Season 25 • Season 26 • Season 27 • Season 28 • Season 29 • Season 30 • Season 31 • Season 32 • Season 33 • Season 34 • Season 35 • Season 36* Upcoming episodes Special episodes

	Season Episode
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