Season 1
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Season 1
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Season Information
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The first season began on December 17, 1989 with the first episode of the series, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," and ended on May 13,1990 with "Some Enchanted Evening." Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon were the show runners of the season.
"Some Enchanted Evening" was originally intended to broadcast in Fall of 1989, which would have made it the first episode of this season and The Simpsons' first ever episode (hence its production code in the earliest order). But, after the episode's poorly received workprint, the original airing for The Simpson to be broadcast in Autumn was delayed and it would be until Christmas of the same year when Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire would be aired as it was a Christmas special and had to be broadcast in this time, making it the first episode of the season and the show.
The season won one 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. This is the First of the Complete Seasons of The Simpsons released in boxsets for home media.
Contents
Production
The original plan was to begin the season and the series in the Autumn of 1989 with "Some Enchanted Evening." However, the workprint of the episode was of poor quality and was deemed unusable. 70% of its animation had to be redone, delaying it for months throughout the season until it finally ended up being aired as the season finale on May 13, 1990. Subsequent episodes such as "Bart the Genius" had minor problems in production that were easy to fix and were suitable for airing. As "Some Enchanted Evening" was being overhauled, the producers decided to air the Christmas special, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," on December 17, 1989. 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.
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.[1]
| Picture | # | Original title (top) Alternate title (bottom) |
Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | Prod. code |
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| 100px | 1 - 1 | "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
"The Simpsons Christmas Special" |
David Silverman | Mimi Pond | December 17, 1989 | 7G08 |
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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. | ||||||
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2 - 2 | "Bart the Genius" | David Silverman | Jon Vitti | January 14, 1990 | 7G02 |
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After cheating in an intelligence test by switching names with Martin Prince's paper and vice versa, Bart is considered to be a genius with the high grade his (though technically Martin's) paper gets. Bart is then enrolled in the Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children, a school which he struggles both academically and socially. Unaware that he cheated, Homer becomes closer to Bart until his son confesses to the switch. | ||||||
| 100px | 3 - 3 | "Homer's Odyssey" | Wes Archer | Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky | January 21,1990 | 7G03 |
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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 notes 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. | ||||||
| 100px | 4 - 4 | "There's No Disgrace Like Home" | Gregg Vanzo & Kent Butterworth |
Al Jean & Mike Reiss | January 28,1990 | 7G04 |
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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. | ||||||
| 100px | 5 - 5 | "Bart the General" | David Silverman | John Swartzwelder | February 4, 1990 | 7G05 |
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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. | ||||||
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6 - 6 | "Moaning Lisa" | Wes Archer | Al Jean & Mike Reiss | February 11, 1990 | 7G06 |
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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. | ||||||
| 100px | 7 - 7 | "The Call of the Simpsons" | Wes Archer | John Swartzwelder | February 18, 1990 | 7G09 |
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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. | ||||||
| 100px | 8 - 8 | "The Telltale Head" | Rich Moore | Al Jean, Mike Reiss,
Sam Simon & Matt Groening |
February 25, 1990 | 7G07 |
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Bart severs the head of Jebediah Springfield's statue in order to impress some troublemakers that he is trying to make friends with, but the vandalism outrages the townspeople and Bart finds himself targeted by an angry mob. 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. | ||||||
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9 - 9 | "Life on the Fast Lane" | David Silverman | John Swartzwelder | March 18,1990 | 7G11 |
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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. | ||||||
| 100px | 10 - 10 | "Homer's Night Out" | Rich Moore | Jon Vitti | March 25,1990 | 7G10 |
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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 |
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After Bart blows up a cherry bomb in the school toilets, 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, who (unknown to the family) 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 |
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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. | ||||||
| 100px | 13 - 13 | "Some Enchanted Evening" | David Silverman & Kent Butterworth |
Matt Groening & Sam Simon | May 13, 1990 | 7G01 |
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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. | ||||||
DVD Release
Season 1 was released on DVD by 20th Century Fox in Regions 2 and 4 on 24th September 2001, and on 25th September 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 | |||||||
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| Release Dates | ||||||||
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||||||
| September 25, 2001 | September 24, 2001 |
September 24th 2001 - |
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Awards
The season won one 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."
Seasons
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| 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 |
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