Simpsons by the Season: 1

"What can I say? I have a weakness for the classics." 

 

1989.

A loving family with actual food rather than miscellaneous
purple glop on their plates. 

The Berlin Wall just opened to west Germany, protests ran through Tiananmen Square, and The Simpsons aired their first episode. The Simpsons is old - old enough that technology in their "future" episodes has since not only been met but surpassed, and yet the series shows no signs of stopping. Just before the credits of their first episode ending with a Charlie Brown-esque family caroling of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer's, the final line of "you'll go down in history" rings more true than ever. Of course Bart chimes in with "like Attila the Hun" right afterwards, but much like the song it serves a better narrative without it.

You would think the very first season would be somewhat dated, but it holds up surprisingly well, albeit noticeably different than later episodes. Especially the first few of the season; it has a very 'family values' feel to it a lot of the time. Homer fears he'll ruin Christmas without his bonus in Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, Bart getting the crap kicked out of him over and over in Bart the General for sticking up for Lisa, and in Bart the Genius Bart and Homer have a few genuinely heart-felt moments. This may happen in later seasons here and there, but it's relatively few and far between in comparison, and perhaps not as strongly.

White Lou?! I wonder when he turns black... Fun fact:
Smithers is black in the early episodes. The times they are
a changin'.

The whole season is friendlier, so to speak, than the average set of episodes. The Simpsons themselves are more identifiable than ever - Homer actually works, is stupid but reasonably stupid, and does everything for his family; Bart is a troubled kid but ultimately good hearted, all the while learning lessons about popularity, honesty, and what have you, "Family Channel" style. Episode arcs follow a pattern: a flawed character makes an error, but the base good-nature comes out in the end and a lesson is learned. You see this in Homer's incident with the belly-dancer, Bart cheating on a test by switching it with Martin, Marge being temporarily swooned by television's most suave bowler, and Lisa with... I don't know, Lisa did something too. Probably a lesson about not trusting Albanian foreign exchange students. They all learn. There are morals. There are messages. And they come hard and fast nearly every episode.

However, this isn't to take away from the fact that the humour is timeless. Almost every comedy you'll see takes some time to find its footing, few coming out of the gate being top notch, and  the first season doesn't have too many moments that you'll be laughing out loud at as the next 10~ do. However, considering the age of the show it holds up shockingly well, much better than I had expected. I believe the first season may be viewed a little more harshly because of just how strong the following seasons are.

Top Left: a picture hangs in the background that is both
defying gravity and the length of Bart's forehead.
Bottom Left: I don't know why they would pick a high angled shot
to make Bart look like some inhuman monster, but here we are.
Right: Barney's differently-coloured mouth aside, they have a sneak
peek at one of Futurama's mutants in the top centre. 

Humour, despite the age, isn't the greatest difference. The answer comes in the immediate and obvious visually. The Simpsons is animated very, very differently as the seasons go on, and obviously the first is going to be where the changes are most prevalent. Mistakes and oddities (as pictured above) are littered all over the place, harking back to a time where animation was obviously a little harder. However, the expressions on Krusty's heart attack in Krusty Gets Busted more than makes up for any glaring (sometimes comical) errors.

The Simpsons, all things considered, starts out strong. I know for certain that it's about to get a heck of a lot stronger.


Best Episode(s):

This has got to be the best single frame of the series.

I have a soft spot for Kelsey Grammer, so my pick goes to Krusty Gets Busted with a nod to Bart the General. The introduction of two characters so consistently funny in Krusty and Sideshow Bob I cannot give the title for this season to any other.

Best Quote:
While Homer is negotiating for his job back from Mr. Burns:
"You're not as stupid as you sound... or look... or our best testing indicates."