Homer's Night Out
Air Date: March 25, 1990
Production Episode: 7G10
Written by: Jon Vitti
Directed by: Rich Moore
Jon Vitti's second episode, we cover familiar sitcom territory with the stag party gone wrong trope. Bart purchases a spy camera in the mail, and while out to dinner, happens to catch a photo of Homer dancing with a stripper at a bachelor party taking place at the same restaurant. The photo circulates throughout Springfield, and when Marge finds out she kicks Homer out of the house. Eventually she has him apologize to the woman to teach Bart that women are not objects. After tracking her down and apologizing, Homer falls onto the stage and makes an impassioned speech about treating women as people.
We start off seeing a callback to "Homer's Odyssey", where Bart's piggybank was smashed by Homer. Here it's taped back together when Bart breaks it. Six months after placing the order for the spy camera, we see the first appearance of the rarely seen (only four appearances over twenty seasons) mail carrier.
Rewinding a bit, the episode starts off with Homer laughing about his assistant, who six months later is his supervisor, and marrying a fellow co-worker. Homer heads off to the bachelor party, and Marge takes the kids out to dinner at the Rusty Barnacle. The Rusty Barnacle only appears this one time, although it is similar to The Frying Dutchman, the sea captain's restaurant.
We see Lenny and Carl at the bachelor party for the first time, speaking roles and all. Unfortunately, we don't see much else, other than the fact that they're Homer's work friends. It might seem like the bachelor and his father are familiar, but they're one off characters. The stripper arrives, and we get our first appearance of Shawna Tifton, also known as Princess Kashmir. This is actually the most we ever see of her, as she is later reduced to a background character in strip clubs, celebrity scenes, or when someone needs to be dating a random woman other than Edna Krabappel.
Bart ends up wandering into the party room and snaps a photo of Homer dancing with Princess Kashmir. We then move to the Springfield Elementary Photographer's Club, and the second speaking appearance of Martin Prince, who was introduced in "Bart the Genius", also written by Jon Vitti. The kids convince Bart to share the photo, which quickly gets around town.
We see Lovejoy for the second time, with a mention of his wife. Apu shows up at the Kwik E Mart again, claiming that Homer looks familiar. At this point he's a random store clerk. Later episodes retcon his relationship with Homer to go back before the start of the series. We also see Mr. Burns asking Homer for help finding a lady, a plot setup that we see many times during the series.
Marge kicks Homer out for the first of many, many times when she finds the picture. It's almost silly this time, given how absurd his antics get later on. Eventually she lets him back in and makes him go apologize to Princess Kashmir and show Bart that she's not just a sex object. Homer finds her at the good old Off Ramp Inn, performing in a show. She's doing a cage dance, and Homer accidentally stays in while it's being raised up, and falls onto the stage, interrupting a performance by Gulliver Dark, whom you might recognize as Tito Puente's singer in "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)".
We're treated to a rather racist sounding song about all the types of women he'd be willing to have sex with despite being Chinese, Eskimo, or Finn. Homer joins in before having a crisis of conscience. He stops the song and delivers an impassioned speech about respecting women as people and not just things to look at. Marge shows up and hugs him, we all feel good, and nobody questions that Bart was just given a tour of Springfield's strip clubs. Or that Gulliver's song was really, really racist. Seriously.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
S01EP09 The Call of the Simpsons
The Call of the Simpsons
Air Date: February 18, 1990
Production Episode: 7G09
Written by: John Swartzwelder
Directed by: Wesley Archer
One of the classics of the genre now, this episode takes the family out of their familiar setting and dumps them on a camping trip. What better way to explore your characters after setting them up than to force them into an unfamiliar situation rife with the potential for comedy? Even on The Simpsons alone this spring has been revisited time and time again.
We start off with a bit more of Ned's character development. At this point in the series, like in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", he's simply the well off neighbor that Homer is competing with. His actions in this episode don't fit his later character at all. In the previous episode we saw his habit of spending money on things others can enjoy. This comes up most notably later on in the series, where he reveals his rec room with beer on tap, full of things he would never partake in.
At the start we see Rod Flanders on a riding mower, complete with umbrella and lemonade. Modern Ned would consider such luxuries sinful. We then see Ned drive up in his new RV, which becomes a regular vehicle for them, appearing in several other episodes. At this point, however, Ned mentions that he has purchased the RV using credit, something the fiscally conscious later Ned would never do. At this point in the series, he makes the same amount of money as Homer. Later on, notably in the episode where he starts the Leftorium, he is said to be a pharmaceutical salesman, which would account for his wealth. His later literal personal relationship with God would also account for his good fortune.
Homer decides to get an RV of his own, and heads off to Cowboy Bob's. A not so recurring character, he's appeared in a handful of background scenes, as well as selling Homer an RV a second time fifteen years later in "Mobile Homer". Here he will only sell Homer a broken down used van due to Homer's credit rating. Ned still congratulates Homer on his purchase and declares it a beauty, showing his upbeat and affable nature right from the start.
Predictably, once the Simpsons are in the forest, they lose the RV when it rolls over a cliff. Stranded, Homer and Bart head out for help, while Marge and Lisa stay put. Maggie follows Homer without his knowledge, while Marge figures she will be okay with the guys. We see a lot of Lisa's intelligence, along with Marge's. They successfully create a shelter and fire, being comfortable until a news team finds them.
Homer and Bart lose Maggie, not realizing she's following them. They end up in a river, go over a waterfall, and climb out buck naked. They continue to fail at survival skills in humorous ways. Maggie is found by a bear, who she calms down with a spare pacifier. The bear takes her back to the caver, where they treat her as one of their own.
I don't want to claim the writers planned something they never intended to, but this comes up over and over. Maggie has the almost superhuman ability to get people or animals to listen to her. At first it was probably a "babies are innocent and animals will take care of a baby" trope, but you'll see as the seasons go on that it's a consistent part of her character, right up to the episodes in the future, where she's "The voice of her generation". Although that is far more likely a joke on the "Maggie never talks" gag. It is interesting how consistent the "Maggie is a super baby" plot point is.
In between this sequence, Homer tries to eat honey out of a bee hive, gets stung in the mouth, and falls into a muddy river. There he spots a camera man, who mistakes his shouting and bestial appearance as Bigfoot. It is at this point that Marge and Lisa meet the reporters and are rescued. After an interview as "The wife of Bigfoot", we see Lisa and her at home, watching the news, where we see the first ever appearance of.....
No, actually we don't. While the news anchor clearly has Kent Brockman's voice, he is not Kent Brockman yet. We don't see him until "Krusty Gets Busted". There's no mention of Kent's name at this point in the series.
Eventually Homer and Bart find Maggie, Homer is captured by hunters, and is studied by scientists. Despite knowing Homer from a few episodes earlier, Dr. Marvin Monroe, who is apparently now a zoologist, admits they cannot decide if Homer is a man or a beast. Eventually it is decided that he is either a brilliant beast or a below average man.
And so ends an entertaining romp in the woods full of the usual camping cliches, topped by a bigfoot sighting, and wrapped up in the most ridiculous way possible. Truly, a classic episode. And I'm not being sarcastic, these are what I'd consider the classic Simpsons. Ridiculous plotlines wrapped up in ridiculous ways that play on the Simpsons being the bottom of Springfield's social strata.
Also, did anyone else notice the bears growling was clearly heavy, metal furniture being moved around? It's incredibly noticeable in the sequence where Maggie is introduced to the other bears.
Air Date: February 18, 1990
Production Episode: 7G09
Written by: John Swartzwelder
Directed by: Wesley Archer
One of the classics of the genre now, this episode takes the family out of their familiar setting and dumps them on a camping trip. What better way to explore your characters after setting them up than to force them into an unfamiliar situation rife with the potential for comedy? Even on The Simpsons alone this spring has been revisited time and time again.
We start off with a bit more of Ned's character development. At this point in the series, like in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", he's simply the well off neighbor that Homer is competing with. His actions in this episode don't fit his later character at all. In the previous episode we saw his habit of spending money on things others can enjoy. This comes up most notably later on in the series, where he reveals his rec room with beer on tap, full of things he would never partake in.
At the start we see Rod Flanders on a riding mower, complete with umbrella and lemonade. Modern Ned would consider such luxuries sinful. We then see Ned drive up in his new RV, which becomes a regular vehicle for them, appearing in several other episodes. At this point, however, Ned mentions that he has purchased the RV using credit, something the fiscally conscious later Ned would never do. At this point in the series, he makes the same amount of money as Homer. Later on, notably in the episode where he starts the Leftorium, he is said to be a pharmaceutical salesman, which would account for his wealth. His later literal personal relationship with God would also account for his good fortune.
Homer decides to get an RV of his own, and heads off to Cowboy Bob's. A not so recurring character, he's appeared in a handful of background scenes, as well as selling Homer an RV a second time fifteen years later in "Mobile Homer". Here he will only sell Homer a broken down used van due to Homer's credit rating. Ned still congratulates Homer on his purchase and declares it a beauty, showing his upbeat and affable nature right from the start.
Predictably, once the Simpsons are in the forest, they lose the RV when it rolls over a cliff. Stranded, Homer and Bart head out for help, while Marge and Lisa stay put. Maggie follows Homer without his knowledge, while Marge figures she will be okay with the guys. We see a lot of Lisa's intelligence, along with Marge's. They successfully create a shelter and fire, being comfortable until a news team finds them.
Homer and Bart lose Maggie, not realizing she's following them. They end up in a river, go over a waterfall, and climb out buck naked. They continue to fail at survival skills in humorous ways. Maggie is found by a bear, who she calms down with a spare pacifier. The bear takes her back to the caver, where they treat her as one of their own.
I don't want to claim the writers planned something they never intended to, but this comes up over and over. Maggie has the almost superhuman ability to get people or animals to listen to her. At first it was probably a "babies are innocent and animals will take care of a baby" trope, but you'll see as the seasons go on that it's a consistent part of her character, right up to the episodes in the future, where she's "The voice of her generation". Although that is far more likely a joke on the "Maggie never talks" gag. It is interesting how consistent the "Maggie is a super baby" plot point is.
In between this sequence, Homer tries to eat honey out of a bee hive, gets stung in the mouth, and falls into a muddy river. There he spots a camera man, who mistakes his shouting and bestial appearance as Bigfoot. It is at this point that Marge and Lisa meet the reporters and are rescued. After an interview as "The wife of Bigfoot", we see Lisa and her at home, watching the news, where we see the first ever appearance of.....
No, actually we don't. While the news anchor clearly has Kent Brockman's voice, he is not Kent Brockman yet. We don't see him until "Krusty Gets Busted". There's no mention of Kent's name at this point in the series.
Eventually Homer and Bart find Maggie, Homer is captured by hunters, and is studied by scientists. Despite knowing Homer from a few episodes earlier, Dr. Marvin Monroe, who is apparently now a zoologist, admits they cannot decide if Homer is a man or a beast. Eventually it is decided that he is either a brilliant beast or a below average man.
And so ends an entertaining romp in the woods full of the usual camping cliches, topped by a bigfoot sighting, and wrapped up in the most ridiculous way possible. Truly, a classic episode. And I'm not being sarcastic, these are what I'd consider the classic Simpsons. Ridiculous plotlines wrapped up in ridiculous ways that play on the Simpsons being the bottom of Springfield's social strata.
Also, did anyone else notice the bears growling was clearly heavy, metal furniture being moved around? It's incredibly noticeable in the sequence where Maggie is introduced to the other bears.
Friday, September 12, 2014
S01EP08 Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Air Date: December 17, 1989
Production Episode: 7G08
Written by: Mimi Pond
Directed by: David Silverman
The first of many Simpsons Christmas episodes, and also the first aired episode, while being production episode number eight. "Some Enchanted Evening" was in fact the first episode, although it aired dead last in the season. The re-ordering of episodes from the production order was evident in the next six episodes, where Santa's Little Helper was nowhere to be found.
The episode involves the Simpson Family preparing for Christmas. When Homer's holiday bonus is cancelled and Marge needs the Christmas fund money to remove a tattoo Bart gets, Homer is forced to get a job as a mall Santa so his family can still have Christmas. When that fails, he and Bart go to the dog track, where they adopt a loveable abandoned greyhound: Santa's Little Helper. A name the writer's wished they hadn't made so long after a quarter century of writing it out in scripts.
We open on a Christmas Pageant. It's notable that the audience and the kids contain no recurring characters, despite Bart's class being introduced in previous episodes. You can almost make out Lewis in the group. Along with a recurring white haired girl with a ponytail.
As confirmed by the commentary, an initial trait of Principal Skinner is seen here, where he mispronounces words randomly. Obviously, this trait was quickly dropped, as I'm sure every one of you is thinking "He used to do what?" Another note during this scene is how many people now attribute the "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" song to The Simpsons, when it was in fact taken from the writer's own childhoods.
Bart's shenanigans end the scene and we move to the Simpsons home. Finally, it looks exactly like it does today. Even in 1990, they tried to stay consistent with layout of the home. Well, the background furniture and layout at least. The couches, as always throughout the series, regularly get moved wherever they're needed for a shot.
We hear Patty and Selma for the first time, aside from Selma's cameo in the crowd scene in previous episode, "The Telltale Head", with them appearing in the house along with Grandpa by the end of the episode. They're pretty much the same as they've always been, "sucking the joy out of every scene" to quote the commentary, along with their hatred of Homer.
This is one of those episodes where Bart is oddly respectful compared to later seasons. When faced with Homer's failure, modern Bart would laugh at him. Season one Bart cheered him up and agreed to keep his secret.
Speaking of characters changing, we see Flanders (aside from the back of his head) for the first time in this episode, as well as Rod and Todd. No indication is given of Flander's deep religious beliefs. At this point, he's simply the overly pleasant, show boating neighbor. It will be interesting to see when his character starts to develop, although this habit of buying extravagant things stays with him throughout the series.
We then see Homer at the Nuclear Plant. As this is production episode number 8, we see Homer in his position as "Safety Inspector", a position he took at the end of "Homer's Odyssey", the third production episode. He isn't sitting at his iconic station, but he is clearly checking off a list while wandering around. Of course, we all know he very quickly loses interest in doing his job well.
While we see Mr. Burns, we do not see any of the other Nuclear Plant personnel. Lenny and Carl do not appear until production episodes 10 and 11. Mr. Smither's voice is heard over a loudspeaker, however.
This scene sets a recurring theme that ran through the first few seasons, before being dropped in favor of more fantastic plots, although it is revisited from time to time. That theme being money issues. Groening and Silverman mention in the commentary that this was to distinguish it from other Sitcoms at the time, which tended to ignore the issue of money and bills.
Homer goes to drown his sorrows at Moe's Tavern. Homer is encouraged to become a mall Santa by Barney, and goes on to a class led by a rather disturbing recurring character. We don't know it yet, but this unnamed fellow will be back in episode 17 of season 3, "Homer at Bat", as the hypnotist Mr. Burns hires for his team. What he's doing teaching mall Santas, nobody knows.
The episode continues through Bart discovering Homer is the mall Santa, Homer only receiving $13 for his work, deciding to bet on greyhounds, meeting Santa's Little Helper, and bringing him home as the best Christmas present Bart and Lisa could ever ask for. On another note, this brought attention to a problem the writers were not actually aware of, and that's abandoned greyhounds at racetracks. So the family not only received a lovable new character, they raised awareness of animal abuse. Not bad for a series premiere.
Air Date: December 17, 1989
Production Episode: 7G08
Written by: Mimi Pond
Directed by: David Silverman
The first of many Simpsons Christmas episodes, and also the first aired episode, while being production episode number eight. "Some Enchanted Evening" was in fact the first episode, although it aired dead last in the season. The re-ordering of episodes from the production order was evident in the next six episodes, where Santa's Little Helper was nowhere to be found.
The episode involves the Simpson Family preparing for Christmas. When Homer's holiday bonus is cancelled and Marge needs the Christmas fund money to remove a tattoo Bart gets, Homer is forced to get a job as a mall Santa so his family can still have Christmas. When that fails, he and Bart go to the dog track, where they adopt a loveable abandoned greyhound: Santa's Little Helper. A name the writer's wished they hadn't made so long after a quarter century of writing it out in scripts.
We open on a Christmas Pageant. It's notable that the audience and the kids contain no recurring characters, despite Bart's class being introduced in previous episodes. You can almost make out Lewis in the group. Along with a recurring white haired girl with a ponytail.
As confirmed by the commentary, an initial trait of Principal Skinner is seen here, where he mispronounces words randomly. Obviously, this trait was quickly dropped, as I'm sure every one of you is thinking "He used to do what?" Another note during this scene is how many people now attribute the "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" song to The Simpsons, when it was in fact taken from the writer's own childhoods.
Bart's shenanigans end the scene and we move to the Simpsons home. Finally, it looks exactly like it does today. Even in 1990, they tried to stay consistent with layout of the home. Well, the background furniture and layout at least. The couches, as always throughout the series, regularly get moved wherever they're needed for a shot.
We hear Patty and Selma for the first time, aside from Selma's cameo in the crowd scene in previous episode, "The Telltale Head", with them appearing in the house along with Grandpa by the end of the episode. They're pretty much the same as they've always been, "sucking the joy out of every scene" to quote the commentary, along with their hatred of Homer.
This is one of those episodes where Bart is oddly respectful compared to later seasons. When faced with Homer's failure, modern Bart would laugh at him. Season one Bart cheered him up and agreed to keep his secret.
Speaking of characters changing, we see Flanders (aside from the back of his head) for the first time in this episode, as well as Rod and Todd. No indication is given of Flander's deep religious beliefs. At this point, he's simply the overly pleasant, show boating neighbor. It will be interesting to see when his character starts to develop, although this habit of buying extravagant things stays with him throughout the series.
We then see Homer at the Nuclear Plant. As this is production episode number 8, we see Homer in his position as "Safety Inspector", a position he took at the end of "Homer's Odyssey", the third production episode. He isn't sitting at his iconic station, but he is clearly checking off a list while wandering around. Of course, we all know he very quickly loses interest in doing his job well.
While we see Mr. Burns, we do not see any of the other Nuclear Plant personnel. Lenny and Carl do not appear until production episodes 10 and 11. Mr. Smither's voice is heard over a loudspeaker, however.
This scene sets a recurring theme that ran through the first few seasons, before being dropped in favor of more fantastic plots, although it is revisited from time to time. That theme being money issues. Groening and Silverman mention in the commentary that this was to distinguish it from other Sitcoms at the time, which tended to ignore the issue of money and bills.
Homer goes to drown his sorrows at Moe's Tavern. Homer is encouraged to become a mall Santa by Barney, and goes on to a class led by a rather disturbing recurring character. We don't know it yet, but this unnamed fellow will be back in episode 17 of season 3, "Homer at Bat", as the hypnotist Mr. Burns hires for his team. What he's doing teaching mall Santas, nobody knows.
The episode continues through Bart discovering Homer is the mall Santa, Homer only receiving $13 for his work, deciding to bet on greyhounds, meeting Santa's Little Helper, and bringing him home as the best Christmas present Bart and Lisa could ever ask for. On another note, this brought attention to a problem the writers were not actually aware of, and that's abandoned greyhounds at racetracks. So the family not only received a lovable new character, they raised awareness of animal abuse. Not bad for a series premiere.
S01EP07 The Telltale Head
The Telltale Head
Air Date: February 25, 1990
Production Episode: 7G07
Written by: Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon, and Matt Groening
Directed by: Rich Moore
Another classic of season one, this episode follows Bart as he falls in with the group of bullies we come to know and love, cuts the head off the Jebediah Springfield statue, and is chased by an angry mob.
This episode marks a lot of first appearances. As the episode opens in medias res, with Bart being chased by an angry mob, we see the first crowd scene containing established town characters. As noted in the commentary, this was the first time they had enough characters to fill out a crowd scene. Besides Skinner, Edna, Burns, Marvin Monroe, Moe, Grandpa, Smithers, Otto, the Winfields, Mr. Largo, and Selma (but not Patty), we see several characters introduced in this episode. Reverand Lovejoy and Krusty are shown prominently, being introduced later in the episode. We also see the back of Ned Flander's head in one shot, his moustache clearly visible. His full first appearance is in the next episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". This is Selma's first appearance as well, with her full appearance with Patty being in the next episode as well.
Also introduced but absent from the crowd scenes are Jimbo, Kearney, and Dolph, Nelson's fellow bullies. At this point they're older kids, although as we see later, their ages are shifted around for humorous effect. Kearney mentions remembering America's bicentennial celebration in a later season, making him at least 15 in 1990, and 20 in 1996 when he made that statement in "Lisa the Iconoclast". This makes him far too old to be in school at all, let alone elementary school.
We also meet the man I consider Homer's best friend, Apu. Sure, some say it's Barney, or Carl and Lenny, but no, I say it's Apu. Here he's just the Kwick-E-Mart clerk, but over the years, he's consistently been in Homer's various hobbies. He's been on his bowling team, his barbershop quartet, his vigilante group, and on numerous occasions been at Moe's. He and Homer constantly share their troubles, and he's such a close friend that he's lived at their home twice, and even held his wedding there.
You could argue that he also treats Homer and Marge like strangers on multiple occasions, but I counter that he simply makes a distinct separation of his work and personal life, to the point that he has his best friend's wife arrested for shoplifting, and will occasionally rip Homer off. Then again, when his competition is Barney, I think he still comes out on top with Flanders.
Outside their appearance in the opening scene, Reverand Lovejoy and Krusty do appear in the episode proper. We see the Simpsons in church for the first time, a novelty back then, as a church set for a live action sitcom would be expensive, and the only other cartoon sitcoms were set in fantasy settings. This episode also marks a lot of the tricky camera shots that would have been impossible in live action, another point that made the show unique.
Krusty appears on his show, asking his viewers to call in any tips about the vandalism of the Jebediah Springfield statue. Also of note is Sideshow Bob, wearing an afro instead of his normal hair. According to the commentary, they had changed his design for Kelsey Grammar's guest spot a few episodes later, but could not change the animation in this episode in time.
You may have also heard the trivia about Krusty originally being Homer in disguise. As we can see here, this was dropped before Krusty ever appeared on the half hour series, as Krusty is clearly speaking in the mob scene directly to Homer and Bart in his first ever appearance outside the Ullman shorts.
We also see the second appearance of Chief Wiggum, being not at all like Wiggum, holding a press conference again. An early version of the Squeaky Voiced Teen appears in the movie theater to kick out Bart and the bullies, although he lacks the acne and squeaky voice of later seasons. We meet Ms. Albright for the first time. You may not recognize her, she's the Sunday School teacher. And of course we learn of Jebediah Springfield, the town's founder.
Overall, this episode dumped a plethora of new characters into the town. Eleven new characters, if you include the back of Ned's head, and leave out one off characters like Mr. Dandy the ice cream shop guy. Another one of the original episodes with no B-stories, it would still fit in perfectly with a more modern episode. Everyone is in character, we see the crowd scenes that are a staple of the show, and the house is now starting to stick to a consistent layout, aside from the magic tree that moves to whatever window is needed.
Smither's being gay and in love with Mr. Burns instead of just sycophantic is mentioned at the end of the episode, when Mr. Burns says "I love you Smithers", and Smithers replies "The feeling is more than mutual sir.". Mr. Burns, however, is still a bit too normal, showing empathy to other characters and Bart. An interesting note is the inclusion of the extended Simpsons family in the mob scene. Right from the beginning, Grandpa and Selma's willingness to join in a mob going after Homer and Bart is shown. As we know, this is often played to humorous effect, with Grandpa demanding more violence than the rest of the mob.
Air Date: February 25, 1990
Production Episode: 7G07
Written by: Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon, and Matt Groening
Directed by: Rich Moore
Another classic of season one, this episode follows Bart as he falls in with the group of bullies we come to know and love, cuts the head off the Jebediah Springfield statue, and is chased by an angry mob.
This episode marks a lot of first appearances. As the episode opens in medias res, with Bart being chased by an angry mob, we see the first crowd scene containing established town characters. As noted in the commentary, this was the first time they had enough characters to fill out a crowd scene. Besides Skinner, Edna, Burns, Marvin Monroe, Moe, Grandpa, Smithers, Otto, the Winfields, Mr. Largo, and Selma (but not Patty), we see several characters introduced in this episode. Reverand Lovejoy and Krusty are shown prominently, being introduced later in the episode. We also see the back of Ned Flander's head in one shot, his moustache clearly visible. His full first appearance is in the next episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". This is Selma's first appearance as well, with her full appearance with Patty being in the next episode as well.
Also introduced but absent from the crowd scenes are Jimbo, Kearney, and Dolph, Nelson's fellow bullies. At this point they're older kids, although as we see later, their ages are shifted around for humorous effect. Kearney mentions remembering America's bicentennial celebration in a later season, making him at least 15 in 1990, and 20 in 1996 when he made that statement in "Lisa the Iconoclast". This makes him far too old to be in school at all, let alone elementary school.
We also meet the man I consider Homer's best friend, Apu. Sure, some say it's Barney, or Carl and Lenny, but no, I say it's Apu. Here he's just the Kwick-E-Mart clerk, but over the years, he's consistently been in Homer's various hobbies. He's been on his bowling team, his barbershop quartet, his vigilante group, and on numerous occasions been at Moe's. He and Homer constantly share their troubles, and he's such a close friend that he's lived at their home twice, and even held his wedding there.
You could argue that he also treats Homer and Marge like strangers on multiple occasions, but I counter that he simply makes a distinct separation of his work and personal life, to the point that he has his best friend's wife arrested for shoplifting, and will occasionally rip Homer off. Then again, when his competition is Barney, I think he still comes out on top with Flanders.
Outside their appearance in the opening scene, Reverand Lovejoy and Krusty do appear in the episode proper. We see the Simpsons in church for the first time, a novelty back then, as a church set for a live action sitcom would be expensive, and the only other cartoon sitcoms were set in fantasy settings. This episode also marks a lot of the tricky camera shots that would have been impossible in live action, another point that made the show unique.
Krusty appears on his show, asking his viewers to call in any tips about the vandalism of the Jebediah Springfield statue. Also of note is Sideshow Bob, wearing an afro instead of his normal hair. According to the commentary, they had changed his design for Kelsey Grammar's guest spot a few episodes later, but could not change the animation in this episode in time.
You may have also heard the trivia about Krusty originally being Homer in disguise. As we can see here, this was dropped before Krusty ever appeared on the half hour series, as Krusty is clearly speaking in the mob scene directly to Homer and Bart in his first ever appearance outside the Ullman shorts.
We also see the second appearance of Chief Wiggum, being not at all like Wiggum, holding a press conference again. An early version of the Squeaky Voiced Teen appears in the movie theater to kick out Bart and the bullies, although he lacks the acne and squeaky voice of later seasons. We meet Ms. Albright for the first time. You may not recognize her, she's the Sunday School teacher. And of course we learn of Jebediah Springfield, the town's founder.
Overall, this episode dumped a plethora of new characters into the town. Eleven new characters, if you include the back of Ned's head, and leave out one off characters like Mr. Dandy the ice cream shop guy. Another one of the original episodes with no B-stories, it would still fit in perfectly with a more modern episode. Everyone is in character, we see the crowd scenes that are a staple of the show, and the house is now starting to stick to a consistent layout, aside from the magic tree that moves to whatever window is needed.
Smither's being gay and in love with Mr. Burns instead of just sycophantic is mentioned at the end of the episode, when Mr. Burns says "I love you Smithers", and Smithers replies "The feeling is more than mutual sir.". Mr. Burns, however, is still a bit too normal, showing empathy to other characters and Bart. An interesting note is the inclusion of the extended Simpsons family in the mob scene. Right from the beginning, Grandpa and Selma's willingness to join in a mob going after Homer and Bart is shown. As we know, this is often played to humorous effect, with Grandpa demanding more violence than the rest of the mob.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
S01EP06 Moaning Lisa
Moaning Lisa
Air Date: February 11, 1990
Production Episode: 7G06
Written by: Al Jean and Mike Reiss
Directed by: Wesley Archer
Here it is, Lisa's big episode. The character defining moment that started the second grade activist on her path to individuality and obsessively latching on to causes like... well, like an eight year old.
A lot of the criticisms of Lisa are about her grabbing a new ideology and beating people over the head with it, yet people tend to forget that Lisa is eight years old. Even though she acts older, she's still acting like a teenager. And this is what teenagers do. They find a new thing and they're all about that new thing until something else comes along. And Lisa almost always is brought back down to earth by the end of the episode. The vegetarian and Buddhism episodes in particular end with someone explaining to her that she can embrace an ideology while respecting other's choices.
But that's not really here nor there. This episode is all about the jazz. Which is funny, since the now canonical future episodes fifteen years later have Maggie being the artist, and Lisa being a vaguely corporate big shot.
The episode deals with Lisa being depressed over her life, feeling beaten down and unable to express herself. She hears another jazz artist outside one night, and goes off to find Bleeding Gums Murphy, voiced by Ron Taylor. Marge brings her home, and the next day gives her the world's worst pep talk. (more on that later) Marge immediately regrets this decision and demands that Lisa be sad, be herself, and never let anyone tell her different. She then takes the whole family to see Bleeding Gums at the Jazz Hole.
This is also the first episode to have a B-story. It's unfortunate that Lisa wasn't considered strong enough to carry an episode by herself, while Bart's first solo story in "Bart the Genius" didn't require one. The B-story involves Homer and Bart playing a videogame, with Homer losing every time. Not one of the stronger B-stories in the series.
We start off with Lisa in band class, with Mr. Largo's first appearance in the show itself. He scolds Lisa when she initiates a jazz solo during the class. We see a good number of the previously introduced classmates, including Martin. Ralph Wiggum has not yet appeared, though. Mr. Largo is based off an old music teacher Matt Groening had as a kid, who had a similar disdain for anything other than the classics. His version of the "classics" are public domain patriotism songs, which is explicitly stated in later seasons as a budgeting issue at Springfield Elementary. Here it's "My Country Tis of Thee". Later it's changed to "Stars and Stripes Forever" as the only song Mr. Largo ever plays.
We see Janey's first appearance as Lisa's sometimes friend in the cafeteria. Lisa's friend group is one of those weird things the series drops randomly in favor of Lisa not having friends plots. Over the course of the series, Lisa has made friends with dozens of her classmates, who all vanish once the writers need her to meet a new friend, even with the previous new friends still appearing in crowd scenes. Of course, we are talking about eight year olds. They are a fickle bunch.
At home, Lisa is yelled at for practicing her saxophone. When she stops, she hears a sound coming from outside. She follows it to the bridge, where she discovers Bleeding Gums Murphy. He mentors her on becoming a jazz musician, and our hearts grow a few sizes in the process. Back at home, Marge dreams about her childhood, with the first appearance of her mother, who retains this character model when she appears later. Here we see a recurring theme with Marge. She was told to repress her feelings and always smile. This is sometimes played for laughs, but often used to explain why she is who she is.
In a way, this is Marge's episode as well. We see her repressing her feelings (and later dreams) to give her children a better life than she had. Well, at least with Lisa. Marge realizes Lisa is gone and goes out to find her, telling her to stay away from Bleeding Gums. The next day, dropping Lisa off at band practice, she gives Lisa the same talk her mother gave her. To always smile and push your feelings down so people will like you. The immediate results of following this advice is a boy asking her to come over and do his homework for him. Mr. Largo comes out and tells her not to have any more interruptions today.
Marge grimaces at each of these, finally spinning the car around, grabbing Lisa, and telling her one of the greatest lines in the series:
"Lisa, I apologize to you, I was wrong, I take it all back. Always be yourself. If you want to be sad, honey, be sad. We'll ride it out with you. And when you get finished feeling sad, we'll still be there. From now on, let me do the smiling for both of us."
Here we see what makes Marge tick. She's resigned to her life, but she's not going to let Lisa make the same mistakes. Of course, one can argue this same "Let your children express themselves" is what makes Bart so wild, so there really should be a middle ground. That's one of the problems with the series running 25 years. At first Marge is making progress, but since Bart can't ever grow up or stop being a screwup, she basically has to ignore him and look like the world's worst parent.
Another issue is that at first it's simply "Marge put her life on hold until her children are older and then can go back to being whatever she was". (At this point a car hop. Seriously.) As the series progressed, and Marge picked up more hobbies and jobs, she went from being an artist that took some time off to someone who is constantly being pushed back down into the role of a housewife, even when those jobs would fit right alongside raising her children. Marge is an adult Lisa who has given up on her dreams. We see it later when she picks up the same activism trait that Lisa gets. We see it when she makes beautiful paintings and writes best selling novels. Yet due to the reset button and nobody ageing, she's doomed to never see her dreams come true.
So I don't know how an episode about Lisa expressing herself became such a tragic insight into Marge's character, but that's what makes the show such a classic. It isn't just five archetypes that happen to reside in the same house, it's a living, breathing family that shares experiences and grows together.
Air Date: February 11, 1990
Production Episode: 7G06
Written by: Al Jean and Mike Reiss
Directed by: Wesley Archer
Here it is, Lisa's big episode. The character defining moment that started the second grade activist on her path to individuality and obsessively latching on to causes like... well, like an eight year old.
A lot of the criticisms of Lisa are about her grabbing a new ideology and beating people over the head with it, yet people tend to forget that Lisa is eight years old. Even though she acts older, she's still acting like a teenager. And this is what teenagers do. They find a new thing and they're all about that new thing until something else comes along. And Lisa almost always is brought back down to earth by the end of the episode. The vegetarian and Buddhism episodes in particular end with someone explaining to her that she can embrace an ideology while respecting other's choices.
But that's not really here nor there. This episode is all about the jazz. Which is funny, since the now canonical future episodes fifteen years later have Maggie being the artist, and Lisa being a vaguely corporate big shot.
The episode deals with Lisa being depressed over her life, feeling beaten down and unable to express herself. She hears another jazz artist outside one night, and goes off to find Bleeding Gums Murphy, voiced by Ron Taylor. Marge brings her home, and the next day gives her the world's worst pep talk. (more on that later) Marge immediately regrets this decision and demands that Lisa be sad, be herself, and never let anyone tell her different. She then takes the whole family to see Bleeding Gums at the Jazz Hole.
This is also the first episode to have a B-story. It's unfortunate that Lisa wasn't considered strong enough to carry an episode by herself, while Bart's first solo story in "Bart the Genius" didn't require one. The B-story involves Homer and Bart playing a videogame, with Homer losing every time. Not one of the stronger B-stories in the series.
We start off with Lisa in band class, with Mr. Largo's first appearance in the show itself. He scolds Lisa when she initiates a jazz solo during the class. We see a good number of the previously introduced classmates, including Martin. Ralph Wiggum has not yet appeared, though. Mr. Largo is based off an old music teacher Matt Groening had as a kid, who had a similar disdain for anything other than the classics. His version of the "classics" are public domain patriotism songs, which is explicitly stated in later seasons as a budgeting issue at Springfield Elementary. Here it's "My Country Tis of Thee". Later it's changed to "Stars and Stripes Forever" as the only song Mr. Largo ever plays.
We see Janey's first appearance as Lisa's sometimes friend in the cafeteria. Lisa's friend group is one of those weird things the series drops randomly in favor of Lisa not having friends plots. Over the course of the series, Lisa has made friends with dozens of her classmates, who all vanish once the writers need her to meet a new friend, even with the previous new friends still appearing in crowd scenes. Of course, we are talking about eight year olds. They are a fickle bunch.
At home, Lisa is yelled at for practicing her saxophone. When she stops, she hears a sound coming from outside. She follows it to the bridge, where she discovers Bleeding Gums Murphy. He mentors her on becoming a jazz musician, and our hearts grow a few sizes in the process. Back at home, Marge dreams about her childhood, with the first appearance of her mother, who retains this character model when she appears later. Here we see a recurring theme with Marge. She was told to repress her feelings and always smile. This is sometimes played for laughs, but often used to explain why she is who she is.
In a way, this is Marge's episode as well. We see her repressing her feelings (and later dreams) to give her children a better life than she had. Well, at least with Lisa. Marge realizes Lisa is gone and goes out to find her, telling her to stay away from Bleeding Gums. The next day, dropping Lisa off at band practice, she gives Lisa the same talk her mother gave her. To always smile and push your feelings down so people will like you. The immediate results of following this advice is a boy asking her to come over and do his homework for him. Mr. Largo comes out and tells her not to have any more interruptions today.
Marge grimaces at each of these, finally spinning the car around, grabbing Lisa, and telling her one of the greatest lines in the series:
"Lisa, I apologize to you, I was wrong, I take it all back. Always be yourself. If you want to be sad, honey, be sad. We'll ride it out with you. And when you get finished feeling sad, we'll still be there. From now on, let me do the smiling for both of us."
Here we see what makes Marge tick. She's resigned to her life, but she's not going to let Lisa make the same mistakes. Of course, one can argue this same "Let your children express themselves" is what makes Bart so wild, so there really should be a middle ground. That's one of the problems with the series running 25 years. At first Marge is making progress, but since Bart can't ever grow up or stop being a screwup, she basically has to ignore him and look like the world's worst parent.
Another issue is that at first it's simply "Marge put her life on hold until her children are older and then can go back to being whatever she was". (At this point a car hop. Seriously.) As the series progressed, and Marge picked up more hobbies and jobs, she went from being an artist that took some time off to someone who is constantly being pushed back down into the role of a housewife, even when those jobs would fit right alongside raising her children. Marge is an adult Lisa who has given up on her dreams. We see it later when she picks up the same activism trait that Lisa gets. We see it when she makes beautiful paintings and writes best selling novels. Yet due to the reset button and nobody ageing, she's doomed to never see her dreams come true.
So I don't know how an episode about Lisa expressing herself became such a tragic insight into Marge's character, but that's what makes the show such a classic. It isn't just five archetypes that happen to reside in the same house, it's a living, breathing family that shares experiences and grows together.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
S01EP05 Bart the General
Bart the General
Air Date: Jan 28, 1990
Production Episode: 7G05
Written by: John Swartzwelder
Directed by: David Silverman
And now we come to the first appearance of Nelson Muntz, Bart's sometimes nemesis, sometimes friend, and Lisa's guilty secret, if you consider the future episodes canonical. In this episode, he's just your generic bully with some classic lines. We don't see his broken home life and poverty that make him sympathetic until later.
The episode involves Lisa making muffins for her teacher, and Nelson's generic cronies taking them. Bart defends her, incurring the wrath of Nelson, leading to him being beaten up daily. Lisa suggests going to Grandpa, already implied to be a war hero, who takes them to Herman, who teaches Bart how to wage a war. A classic sequence of war movie references follows, including a saturation water balloon bombing. Nelson is defeated, and forced to sign a peace treaty with Bart.
Homer is still a bit mature and grown up at this point. Muffins in the oven and he dutifully leaves them alone when told to? Shocking. Simply shocking. The muffins are for Ms. Hoover, who we still do not see in this episode, although this is her first mention. The backgrounds have dropped the overly busy look of previous episodes at this point. While the kitchen is almost identical to the final layout, the house is still nonsensical, with hallways and doors and other hallways running every which way.
We start the episode off with a good bit of character development for Lisa. Besides baking the muffins, her grades and smarts are brought up. She's finally stepped out of the "female Bart" role into her own character. We also see how she looks up to Bart at several points, (cheering him on) while still taking him down a notch when appropriate. (giving him the muffin that fell on the floor)
At the school, we see Nelson and his original two cronies, only known as "the weasels". They were quickly dropped for Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney a few episodes later, although they continue to appear in children crowd scenes throughout the series.
Dreading his after school beating by Nelson, Bart falls asleep and has a nightmare. This brings up an interesting point of confusion. During the commentary, the directors mention how the censors complained about the knives being thrown at Nelson and the gun being fired at him. A common misconception is that the Simpsons have a contractual clause preventing Fox from censoring it. This is incorrect. The actual clause is for production notes, not censor notes, meaning Fox had no say in the creative side of the series. They of course were allowed to censor it, as they would have been risking fines from the FCC otherwise. This comes up multiple times throughout the series in interesting ways, including Rupert Murdoch having to personally approve a joke at his expense at one point.
After his second beating, Lisa suggests Bart go to see Grandpa Simpson, "the toughest Simpson there is". They go to the Springfield Retirement Castle, which we see for the first time. It's actually in excellent condition, compared to how we see it in "Old Money", which implies that it was upgraded to it's current state with Grandpa's inheritance. We also see Jasper, who gets a scene with Grandpa, along with the Old Jewish Man in the background when Bart asks to see his Grandpa.
Grandpa Simpson is exactly the same as he is today. Crotchety and writing rambling nonsense letters to various publications. His war experience isn't directly mentioned, but it is alluded to in his conversations with Herman, his speech during the attack on Nelson, and the fact that he buys a magazine that focuses on weapons.
We see Herman and his antiques store for the first time. Initially, he was supposed to be a recurring character, with a new story for how he lost his arm every time. This was dropped, along with Herman as a regular, although he has consistently appeared over time.
An interesting point about the series original run, the writers were facing a lot of controversy over the language and situations on the show. A reference by Homer to "go for the family jewels" was considered risque, and then lampooned by Grandpa compiling a list of words he didn't want to hear on TV, which ended with "family jewels". Younger people might not realize just how innovative the show was at the time. You simply didn't see dysfunction and kids solving their problems with violence on television shows, let alone in a cartoon.
Today, such complaints would seem ridiculous. The Simpsons would now be considered one of the tamer families on television, with McFarlane pushing the envelope so far with his shows as to have redefined the term "dysfunction". Even compared to a few years later, Bart's antics seem adorable and quaint. Dealing with a bully through a water balloon fight is one of the least offensive methods of conflict resolution seen on the show.
At the time, however, he was considered a menace, a terrible role model for children everywhere. Going through the first season, you see Bart always doing the right thing in the end, creatively solving his problems, and being supportive of his family even at his own personal expense. The Simpsons and Married with Children may have kicked off the dysfunctional but loving family trope, but the key part of both shows is the characters still loved each other deep down. This realistic dysfunction is what made the show a classic, and carried it on through a quarter century of success.
Air Date: Jan 28, 1990
Production Episode: 7G05
Written by: John Swartzwelder
Directed by: David Silverman
And now we come to the first appearance of Nelson Muntz, Bart's sometimes nemesis, sometimes friend, and Lisa's guilty secret, if you consider the future episodes canonical. In this episode, he's just your generic bully with some classic lines. We don't see his broken home life and poverty that make him sympathetic until later.
The episode involves Lisa making muffins for her teacher, and Nelson's generic cronies taking them. Bart defends her, incurring the wrath of Nelson, leading to him being beaten up daily. Lisa suggests going to Grandpa, already implied to be a war hero, who takes them to Herman, who teaches Bart how to wage a war. A classic sequence of war movie references follows, including a saturation water balloon bombing. Nelson is defeated, and forced to sign a peace treaty with Bart.
Homer is still a bit mature and grown up at this point. Muffins in the oven and he dutifully leaves them alone when told to? Shocking. Simply shocking. The muffins are for Ms. Hoover, who we still do not see in this episode, although this is her first mention. The backgrounds have dropped the overly busy look of previous episodes at this point. While the kitchen is almost identical to the final layout, the house is still nonsensical, with hallways and doors and other hallways running every which way.
We start the episode off with a good bit of character development for Lisa. Besides baking the muffins, her grades and smarts are brought up. She's finally stepped out of the "female Bart" role into her own character. We also see how she looks up to Bart at several points, (cheering him on) while still taking him down a notch when appropriate. (giving him the muffin that fell on the floor)
At the school, we see Nelson and his original two cronies, only known as "the weasels". They were quickly dropped for Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney a few episodes later, although they continue to appear in children crowd scenes throughout the series.
Dreading his after school beating by Nelson, Bart falls asleep and has a nightmare. This brings up an interesting point of confusion. During the commentary, the directors mention how the censors complained about the knives being thrown at Nelson and the gun being fired at him. A common misconception is that the Simpsons have a contractual clause preventing Fox from censoring it. This is incorrect. The actual clause is for production notes, not censor notes, meaning Fox had no say in the creative side of the series. They of course were allowed to censor it, as they would have been risking fines from the FCC otherwise. This comes up multiple times throughout the series in interesting ways, including Rupert Murdoch having to personally approve a joke at his expense at one point.
After his second beating, Lisa suggests Bart go to see Grandpa Simpson, "the toughest Simpson there is". They go to the Springfield Retirement Castle, which we see for the first time. It's actually in excellent condition, compared to how we see it in "Old Money", which implies that it was upgraded to it's current state with Grandpa's inheritance. We also see Jasper, who gets a scene with Grandpa, along with the Old Jewish Man in the background when Bart asks to see his Grandpa.
Grandpa Simpson is exactly the same as he is today. Crotchety and writing rambling nonsense letters to various publications. His war experience isn't directly mentioned, but it is alluded to in his conversations with Herman, his speech during the attack on Nelson, and the fact that he buys a magazine that focuses on weapons.
We see Herman and his antiques store for the first time. Initially, he was supposed to be a recurring character, with a new story for how he lost his arm every time. This was dropped, along with Herman as a regular, although he has consistently appeared over time.
An interesting point about the series original run, the writers were facing a lot of controversy over the language and situations on the show. A reference by Homer to "go for the family jewels" was considered risque, and then lampooned by Grandpa compiling a list of words he didn't want to hear on TV, which ended with "family jewels". Younger people might not realize just how innovative the show was at the time. You simply didn't see dysfunction and kids solving their problems with violence on television shows, let alone in a cartoon.
Today, such complaints would seem ridiculous. The Simpsons would now be considered one of the tamer families on television, with McFarlane pushing the envelope so far with his shows as to have redefined the term "dysfunction". Even compared to a few years later, Bart's antics seem adorable and quaint. Dealing with a bully through a water balloon fight is one of the least offensive methods of conflict resolution seen on the show.
At the time, however, he was considered a menace, a terrible role model for children everywhere. Going through the first season, you see Bart always doing the right thing in the end, creatively solving his problems, and being supportive of his family even at his own personal expense. The Simpsons and Married with Children may have kicked off the dysfunctional but loving family trope, but the key part of both shows is the characters still loved each other deep down. This realistic dysfunction is what made the show a classic, and carried it on through a quarter century of success.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
S01EP04 There's No Disgrace Like Home
There's No Disgrace Like Home
Air Date: Jan 28, 1990
Production Episode: 7G04
Written by: Al Jean and Mike Reiss
Directed by: Gregg Vanzo and Kent Butterworth
Another one of the first set of episodes produced, this one is the least true to the characters. Almost everyone is acting out of character, with the exception of Bart. Even in the DVD commentary, the writers acknowledge the fact that every character trait displayed is wrong. We also see the Simpsons wearing other clothes, something that rarely happens later on.
The plot of the episode involves a company picnic at the stately Burns Manor, where Homer's family proceeds to embarrass him. Upon returning home, he decides that they are going to shape up and be a normal family, leading to a session of peeping into their neighbor's windows. Later drowning his sorrows at Moe's bar, he sees an advertisement for Dr. Marvin Monroe's therapy clinic. Pawning the TV to pay for the session, the Simpsons end up driving Dr. Monroe nuts, where he kicks them out and refunds double their money as per his guarantee.
Going through the episode in order, we see Burns Manor for the first time, almost identical to it's later designs. We also see Mr. Smithers, now white, displaying his first obvious sycophantic traits towards Mr. Burns. His skin color was changed starting with this episode, as having a subservient black employee constantly kissing up to his rich white boss was obviously more than a bit uncomfortable.
Mr. Burns is slightly out of character in this episode. While he is aloof, forgetful of employee's names, and a tyrant, he is still opening up his manor for a company picnic, complete with food and alcoholic drinks. He also rewards employees with happy families and punishes those with bratty children. This is a far cry from the despot who looks down at all his workers with disdain. We do, however, see him threaten to release the hounds for the first time, so it's still Mr. Burns underneath that surprisingly momentarily generous facade.
At the picnic, we see everyone but Bart out of character. Homer is being well behaved and polite. Lisa is raising just as much hell as Bart. And Marge... well, Marge is the alcoholic in this episode, embarrassing Homer. Another trait, as noted in the DVD commentary, in this episode, and early on, is that Homer was more concerned with how people saw him, and his social standing. This is later dropped in favor of Homer being the clown.
Granted, Homer is still stupid. But in these first four episodes, it's played more subtly, and mostly with him acknowledging the fact that he's stupid rather than showing it. It isn't until later that he embraces his stupidity and runs with it. As said in a later commentary, the writers were on a mission by season 10 to see how stupid they could make Homer before he'd forget his own name.
The day after the picnic, Homer decides the family should eat dinner together, after walking in on them eating in front of the TV. Marge is right there with them, and objects to the TV being turned off, completely out of character for her. She also objects to having to sit through Homer saying grace. We still see Homer's stupidity, though, as he complains about his family to God while sitting at the table.
Homer takes them out to peep on the neighbors, with them being chased off by the last house. Depressed, Homer goes to Moe's bar, where we once again see the original layout, Barney, Moe, and a crowd of random people. Surprisingly, the two barflies are not there in this episode, despite being there from the start. We see Eddie and Lou, although a white Lou, enter as they're searching for the peeping toms that terrorized the neighborhood. We've now officially seen the entire Springfield Police Department. After they leave, Homer and Barney get into a fight over whether Homer's kids are bad. In later seasons, Homer would be the first to complain about his horrible kids, but here he's ready to defend them. He sees an ad for Dr. Marvin Monroe's clinic, and decides to take his family there.
Homer heads home, where we find the family, Marge included, watching Itchy and Scratchy for the first time since the Tracy Ullman shorts. It's noticeably shorter than what we see in later episodes, although still a violent parody of Tom and Jerry. Marge is watching the show, which is something she never does later, and in fact acts as if she's never seen it in later episodes.
Homer demands they go to the clinic, and decides to pawn the TV when the college fund comes up short. Again completely out of character, Marge offers to pawn her engagement ring instead of the TV. The family goes to the clinic, where they all state that Homer is a stern authority figure, while Homer ignores the session and doodles. Monroe thinks physical violence will solve their problems through aversion therapy. This results in the Simpsons being wired up to shock collars and given buttons to shock the other family members. Obviously, this results in everyone shocking eachother until Monroe turns off the machine and kicks them out.
It is here that we see a bit of the family we come to know. They treat their failure at the clinic as a success, as they are now $500 richer. Instead of buying back the pawned TV, they decide to purchase a new one. In a common theme throughout the series, their complete dysfunction brings them closer together. Stay tuned for episode five, where we go back to a reality where Homer and Marge haven't switched places, and Burns just plain hates everyone.
Air Date: Jan 28, 1990
Production Episode: 7G04
Written by: Al Jean and Mike Reiss
Directed by: Gregg Vanzo and Kent Butterworth
Another one of the first set of episodes produced, this one is the least true to the characters. Almost everyone is acting out of character, with the exception of Bart. Even in the DVD commentary, the writers acknowledge the fact that every character trait displayed is wrong. We also see the Simpsons wearing other clothes, something that rarely happens later on.
The plot of the episode involves a company picnic at the stately Burns Manor, where Homer's family proceeds to embarrass him. Upon returning home, he decides that they are going to shape up and be a normal family, leading to a session of peeping into their neighbor's windows. Later drowning his sorrows at Moe's bar, he sees an advertisement for Dr. Marvin Monroe's therapy clinic. Pawning the TV to pay for the session, the Simpsons end up driving Dr. Monroe nuts, where he kicks them out and refunds double their money as per his guarantee.
Going through the episode in order, we see Burns Manor for the first time, almost identical to it's later designs. We also see Mr. Smithers, now white, displaying his first obvious sycophantic traits towards Mr. Burns. His skin color was changed starting with this episode, as having a subservient black employee constantly kissing up to his rich white boss was obviously more than a bit uncomfortable.
Mr. Burns is slightly out of character in this episode. While he is aloof, forgetful of employee's names, and a tyrant, he is still opening up his manor for a company picnic, complete with food and alcoholic drinks. He also rewards employees with happy families and punishes those with bratty children. This is a far cry from the despot who looks down at all his workers with disdain. We do, however, see him threaten to release the hounds for the first time, so it's still Mr. Burns underneath that surprisingly momentarily generous facade.
At the picnic, we see everyone but Bart out of character. Homer is being well behaved and polite. Lisa is raising just as much hell as Bart. And Marge... well, Marge is the alcoholic in this episode, embarrassing Homer. Another trait, as noted in the DVD commentary, in this episode, and early on, is that Homer was more concerned with how people saw him, and his social standing. This is later dropped in favor of Homer being the clown.
Granted, Homer is still stupid. But in these first four episodes, it's played more subtly, and mostly with him acknowledging the fact that he's stupid rather than showing it. It isn't until later that he embraces his stupidity and runs with it. As said in a later commentary, the writers were on a mission by season 10 to see how stupid they could make Homer before he'd forget his own name.
The day after the picnic, Homer decides the family should eat dinner together, after walking in on them eating in front of the TV. Marge is right there with them, and objects to the TV being turned off, completely out of character for her. She also objects to having to sit through Homer saying grace. We still see Homer's stupidity, though, as he complains about his family to God while sitting at the table.
Homer takes them out to peep on the neighbors, with them being chased off by the last house. Depressed, Homer goes to Moe's bar, where we once again see the original layout, Barney, Moe, and a crowd of random people. Surprisingly, the two barflies are not there in this episode, despite being there from the start. We see Eddie and Lou, although a white Lou, enter as they're searching for the peeping toms that terrorized the neighborhood. We've now officially seen the entire Springfield Police Department. After they leave, Homer and Barney get into a fight over whether Homer's kids are bad. In later seasons, Homer would be the first to complain about his horrible kids, but here he's ready to defend them. He sees an ad for Dr. Marvin Monroe's clinic, and decides to take his family there.
Homer heads home, where we find the family, Marge included, watching Itchy and Scratchy for the first time since the Tracy Ullman shorts. It's noticeably shorter than what we see in later episodes, although still a violent parody of Tom and Jerry. Marge is watching the show, which is something she never does later, and in fact acts as if she's never seen it in later episodes.
Homer demands they go to the clinic, and decides to pawn the TV when the college fund comes up short. Again completely out of character, Marge offers to pawn her engagement ring instead of the TV. The family goes to the clinic, where they all state that Homer is a stern authority figure, while Homer ignores the session and doodles. Monroe thinks physical violence will solve their problems through aversion therapy. This results in the Simpsons being wired up to shock collars and given buttons to shock the other family members. Obviously, this results in everyone shocking eachother until Monroe turns off the machine and kicks them out.
It is here that we see a bit of the family we come to know. They treat their failure at the clinic as a success, as they are now $500 richer. Instead of buying back the pawned TV, they decide to purchase a new one. In a common theme throughout the series, their complete dysfunction brings them closer together. Stay tuned for episode five, where we go back to a reality where Homer and Marge haven't switched places, and Burns just plain hates everyone.
Friday, September 5, 2014
S01EP03 Homer's Odyssey
Homer's Odyssey
Air Date: Jan 21, 1990
Production Episode: 7G03
Written by: Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky
Directed by: Wesley Archer
And now we come to Homer's big debut episode. One thing to note is that many episodes were being written at once. This is evident in characters such as Martin showing up in the previous episode, yet being absent in this one. Wendell, Sherri, and Terri, who have speaking lines in this episode, did not appear in "Bart the Genius". Oddly enough, the regulars at Moe's are all there once more, suggesting they were part of the original design. Bart's classmates are mostly the same as well. It appears Milhouse, Richard (the kid with the open, collared shirt), Lewis, and the generic classroom characters were initially planned out, with Nelson, Martin, Sherri & Terri, and Wendell being added by the writers as the episodes were created. This results in inconsistency in the first few episodes, which were being written simultaneously by different writers.
Other notable first appearances include Otto, black Smithers, Sherri & Terri's dad, the Winfields, Chief Wiggum, Jasper, and of course Mr. Burns.
As for locations, we see the tire yard for the first time, already intended to be a recurring land mark according to the commentary. We also see a lot of the nuclear plant's interior, with only a few minor differences aside from Burn's office. The Simpsons house is still randomly laid out, but the yard is intact. We see the back gate and alley way that is behind the house most of the time, often replaced with another set of lots and a street. The bridge is seen for the first time, often shown in later seasons as the only way out of town.
The town hall and mayor are seen, much different than their later counterparts. The mayor is a random individual with no distinguishing characteristics, and the town hall resembles the South Park hall rather than the ornate town hall we see today. The seats are simple folding chairs, with three rows of about ten chairs each, mostly empty. We see Jasper, the Simpsons, and three random characters in the scene. Also absent is the Jebidiah Springfield statue that should be out front and across the street.
The plot of this episode involves Homer being fired from his job at the power plant. It is here we learn his original job title, "Technical Supervisor". Astoundingly, Homer was in a position of authority at first. He attempts to commit suicide, but changes his mind after rushing to save his family from a speeding car. Inspired, he decides to become a champion of safety, demanding a stop sign at that intersection. Eventually, he sets his sights on the nuclear plant. At this point we see a character introducing Homer that looks and sounds a lot like Ned Flanders, but black. We also see the indication of Springfield's tendency towards angry mobs, as Homer should really be the last person anyone is rallying behind.
Homer is pulled into Burns' office for a private meeting. He is offered the job of safety inspector if he stops his protest. After some back and forth, he agrees and announces it to the crowd. Interestingly, we see him do the same dance from "Dancing Homer" before falling into the crowd below.
Speaking of crowds, in the commentary, the baffling grotesque faces we see in early crowd scenes is explained. Initially, they wanted characters to look weird and unrealistic. However, it was decided shortly thereafter to make background characters look more realistic than the Simpsons, for much of the same reasons they dropped the busy backgrounds. This is why almost every recurring character has normal hair, while Bart, Lisa, and Maggie have some sort of baffling skin colored hair spikes.
Going back to the star of this episode, Homer is a much different character. He's dedicated to his family, he feels remorse at not being able to provide for them, and when contemplating suicide, oils the back gate before leaving. His drinking habits are also much more subdued. He wants a beer, but it's played the same as wanting any other small luxury item, and not the way it is in later seasons. He is not an alcoholic at this point in the series, just a normal guy that goes to the bar after work. His obsession with safety initiatives, however, comes up again and again. Safety Salamander and his baby proofing business being two instances. As we all know, this character trait eventually mostly got moved over to Marge, and expanded to any sort of initiative.
Interestingly, aside from "Some Enchanted Evening", Marge's name is never mentioned in early episodes. According to the commentary, she didn't even have a name at first. The writers referred to her as "Juliet" or simply "Mom". As shown in the script for "Some Enchanted Evening" and the voicework for that episode, Matt Groening knew her name. He simply never mentioned it to the other writers, as backed up by an exchange in the commentary. Once again, up until episode 9, "Life in the Fast Lane", Marge is simply a background character, existing only to fill a slot in the family. Clearly, Matt Groening had a character in mind, as seen in "Some Enchanted Evening", but other writers failed to explore her initially, choosing to focus on Homer and Bart.
Air Date: Jan 21, 1990
Production Episode: 7G03
Written by: Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky
Directed by: Wesley Archer
And now we come to Homer's big debut episode. One thing to note is that many episodes were being written at once. This is evident in characters such as Martin showing up in the previous episode, yet being absent in this one. Wendell, Sherri, and Terri, who have speaking lines in this episode, did not appear in "Bart the Genius". Oddly enough, the regulars at Moe's are all there once more, suggesting they were part of the original design. Bart's classmates are mostly the same as well. It appears Milhouse, Richard (the kid with the open, collared shirt), Lewis, and the generic classroom characters were initially planned out, with Nelson, Martin, Sherri & Terri, and Wendell being added by the writers as the episodes were created. This results in inconsistency in the first few episodes, which were being written simultaneously by different writers.
Other notable first appearances include Otto, black Smithers, Sherri & Terri's dad, the Winfields, Chief Wiggum, Jasper, and of course Mr. Burns.
- Otto: Essentially what we all know and love.
- Sherri & Terri's dad: In this episode, he is Homer's supervisor, who fires Homer after he drives a cart into a steam pipe. Oddly enough, he is black, due to the animators making random characters different colors to have a more diverse cast. When he reappeared in Season 3, he assumed his current appearance. He had one other appearance in season 7, before becoming a recurring crowd character in season 22.
- Black Smithers: Initially one of the randomly chosen black characters, Groening decided to change him to white due to his subservient and sychophantic mannerisms, for obvious reasons. Aside from his skin tone, he is extremely close to his current character, although his trait of being in the closet hasn't yet appeared. We also see the two nameless goons that often accompany him.
- Chief Wiggum: The first appearance of Springfield's illustrious police force. His voice hasn't quite reached the nasally pitch of later seasons, but it's still there.
- Jasper: Nothing much of note other than appearing in the background of the sparse town hall scene.
- The Winfields: You might not recognize their name, but you'll know the characters. They're the two old people that live near or next to the Simpsons who sit on the porch and comment on their antics. The first neighbors introduced, even before Ned Flanders, they move to Florida in season four when the now long forgotten Ruth Powers moves in next door. In this episode, however, they live behind and to the left of the Simpson's house.
- Mr. Burns: What else is there to say other than "It's Mr. Burns!". He's evil, delights in torturing others, and keeps Homer close for some strange reason. His office is much brighter and busier than it is now. The TVs are missing, but the bear statue is there. The balcony window looks much different as well, with a mosaic around it. This is another example of the overly busy backgrounds in the first season that were later dropped as too distracting.
As for locations, we see the tire yard for the first time, already intended to be a recurring land mark according to the commentary. We also see a lot of the nuclear plant's interior, with only a few minor differences aside from Burn's office. The Simpsons house is still randomly laid out, but the yard is intact. We see the back gate and alley way that is behind the house most of the time, often replaced with another set of lots and a street. The bridge is seen for the first time, often shown in later seasons as the only way out of town.
The town hall and mayor are seen, much different than their later counterparts. The mayor is a random individual with no distinguishing characteristics, and the town hall resembles the South Park hall rather than the ornate town hall we see today. The seats are simple folding chairs, with three rows of about ten chairs each, mostly empty. We see Jasper, the Simpsons, and three random characters in the scene. Also absent is the Jebidiah Springfield statue that should be out front and across the street.
The plot of this episode involves Homer being fired from his job at the power plant. It is here we learn his original job title, "Technical Supervisor". Astoundingly, Homer was in a position of authority at first. He attempts to commit suicide, but changes his mind after rushing to save his family from a speeding car. Inspired, he decides to become a champion of safety, demanding a stop sign at that intersection. Eventually, he sets his sights on the nuclear plant. At this point we see a character introducing Homer that looks and sounds a lot like Ned Flanders, but black. We also see the indication of Springfield's tendency towards angry mobs, as Homer should really be the last person anyone is rallying behind.
Homer is pulled into Burns' office for a private meeting. He is offered the job of safety inspector if he stops his protest. After some back and forth, he agrees and announces it to the crowd. Interestingly, we see him do the same dance from "Dancing Homer" before falling into the crowd below.
Speaking of crowds, in the commentary, the baffling grotesque faces we see in early crowd scenes is explained. Initially, they wanted characters to look weird and unrealistic. However, it was decided shortly thereafter to make background characters look more realistic than the Simpsons, for much of the same reasons they dropped the busy backgrounds. This is why almost every recurring character has normal hair, while Bart, Lisa, and Maggie have some sort of baffling skin colored hair spikes.
Going back to the star of this episode, Homer is a much different character. He's dedicated to his family, he feels remorse at not being able to provide for them, and when contemplating suicide, oils the back gate before leaving. His drinking habits are also much more subdued. He wants a beer, but it's played the same as wanting any other small luxury item, and not the way it is in later seasons. He is not an alcoholic at this point in the series, just a normal guy that goes to the bar after work. His obsession with safety initiatives, however, comes up again and again. Safety Salamander and his baby proofing business being two instances. As we all know, this character trait eventually mostly got moved over to Marge, and expanded to any sort of initiative.
Interestingly, aside from "Some Enchanted Evening", Marge's name is never mentioned in early episodes. According to the commentary, she didn't even have a name at first. The writers referred to her as "Juliet" or simply "Mom". As shown in the script for "Some Enchanted Evening" and the voicework for that episode, Matt Groening knew her name. He simply never mentioned it to the other writers, as backed up by an exchange in the commentary. Once again, up until episode 9, "Life in the Fast Lane", Marge is simply a background character, existing only to fill a slot in the family. Clearly, Matt Groening had a character in mind, as seen in "Some Enchanted Evening", but other writers failed to explore her initially, choosing to focus on Homer and Bart.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
S01EP02 Bart the Genius
Bart the Genius
The second episode of the series, "Bart the Genius" was the episode that saved the show. As mentioned in the review of "Some Enchanted Evening", the animation recieved was unusable, and had to be sent back. Their second attempt, "Bart the Genius", would determine if the series would continue or be scrapped. While some small artifacts of the original incorrect animation persist, the majority of the episode fits the style of the first season, resulting in the ambitious new animated sitcom making it to air.
In this episode, Bart cheats on an intelligence test, causing him to be transferred to a school for gifted students. Finding himself overwhelmed, he eventually confesses to his deception and returns to Springfield Elementary, to forever plague Principal Skinner and Edna Krabappel.
At this point in the series, there still wasn't a production manager, and Springfield Elementary and the Simpson's home were not yet laid out. The individual rooms were there, but the layout of the house varied depending on the scene. Another noticable difference is the complexity of the backgrounds. Less is more in setting a scene, and as the series went on, objects were left out of the backgrounds to keep them from being too busy. As pointed out in the DVD commentary, Skinner's office includes large plants that distract from the characters in the scene. The Simpson's house is also similarly busy, with multiple pictures of the characters on the walls in every shot.
In terms of character introductions, we're treated to the first appearances of Bart's entire class, with the exception of Nelson Muntz and Sherri & Terri . Edna Krabappel makes her debut as Bart's teacher for the next quarter century (RIP Marcia Wallace). Lisa's class, Ms. Hoover, and the supporting school staff are not present, with the exception of J. Loren Pryor, the school psychiatrist, in his first of many appearances over the years. Principal Skinner also makes his debut, although we see little of him. He and Edna are essentially filling roles at this point in the series.
A note about something I missed in the previous episode: Technically, Milhouse, Mr. Largo, Sherri & Terri, and Lewis all appear in the intro sequence where Lisa leaves music class. (Three Lewis's, in fact!) In the original opening, these are the only recurring characters seen in the intro besides the main family.
Martin is the catalyst of the episode's events, displaying his brown nosing and willingness to squeal on his classmates for praise. From the start, he's almost entirely the same character we know and love, although the particular animosity towards Bart is played down a bit in later seasons, replaced with a love/hate friendship with Nelson Muntz. His father, Richard Muntz, also makes his first appearance with one line during the opera scene, an early instance of a completely bit character who nonetheless has remained consistent over the years.
The Simpsons are still settling into their roles as we know them today. While Homer is displaying his stupidity, he is also shown as a more or less supportive father. A trait that, as we all know, eventually gets dropped in favor of more crazy antics. Marge has very little to do in the episode, acting as the voice of reason in a few scenes. Lisa shows the beginings of her being the smart one, by understanding the Opera they are watching.
The episode mostly focuses on Bart and establishing him as a character. His tendency for mischief, his friend group, his initial rivalry with Martin, and his failing grades. As the season goes on, we get episodes focusing on the other family members, with the majority being about Homer and Bart. At this point in the series, the main characters are clearly the boys, with Lisa and Marge there to be the straight (wo)men to the guy's antics.
As an episode, it feels a bit rushed. Unlike later in the series, it focuses on one character and one story for it's entirety. Even the secondary characters are there simply to push the story forward, instead of having lives of their own as we see in later seasons. A nagging question is that if Bart confessed he handed in Martin's test, why is Martin still stuck at Springfield Elementary? Shouldn't he have been sent to the school for gifted children once the deception was revealed? It seems an interesting plot thread of Martin confronting Bart was left out in favor of more scenes of Bart failing at the new school.
Still, this was an entertaining introduction to one of our favorite characters. Next up, "Homer's Odyssey", where we explore Homer and see how he gets the position he's held for most of the series. Well, along with 200 other jobs.
- Air Date: January 14, 1990
- Production Episode: 7G02
- Written by: Jon Vitti
- Directed by: David Silverman
The second episode of the series, "Bart the Genius" was the episode that saved the show. As mentioned in the review of "Some Enchanted Evening", the animation recieved was unusable, and had to be sent back. Their second attempt, "Bart the Genius", would determine if the series would continue or be scrapped. While some small artifacts of the original incorrect animation persist, the majority of the episode fits the style of the first season, resulting in the ambitious new animated sitcom making it to air.
In this episode, Bart cheats on an intelligence test, causing him to be transferred to a school for gifted students. Finding himself overwhelmed, he eventually confesses to his deception and returns to Springfield Elementary, to forever plague Principal Skinner and Edna Krabappel.
At this point in the series, there still wasn't a production manager, and Springfield Elementary and the Simpson's home were not yet laid out. The individual rooms were there, but the layout of the house varied depending on the scene. Another noticable difference is the complexity of the backgrounds. Less is more in setting a scene, and as the series went on, objects were left out of the backgrounds to keep them from being too busy. As pointed out in the DVD commentary, Skinner's office includes large plants that distract from the characters in the scene. The Simpson's house is also similarly busy, with multiple pictures of the characters on the walls in every shot.
In terms of character introductions, we're treated to the first appearances of Bart's entire class, with the exception of Nelson Muntz and Sherri & Terri . Edna Krabappel makes her debut as Bart's teacher for the next quarter century (RIP Marcia Wallace). Lisa's class, Ms. Hoover, and the supporting school staff are not present, with the exception of J. Loren Pryor, the school psychiatrist, in his first of many appearances over the years. Principal Skinner also makes his debut, although we see little of him. He and Edna are essentially filling roles at this point in the series.
A note about something I missed in the previous episode: Technically, Milhouse, Mr. Largo, Sherri & Terri, and Lewis all appear in the intro sequence where Lisa leaves music class. (Three Lewis's, in fact!) In the original opening, these are the only recurring characters seen in the intro besides the main family.
Martin is the catalyst of the episode's events, displaying his brown nosing and willingness to squeal on his classmates for praise. From the start, he's almost entirely the same character we know and love, although the particular animosity towards Bart is played down a bit in later seasons, replaced with a love/hate friendship with Nelson Muntz. His father, Richard Muntz, also makes his first appearance with one line during the opera scene, an early instance of a completely bit character who nonetheless has remained consistent over the years.
The Simpsons are still settling into their roles as we know them today. While Homer is displaying his stupidity, he is also shown as a more or less supportive father. A trait that, as we all know, eventually gets dropped in favor of more crazy antics. Marge has very little to do in the episode, acting as the voice of reason in a few scenes. Lisa shows the beginings of her being the smart one, by understanding the Opera they are watching.
The episode mostly focuses on Bart and establishing him as a character. His tendency for mischief, his friend group, his initial rivalry with Martin, and his failing grades. As the season goes on, we get episodes focusing on the other family members, with the majority being about Homer and Bart. At this point in the series, the main characters are clearly the boys, with Lisa and Marge there to be the straight (wo)men to the guy's antics.
As an episode, it feels a bit rushed. Unlike later in the series, it focuses on one character and one story for it's entirety. Even the secondary characters are there simply to push the story forward, instead of having lives of their own as we see in later seasons. A nagging question is that if Bart confessed he handed in Martin's test, why is Martin still stuck at Springfield Elementary? Shouldn't he have been sent to the school for gifted children once the deception was revealed? It seems an interesting plot thread of Martin confronting Bart was left out in favor of more scenes of Bart failing at the new school.
Still, this was an entertaining introduction to one of our favorite characters. Next up, "Homer's Odyssey", where we explore Homer and see how he gets the position he's held for most of the series. Well, along with 200 other jobs.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
S01EP01 Some Enchanted Evening
Update: I incorrectly identified the opening intro as only being used once. It was actually used several times. I will note when they switch to the one with more characters that they used until the 20th season.
Welcome to Kris Watches Too Much Simpsons. I'll be reviewing Simpsons episodes starting from the first, all the way to season 25. We'll be taking a look at how the show has changed and characters have evolved over the years. At first it might be a little confusing, as season one suffered a lot of problems, causing the episode order to be shifted around. The first episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", was in fact production episode number eight. Production episode number one was "Some Enchanted Evening", which suffered from some slight issues, such as 70% of the animation being unusable. You'll notice this when you watch it. Nearly killing the show, they were thankfully able to fix the animation problems for the other episodes, and "Some Enchanted Evening" was cleaned up enough to air at the end of the season.
To avoid confusion with who appeared when, I will be reviewing the first season in production order, not air date. So we will be starting with "Some Enchanted Evening", and won't get to "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" until episode eight.
Before we get started, remember that The Simpsons originally ran as 48 one minute shorts on the Tracy Ullman show. As I have chosen to focus on the series, I did not watch these. The following characters and themes appeared first in the shorts:
Some Enchanted Evening
"Some Enchanted Evening", the final episode of season one, was originally the pilot episode. This is evident in the complete lack of the larger community of characters aside from Moe's tavern and the regulars there.
The episode has a storied past if one listens to the commentary included on the season one DVDs, released way back in September of 2001. Initially intended as a pilot that expanded on the characters past what little we saw in the 48 one minute shorts, it came back with an animation style that was completely unusable. At the time, there were only two styles of animation in America. The Disney/Warner Bros "noodle arms" method, where everything is made of rubber, and the Hanna Barbara method. The rules of The Simpsons world had not yet been done. Groening wanted a realistic style, with characters moving in a manner that real people would move in. The animation studio gave them, as James L. Brooks put it during the test screening, "shit".
At this point, the show was unusable. It was moments away from being canceled altogether. Instead, a second chance was given to fix the issues with the animation. The next episode delivered, "Bart the Genius", fixed most of the issues. You can see, as the season goes on, where the animation moves more towards what we know and love. The show was pushed back to a mid season replacement, with the Christmas episode, production episode eight, airing as the new pilot. This resulted in a bit of inconsistency with Santa's Little Helper not appearing in seven of the episodes in season one.
Five minutes of the original footage are included in the season one DVD. Even more can be seen in the episode itself. While as much as possible is fixed, you still see instances of characters being off model or reacting in the "rubber limbs" manner. Notably, when Marge is getting ready for date night, she looks nothing like Marge. Nearly all scenes with the babysitter are off model, with the babysitter, Ms. Botz, being an obvious indicator of when. The difference between her original and updated models are distinctive.
Also notable is the original intro sequence. There's no Burns or Smithers in the power plant, being replaced by a man eating a sandwich. Instead of racing past recurring characters, Bart skateboards past a group of random people who then chase after their missed bus.
At the beginning of the episode, a neglected Marge calls a relationship advice radio show. We see the first appearance of Dr. Marvin Monroe here. When we move to Homer listening to it at the nuclear plant, we do not see any of the regulars. We do see Homer in his first position, sorting radioactive rocks or something, as he does not become safety inspector until episode three.
Upon realizing it's Marge on the radio, he heads off to Moe's for a drink and advice. We see an early model of the bar, with saloon style doors and a lot more decoration. We also see Larry and Sam (the two rarely speaking barflys) and Barney, with blonde hair.
Homer takes Marge on a night out, they hire a babysitter, Bart and Lisa discover she's the Babysitter Bandit, she proceeds to tie them up and rob the house. At this point, we see the first ever instance of Maggie being a badass hero who can take care of herself. Often referred to as a newer character trait developed after "Who Shot Mr. Burns", there's actually several instances of this prior to that. She unties her siblings and even helps leads Ms. Botz into a trap.
Due to the lack of town characters at this point, it's interesting to note that they run to a phone booth (the phone line was cut) to call the police, when ever helpful Flanders should be right next door. Of course, Homer and Marge arrive home early, discover Ms. Botz tied up, and let her leave with her suitcases packed with their valuables. The police arrive, minus any of the familiar squad members, to reveal to Homer his mistake.
As it stands, this was many people's favorite episode from the first season. It attempted to bridge the gap between the wacky antics of the Ullman shorts and the more fleshed out episodes of the half hour series. We can see the beginnings of character traits here, although Bart and Lisa are just generic out of control kids at this point.
Stay tuned as we move on to episode two, "Bart the Genius", which introduces a lot more characters, and comes a lot closer to the show we know today.
Welcome to Kris Watches Too Much Simpsons. I'll be reviewing Simpsons episodes starting from the first, all the way to season 25. We'll be taking a look at how the show has changed and characters have evolved over the years. At first it might be a little confusing, as season one suffered a lot of problems, causing the episode order to be shifted around. The first episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", was in fact production episode number eight. Production episode number one was "Some Enchanted Evening", which suffered from some slight issues, such as 70% of the animation being unusable. You'll notice this when you watch it. Nearly killing the show, they were thankfully able to fix the animation problems for the other episodes, and "Some Enchanted Evening" was cleaned up enough to air at the end of the season.
To avoid confusion with who appeared when, I will be reviewing the first season in production order, not air date. So we will be starting with "Some Enchanted Evening", and won't get to "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" until episode eight.
Before we get started, remember that The Simpsons originally ran as 48 one minute shorts on the Tracy Ullman show. As I have chosen to focus on the series, I did not watch these. The following characters and themes appeared first in the shorts:
- Grandpa first appeared in the Tracy Ullman shorts. Patty and Selma did not.
- Krusty, who doesn't appear in this episode, first appeared in the Tracy Ullman shorts.
- Two of the recurring movies that the characters watch in early seasons, the Space Mutants movies and The Happy Little Elves movies, first appeared in the Tracy Ullman Shorts.
Some Enchanted Evening
- Air Date: May 13, 1990
- Production Episode: 7G01
- Written by: Matt Groening and Sam Simon
- Directed by: David Silverman and Kent Butterworth
"Some Enchanted Evening", the final episode of season one, was originally the pilot episode. This is evident in the complete lack of the larger community of characters aside from Moe's tavern and the regulars there.
The episode has a storied past if one listens to the commentary included on the season one DVDs, released way back in September of 2001. Initially intended as a pilot that expanded on the characters past what little we saw in the 48 one minute shorts, it came back with an animation style that was completely unusable. At the time, there were only two styles of animation in America. The Disney/Warner Bros "noodle arms" method, where everything is made of rubber, and the Hanna Barbara method. The rules of The Simpsons world had not yet been done. Groening wanted a realistic style, with characters moving in a manner that real people would move in. The animation studio gave them, as James L. Brooks put it during the test screening, "shit".
At this point, the show was unusable. It was moments away from being canceled altogether. Instead, a second chance was given to fix the issues with the animation. The next episode delivered, "Bart the Genius", fixed most of the issues. You can see, as the season goes on, where the animation moves more towards what we know and love. The show was pushed back to a mid season replacement, with the Christmas episode, production episode eight, airing as the new pilot. This resulted in a bit of inconsistency with Santa's Little Helper not appearing in seven of the episodes in season one.
Five minutes of the original footage are included in the season one DVD. Even more can be seen in the episode itself. While as much as possible is fixed, you still see instances of characters being off model or reacting in the "rubber limbs" manner. Notably, when Marge is getting ready for date night, she looks nothing like Marge. Nearly all scenes with the babysitter are off model, with the babysitter, Ms. Botz, being an obvious indicator of when. The difference between her original and updated models are distinctive.
Also notable is the original intro sequence. There's no Burns or Smithers in the power plant, being replaced by a man eating a sandwich. Instead of racing past recurring characters, Bart skateboards past a group of random people who then chase after their missed bus.
At the beginning of the episode, a neglected Marge calls a relationship advice radio show. We see the first appearance of Dr. Marvin Monroe here. When we move to Homer listening to it at the nuclear plant, we do not see any of the regulars. We do see Homer in his first position, sorting radioactive rocks or something, as he does not become safety inspector until episode three.
Upon realizing it's Marge on the radio, he heads off to Moe's for a drink and advice. We see an early model of the bar, with saloon style doors and a lot more decoration. We also see Larry and Sam (the two rarely speaking barflys) and Barney, with blonde hair.
Homer takes Marge on a night out, they hire a babysitter, Bart and Lisa discover she's the Babysitter Bandit, she proceeds to tie them up and rob the house. At this point, we see the first ever instance of Maggie being a badass hero who can take care of herself. Often referred to as a newer character trait developed after "Who Shot Mr. Burns", there's actually several instances of this prior to that. She unties her siblings and even helps leads Ms. Botz into a trap.
Due to the lack of town characters at this point, it's interesting to note that they run to a phone booth (the phone line was cut) to call the police, when ever helpful Flanders should be right next door. Of course, Homer and Marge arrive home early, discover Ms. Botz tied up, and let her leave with her suitcases packed with their valuables. The police arrive, minus any of the familiar squad members, to reveal to Homer his mistake.
As it stands, this was many people's favorite episode from the first season. It attempted to bridge the gap between the wacky antics of the Ullman shorts and the more fleshed out episodes of the half hour series. We can see the beginnings of character traits here, although Bart and Lisa are just generic out of control kids at this point.
Stay tuned as we move on to episode two, "Bart the Genius", which introduces a lot more characters, and comes a lot closer to the show we know today.
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