The first season of the American animated television series '' The Simpsons'' originally aired on the Fox network between December 17, 1989, and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The executive producers for the first production season were Matt Groening,

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...

, and Sam Simon. The series was originally set to debut in fall 1989 with the episode " Some Enchanted Evening" (which was meant to introduce the main characters), but during the first screening of the episode, the producers discovered that the animation was so poor that 70% of the episode needed to be redone. The producers considered aborting the series if

the next episode "The Next Episode" is a single by American rapper-producer Dr. Dre, released on June 26, 2000 as the third single from his second studio album, '' 2001'' (1999). The track features Snoop Dogg, Kurupt and Nate Dogg, but only Snoop Dogg is cred ...

turned out as bad, but it suffered from only easily fixable problems. The producers convinced Fox to move the debut to December 17, and aired "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" as the first episode of the series. The first season won one

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, and received four additional nominations.Emmy Awards official site
"The Simpsons" "1989–1990" ''emmys.org''. Retrieved on July 3, 2007 The DVD boxset was released on September 25, 2001, in Region 1 and September 24, 2001, in both Region 2 and Region 4. With a total of 13 episodes, this is the shortest season of the show to date, and is the only season where Homer was halfway intelligent and at times was the voice of reason and where Dan Castellaneta voiced Homer in a loose Walter Matthau impression (as he had done in the shorts). Starting the next season, Homer would begin to adopt his more familiar voice and set a lower bar for intelligence. This is also the only season to not have a '' Treehouse of Horror'' episode.

Voice cast & characters

Main cast

* Dan Castellaneta as

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short "G ...

, Barney Gumble, additional voices ** Grampa Simpson in " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "

Bart the General "Bart the General" is the fifth episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 4, 1990.. In the episode, Bart Simpson enlists Grampa's help to battle local bully ...

" & "

The Telltale Head "The Telltale Head" is the eighth episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 25, 1990. It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon and Matt Gro ...

" ** Krusty The Clown in "The Telltale Head" & "

Krusty Gets Busted "Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on April 29, 1990.Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, additional voices ** Patty and Selma in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", " Life on the Fast Lane" * Nancy Cartwright as

Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' ...

, Lewis, additional voices ** Nelson Muntz in "Bart The General" ** Ralph Wiggum in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" * Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson, additional voices * Harry Shearer as additional voices **

Waylon Smithers Waylon Joseph Smithers Jr., usually referred to as Mr. Smithers or simply Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer. He first appeared in "Homer's Odyssey", although his voice co ...

in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", " Homer's Odyssey", "

There's No Disgrace Like Home "There's No Disgrace Like Home" is the fourth episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States on January 28, 1990. In the episode, Homer Simpson, ...

", "The Telltale Head" & "Homer's Night Out" ** Principal Skinner in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "

Bart the Genius "Bart the Genius" is the second episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 1990. It was the first episode written by Jon Vitti. It is the show's ...

", "The Telltale Head" & "

The Crepes of Wrath "The Crepes of Wrath" is the eleventh episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 15, 1990. It was written by George Meyer, Sam Simon, John Swartzwelder ...

" ** Reverend Lovejoy in "The Telltale Head", "Homer's Night Out", "Krusty Gets Busted" **

Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...

in "There's No Disgrace Like Home" & "

Homer's Night Out "Homer's Night Out" is the tenth episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 25, 1990. It was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Rich Moore.Christopher Collins in all other appearances ("Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "Homer's Odyssey" & "The Telltale Head") **

Lenny Leonard The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...

in "Life on the Fast Lane", "Homer's Night Out" and "The Crepes of Wrath" ** Ned Flanders in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" & " The Call of the Simpsons" ** Kent Brockman in "Krusty Gets Busted"

Recurring

* Hank Azaria as Chief Wiggum, Moe Szyslak, Carl Carlson, and

Apu APU or Apu may refer to: Film and television * ''The Apu Trilogy'', a series of three Bengali films, directed by Satyajit Ray, with the fictional character Apu Roy, comprising: ** ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road'') (1955), the first ...

Pamela Hayden Pamela Hayden (born November 28, 1953) is an American actress and voice actress, known for providing various voices for the animated television show ''The Simpsons'', such as Milhouse Van Houten. Biography Hayden provides voices for characters ...

Milhouse Van Houten Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at ...

* Tress MacNeille as Jimbo Jones and Agnes Skinner *

Russi Taylor Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She is best remembered as the official voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019, and was notably married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, until his ...

as Martin Prince and

Sherri and Terri The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

* Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel *

Jo Ann Harris Jo Ann Harris (born Jo Ann Marcovitch; May 27, 1949) is an American actress known for her many film and television roles beginning in 1967. In the 1971 film '' The Beguiled'' she portrayed a 17-year-old who seduced Clint Eastwood's character. H ...

as background characters *

Maggie Roswell Maggie Roswell is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer from Los Angeles, California. She is well known for her voice work on the Fox network's animated television series ''The Simpsons'', in which she has played recurring characters ...

Helen Lovejoy The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...

and

Princess Kashmir The American culture, American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even ...

* Sam McMurray as Worker Drone * Christopher Collins as

(episodes 1, 4 and 8), Moe Szyslak (episode 13) and TV host *

Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein ; July 22, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance as a ...

as Cowboy Bob and Jacques

Guest stars

* Ron Taylor as Bleeding Gums Murphy ("

Moaning Lisa Moaning Lisa may refer to: * Moaning Lisa (band) Moaning Lisa are an Australian rock band formed in Canberra in 2016. The group has released two EPs, ''The Sweetest'' in 2017, and ''Do You Know Enough?'' in 2018. The four members of Moaning Li ...

") *

Susan Blu Susan Maria Blue, better known as Sue Blu, is an American voice-actress, voice-director, and casting-director in American and Canadian cinema and television. She most notably voiced Arcee in '' The Transformers: The Movie'' and Seasons 3 and 4 of ...

as Howie and Boy #2 ("Moaning Lisa") * Miriam Flynn as Miss Barr ("Moaning Lisa") * Christian Coffinet as Gendarme Officer ("

") * Kelsey Grammer as

Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...

Krusty Gets Busted "Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on April 29, 1990.Penny Marshall as Ms. Botz (" Some Enchanted Evening") * June Foray as a receptionist ("Some Enchanted Evening") *

Paul Willson Paul Lee Willson (born December 25, 1945) is an American film, television and voice actor well known for many roles, including as Paul Krapence on '' Cheers''. He was born in Fairmont, Minnesota, the son of Doris Geraldine and Lee Wilford Willso ...

as a florist ("Some Enchanted Evening")

Reception

Ratings

''The Simpsons'' first season was Fox network's first TV series to rank among a season's top 30 highest-rated shows. It won an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and received four additional nominations. Although television shows are limited to one episode per category, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was considered a separate special and nominated alongside fellow episode " Life on the Fast Lane" for Outstanding Animated Program; "Life on the Fast Lane" won. "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was also nominated for "Outstanding Editing in a Miniseries or Special", while "The Call of the Simpsons" was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special". The main theme song, composed by

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

, was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music".

Critical and public response

The first season of ''The Simpsons'' received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a 100% approval rating based on 18 critical reviews with an average rating of 8.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''The Simpsons first season proves a quickly addictive introduction to America's animated first family with a run of entertaining episodes that set the stage for a groundbreaking series." On Metacritic, a site which uses a weighted mean score, the season scored a 79/100 from six critics, translating to "generally favorable reviews". However, the show was controversial from its beginning. The rebellious lead character at the time, Bart, frequently received no punishment for his misbehavior, which led some parents to characterize him as a poor

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compare themselves ...

for children. Several US public schools even banned ''The Simpsons''

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more i ...

and t-shirts, such as one featuring Bart and the caption "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')". Despite the ban, ''The Simpsons'' merchandise sold well and generated

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales. At the 6th annual Television Critics Association Awards, the first season of the show won 'Outstanding Achievement in Comedy', beating the likes of "Designing Women," "Murphy Brown," "Newhart," and "The Wonder Years." Additionally, it was nominated for 'Program of the Year' but lost to " Twin Peaks."

Episodes

Home media

The DVD boxset for season one was released by

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

in the United States and Canada on September 25, 2001, eleven years after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including

deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar o ...

s, animatics, and commentaries for every episode. The commentaries were recorded in late 2000.The Simpsons Archive: Matt Groening Interview (October 2000)
/ref> When the first season DVD was released in 2001, it quickly became the best-selling television DVD in history. It was later overtaken by the 2004 release of '' Chappelle's Show'' Season 1. As of October 19, 2004, the DVD boxset sold 1.9 million units.

References

;Bibliography * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsons season 1 1989 American animated television seasons 1990 American animated television seasons Simpsons season 1