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The Simpsons season 1

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The Simpsons
Season 1
DVD cover featuring the Simpsons family sitting on their couch watching television inside a TV
No. of episodes13
Release
Original networkFox
Original releaseDecember 17, 1989 (1989-12-17) –
May 13, 1990 (1990-05-13)
Season chronology
Next →
Season 2
List of episodes

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, and Sam Simon.[1]

The series was originally set to debut in fall 1989 with the episode "Some Enchanted Evening", (which was meant to introduce the main characters),[2] 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.[3]

The producers considered aborting the series if the next episode 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.[2] The first season won one Emmy Award, and received four additional nominations.[4] 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.

Voice cast & characters

Main article: List of The Simpsons characters
Penny Marshall guest starred in the season finale episode "Some Enchanted Evening" as the babysitter Ms. Botz

Main cast

Recurring

Guest stars

Main article: List of The Simpsons guest stars (seasons 1–20)

Characters

Main

Recurring

Reception

Ratings

The Simpsons first season was Fox network's first TV series to rank among a season's top 30 highest-rated shows.[5] It won an Emmy 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, was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music".[4]

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."[6] 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 for children.[7][8] Several US public schools even banned The Simpsons merchandise and t-shirts, such as one featuring Bart and the caption "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')".[9] Despite the ban, The Simpsons merchandise sold well and generated US$2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales.[9]

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

See also: List of The Simpsons episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
11"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"David SilvermanMimi PondDecember 17, 1989 (1989-12-17)7G0826.7[10]
22"Bart the Genius"David SilvermanJon VittiJanuary 14, 1990 (1990-01-14)7G0224.5[10]
33"Homer's Odyssey"Wes ArcherJay Kogen & Wallace WolodarskyJanuary 21, 1990 (1990-01-21)7G0327.5[11]
44"There's No Disgrace Like Home"Gregg Vanzo & Kent ButterworthAl Jean & Mike ReissJanuary 28, 1990 (1990-01-28)7G0420.2[12]
55"Bart the General"David SilvermanJohn SwartzwelderFebruary 4, 1990 (1990-02-04)7G0527.1[13]
66"Moaning Lisa"Wes ArcherAl Jean & Mike ReissFebruary 11, 1990 (1990-02-11)7G0627.4[14]
77"The Call of the Simpsons"Wes ArcherJohn SwartzwelderFebruary 18, 1990 (1990-02-18)7G0927.6[15]
88"The Telltale Head"Rich MooreAl Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon & Matt GroeningFebruary 25, 1990 (1990-02-25)7G0728[16]
99"Life on the Fast Lane"David SilvermanJohn SwartzwelderMarch 18, 1990 (1990-03-18)7G1133.5[17]
1010"Homer's Night Out"Rich MooreJon VittiMarch 25, 1990 (1990-03-25)7G1030.3[18]
1111"The Crepes of Wrath"Wes Archer & Milton GrayGeorge Meyer, Sam Simon, John Swartzwelder & Jon VittiApril 15, 1990 (1990-04-15)7G1331.2[19]
1212"Krusty Gets Busted"Brad BirdJay Kogen & Wallace WolodarskyApril 29, 1990 (1990-04-29)7G1230.4[20]
1313"Some Enchanted Evening"David Silverman & Kent ButterworthMatt Groening & Sam SimonMay 13, 1990 (1990-05-13)7G0127.1[21]

Home media

The DVD boxset for season one was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on September 25, 2001, eleven years after it had completed broadcast on television.[22] As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including deleted scenes, animatics, and commentaries for every episode. The commentaries were recorded in late 2000.[23] 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.[24] As of October 19, 2004, the DVD boxset sold 1.9 million units.[24]

The Complete First Season
Set Details[22][25][26] Special Features[22][25][26]
  • 13 episodes
  • 3-disc set
  • 1.33:1 aspect ratio
  • AUDIO
    • English 5.1 Dolby Digital
    • English 2.0 Dolby Surround
    • French 2.0 Dolby Surround
  • SUBTITLES
Release Dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
September 25, 2001 September 24, 2001 September 24, 2001

See also

References

  1. ^ Richmond & Coffman 1997, pp. 16–17.
  2. ^ a b Groening, Matt (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  3. ^ Silverman, David (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  4. ^ a b Emmy Awards official site Archived February 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine "The Simpsons" "1989–1990" emmys.org. Retrieved on July 3, 2007
  5. ^ "TV Ratings: 1989–1990". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
  6. ^ "The Simpsons". Rotten Tomatoes.
  7. ^ Turner 2004, p. 131.
  8. ^ Rosenbaum, Martin (2007-06-29). "Is The Simpsons still subversive?". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
  9. ^ a b Griffiths, Nick (2000-04-15). "America's First Family". The Times Magazine. pp. 25, 27–28.
  10. ^ a b Henry, Matthew (April 2007). "Don't Ask me, I'm Just a Girl: Feminism, Female Identity, and The Simpsons". The Journal of Popular Culture. 40 (2): 272–303. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2007.00379.x.
  11. ^ "NIELSENS; A 'Grand' entrance for NBC". USA Today. January 24, 1990. p. 03.D.
  12. ^ "NIELSENS; AMA gets the popular votes". USA Today. January 31, 1990. p. 03.D.
  13. ^ "NIELSENS; 'Amen,' wedded to ratings win". USA Today. February 7, 1990. p. 03.D.
  14. ^ "NIELSENS; 'Faith' abides for No.1 NBC". USA Today. February 14, 1990. p. 03.D.
  15. ^ "NIELSENS; 'Home Videos' a hit for ABC". USA Today. February 21, 1990. p. 03.D.
  16. ^ "NIELSENS; 'Videos' is a repeat winner". USA Today. February 28, 1990. p. 03.D.
  17. ^ "NIELSENS; 'Simpsons' soar for No.4 Fox". USA Today. March 21, 1990. p. 03.D.
  18. ^ "NIELSENS; Fox builds Sunday strength". USA Today. March 28, 1990. p. 03.D.
  19. ^ unknown (April 27, 1990). "The Ratings. TV chart for week of April 9—15, 1990". Entertainment Weekly. TV ARTICLE. Published in issue #11 Apr 27, 1990. In millions of viewers ...  The Simpsons Fox, 31.2
  20. ^ unknown (May 11, 1990). "The Ratings". Entertainment Weekly. TV ARTICLE. Published in issue #13 May 11, 1990. In millions of viewers ...  The Simpsons Fox, 30.4
  21. ^ "NIELSENS; Sunday night sinks NBC". USA Today. May 16, 1990. p. 03.D.
  22. ^ a b c "Simpsons, The — The Complete 1st Season". TV Shows on DVD.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-03. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  23. ^ The Simpsons Archive: Matt Groening Interview (October 2000)
  24. ^ a b Lambert, David (September 19, 2004). "Chapelle's Show—S1 DVD Passes The Simpsons As #1 All-Time TV-DVD; Celebrates by Announcing Season 2!". TVshowsonDVD.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2006. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
  25. ^ a b c "The Simpsons Season 1 DVD". The Simpsons Shop. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  26. ^ a b c "The Simpsons Make Their DVD Debut In Fox Home Entertainment's Worldwide Release Of The Simpsons Season One Collector's Edition DVD Box Set". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. July 11, 2001. Archived from the original on August 3, 2001. Retrieved June 5, 2019 – via Yahoo.com.
Bibliography
Wikiquote has quotations related to The Simpsons' season 1.

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