Season 1 Episode 6: Moaning Lisa

Original Airdate: February 11, 1990

Chalkboard Gag: I will not instigate revolution

Couch Gag: Maggie gets bumped off couch, Marge catches her

Little Lisa Simpson: wise beyond her years and continually unappreciated. Lisa episodes usually center around her struggles as an outsider in her family and at school, and it's because of this that her stories strike a more melancholy tone than those of the other characters. Though Lisa's first episode at center stage is about as much of a downer as some of the others so far, which is uncharacteristic of the show as a whole. Lisa's character is well-established and consistent with how she would behave later, and it's a good introduction to her world even if she lacks her usual wit here. The episode also suffers a bit from the same problems as the Christmas special, in being a little too mopey and slow (plot-wise, barely anything happens) and low on jokes. But Lisa's pain is fully realized enough, and it has such a genuinely sweet ending that it won me over. Lisa has always been the most complex Simpson, which may be why she's usually not one of people's favorite characters, but I've always admired her episodes for their depth and existential angst.

In her debut leading role, Lisa is feeling sad. Not for any petty reasons as most children in the 2nd grade would have, but for typically mature Lisa reasons, i.e. she doesn't understand her own existence and all of the suffering in the world. Marge doesn't know how to handle the situation, and Homer and Bart, oblivious to Lisa's pain, have their own B plot about a video game rivalry (which are the only scenes that are joke heavy). Lisa eventually meets Bleeding Gums Murphy, playing his saxophone on an empty bridge one night, and together through their love of jazz Lisa finds some catharsis. It's all very touching, and I've always liked Bleeding Gums Murphy and felt he was an underused character (his episode about his death is excellent).

Though the most interesting aspect of the episode actually involves Marge. In one scene, she dreams about her childhood and her mother telling her to smile and be happy when she goes to school, even though little Marge clearly looks unhappy and uncomfortable. But she gives a big fake grin and then walks to the bus stop, and the dream ends, with no further mention of it. There have been countless plots involving Homer's relationship with his father and his childhood, but Marge's past pre-Homer isn't ever explored as much (the only one I can think of is the Fear of Flying episode). Marge's mother showed up occasionally in early seasons, but she was eventually dropped and I can't recall seeing her after the episode where she's going to be married to Mr. Burns. Later in this episode, Marge gives Lisa advice her mother gave her, which was to always smile anyway, because it's what's on the surface that counts. Marge quickly retracts this after she witnesses how the other children take advantage of Lisa's attempt to be more well-liked, and in the most touching scene, tells Lisa to be sad if she wants to be, and that they'll work through it together. But I must say, I'm finding the relationship between Marge and her mother really fascinating, and I'm going to keep a sharp eye out for anything relating to it, because it's an underdeveloped part of her character. What I can gain from this first glimpse is that Marge has spent her life in a state of repression, and that she experienced the same unhappiness as Lisa but was told to just grin and bare it. This adds a bit of a sad layer to Marge's character, the first time she's been given some depth on the show, as a completely self-sacrificing mother who has given her entire life to her family and has lost touch with her actual feelings and her own possible discontentment.

Anyway, not that funny of an episode, and the timing and voice acting is all still a bit awkward, but it scores big points for being poignant and successfully fleshing out the female half of the family. I also like this exchange:

Marge: Bart's such a handful, and Maggie needs attention, but all the while our little Lisa is becoming a young woman.

Homer: Oh, so that's it, this is some kind of underwear thing.

Tiddlybits: Mr. Largo the music teacher and Lisa's sort-of friend Janie make their first appearances, Bart's prank call to Moe is for Jacques Strap, and the closing credits play over a shot of The Jazz Hole while Bleeding Gums Murphy plays a jazzy sax solo.

Season 1 Episode 5: Bart the General

Original Airdate: February 4, 1990

Shortened Intro: No chalkboard/couch gag

Now we're cookin'. This is definitely one of the strongest episodes of the season, certainly the funniest episode thus far, with a number of good lines and visual gags, and a nice consistent quick pace. Homer, Marge, and Lisa are also abruptly in their normal roles for the first time, and it's a breath of fresh air, as the interactions between the characters work so much better this way. Lisa is brainy, Marge is warm and sensitive, and Homer gives a lot of bad parenting ("Don't tattle. Always make fun of those different from you. Never say anything, unless you're sure everyone feels exactly the way you do."). So all seems right here. And Grandpa gets his first significant role, albeit with a slightly different voice.

The plot concerns Bart's run-ins with schoolyard bully Nelson Muntz (his first appearance) and the subsequent war Bart and the other kids enact on Nelson in revenge. With the help of Grandpa and the bizarre one-armed military shop owner Herman (who only ever shows up once every few seasons), a kid army is trained and they successfully overpower Nelson with water balloons. A peace treaty is signed between Bart and Nelson, and everyone enjoys a nice batch of muffins!

A very simple plot, but that works towards the episodes advantage. The problem with the Christmas special and especially "Homer's Odyssey" were that they bit off more then they could chew and tried to hit comedic and serious notes with inconsistent success. The two best episodes so far have been Bart-themed because he developed into his own character the fastest, and his episodes have a smoother progression than Homer's. His misbehavior and wisecracks made the show by this point, and it was quite some time before Homer developed enough to steal the show from Bart's grasp.

Visually, this episode is a rather large step up from the previous ones. This episode marks the first use of fantasy sequences, one of Bart imagining getting eaten by a giant Nelson, and a pretty funny one taking place at Bart's funeral after Nelson beats him to death. Scenes inside the characters heads would later become some of the funniest and visually clever gags on the show. Later, when Bart is beaten up by Nelson for real and thrown into a trash can and rolled down a hill, it's cleverly done from Bart's point of view from inside as the scenery dizzily twirls in front of him. But the kid army training scene is the best, with a lot of cool visual nods to the training scenes in "Full Metal Jacket". This marks the first of many detailed Kubrick references, many shots transplanted straight from the movie. And it's interesting to note that "Full Metal Jacket" was only 3 years old by the making of this episode! And I believe the shot of Bart wearing sunglasses and chewing on a stalk is a "Cool Hand Luke" reference, but I could be wrong about that. There are also probably references to war films I haven't seen, as I'm not very well-versed in that genre.

But I think what's especially good about this episode is how it manages to comment on war and its iconography through a petty elementary schoolyard fight. The pettiness of large scale conflict is minimized to a large scale water balloon fight, and Grandpa and Herman don't have any messages to send to the children about any kind of honor in war, they just revel in its pointless violence. Grandpa sums it up best: "I thought I was too old. I thought my time had passed. I thought I'd never hear the screams of pain, or see the look of terror in a man's eyes. Thank heaven for children!" This episode is a good send-up of war films, and a solid episode, only overshadowed by the hundreds of better episodes in the future. But it deserves appreciation as an early indication of the greatness the show would reach.

Tidbits: Nelson's famous "ha-ha" catchphrase had not been invented yet and he has two short bully companions who are never given names and I don't think ever show up in any other episodes, the Springfield Retirement Home is shown for the first time, Jasper (with a different voice) makes his first appearance, and for some reason the ending credits are played over a shot of the Simpson's house at night.

Season 1 Episode 4: There's No Disgrace Like Home

Original Airdate: January 28, 1990

Chalkboard Gag: I will not burp in class

Couch Gag: Homer gets bumped off the couch

This episode is a welcome improvement over the last one, offering consistent laughs and matching the quality of "Bart the Genius". Though in terms of continuity with the rest of the series, this episode is still completely off, with none of the characters, except for Bart, acting as they normally would later. But the pace is quicker, it's light and funny even when dealing with violent family dysfunction, so it feels more like The Simpson's than the first and third episodes. It's also the first episode that focuses on the entire family, not just one or two of the characters, and I always find those fun.

Here, Homer and Marge have switched personalities and Lisa is just as bratty as Bart. Homer is embarrassed of his family after a disastrous work picnic at Mr. Burn's mansion, with Marge getting super drunk and Bart and Lisa wreaking havoc at every opportunity. In the most shockingly un-Homer action to occur probably in the entire series, he comes home to find the rest of the family stuffing their faces and watching TV, so he shuts it off and makes everyone sit at the dining table like a normal family! After seeing a commercial with Dr. Marvin Monroe (making his first of many early season appearances, after which he was killed off with no explicit mention), Homer sells the TV to have enough money to pay for the family therapy session. There they drive Dr. Marvin Monroe insane with their terrible behavior and unwillingness to follow the rules of his exercises. This culminates in a funny sequence of the Simpson's strapped to chairs covered in electrodes incessantly shocking each other, completely misunderstanding the exercises intention. Even little Maggie is wired in! This is the first time the show reaches a sort of fast-paced manic energy that would later be utilized to excellent perfect effect, sometimes for entire episodes. The Simpson's eventually are given back double what they paid for, since the therapy didn't work, and they walk off together hand in hand to buy a new TV.

It is a little off-putting to see many of the personalities so different from what they would become. Might I remind you that Marge makes a drunken fool of herself and Homer is embarrassed about it. And Lisa, who is equated with Bart as an unruly destructive child, only has one real Lisa line, where she laments that the money Homer is using towards the therapy session flushes away her dreams of Vassar. These early versions of the characters, while looking the same, are pretty far off from where they would end up. But it's fascinating nonetheless to watch these early creations, and how they gradually developed the traits that would define them for the rest of the series. And the family was violent and dysfunctional from the very beginning; Homer even picks up a lamp to hurl at Bart at one point! The basic family dynamic that carried the show throughout its long years was established right at its genesis, it was just a little jumbled up.

Also, I'm enjoying watching these episodes one at a time. I only ever marathon this show, and because of that they all bleed into one. By watching just 22 minutes at a time and writing about it, I can enjoy the construction of just a single episode, and I think it might in the long run give me an even larger appreciation of the shows technique and timing. If I had watched these first four episodes in a row and then decided to write about each one, I'd probably have less to say and my comments would be more general. One at a time, I can be more specific in my critiques.

Closing remarks: Apparently Smither's being black in the previous episode was an animation mistake, so he's now white in this episode (but not gay yet). Cops Eddie and Lou appear for the first time, and in another race mixup, Lou is white! Homer makes a reference to his mother telling him he's a disappointment, this being long before the "Mother Simpson" episode that contradicts that statement. And Bart and Lisa (and Marge for some reason) view their first Itchy & Scratchy cartoon, though the famed cat and mouse duo are not given names yet. Also, unless I didn't catch one previously, this episode features its first movie reference, to the horror classic "Freaks", where Homer, imaging his family as devils, chant to him "One of us! One of us!"

Season 1 Episode 3: Homer's Odyssey

Original Airdate: January 21, 1990

Chalkboard Gag: I will not skateboard in the halls.

Couch Gag: The couch collapses.

Season 1 is generally one of the least watched seasons for good reason; it was long before the show got great, and lacks even the steady good to very good quality that seasons 2 and 3 had before the show hit gold in season 4. But even then, I like season 1, all things considered. You just have to put yourself into a different mindset to appreciate it, warts and all. That being said though, this particular episode is probably the worst of the season and maybe the only episode I plain ol' don't like from the early years. I know I was a little hard on the Christmas special for being kind of laugh-less and sad, but the genuine emotional pull of the episode partially excused its comedic dead spaces. This episode is also low on jokes AND doesn't really work emotionally, and on top of that it has a bad narrative structure that makes the plot and character motivations seem kind of underdeveloped. The main plot doesn't really kick in until the last 5 minutes of the episode, so by that point there isn't much of a reason to care about its conclusion.

Well, I guess I should say most of the episode isn't funny, because it gets off to a good start, by focusing on Bart's class trip to the Nuclear Power Plant. Bart appears to be the character the writers developed the fastest, and he was in fine form from pretty much the beginning. With Bart's antics and a funny video about nuclear power that the kids are shown (one of the first of many cheap cruddy informationless educational reels that would become a Simpson's staple), the quality is about as good as the previous episode. But once the focus shifts to Homer, it hits a slump it never recovers from.

It's strange to watch these early Homer-heavy episodes, because he's not a very fun character. He's mopey and depressed and overall features little of the spark and whimsy of the beloved character. The different voice also really kills it. Dan Castellaneta was wise to change Homer's voice and manner of talking after the first season, because his usually excellent voice work just comes off as joyless and grumbly here. This is most certainly not the goofy Homer we know and love, and this episode is an early template of the character that was thankfully abandoned. With Marge and Lisa not having anything to do initially, and Bart pushed to the background for most of the episode, it all rests on early Homer's shoulders, and he doesn't have the comedic chops to pull it off.

After the good 5 minute opening focusing on Bart, Homer is fired from his job for gross incompetence and then goes into an unemployment depression that results in him deciding to kill himself! And Homer's attempted suicide isn't really played for laughs either (though his method of tying a rock to himself and planning to jump off a bridge is an amusing idea). Marge and the kids intervene before it's too late, almost getting hit by a car in the process at a dangerous intersection, causing Homer to regain his vigor for life and attempt to make Springfield a safer place.

With only a few minutes left in the episode, they cram in Homer fighting against his former employer, the Nuclear Power Plant, and the wrath of Mr. Burns. This marks the first time Homer and Mr. Burns stand-off, and who could have known some of the greatest chemistry would be generated between these two after such a lackluster first encounter? Homer is offered a job as safety inspector only if he tells people that the plant is safe, causing Homer to have a moral crisis, blah blah blah, eventually everything is A-OK with Homer excepting the job (the one he would occupy for the rest of the series) and promising Springfield's populace to make the city a safer healthier place in a big dramatic speech that fails on all grounds; there's no joke and Homer's commitment to safety is introduced too late in the narrative to make anything he says have any resonance. In other words, every single one of Homer's actions is the opposite of what he would do in a later episode. It is odd to see Homer act in such an un-Homerlike fashion, worried about safety and unable to lie to his trusting followers. He's not even that dumb in these early episodes. Maybe I'm complaining too much about Homer now versus how he would develop as a character later. But even accepting the very different Homer, the episode still lacks any emotional involvement because it tries to fit too much in its last act. To make Homer's arc more compelling, the entire first chunk about Bart (even though it's the funniest section) needs to go in order to allow enough time to develop Homer's plight. And the whole attempted suicide scene is dark and then just brushed off and never mentioned again. This is definitely the weakest episode of the season, and for many many seasons of the series in general, and features little of what would later make the show so hilarious and compelling. I'm being a bit harsh here, admittedly, and these early adventures need to be viewed in a different context from the rest, but even then I think this episode misses the mark. But hey, it's the third episode in a show that's run longer than God himself, and they evened out these bumps pretty early on. The show steadily progressed into excellence from these meager, awkward first steps, and these trial and error episodes, while not as traditionally entertaining as the classics, are important in charting the development of the series.

A few final blurbs: Smither's is black in his first appearance (!), Blinky the three-eyed fish, Otto, Sherri and Terri, and Chief Wiggum appear for the first time, Bart makes his first prank call to Moe (I.P. Freely), and Lenny and Carl don't exist yet. Anywho, I am happy to be moving on to better episodes.

Season 1 Episode 2: Bart the Genius

Original Airdate: January 14, 1990
Chalkboard Gag: I will not waste chalk.
Couch Gag: Bart gets bumped off the couch.

This episode marks the first appearance of the iconic opening to the show, as the previous episode simply starts with “The Simpsons Christmas Special” and then moves right along. The opening is about the same as it would be for many years, but the animation and colors are all slightly different (they reanimated the entire opening for the second season, and that’s the familiar one they stuck with). Some of the differences in this season 1 opening include Bart yanking away a bus stop sign, causing people to run after the non-stopping bus, Lisa riding her bicycle around on a sidewalk, and when Homer runs out of the Nuclear Power Plant, there’s a man eating a sandwich in the background instead of Mr. Burns and Smithers.

This is also the first Bart-centric episode, and it fits in well with his oeuvre. It sets the classic template of Bart doing something dishonest and then facing the moral consequences of his actions. Here he switches the names on his and Martin’s IQ tests and is promptly labeled a genius and sent to a special school. There he finds himself in an incomprehensible academic environment amongst a bunch of elitist snobs who prey on Bart’s below average intelligence for their own bitchy kicks. This advanced 5^th grade class is also conducted like a college seminar, with discussions about Freud and paradoxes and complicated math problems, so Bart, unable to keep up the façade, eventually confesses to Springfield Elementary’s psychologist J. Loren Pryor (one of those forgotten early season characters who vanished without any mention). Homer, who gained newfound respect for his son after his supposed genius, is of course brought into a violent rage when he finds out about Bart’s cheating, and in classic Simpson’s tradition, everything is back to the way it was by the conclusion. Though oddly enough, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of school-sanctioned punishment on Bart for taking someone else’s exam, and Martin, who must have received a terribly low score considering Bart filled in random answers, doesn’t seem to ever raise any questions about this and disappears from the episode after the opening. I guess the cheating never would have caught up to Bart if he hadn't turned himself in. Though that stays in line with how everyone keeps excusing Bart's misbehavior and clear stupidity just because he has the label of "genius".

So overall it’s a pretty standard episode. What’s noteworthy is that, unlike the first one, this is more consistently funny and is less bogged down in a serious subject matter. The worst that happens here is Bart blows up his chemistry experiment and covers the class in green goop, and that’s far less weighty than the financial despair Homer faced previously. The writing is sharper and wittier here, and there’s nice commentary on how adults react to children under varying circumstances; i.e. in how Bart’s vandalism of school property (graffiti of Principal Skinner saying “I am a weiner” [Bart’s spelling]) is at first punished and then treated as a work of art after his gifted abilities are exposed.

The best visual gag is probably in the psychologist’s office, where on one side of his desk he has a picture of Einstein, and the other a picture of Bart. Homer teaching Bart how to put on a clip-on tie is classic Homer. And Mrs. Krabappel (in her first appearance) has a funny line where she assures her students not to worry about the IQ test, as it “merely determines your future social status and financial success…if any.”

Some closing remarks: Bart says “Eat my shorts” for the first time here, Krusty makes his first appearance on a cereal box, and what ever happened to Bart and Milhouse’s two friends, Louis and the other kid whose name I forget? I think they only ever speak in the first couple of seasons and then became background characters for the rest of the series, like Sheri and Teri after a certain point, and even Martin.

Season 1 Episode 1: Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire

Original Airdate: December 17, 1989

        It’s interesting to view the first episode of what became the most recognizable show in television history, mainly in that it’s both a familiar and alienating experience. The show has always been very cynical and dark, but in its golden years it balanced these serious topics with a lightness of comedy that never allowed the show to get somber. This initial episode is mostly just bleak and miserable though, without the usual comic momentum to counteract its sardonic world view. The animation is also noticeably of poorer quality, the voices all sound a little off, and certain locations and characters look different in these early episodes. For instance, Moe's Bar and Mr. Burn's office look nothing like how they looked in the rest of the series, and Barney's blonde in this episode. Much of the supporting cast also didn't exist by this point, but Grandpa, Patty and Selma, Milhouse, Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, Moe, Barney, and Ned and Todd Flanders (no Maude or Rod yet) all make their first appearances.

The Simpson family struggles and struggles in this first episode, in a not so delightful Christmas special, and mostly it just comes off as sad to watch instead of riotously funny. The show's subversion of usual TV cliches is evident from the very start, in how no miracle is bestowed upon this poor family in desperate need of help, but the lively comic timing to tie it all together is lacking. The series has had many plots about the family’s money problems, but this episode paints almost too vivid of a portrait of a financially down-on-its-luck family. The show obviously hasn’t even come close to reaching its comic potential by this point (which is to be expected in any pilot), but with such a grim storyline, it’s almost a drag to watch.

Homer won’t be receiving his Christmas bonus this year, and after Marge has to use all of the saved up holiday money to pay for Bart’s tattoo removal, Homer spends the rest of the episode struggling trying to provide a nice Christmas for his kids. But he of course never gets a break. He becomes a department store Santa Claus, but the money he receives is less than adequate to pay for any presents. He has to steal a Christmas tree because they’re too damn expensive. At home he has to deal with cruel comments from his hated nasty in-laws Patty and Selma. And to top it off, snooty Flanders (here quite different from the character he became) flaunts his wealth and extravagant Christmas presents and decorations at every opportunity. The climax involves Homer and Bart betting on a losing dog at the race track, and then digging through beer cans and cigarette butts in the parking lot trying to find a winning ticket. The dog is Santa's Little Helper, and after being thrown out by his owner, is of course taken in and becomes the Simpsons beloved pet, to the delight of Bart and Lisa. This makes for a sort of happy ending, but mainly the episode still comes off as kind of miserable. There’s an intensity to Homer’s hellish struggle to provide for his family that I appreciate, as it’s rare for a cartoon to focus so thoroughly on a financially unstable family. But still, the show has seen funnier days. It’s all forgiven of course; it’s the first episode, and most shows, even great ones, don’t have great pilots.

Marge, Bart, and Lisa are basically the same characters they’ve been throughout the series, but Homer is noticeably different, and not just in voice (which is deeper and less funny sounding). In this initial episode, he’s a slightly dopey sad sack desperately trying to provide for his wife and kids. Homer was more well-meaning in earlier seasons before he became completely crazy, selfish, and dangerous. He’s mostly normal and restrained here, and his (mutedly) violent outbursts are driven more by circumstance than his usual goofy over-the-top stupidity and insanity.

Overall, the first episode of the greatest show in history is sadder than it is funny. Even the title of the episode, which at first appears to be a simple holiday pun, has darker overtones once you think about it. I remember buying the first season enthusiastically back when I was 12 and being sorely disappointed by these first batch of episodes. But I think looking at it on its own merits, it’s very moving. Homer’s pain is almost stark and realistic, and while the episode provides inconsistent laughs, points have to be given to its emotional resonance. The show eventually balanced the comedy and sentimentality better than it does here, before completely throwing the emotional core away, but I respect this episode’s guts for going in dark, not always pleasant directions. Already it was apparent that this was no ordinary cartoon; it was something much more complex. It just hadn’t found its voice yet.

An Introduction

I’ll keep this introduction brief. I am a Simpson’s fanatic, and have been since I was a tiny child. I’m very familiar with all of the classic seasons, but to really gain a comprehensive perspective on the entire series (which is amazingly still going, having just completed its 22^nd season), I feel it is my duty to watch every episode in order. And to make this less of a time waster for myself, as I’ve seen the first 10 seasons a billion times each, I will do write-ups on every episode.

         
         I look forward to the day when I can raise a child on this show. I myself have grown up with The Simpsons all throughout my life. I was born only a few months before the premier of the first episode, having lived as long as the show itself, so I have a special bond with the series. I remember watching a tape of season 2 episodes recorded off of TV over and over as a 5-year-old. Technically it’s a show written for adults, but I don’t find it to be inappropriate for children. The colorful and cute animation, hilarious voices, and gut-busting slapstick humor makes for a show that delights all kids, and any political or sexual humor will innocently go right over their heads. Sure, there’s mild swearing, and the show is upfront about sex and violence, but certainly nothing damaging to a child. The later seasons, when the show got raunchier, are probably less appropriate, but the classic seasons are a great teaching tool. As a child grows older and becomes more educated, the show gains more and more dimensions, and one’s appreciation only increases from the delight of getting more and more of its brilliant jokes. And it makes kids more socially conscious. I’m 22 and I’m still learning and laughing, and the show’s classic episodes only continue to improve with age.

         
          I, like many, haven’t liked any of the episodes of the past 8 or 9 seasons or so, but I plan to give them a fair shot. The general consensus is that the show got crappy after season 10, but having watched 11-13 completely, I know that isn’t true. In fact, I like those seasons a lot. So I plan to give every late season episode a chance. Watching a new episode out of context is always jarring, but watching them in order may give me perspective on the second half of the series, of which I’m barely familiar with, and as such a fan I owe it to myself to watch everything from top to bottom.

          And so I start my journey through Simpson’s history. Let the tomfoolery begin!