The first season of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'' originally aired on the

Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

between December 17, 1989, and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (titled onscreen as "The Simpsons Christmas Special") is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 17, 1989. Intro ...

." The executive producers for the first production season were

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

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 Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist and philanthropist, who co-developed the television series ''The Simpsons''. While at Stanford University, Simon w ...

. 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 credi ...

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.

Voice cast & characters

Main cast

Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...

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 ...

Barney Gumble Barnard Arnold "Barney" Gumble is a recurring character in the American animated TV series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Barney is the ...

, additional voices **

Grampa Simpson Abraham Jebediah "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled " Grandpa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on ...

in 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire', 'Bart the General' & 'The Telltale Head' **

Krusty The Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castel ...

in 'The Telltale Head' & 'Krusty Gets Busted' *

Julie Kavner Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress. Best known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', Kavner first attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, the younge ...

Marge Simpson Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' short " Good Night ...

, additional voices ** Patty and Selma in 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire', 'Life on the Fast Lane' *

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Perform ...

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 Sh ...

, Lewis, additional voices **

Nelson Muntz Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and the lead school bully from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', where he is best known for his signature mocking laugh "Ha-ha!". He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was first intro ...

in 'Bart The General' ** Ralph Wiggum in 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire' *

Yeardley Smith Martha Maria Yeardley Smith ( ; born July 3, 1964) is an American actress, artist and writer. She currently stars as the voice of Lisa Simpson on the long-running animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Smith became an actress in 1982 aft ...

Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child and most accomplished of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in '' The Tracey Ullman ...

, additional voices *

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

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 (The Simpsons), Homer's ...

in 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire', 'Homer's Odyssey', 'There's No Disgrace Like Home', 'The Telltale Head' & 'Homer's Night Out' ** Principal Skinner in 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire', 'Bart the Genius', 'The Telltale Head' & 'The Crepes of Wrath' ** 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' *** Mr. Burns was voiced by

Christopher Collins Christopher Charles Collins (born Christopher Lawrence Latta; August 30, 1949 – June 12, 1994) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the voice of Cobra Commander in the '' G.I. Joe'' animated series and Starscream ...

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 Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...

in 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire' & The Call of the Simpsons', **

Kent Brockman Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode " Krusty Gets Busted". He is a grumpy, self-centered local Springfield news anchor. Prof ...

in 'Krusty Gets Busted'

Recurring

Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, ...

Chief Wiggum Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sara ...

Moe Szyslak Moe Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor and bartender o ...

Carl Carlson 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 ...

, and Apu *

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 ...

Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire MacNeille (née Payne; born June 20, 1951) is an American voice actress, whose credits include voicing Dot Warner on the animated television series '' Animaniacs'', Babs Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Chip and Gadget Hackwrenc ...

Jimbo Jones 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 ...

and

Agnes Skinner 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 ...

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 h ...

Martin Prince 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

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 writ ...

Marcia Wallace Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) was an American actress and comedian, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies. She is best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitc ...

Edna Krabappel Edna Krabappel-Flanders ( Krabappel; ) is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Marcia Wallace from 1990 until her death in October 2013. She was a 4th-grade teacher, who taught Bart Simpson's class a ...

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 as

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 *

(episodes 1, 4 and 8),

(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 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 ...

(" Moaning Lisa") *

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 Miriam Flynn (born June 18, 1952) is an American voice and character actress. She is best known as Cousin Catherine in the ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' and Grandma Longneck in ''The Land Before Time'' franchises. She has acted in other films ...

as Miss Barr ("Moaning Lisa") * Christian Coffinet as Gendarme Officer
(" The Crepes of Wrath") *

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

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 sel ...

(" Krusty Gets Busted") *

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

as Ms. Botz
(" Some Enchanted Evening") *

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...

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 Willson ...

as a florist
("Some Enchanted Evening")

Characters

Main * Homer Simpson (

) ** Appears in all episodes * Marge Simpson (

) ** Appears in all episodes * Bart Simpson (

) ** Appears in all episodes * Lisa Simpson (

) ** Appears in all episodes Recurring * Barney Gumble (

) ** Appears in all episodes * Moe Szyslak (

) * Lewis (

)

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 "Life on the Fast Lane", also known as "Jacques to Be Wild" in the UK, is the ninth episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 18, 1990.. It was written ...

" 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 Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, 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 ...

and

t-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are genera ...

s, 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$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 ...

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 ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were th ...

'' Season 1. As of October 19, 2004, the DVD boxset sold 1.9 million units.

References

;Bibliography * * * *

External links

Season 1
at The Simpsons.com
Season 1
at the BBC {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsons (season 1) simpsons season 1 1989 American television seasons 1990 American television seasons