The Simpsons Project #1

Simpsons Project: Case #1 (Season 1, Episode 1)
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Original airdate: 12/17/89

Welcome to the Simpsons Project. My good friend Brendan Leonard had an idea a while back to watch each Simpsons episode in order and do a write-up and grade on each one. I always thought this was a great idea, and when he never really followed through on his idea, I decided to steal it for a recurring column on this blog. There are so many episodes at this point that even if I solely wrote Simpsons Project columns, it would take years, so obviously this is going to be slow going. But I’ll have the help of the other writers along the way and hopefully we’ll do justice to the show that is so near and dear to my heart.

The first episode of the Simpsons, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”, was a watershed moment in the history of television for various reasons. It kicked off one of the most celebrated and popular television shows of all time, spawned a pop culture revolution in the early 90s, added “D’oh”, “Eat my shorts” and “Don’t have a cow” into the American lexicon, and changed the face of comedy in immeasurable ways. It also changed my life, and the lives of many who were growing up in the late 80s and early 90s. This episode aired when I was in kindergarten; the series is still going strong today and I’m now three years out of college. The Simpsons has been around as long as I have.

I remember this episode airing originally when I was six. I watched it with my father and my sister. So infantile was I in pretty much every way, that I said, “I can’t wait to see that again next week”, being under the impression that a television series just re-aired the same episode over and over until people got tired of it (maybe some shows would be better off under this premise). But I was instantly hooked. I didn’t get all of the jokes, and I didn’t know why I was laughing at certain points, but I knew I liked it.

The plot of the first episode of the Simpsons is familiar even to many that don’t regularly watch the show. The first act introduces us to the family, as Homer and Marge arrive at Springfield Elementary School to watch the school Christmas pageant. Marge is the loving and attentive mother, Homer is the dopey but loving father, Lisa is the offbeat but brilliant child, and Bart is the hellion. These characters that are so well-defined at this point in the series were really that way from the get go. I hadn’t watched this episode in years and I was really struck by how the characters are already “themselves” right off the bat.

We soon meet Homer’s boss, C. Montgomery Burns, perhaps the most hilarious resident of Springfield, and certainly the most evil. His only lines of dialogue involve cutting the Christmas bonuses for Springfield Nuclear Power Plant employees and then wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Meanwhile, Bart sneaks away at a trip to the mall and gets a tattoo, prompting Marge to use the Christmas savings to get it removed. The perfect storm of financial turmoil leaves the family broke.

Homer really comes into his own right away as a lovable lout. There is a scene where he falls off the roof while stringing up Christmas lights that sounds cliché but works well, and he has several lines of funny dialogue. What I like most about him in this episode and in many early episodes of the Simpsons is that although he is a dumbass, he’s a caring dumbass, and he wants to do right by his family. In more recent episodes he’s a complete lunatic with a new job, but here he agonizes over his situation. A scene where he is shopping at a dollar store (the “Circus of Values”) for his family may be the most tender scene we see him in throughout the series.

Homer takes a job as a mall Santa to try and put some money together to save Christmas. He is uncovered by Bart, and he sympathizes with his father’s plight. After Homer’s shift ends, he goes to collect his paycheck, only to be dismayed when he finds that it’s for $13.00. Barney Gumble (Homer’s oldest friend, though that isn’t mentioned here) convinces Homer (or rather, Bart) to take the check to the dog track and bet on Whirlwind, a lock at 10 to 1 odds.

Before the race, one of the dogs is scratched, and replaced by a dog named Santa’s Little Helper. Homer takes it as some sort of sign and bets his money on the dog. Of course, Homer’s instincts have never been too sharp, and the dog finishes last. Homer and Bart go into the parking lot, searching for winning tickets that may have been thrown away. They see Santa’s Little Helper being thrown out and abandoned, and they take him in as one of their own. Homer manages to save Christmas for the family and gain a new family member in the process.

The episode is quite old, having been aired in 1989, but there are a lot of great lines and good dialogue. The family is well outlined in this episode and throughout the first season, and they are fleshed out over the next few years. Secondary characters such as Mr. Burns, Barney and Moe are introduced. Even the Simpsons’ propensity for hilarious randomness gets its start, with Homer’s Santa Claus training instructor being a German professor for no reason whatsoever. It actually holds up quite well.

But of course, my grade will not be based on how funny the episode actually is. “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” changed everything. It not only changed the conventions of the television sitcom, but it changed my ideas of humor. It and its subsequent episodes molded me; they made me smarter, funnier, and sharper. I can’t talk for more than five minutes without quoting the Simpsons. It kick started this wonderful and hilarious world and it made me a better person for it. I couldn’t imagine life without it.


A+


“Grandpa is still with us, feisty as ever. Maggie is walking by herself, Lisa got straight A’s. And Bart, well, we love Bart.” – Marge


John Lacey