(originally aired January 14, 1990)
In our first non-holiday episode, we get a better look at Bart, the miscreant of the Simpson family. From infuriating his father during a game of Scrabble to spray painting an unflattering caricature of his principal on school grounds, he’s perfectly portrayed as a fun-loving wise ass, not motivated by any kind of malice, but just a kid-like desire for crude mayhem. When know-it-all classmate Martin Prince rats him out for his graffiti, Bart exacts revenge by switching their aptitude tests. He is soon after declared a genius, and is sent off to a school better suited for his supposed intellectual gifts.

The Enriched Gifted Center for Learned Children is just as pretentious and snobby as the name suggests. Surrounded by students who speak in complex anagrams and engage in existential debates and a teacher who encourages her class to “discover their desks,” Bart finds himself a stranger in a strange land. He was penalized for his outbursts and breaking the rules at Springfield Elementary, but there he at least had a troupe of friends to cheer him on for it. Here, he’s stuck with a bunch of asshole smart kids who use intellectual queries to swindle him out of his lunch.

In the midst of all this is the reactions of the family. Feeling she hasn’t be properly nurturing her son’s gifts, Marge has the family attend more high-class events like the opera and film festivals. United by a mutual disdain for these things, Bart forms a greater bond with his father, who is extremely proud of his son’s alleged accomplishments. Eventually, in his attempt to return back to his normal school, Bart is exposed as a fraud and comes clean to Homer about it. Whereas a normal sitcom father would warmly forgive his son, Homer goes into a rage and chases his naked son throughout the house and furiously pounds on his bedroom door with reckless abandon.

These last two episodes were directed by David Silverman, who has worked with the Simpsons from the early Tracy Ullman shorts all the way up to directing the movie, and he knows how to animate these characters better than anyone. Utilizing a style that’s not incredibly visually arresting, he manages to not only create a great deal of interest in the animation itself, but make it a part of the story. There’s one scene sticks out with me, and I’m still dissecting why: Bart is in Skinner’s office, in trouble, of course, when Marge and Homer arrive. The frame cuts right at their necks, so right when they come in, you think of them not as their whole characters, but as Bart’s parents. First in is Marge, who enters with a very slow dainty walk, turning the corner slightly to find her seat with a cordial greeting to Principal Skinner. Then comes Homer, who has a quick lumber with his large frame, fist clenched at the ready to accuse Bart. Small bits like that really stick with me, and it clearly, verbally and visually, sets up the dynamic of the scene and the views of these two characters to it. The rest of that sequence is great too; when the psychiatrist shows up and starts rattling on about Bart’s supposed genius, there’s a bunch of repeated cuts to the three Simpsons, who blankly follow along, slowly processing the information.

Bart has been painted many different shades of the stereotypical “bad boy” over the years, but in this first episode showcasing his personality, he’s shown as just a fun-loving kid goofing around, something even most of the rest of his family appreciates. The family at the opera is a classic scene, where Homer and Lisa are very much amused by Bart’s joke lyrics and fart noises. As explored in many a future episode, the Simpsons, as much as they may be mystified or even tempted by high class pursuits, have their feet firmly planted in the middle of the road, and that’s just the way they like it.

Tidbits and Quotes
– The opening scene is such a perfect way to start the episode. You get the impression that the family bought Scrabble as a way to raise their intelligence, but are stuck playing words no longer than three letters. Lisa displays her budding intelligence with “id,” Bart bestows upon us the immortal definition of a “kwijibo,” and Maggie gets her first hinting at being a baby savant by spelling “EMC-SQU” with her blocks.
– “I don’t want you to worry, class. This test will have no effect on your grades. It will merely determine your future social status and financial success… if any.” That last bit from Mrs. Krabappel was targeted at Bart, obviously.
– The dream sequence… what an amazing piece of animation. Firstly, it’s a fantastic mockery of those overly complicated “two trains leaving a station, x passengers get off and on” problems we had to slog through in school. As Bart thinks through the problem, things get more and more frantic, with numbers swirling around his head and appearing in the background as armrests, train handles, and even as the passengers. The energy just keeps building as Bart becomes more and more frustrated with the problem, with more and more quick, frantic cuts with wild animated takes until the two trains collide and Bart falls backward, literally, back to reality. It really is spectacular.
– A great exchange featuring between Skinner and Homer, showcasing the latter’s slow thinking (“I caught your son defacing school property this morning. We estimate the damage is $75, and frankly, we think it’s terribly unfair that other taxpayers should foot the bill.” “Yeah, it’s a crummy system, but what are you going to do?” [Marge whispers to him] “Oh no, he can’t mean that. My wife thinks you want me to pay for it.” “That was the idea.”)
– A great quick joke when Homer shows Bart how to put on a tie: just clip it on.
– Bart’s Krusty lunchbox is greatly contrasted by one of the genius kid’s Anatoly Karpov lunchbox, who apparently is a famous champion chess player.
– Homer learns he has to go to the opera with Bart (“But I’m not a genius! Why should I suffer?”)
– The ending bit with Homer banging and scratching against Bart’s door is unbelievable. The raw fury of the animation and Dan Castellaneta’s voice acting completely sells Homer’s blind rage.

(originally aired December 17, 1989)

So we start with season 1, which is basically like a 13-episode long experiment in figuring out what exactly this new breed of show is, from the rough animation, the developing characterizations, and the humor and tone. These episodes kind of put me off in the past, but I’ve grown fonder of them over time. I really like the wonkier animation style, especially compared to how stiff the show is now. I can remember seeing some of these in syndication (“The Telltale Head” showed up a lot for some reason), but the main place I saw a lot of these was on the old Simpsons video tapes. Long before DVD, we were stuck with these primitive devices known as VHS tapes. I remember there were two episodes a tape (along with a Tracy Ullman-era short), and I think they got to the beginning of season 3 before they stopped making them. This episode was on its own tape, dubbed “The Simpsons Christmas Special.”

So this is our first look at the show, as we follow our hero, Homer Simpson, in his efforts to create an idyllic Christmas for his family. It’s a Homer that’s sort of fallen by the wayside in later years: the well-meaning father. While he can be bumbling, thick-headed or just not too bright, he still does what he can for his family. However, he finds that life can be a bitch, as many obstacles stand in his way: he is denied his annual Christmas bonus, and is shocked to find that the money the family had saved for the holiday has been blown to remove a tattoo Bart impulsively bought. Making matters worse, Homer constantly finds himself in the shadow of his do-good neighbors, the Flanderses, whose over-extravagant Christmas lawn display is a stark contrast to his one working light bulb in a string of a thousand. None of these things are done upon Homer with malice; it’s life dealing him a bad hand, but he pushes forward with all the gumption he can muster.

Homer takes a position as a mall Santa, perhaps hoping working for the season will save his own, but with extraneous expenses, he is only paid a measly thirteen dollars. On top of that, his plight is exposed to Bart after he yanks at his Santa beard as a prank, not knowing it was actually his father. To raise Homer’s spirits, Bart invokes the hackneyed traditions of television sadsacks, that miracles always happen on Christmas to those in need. It’s a brilliant speech that in the very first episode forebears a hallmark in Simpsons humor, the recognition of classic TV norms and flipping them on their ass. In his last desperate act, Homer tags along with his drunk pal Barney to the dog track to see if he can win big. In keeping with his faith in cliche underdog stories, Homer bets it all on a last-minute addition, “Santa’s Little Helper,” but the dog is easily defeated.

Slowly but surely losing all hope, Homer scrounges the parking lot with his son for any discarded winning tickets. But then, his own brand of miracle happens as the dog he lost everything on jumps into his arms. He doesn’t recognize this as the answer to his problems; he takes sympathy on the dog because in a way, its undying determination in the face of inevitable defeat reminds him of himself. When he returns home and the family is enthralled by the perfect Christmas gift, he’s dumbfounded. Every mistake and pratfall he endured was all crucial to lead him to this unintended success. But that’s Homer Simpson, the accidental hero. The show delves into a fair level of schmaltz, but almost out of obligation in that it is a Christmas special, but with an intentional self-awareness the show would later become famous for. With its true slice-of-life scenarios, believable and likable characters and slightly off-brand humor, this episode was a sure sign for things to come.

Tidbits and Quotes:
– I love Homer’s line “Pardon my galoshes” while scooting past people to an empty seat at the Christmas pageant. It’s such a throwaway line, but it feels so classic Homer, especially in the early Walter Matthau-esque voice.
– Lisa’s list reading “A PONY” in giant letters six times, followed by “Thank you, Lisa” in small print is pretty adorable.
– The kids applauding Homer’s fall from the roof setting up the lights is pretty adorable too. As, of course, is Maggie’s star suit.
– What mall has a tattoo parlor? The scene with Bart and the tattoo artist is brilliant. (“One ‘Mother’ please.” “Wait a minute, how old are you?” “Twenty-one, sir.” “Get in the chair.”) The shot angled from below of the tattoo artist makes it all the better, seeing things from Bart’s POV. He ain’t no 21-year-old.
– An early look at impulsively emotional Homer, and my favorite line of the show: “We’re ruined! Christmas is cancelled! No presents for anyone!”
– The earliest of many great Simpsons store names: Circus of Values. It’s an absolutely perfect name for a Dollar Tree-like store.
– There’s a lot of great moments toward the end of the second act when Homer is really at his wit’s end. Tired from coming home from Santa training, he trudges upstairs only to have Marge tell him her sisters are here. Hunched over and clutching the banister, he shudders, knowing he must endure yet another unpleasantness. Responding to Patty and Selma’s murmuring of there being no Christmas tree, Homer goes out alone to find one. It’s a fantastic sequence, as Homer passes lot after lot of trees out of his price range, getting increasingly madder as “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” plays.
– A great line from Bart after Santa’s Little Helper loses: “It doesn’t seem possible, but I guess TV has betrayed me.”