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.
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 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, and received four additional nominations. 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 as Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, additional voices
Grampa Simpson in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "Bart the General" & "The Telltale Head" Krusty The Clown in "The Telltale Head" & "Krusty Gets Busted" Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, additional voices Patty and Selma in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "Life on the Fast Lane" Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Lewis, additional voices Nelson Muntz in "Bart The General" Ralph Wiggum in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson, additional voices Harry Shearer as additional voices Waylon Smithers 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 in "There's No Disgrace Like Home" & "Homer's Night Out" Mr. Burns was voiced by Christopher Collins in all other appearances ("Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "Homer's Odyssey" & "The Telltale Head") Lenny Leonard in "Life on the Fast Lane", "Homer's Night Out" and "The Crepes of Wrath" Ned Flanders in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" & "The Call of the Simpsons" Kent Brockman in "Krusty Gets Busted"
Recurring
Hank Azaria as Chief Wiggum, Moe Szyslak, Carl Carlson, and Apu
Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten
Tress MacNeille as Jimbo Jones and Agnes Skinner
Russi Taylor as Martin Prince and Sherri and Terri
Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel
Jo Ann Harris as background characters
Maggie Roswell as Helen Lovejoy and Princess Kashmir
Sam McMurray as Worker Drone
Christopher Collins as Mr. Burns (episodes 1, 4 and 8), Moe Szyslak (episode 13) and TV host Albert Brooks as Cowboy Bob and Jacques
Guest stars
Ron Taylor as Bleeding Gums Murphy ("Moaning Lisa") Susan Blu as Howie and Boy #2 ("Moaning Lisa") Miriam Flynn as Miss Barr ("Moaning Lisa") Christian Coffinet as Gendarme Officer ("The Crepes of Wrath") Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob ("Krusty Gets Busted") Penny Marshall as Ms. Botz ("Some Enchanted Evening") June Foray as a receptionist ("Some Enchanted Evening") Paul Willson as a florist ("Some Enchanted Evening")
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 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".