The short opening season of the Simpsons is rough, especially compared to where the show would evolve in several seasons. The animation, voices and characterization are still fluid, but the core family relationships are solid. The humor is grounded and realistic, especially compared to the excesses that would come later. The family faces financial, emotional and marital struggles, but the center of the family commitment always overcomes whatever crises the episode presents. The series premier is perhaps one of the strongest and best developed episodes, and holds up as one of the strongest in the series. Each family member (except Maggie) is made the focus of an episode, but Bart is clearly the center early on. Other side characters are present, but outside of Mr., Burns and Krusty, their characterization is not yet firm. Perhaps the most lasting contribution of the first season is the introduction of Sideshow Bob's rivalry with Bart and Lisa, which would lay the foundation for some of the strongest episodes in subsequent seasons. ( )

2093

The day-to-day life of a working class family.

2/4 (Indifferent)

Well that didn't age well. Early Simpsons is the era of "cawabunga" and "don't have a cow," and I think it was five or six episodes before it got a laugh out of me.

(Jul. 2021) ( )