The Simpsons Season 1 Retrospective

Looking back at the weirdest and most revolutionary Simpsons season ever.

[ZanzibarBreeze]

Season 1 has so much soul. It also dealt with some real issues (Bullying, Depression (twice, one with Lisa and one with Homer), marriage issues, family dysfunction). It’s genuinely amazing.

[JeffreyJFerguson]

The DVD boxset for Season 1 had some great comments in and on the packaging. Stuff like "Remember, we had no idea what the hell we were doing." I loved it.

[NICKtendoReviews]

6:53 “these one off secondary characters we never see again.”
I just noticed the guy in the top right is Tito Puente’s singer in Who Shot Mr Burns Part 2. So weird that they would delve so far back for that kind of character.

[MuchWhittering]

Troy McClure wasn't around yet, you say? Why, I didn't know that. If only someone would make a video about the history of Troy McClure to make this more clear.

[pie]

This season makes me want frosty chocolate milkshakes

[apastlongforgotten]

To me it’s the sound design that really felt like it was “season 1”, like some of the scenes of quiet ambiance or chewing of food, even the walking sounds, they are so realistic that I can’t help but admire it. The other season sound designs kinda matched this too like the updated walking sounds, but it was season 1 that really brought the world to life with the sounds it created

[AlkisenSuper]

I love the first season. The roughness of the animation and the artstyle (down to the frequent gradient backgrounds) and down-to-earth writing makes it unique and very pleasant to watch. Even the voice acting is different in how it doesn't spit the lines lines out rapidly, but everyone talks with pauses and hesitation just like in real life. Homer's old voice might not be the most useful for comedic potential, but I still think it's funny in how deep and grovely it sounds, like a grizzly bear teaching his young cub about life's lessons.

The one-off small town characters became rarer as the years went on. They would continue to appear, but when they did it would usually be very specific, like the guy with big hands or the man with a big nose. Mostly they later relied on the regulars to fill out roles, which is why Squeaky Voiced Teen seemingly shows up everywhere.

I get disappointed when people exclude it from the classic era. The writing is still smart and witty, just in a different way.

[shoddyworkmanship]

I remember when The Simpsons debuted. The idea of prime-time cartoons was so weird, that at first I thought the commercials for the upcoming show were some sort of marketing gimmick and that the real show would be live-action.

The Simpsons was a huge hit right from the beginning. Bart was everywhere. He was portrayed as legitimately cool, with Homer his main antagonist. "The Bartman" was not an oddity, it fit right in with the rest of the avalanche of Bart merchandise. The whole appeal of the show was based around a stodgy authority figure getting mad at those gosh-danged kids.

[AnkfordPlays]

that scene where Lisa hears the Jazz music and runs through town to meet Bleeding gums for the first time is one of the best moments in the entire series for me. It's not funny, but they just nailed the atmosphere and you cann tell they were trying to also be actual storytellers besides just being joke machines.

[MJTRadio]

Seems funny to me that the show depicted the family on the edge of slipping from the middle class, but these days a single working parent bringing home enough bacon for a family of five and a two-story suburban house seems pretty good, all things considered.

[MissAshley]

The rawness of the first season is hypnotic. The quietness peppered with loud foley and music stings, the rubbery animation, the wild colors, the weird faces. . .I love it all! And I'm right there with you on missing when Lisa got to act more like a kid and Springfield was more a backdrop than a pastiche of known characters.

[TheRealJims]

Took a short break from production during the holiday season, but the new year is a good opportunity to try out a new video series. I have a tendency to say "That is such a Season ___ episode" in videos, so am starting a series of Season reviews to look at the individual style of each of these seasons. And because I am bad at naming things, I am just going to call them Retrospective videos for now until I think of something more snappy and creative. Hope you enjoy the new video!

[emmetth]

“Why do keep on telling us about Season 1 TheRealJims?”
“I just think it’s neat”

[ZeldaWizards]

PLEASE make this a series for each season

[matti.]

To be honest, i really like this "principal Homer" portrayal. They were trying to subvert that sitcom trope of the "family man who knows everything and gives life lessons", so of course at the start writers would directly poke fun of the concept, making Homer say the wrong lesson and just do things sitcom fathers do but failing miserably.

You can tell that at some point this intention was lost on them and Homer just got stupid for the sake of comedy and the "dumbass sitcom dad" trope ended up replacing the old one.

[KetwunsGamingPad]

The animation was mainly done by Klasky-Csupo, the people behind a lot of Nicktoons. There are many similarities to their style in the first 3 seasons until they handed it over to Film Roman. When you realise this it's astounding how many familiar traits you notice: the quirky close-up reflection angles, the mouth movements, the background texturing and the dream sequences. They made it so apparent they were behind all of that, that in Duckman, they reference and parody the Simpsons a few times to remind you. Rugrats carries the dream sequences in such a similar fashion as well it’s just astounding.

[TurboSax]

I remember flipping my shit when I heard The Simpsons was getting a TV series. Season 1 will always hold a special place in my heart for that reason.

[sonicmastersword]

Season one is by far one of my favorites.The mostly realistic portrayal of American life and the darker plots make it one of the most memorable and well written seasons of the Simpsons.

[WouldNotPokeThat]

For me season 1 and 2 are marked by what I would call "sentimentally cynical." The storylines can get downright depressing sometimes (Homer thinks he'll die, Marge having an affair), but there's that earnestness you talked about present, and the idea that we as an audience, along with the characters, learned a lesson at the end. I attribute this to Sam Simon being showrunner; season 3 is when the series became the irony-laden rapid-fire joke machine it's famous for now.

[mechajay]

I actually liked the early seasons one's look. I really found the roughness of the art and bounciness of the animation gave the season it's charm.