The Skooch Simpsons Season 1 DVD Review
Title: Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire
Episode Number: 1
First Airdate: December 17, 1989
Production Number: 7008
Type of show: Simpsons Christmas
Main story: Homer works as a Department Store Santa because he gets no Christmas bonus
Secondary story: Introduction of Santa's Little Helper
First Appearances: recurring - Homer Simpson, Marge Simpson, Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Principal Seymour Skinner, Mr. Dewey Largo (Lisa's music teacher), Milhouse Van Houten, Snowball 2, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier, Ned Flanders, Unnamed Flanders son, Waylon Smithers (voice only), Charles Montgomery Burns, Moe Szyslak, Grampa Abraham Simpson, Barney Gumble, Santa's Little Helper, Richard (Bart's friend), Lewis (Bart's friend), Sherri & Terri (23). One-offs - Santa Trainer (although he does show up again as a hypnotist for Mr. Burns) (1).
Recurring Cast Count: 23
One-Off Cast Count: 1
Total Cast Count: 24
First Five Minutes: Springfield Elementary Christmas Pagent
Animation: 2 / 5
Story: 4 / 5
Continuity: 5 / 5
Characters: 5 / 5
Lasting Impression: 5 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 3 / 5
Overall Average: 4 / 5
My Verdict: Solid intro to the characters. For the longest time it was the only Simpsons Christmas episode, thereby creating a sort of false legacy. Still, one of the better first season episodes. 3.5 / 5
Total Score: 7.5 / 10
Title: Bart The Genius
Episode Number: 2
First Airdate: January 14, 1990
Production Number: 7G02
Type of show: Bart
Main story: Bart cheats on an aptitude test & is mistaken for a genius
Secondary story: Homer tolerates Bart as a genius, not as a brat
First Appearances: recurring - Martin Prince, Ms. Edna Krabapple, Dr. J. Loren Pryor, Krusty the Clown (on a cereal box), Radioactive Man (5).
Recurring Cast Count: 5 Previous: 23 Total: 28
One-Off Cast Count: 0 Previous: 1 Total: 1
Total Cast Count: 5 Previous: 24 Total: 29
Weird in retrospect: Principal Skinner used to have a secretary, Milhouse had black hair, Dr. Pryor sounded like Mr. Burns does now.
First Five Minutes: Bart spray paints an insulting image of Principal Skinner on the school
Animation: 2 / 5
Story: 3 / 5
Continuity: 5 / 5
Characters: 4 / 5
Lasting Impression: 3 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 2 / 5
Overall Average: 3.2 / 5
My Verdict: Characters are still being felt-out & introduced. Pretty average story, but everyone probably remembers "KWYJIBO." 2.5 / 5
Total Score: 5.7 / 10
Title: Homer's Odyssey
Episode Number: 3
First Airdate: January 21, 1990
Production Number: 7G03
Type of show: Homer
Main story: Homer gets fired & becomes a public safety crusader.
Secondary story: Homer gets re-hired as safety inspector.
First Appearances: recurring - Otto Mann, Wendell, Waylon Smithers (in person, but black), Blinky (three eyed fish), Larry & Sam (barflys), Duff beer, Police Chief Clancy Wiggum, Jasper, Homer gets fired for the first time, Bart's first prank call to Moe's, Sylvia Winfield & husband (9). One-offs - Smilin' Joe Fission (1).
Recurring Cast Count: 9 Previous: 23 Total: 32
One-Off Cast Count: 1 Previous: 1 Total: 2
Total Cast Count: 10 Previous: 24 Total: 34
Weird in retrospect: Otto very laid-back/stoned, Smithers is black!??! The window on the back of the Simpsons living room.
First Five Minutes: Bart goes on a field trip to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant (SNPP) & inadvertantly gets Homer fired.
Animation: 2 / 5
Story: 2 / 5
Continuity: 4 / 5
Characters: 3 / 5
Lasting Impression: 2 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 1 / 5
Overall Average: 2.3 / 5
My Verdict: The animation seems to be getting worse as the season progresses. Plus, Homer's acting completely out of character in doing something good for others. 1.5 / 5
Total Score: 3.8 / 10
Title: There's No Disgrace Like Home
Episode Number: 4
First Airdate: January 28, 1990
Production Number: 7G04
Type of show: Simpson Family
Main story: Homer wants the Simpson family to be more normal
Secondary story: He discovers they work better dysfunctionally
First Appearances: recurring - Waylon Smithers (white), Lou & Eddie (Springfield Police), Dr. Marvin Monroe, Itchy & Scratchy (5).
Recurring Cast Count: 5 Previous: 32 Total: 37
One-Off Cast Count: 0 Previous: 2 Total: 2
Total Cast Count: 5 Previous: 34 Total: 39
Weird in retrospect: Lou was kinda whiteish in his first appearance, most background characters were very distracting & bizarre in appearance.
First Five Minutes: Simpsons go to the SNPP company picnic & wreak havoc.
Animation: 3 / 5
Story: 3 / 5
Continuity: 4 / 5
Characters: 4 / 5
Lasting Impression: 2 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 2 / 5
Overall Average: 3 / 5
My Verdict: Homer would never pawn the TV dammit. Most fans will probably only remember the family shocking each other. Pretty average episode. 2.5 / 5
Total Score: 5.5 / 10
Title: Bart The General
Episode Number: 5
First Airdate: February 4, 1990
Production Number: 7G05
Type of show: Bart (2)
Main story: Bart meets the school bully for the first time
Secondary story: Bart gathers an army
First Appearances: recurring - Nelson Muntz, Janey (off-model), Bart's lucky red hat, Springfield Retirement Home, Herman, first mention of Kwik-E-Mart (3).
Recurring Cast Count: 3 Previous: 37 Total: 40
One-Off Cast Count: 0 Previous: 2 Total: 2
Total Cast Count: 3 Previous: 39 Total: 42
Weird in retrospect: Janey doesn't look like Janey, Bart's pathetic behavior after being beat up by Nelson (very disturbing in how real & sad it was).
First Five Minutes: Bart is fearful of Nelson, the school bully, after crossing him while defending Lisa.
Continuity Errors: The treaty that Bart & Nelson sign is a contradiction in & of itself. While not damaging the continuity of this particular show, it has ramifications down the line.
Animation: 3 / 5
Story: 3 / 5
Continuity: 5 / 5
Characters: 4 / 5
Lasting Impression: 2 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 1 / 5
Overall Average: 3 / 5
My Verdict: An alright show, although for the next 15+ years, Nelson violates the treaty he signed with Bart. I know it's not legal or anything, it just bugs me. 3 / 5
Total Score: 6 / 10
Title: Moaning Lisa
Episode Number: 6
First Airdate: February 11, 1990
Production Number: 7G06
Type of show: Lisa
Main story: Lisa gets inexplicably depressed & meets a jazzman
Secondary story: Homer is frustrated by his inability to beat Bart at video games
First Appearances: recurring - Bleeding Gums Murphy, Jackie Bouvier (Marge's mother) (2).
Recurring Cast Count: 2 Previous: 40 Total: 42
One-Off Cast Count: 0 Previous: 2 Total: 2
Total Cast Count: 2 Previous: 42 Total: 44
Weird in retrospect: Springfield Elementary doesn't have co-ed Gym Class? Barney's Bowlarama was gutted by a fire. Moe's Tavern seemed like a happening place.
Guest Celebrities / Guest Voices / Characters: Ron Taylor (1952-2002) as Bleeding Gums Murphy (1990-95). Our first dead celebrity & dead character sighting! Marvin Monroe does not count as the Simpsons writers inexplicably brought him back in season 15 after previously stating he was dead in the 138th Episode Spectacular.
First Five Minutes: Lisa gets into trouble at school for being sad.
Animation: 3 / 5
Story: 2 / 5
Continuity: 5 / 5
Characters: 5 / 5
Lasting Impression: 3 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 3 / 5
Overall Average: 3.5 / 5
My Verdict: Wow, Marge gives dubious advice. As with most Lisa episodes, the story is just a little too sweet & heart-breaking for my liking. 2 / 5
Total Score: 5.5 / 10
Title: The Call of the Simpsons
Episode Number: 7
First Airdate: February 18, 1990
Production Number: 7G09
Type of show: Simpson Family (2)
Main story: The Simpsons go camping & Homer & Bart get themselves lost.
Secondary story: Marge & Lisa are better woodsmen than the men.
First Appearances: recurring - unnamed older Flanders son (1). One-offs - Bob the RV Salesmen (1).
Recurring Cast Count: 1 Previous: 42 Total: 43
One-Off Cast Count: 1 Previous: 2 Total: 3
Total Cast Count: 2 Previous: 44 Total: 46
Weird in retrospect: Ned Flanders using credit. The newscaster sounds like Kent Brockman, but looks nothing like him.
Celebrities / Guest Voices / Characters: Albert Brooks as Bob the RV Salesman
First Five Minutes: Homer tries to one-up Ned Flanders by buying himself a bigger RV than Flanders'.
Animation: 3 / 5
Story: 3 / 5
Continuity: 3 / 5
Characters: 5 / 5
Lasting Impression: 3 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 2 / 5
Overall Average: 3.2 / 5
My Verdict: This is the first time Homer does something truly stupid & harmful to his family in order to get one over on Flanders. Everyone remembers the rabbit catapult. Plus, it's the first time Homer gets mistaken for something other than human. 3 / 5
Total Score: 6.2 / 10
Title: The Telltale Head
Episode Number: 8
First Airdate: February 25, 1990
Production Number: 7G07
Type of show: Bart (3)
Main story: Bart does something horrible in an attempt to be become popular
Secondary story: Homer is responsible for giving Bart terrible advice
First Appearances: recurring - Reverend Timothy Lovejoy, Krusty the Clown (in person), Jebediah Obadiah Zachariah Jedediah Springfield, first time the Simpsons go to church, Miss Albright (Sunday School Teacher), Space Mutants movies, Jimbo "Corky" Jones, Kearney, Dolph (the previous three are the school bullies), Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Kwik-E-Mart, Sideshow Bob (Robert Underdunk Terwilliger)(8). This episode also marks the first time Smithers confesses his love to Mr. Burns.
Recurring Cast Count: 8 Previous: 43 Total: 51
One-Off Cast Count: 0 Previous: 3 Total: 3
Total Cast Count: 8 Previous: 46 Total: 54
Weird in retrospect: None of the school bullies seem to have the right-sounding voices.
Dead Characters: Jebediah Springfield, dead for years.
First Five Minutes: First time the Simpsons are shown going to church.
Animation: 1 / 5
Story: 4 / 5
Continuity: 5 / 5
Characters: 5 / 5
Lasting Impression: 1 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 1 / 5
Overall Average: 2.8 / 5
My Verdict: The animation flip-flops between gorgeous & horrible. This episode doesn't age well at all because of the appearance of a non-felonious Sideshow Bob. It's a good story though, the first time Bart screws up on such a large scale. My favorite moment is Homer using Bart's walkman (or as Marge calls it, "personal stereo") in church & mistaking Reverend Lovejoy's sermon for the football commentator. 3 / 5
Total Score: 5.8 / 10
Title: Life On The Fast Lane
Episode Number: 9
First Airdate: March 18, 1990
Production Number: 7G11
Type of show: Homer & Marge
Main story: Marge is tempted to cheat on Homer with a charming bowling instructor.
Secondary story: Homer suspects something is not right when Marge starts coming home late.
First Appearances: recurring - Springfield Mall, Barney's Bowlarama, Jacques (Bowling Instructor / Womanizer), Helen Lovejoy, Lenny Leonard (co-worker at SNPP), Charlie (co-worker at SNPP)(4).
Recurring Cast Count: 4 Previous: 51 Total: 55
One-Off Cast Count: 0 Previous: 3 Total: 3
Total Cast Count: 4 Previous: 54 Total: 58
Weird in retrospect: Elderly background characters look horrible.
Celebrities / Guest Voices / Characters: Albert Brooks (2) as Jacques.
First Five Minutes: Homer gets Marge a bowling ball for her birthday.
Animation: 3 / 5
Story: 5 / 5
Continuity: 5 / 5
Characters: 5 / 5
Lasting Impression: 4 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 3 / 5
Overall Average: 4.2 / 5
My Verdict: Albert Brooks is brilliant as Jacques. It's unfortunate that he never voiced him again (Jacques appears in later episodes in non-speaking roles, or is voiced by someone else). Memorable episode. 4 / 5
Total Score: 8.2 / 10
Title: Homer's Night Out
Episode Number: 10
First Airdate: March 25, 1990
Production Number: 7G10
Type of show: Homer (2)
Main story: Homer gets infamous thanks to Bart's sneaky spy-camera.
Secondary story: Marge feels Homer is teaching Bart to objectify women.
First Appearances: recurring - Carl Carlson (co-worker at SNPP), Rusty Barnacle Restaurant (later changed to Frying Dutchman), Princess Kashmir (2). One-offs - Femailman, Gulliver Dark (Vegas-style burlesque show singer)(2).
Recurring Cast Count: 2 Previous: 55 Total: 57
One-Off Cast Count: 2 Previous: 3 Total: 5
Total Cast Count: 4 Previous: 58 Total: 62
Weird in retrospect: Carl's voice is so white!
First Five Minutes: Homer gets invited to a co-worker's stag party at the same restaurant the rest of the Simpsons are at.
Continuity Errors: The previous episode Marge was tempted to commit adultery, & this episode she's losing her mind over some stupid photo of Homer & an exotic dancer.
Animation: 2 / 5
Story: 2 / 5
Continuity: 1 / 5
Characters: 3 / 5
Lasting Impression: 2 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 1 / 5
Overall Average: 1.8 / 5
My Verdict: Representing the first of many occasions in which Marge kicks Homer out of the house, in the end, it's merely an average show. Princess Kashmir has appeared in episodes after this one, but never spoke... again. *sniff* 2 / 5
Total Score: 3.8 / 10
Title: The Crepes of Wrath
Episode Number: 11
First Airdate: April 15, 1990
Production Number: 7G13
Type of show: Bart (4)
Main story: Bart goes to France as an exchange student
Secondary story: Homer falls in fatherly love with Adil, the Albanian exchange student
First Appearances: recurring - Agnes Skinner (1). One-offs - Adil, Ugolin & Cesar (French winemakers that take Bart in), Maurice the donkey (4).
Recurring Cast Count: 1 Previous: 57 Total: 58
One-Off Cast Count: 4 Previous: 5 Total: 9
Total Cast Count: 5 Previous: 62 Total: 67
First Five Minutes: Homer's (apparently) trick back acts up when he falls down the stairs after tripping over Bart's stuff. Marge tells Bart to clean up his room, leading him to find a cherry bomb, which he then uses at school to blow up Agnes Skinner. Well, not BLOW UP, just the toilet she was sitting on.
Animation: 3 / 5
Story: 4 / 5
Continuity: 5 / 5
Characters: 3 / 5
Lasting Impression: 2 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 2 / 5
Overall Average: 3.2 / 5
My Verdict: One of my favorite lines is Bart's "The life of a frog, that's the life for me." BWAHAHHAHAH, frog, France, heh heh heh. Fun little episode marking the first of many foreign countries Bart & the rest of the Simpsons will visit. They'll go so many places, you'll get angry at the lack of imagination. 3.5 / 5
Total Score: 6.7 / 10
Title: Krusty Gets Busted
Episode Number: 12
First Airdate: April 29, 1990
Production Number: 7G12
Type of show: Krusty the Clown
Main story: Krusty is arrested for holding up the Kwik-E-Mart
Secondary story: Sideshow Bob's career flourishes while Bart & Lisa try to prove Krusty's innocence.
First Appearances: recurring - Scott Christian (substitute news anchor), Kent Brockman, Judge Snyder (3).
Recurring Cast Count: 3 Previous: 58 Total: 61
One-Off Cast Count: 0 Previous: 9 Total: 9
Total Cast Count: Previous: 67 Total: 70
Weird in retrospect: One of Krusty's catchphrases was "I didn't do it!" which will catch on in a later season as a catchphrase of Bart's. At the time of this episode, Krusty's show was a kid's show. In later seasons, it changes by the episode. Krusty without make-up (that is later revealed to not be make-up), Judge Snyder isn't really Judge Snyder yet.
Celebrities / Guest Voices / Characters: Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob.
First Five Minutes: Homer's a witness to an armed robbery at the Kwik-E-Mart by Krusty the Clown.
Animation: 3 / 5
Story: 5 / 5
Continuity: 5 / 5
Characters: 5 / 5
Lasting Impression: 5 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 2 / 5
Overall Average: 4.2 / 5
My Verdict: Sideshow Bob episodes are gold, because Kelsey Grammer is brilliant. Nice Scooby-Doo reference at the end too. Only problem is it doesn't age well, due to Bob's constant re-appearances (that are always welcome). 4 / 5
Total Score: 8.2 / 10
Title: Some Enchanted Evening
Episode Number: 13
First Airdate: May 13, 1990
Production Number: 7G01
Type of show: Simpson Family (3)
Main story: Bart & Lisa realize the notorious Babysitter Bandit is in their house
Secondary story: Homer & Marge try to have a night to themselves
First Appearances: recurring - Bill Pye (voice only, later changed to Arnie Pye), Ye Olde Off Ramp Inn (1). One-offs - Ms. Botz (1)
Recurring Cast Count: 1 Previous: 61 Total: 62
One-Off Cast Count: 1 Previous: 9 Total: 10
Total Cast Count: 2 Previous: 70 Total: 72
Weird in retrospect: Homer without the 5 o'clock shadow is always weird. Homer & Marge were married in 1979 apparently.
Celebrity / Guest Voices / Characters: Penny Marshall as Ms. Botz, the Babysitter Bandit.
First Five Minutes: Marge calls in to a radio talk show to complain about Homer.
Animation: 1 / 5
Story: 3 / 5
Continuity: 5 / 5
Characters: 5 / 5
Lasting Impression: 2 / 5
How Well Does It Age: 1 / 5
Overall Average: 2.8 / 5
My Verdict: Horrible, horrible animation flip-flops that take you out of the story. Although Bart is at his abusive (nearing offensive) best, this episode ranks as one of my least favorites. 1 / 5
Total Score: 3.8 / 10
Yes, I'm a geek, I've accepted it. But the Simpsons is the closest thing I have to a religion, thank you very much. Whether anyone cares or not, I have three more seasons to review. & when Season Five comes out, & so on.
Total Cast Count at Season's End: 72
Celebrity Voices: 4
Bart Episodes: 4
Simpson Family Episodes: 3
Homer Episodes: 2
Krusty Episodes: 1
Lisa Episodes: 1
Simpsons Christmas Episodes: 1
Homer & Marge Episodes: 1
Overall Average For Season 1: 5.9 / 10
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The Simpsons Season 3 DVD Review