The Simpsons : From Start to Finish

[Jeffster]

The Simpsons : From Start to Finish

Well, here I go. It's Christmas Eve 2007, and I am beginning my run through all the episodes of The Simpsons in order, beginning with the Christmas Special, originally aired December 1989. Now I'm still in the middle of doing the same thing with the classic series of Doctor Who (yes, insert Comic Book Guy taco joke here), and I've been watching a DW episode once every weeknight and keeping to a pretty strict schedule. I am going to set about the same pace for myself with The Simpsons but I'm not going to be quite as strict about it. (i.e. if I miss a day, I'm not going to watch two the next day to catch up.) The next available day I'll just watch the next episode, whatever that is, even if I miss several days in a row, because I'm too busy or too tired or whatever. Immediately following the episode, I will post a brief review or just a few random comments, and give the episode a score from 1 to 10. It will be interesting to see how I rate these as I go in order and see if it differs from just me thinking back over the seasons. I'm pretty un-critical of The Simpsons for the most part, it's my favorite tv show of all time, so you may find it redundant when I keep giving 10 scores, especially in the Seasons 4-6 era, but I will point out flaws when I see them even in good episodes, and will royally rip a new one for those few that I hate. Hopefully they'll get back on track with releasing the seasons on dvd twice a year so I don't have to have long gaps in my viewing.

Anyone who wants to join me on my quest, feel free to do so. Just watch the next episode that I haven't posted my comments on yet, and you'll be up to date. It will be fun to compare notes if anyone actually joins me.

So, grab your Season 1 DVD and I'll be back later with my comments..

[Charlie]

I would join in, but I started this about two months ago and in fact began watching Season 9 today. Originally I watched three/four episodes every night, with a week or so off mid-Season 4 (due to exams). Being on holidays now, I've been watching around 12 episodes a day; usually a few in the morning and the rest at night if I'm not busy (around five days a week). The main reason I'm watching so much is because I want to try and finish all of my DVDs (so, the first 10 seasons) by New Year.

[Jeffster]

I would join in, but I started this about two months ago and in fact began watching Season 9 today. Originally I watched three/four episodes every night, with a week or so off mid-Season 4 (due to exams). Being on holidays now, I've been watching around 12 episodes a day; usually a few in the morning and the rest at night if I'm not busy (around five days a week). The main reason I'm watching so much is because I want to try and finish all of my DVDs (so, the first 10 seasons) by New Year.

Wow, that's quite an undertaking! I'm not fond of watching so many in a row, that's why I'm not referring to this quest as a "marathon" because it implies constant watching, and that's not what I'm doing.

And without further ado, here we go...



The Simpsons Christmas Special

"Ow! Quit it Ow! Quit it. Ow! Quit it."

Ah, an instant classic. I can't remember exactly what I was thinking at 13 years old as I watched The Simpsons for the first time on a small black and white tv with lousy reception of an out of town tv station, but I know I instantly loved the characters, and it was unlike any cartoon I had seen before. Not in the wildest reaches of my mind did I imagine that the show would still be going on 18 years later!

Even though there were other episodes produced before this one, and it wasn't originally intended to be the premiere, it serves as a great introduction to several of the characters we would come to know and love. The original Homer was closer to my own dad than what Homer would become in later years, though still not nearly as intimidating as my dad. I love the original way Lisa was presented, an extremely intelligent child but a child nonetheless, not some sort of college-age political crusader that she became in some stories many years later. Other than the Lisa dancing around with fire part, almost everything is very realistic, with exaggerations for comedic effect, but within the framework of the setting, everything moves along very smoothly (and quickly! The episode seems to race by!)

It's funny that Bart mentions Charlie Brown, because there are several similarities between this episode and Charlie Brown's Christmas. No doubt the creative minds behind The Simpsons had seen it many times, and part of their idea was to create a Simpsons-spin on the concept of the Christmas miracle.

The show started out telling stories a little more simplistically, and not having joke-a-minute type stuff, and although my overall favorites are still those laugh-till-you-cry episodes, I finished this episode with a beaming smile on my face, and really, that's about all you can ask for.

Episode Rating: 10

Merry Christmas, everybody! And stay tuned for "Bart The Genius", coming soon...maybe even tomorrow!

[Jeffster]

Bart the Genius

(I had to check the box to make sure I spelled that title right, proof I'm not a genius myself, as if it was needed. )

This was another cool experience, as we get our first viewing of the opening title sequence. I miss this one from the 1st season, though I like the updated one, I miss the Lisa bike-riding part. I laughed when Lisa jumps off her bike, but the bike keeps going by itself into the garage.

Then it's onto our introductions to Mrs. Krabappel and Martin, as well as J. Loren Pryor. Again I love the way the kids act like kids, I think even though I was already in junior high when this first aired, I could relate to it because the kids seemed real and not like made up cartoons. I laughed when Milhouse calls Bart "Poindexter" as I remember the scene many years later (in Summer of 4 ft 2 I think) where Homer calls Milhouse that a couple times. Again, it shows the way kids turn on each other so fast.

Bart writes with his left hand, but throws a baseball with his right. Now you could call that a "continuity error" but the fact is there are even some professional athletes that learned to use their "wrong hand" for their particular sport for whatever reason. So, it's not entirely unrealistic that Bart could have learned to throw a baseball from his old man with the other hand, even while writing with his left.

I remember when I first saw this, my favorite scene was the lunchroom one where Bart gets fooled into giving up his food, but on tonight's viewing I enjoyed the opera part the best I think, mostly to see Lisa having fun and being a kid, like I mentioned before, I think they went away from that too much in later years, so I like seeing the original Lisa.

I also like the line "I think Bart's stupid again."

Episode Rating: 8

The show is still in its infancy, and not everything works, but the story is good and a lot of fun, even if the jokes don't come as fast or often as later episodes.

Next time, Homer's Odyssey!

[DuffMan72]

Quite the ambitious thread you got here. I'll be sure to read your reviews.

[tom cody]

You sound like you have a good idea with this, looking forward to your comments.

[Green_Peaness]

This is always fun to do, maybe you'll have some new insight to the series. Maybe some of us could join you in your 415 or so day journey.

[Jeffster]

Homer's Odyssey

My 8-year-old son said, "It was weird."

He laughed quite a few times, though. And that might have been the first time he's seen that one, I can't remember. It's been awhile since I've seen it, and I used to get it confused with "Simpson and Delilah" for some reason.

Anyway, Smithers has a nice tan in this one, as does Sherri & Terri's dad, unlike his pale daughters. Did we ever see that character again? I don't think so.

I thought it was a pretty cool story concept, and they manage to convincingly show us Homer as the safety crusader in a very short period of time, using the old newspaper headlines gag. The field trip stuff was funny, and once again, great realistic kid stuff. Bart continues to pine for a tattoo. Wendell is introduced and almost makes it through the bus ride.

The Homer-Burns confrontation in his office was the first of many over the years, and both of them came off as realistic and not as goofy as they would later on down the line.

Overall, an enjoyable and funny episode, which if I remember correctly, I missed most of the first time it aired. Still, I get the feeling these writers can do better, and will prove it to me pretty soon.

Episode Rating: 7

Up next, the rest of the Simpson family show they can be just as obnoxious as Homer. Stay tuned!

[violent jase]

This is a cool idea, I think I may do it also. I'll start on January 1 though and start the New Year off on a positive note

[Kid Moe]

I'll help you with this later today I've always wanted to do a marathon. But
I've never felt like it.

[The Law-Talkin' Guy]

I'm not going in on it, but it will be time well spent for those of you that do.

[Drumstick]

I will start this the day I have all the seasons but by then I may have a life.

[violent jase]

What does having a life have to do with anything? It's only one episode a day. Even the busiest of people could do that.

[Drumstick]

But doing it now having no life I could fit in 3/4 of a season a day.

[Kid Moe]

Jeffster I was busy yesterday but I will get on it later today.

[Da Soulja Boi]

i would but i have only got a few of the seasons. i watch them every night though (on sky, channel 4 and dvd :P)

[Starman]

I'll join you on your quest, Jeffster.

[Jeffster]

There's No Disgrace Like Home

Another great episode, the electroshock therapy scene might have been the first really controversial thing The Simpsons put on, and it was like a signal to all who watched that "this ain't the Flintstones." So many great lines in this one but I think my favorite is when Lisa says "It's not the money, as much as the feeling that we EARNED it."

Everything's well constructed in this episode, from the giant table of jello desserts at the party, the sack race, the "halo family" (I think they dreamed up the Flanders family after this one, otherwise they probably would've used them in that spot.) The bar scene is great with the Homer-Barney fight mirroring the boxing on tv (barney's great line "you got two I haven't met?" and the police dog who's got Homer's scent.

Maggie is especially cute, as she lightly whacks Homer with the foam bat and has a ball with the shock buttons (I think electrocuting a baby might have been what made a few people a bit upset at this episode!) It's a classic from start to finish and clearly lets us all know that the real key to family bliss is a new tv.

Episode Rating: 10

[Drumstick]

There's No Disgrace Like Home

Another great episode, the electroshock therapy scene might have been the first really controversial thing The Simpsons put on, and it was like a signal to all who watched that "this ain't the Flintstones." So many great lines in this one but I think my favorite is when Lisa says "It's not the money, as much as the feeling that we EARNED it."

Everything's well constructed in this episode, from the giant table of jello desserts at the party, the sack race, the "halo family" (I think they dreamed up the Flanders family after this one, otherwise they probably would've used them in that spot.) The bar scene is great with the Homer-Barney fight mirroring the boxing on tv (barney's great line "you got two I haven't met?" and the police dog who's got Homer's scent.

Maggie is especially cute, as she lightly whacks Homer with the foam bat and has a ball with the shock buttons (I think electrocuting a baby might have been what made a few people a bit upset at this episode!) It's a classic from start to finish and clearly lets us all know that the real key to family bliss is a new tv.

Episode Rating: 10

Nice review but you aren't very far and you are yet to prove you have no life.

[Jeffster]

Nice review but you aren't very far and you are yet to prove you have no life.

Certainly wasn't attempting to prove that. I've got quite a busy life in fact! I'm a single dad!

Anyway, after a bit of a hiatus, it's onto...

Bart the General


"Dear Advertisers,
I am disgusted with the way old people are depicted on television.
We are not all vibrant, fun-loving sex maniacs. Many of us are bitter,
resentful individuals who remember the good old days when entertainment
was bland and inoffensive."

"I thought I was too old. I thought my time had passed. I thought I'd never again hear the screams of pain or see the look of terror in a young man's eyes. Thank heaven for children!"

Grandpa has some of the best lines of this episode, but it's chock full of great stuff. John Swartzwelder makes his Simpsons writing debut and hints at the greatness that was to come with this tight, fast-paced, never dull episode which not only established the characters of Nelson and Herman, but gives us more insight into the main family members as well. From the first time I ever saw this one, I longed to have my own "saturation bombing" army to take on the bullies.

Principal Skinner's "No, no, he'll get you after school" would be the thing I laugh the hardest at if it weren't for Homer trying to blow-dry Bart's tears. Or the boy that grabs Lisa to re-enact the Life home from WW2 kissing picture.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love this episode. In fact, it's my favorite episode of Season 1 and still holds up compared with the classics of the best seasons 4 through 6 as a stellar effort from everyone involved, endless rows of identical trees aside.

Episode Rating: 10

Next up, I force myself to listen to Lisa moan.

[Nebuchanezzar]

I'm a single dad!

With one sentence he destroys Sam D's pathetic attempt at trolling.

You ought to do a little "season synopsis" at the end of each season, to tie together your thoughts on each season, relative to context and whatever. When you eventually get there.

[Jeffster]

With one sentence he destroys Sam D's pathetic attempt at trolling.

Ooh, didn't seem like he was trolling to me, but whatever.

You ought to do a little "season synopsis" at the end of each season, to tie together your thoughts on each season, relative to context and whatever. When you eventually get there.

Yep, I plan to. Never fear!

[Drumstick]

With one sentence he destroys Sam D's pathetic attempt at trolling.

I wasn't trying to troll I was just saying.

[Inamon]

'just saying'?

[Jeffster]

Moaning Lisa

My favorite parts of this episode are the video game scenes with Bart and Homer as well as Homer's dream and his trip to the arcade to get tips from the resident super gamer kid.

The plotline with Lisa is an interesting concept but never really goes anywhere. You have an odd scene where Marge gives advice then contradicts herself based on witnessing a few pretty harmless comments from a couple of boys and the band teacher. Marge seemed much more like herself with the "Nothing personal, I just fear the unfamiliar" line.

After establishing Lisa as an intelligent and fun-loving little girl, this episode has her act a little too grown-up and although I have sympathy for an 8 year old girl being sad, neither parent ever really tries to address the source of her sadness in a way that helps anything. Moping around isn't really any better than suppressing feelings like Marge's mom taught.

Marge was especially obnoxious in her unplugging the video game. It wasn't her decision to make on what was more important for Homer to do at that time, and I'm kinda surprised Homer seemed to let her walk all over him there. We're seeing so far in Season 1, that the characters seem to be somewhat inconsistent and contradict themselves on some occasions. Thankfully, I have the hindsight to know that for awhile anyway. most of the writers seemed to develop pretty consistent character models.

All that being said, it's still an entertaining episode, it definitely evokes emotions in me, they just might not be exactly the ones the writers intended. I mean, Lisa, YOU gave your cupcake away, not your mom. Sheesh!

Episode Rating: 6

[Kyoya Otori]

Wait, you gave There's No Disgrace Like Home and Homer's Odyssey a 10/10 and 7/10 respectively, while you only gave Moaning Lisa a 6/10? I mean, everyone's entitled to their own opinion and hey if you feel that way then who am I to judge, but in my opinion, TNDLH and Odyssey are the two of the weakest from season one, while Moaning Lisa is the strongest.

Anyway, I'd give this episode a 9/10 or 9.5/10. It was an excellent Lisa episode featuring pretty strong characterizations and having a nice Homer/Bart subplot.

[Jeffster]

Yep, like you said, everybody has their own opinions. The good thing about this thread is that I'm at least attempting to explain why I rate a particular episode the way I do, and even if somebody thinks I'm nuts for certain scores, they can at least maybe see where I'm coming from on it. And I welcome people to express their comments and viewpoints on the episodes as I go too, the more the merrier as long as we can keep it respectful and not have people start going off on each other if they don't agree which I've seen happen in too many topics around here.

[Jeffster]

The Call Of The Simpsons

Swartzwelder scores again, in the first Simpsons family vacation adventure. This one moves along at a great pace, from the opening of Homer telling Bart not to worry about "keeping up with the Flandereseses" to the great scene at the RV dealer to the journey into the woods. "A" Brooks puts in the first of several great performances on The Simpsons as Bob, the RV guy. The siren on top of the computer! Where can I get one of those?

Maggie's adventures with the bears are cute and funny, I remember laughing out loud the first time I saw Maggie thrust the pacifier into the bear's mouth. And we get perhaps the first Hank Azaria "sarcastic guy" appearance as the camper and his wife, with Helen Lovejoy's voice before she's been introduced.

"What are we going to do? Hang ourselves?"

The report on Bigfoot ends with "we now return to the president's address, already in progress."

The newspaper headlines are great, with the same angry picture of Homer, the one in the chef hat really gets me. I love the way Bart says "Later, grizzly dudes."

I thought the Bigfoot scientist stuff stretched a little too long, but it did give Marge a good new nickname for Homer at least. I would have liked a followup with either Flanders or Bob asking about what happened to the RV, but oh well. Great stuff, and sets the wheels in motion for future Simpson adventures outside Springfield.

Episode Rating: 9

[Jeffster]

Well, I'm back, after more than a month, but hey, better late than never, right?

The Telltale Head

There's so many great moments in this episode, that I hardly know where to begin. Well, I guess the beginning. The whole setup of the family getting ready for church, Homer with the football game, Bart's walkman, slingshot, etc. just continues to establish these still-new characters and packs a lot of chuckles into a short period.

This is one of those episodes that seems to make a case for Springfield being on the West coast, as further East, the football games on Sunday aren't on in the morning, in fact for Homer to listening to the very end of one before church is over, they'd almost have to live in Hawaii. But that's one of really only two nitpicks I have in the entire episode, the other one being that Jebediah's head seems to change size several times during the time Bart has it in his possession.

I love Marge's characterization especially in this ep, and her voice is excellent, I wish they'd kept it like that and not changed it over the years. Of course I think the same thing about Homer, but I realize I'm in the minority on that as many people didn't like the original Homer voice.

The scenes with Bart's entry into the group of "cool kids" (and his later quick dismissal) are another great example of these writers having a good understanding of the nature of kids. And it's ironic in hindsight that some adults complained in the early days of The Simpsons that Bart was a bad influence. Bart actually tries to do the right thing a lot of the time. He's mischievous like all kids are, but he actually does have a conscience and a sense of right and wrong. And it's great how Jimbo and co. change their minds about what's cool and what isn't within the space of a few minutes or hours. Very realistic.

The whole "Bart sneaks out to get to the statue" scene is fantastic, the paused cat-meow to the drawing of the blade, the great music, just a really well done piece of animation and story. Okay, I lied, I do have one more nitpick, I would have dropped Bart's line about "What have I done?" Maybe he could have said it the next day when he woke up with the head in his bed.

I love the little touches like Chief Wiggum repeating the number "O", the fabulous space mutant movie, the Sunday school questions about who gets into Heaven, and many others I'm not even remembering as I type this.

This is a superb episode, and one that I enjoy a little bit more each time I watch it. Another Season 1 classic.

Episode rating: 10

[Tamaki Suoh]

^Such a lengthy review and yet no mention of the most important element of the episode: the first ever Burnsmithers moment?