We conclude our look at some notable 1980s Christmas episodes by looking at the very first Simpsons episode of all-time.
I mean, how weird is this, right? When you talk about the 1980s, you very much do NOT think about The Simpsons, and yet the iconic animated TV series, which obviously DID initially debut as a feature on the very 1980s TV series, The Tracey Ullman Show, technically DID debut right before the end of the 1980s, with its premiere episode being a Christmas episode on December 17, 1989, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.”
The show had meant to debut MUCH earlier, but the original premiere episode, “Some Enchanted Evening,” was determined to not be ready to air, so it didn’t debut, and instead, they decided to wait until the end of the year, and launch the series with a Christmas episode. Since the show was produced later in the series (again, it was meant to be a traditional Christmas episode, thus airing later in the season), it is much better quality than the episodes that follow it, animation-wise.
This change in release order also makes it so that Mimi Pond, who wrote only one episode of the series ever, happens to be the writer of the very first Simpsons episodes ever. She is an excellent writer, but it’s just funny how it worked out.
In this strong debut episode, Bart gets a tattoo, and Marge ends up spending the family’s Christmas fund on getting it removed. The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant ends up NOT giving out Christmas bonuses this year, and Homer is forced to become a mall Santa Claus, but even THAT ends up making him very little money. He ends up deciding to bet all of his money on a 99-1 underdog at the dog racing track, a dog named Santa’s Little Helper.
It comes in last. The dog is then abandoned by his owner for being such a poor racedog. Homer and Bart end up adopting the dog, and when they bring him home to family, Homer is surprised to learn that the gift of Santa’s Little Helper has made everyone happy, and they celebrate Christmas together.
It’s a REALLY tight first script for the series, and the show, of course, went on to become a cultural institution, but it’s just so funny to think that it technically launched in the 1980s.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
