Loveday Writing

The job of a pilot is to establish the show’s premise and characters. This pilot did its job perfectly.

Even though this episode is the official pilot, The Simpsons were already launched via The Simpsons Shorts, a series of 48 animated short films on the titular family that aired as a recurring segment on the Tracey Ullman Show. However, this pilot does its job perfectly on establishing the show’s premise and characters for those who haven’t seen the shorts.

The pilot and series kicks off on a relatable note, with Marge and Homer rushing to Springfield Elementary’s Christmas Pageant, which Bart and Lisa are performing in. The contrast of Bart and Lisa’s personalities are shown, when Lisa provides a unique and well-received performance whilst Bart sings a parody of Jingle Bells with the school choir which gets him pulled out of it, mid-performance. Homer’s relatability as a parent is also shown again when he is seen growing bored of the pageant.

We then cut to the family back at home, with Homer getting the Christmas lights and decorations out of the box and Marge writing the family newsletter, which introduces the audience verbally to Grampa and Snowball II. When Marge asks Bart and Lisa for their letters to Santa, Lisa demands a pony and Bart asks for a tattoo. Homer then puts the Christmas lights on the roof, hoping to impress Bart and Lisa, only for a few of them to work. In contrast, his neighbour, Ned Flanders’, light display is spectacular and works perfectly.

The next day, Marge takes the kids Christmas shopping at the mall, with money she and Homer had saved all year. Bart sneaks away to get a tattoo that reads “Mother” on his arm, thinking Marge will like it. Marge eventually discovers him in the tattoo parlour and drags him out of there before it’s finished. She takes him to a dermatologist who removes it, but it means using all the saved money to pay for it. Meanwhile, whilst Homer is at work at the Nuclear Power Plant, Mr. Burns announces that no-one will be receiving a Christmas bonus, something both Homer and Marge were relying on to get by in the holiday season.

When Homer finds about Bart’s tattoo and the subsequent loss of the saved money, he doesn’t tell Marge about the lack of Christmas bonus, instead choosing to get a second job as a mall Santa, at Barney’s suggestion. On Christmas Eve, Bart sits on Homer’s lap and finds out that he is the mall Santa. After finding out he only earned a measly $13 after taxes and deductions for his training and costume; Homer, Bart and Barney go to Springfield Downs to bet their money on the greyhound races. Homer bets his money on a greyhound named, Santa’s Little Helper, despite its low odds, and loses.

When Santa’s Little Helper’s owner abandons him in the parking lot, Bart and Homer adopt him as their pet and take him home. Just as Homer confesses to Marge that he won’t be receiving a Christmas bonus, Bart interrupts him to announce his and Homer’s adoption of Santa’s Little Helper, to the joy of the family.

Overall, I felt that this was a solid pilot as we’re introduced to the titular family, as well as other but not all of the supporting characters to come. The family is clearly established as dysfunctional but relatable. I also appreciated that Homer and Ned’s neighbourly relationship is established as one of jealousy (from Homer’s end) as opposed to hatred, which would be how it ostensibly appears in future seasons, although you could argue that the “hatred” is really Homer’s jealousy coming out in more overt, aggressive ways.

As someone who has watched the series throughout my (currently) 36 year lifetime, the rudimentary design and animation, as well as the differing character voices and designs stood out, but this didn’t damper my experience watching the pilot for the first time, rather enhanced it as it made me appreciate how far the show has come from then to now.

I’m looking forward to eventually reviewing the rest of the series, all (as of the time of writing) 807 of the remaining episodes.

Stray Observations:

Couch gag: None

Supporting characters making their appearance for the first time: Seymour Skinner, Milhouse Van Houten, Ralph Wiggum, Sherri & Terri, Moe Szyslak, Mr. Burns, Barney Gumble, Patty & Selma Bouvier, Grampa Simpson, Ned & Todd Flanders, Snowball II, Dewey Largo, and Lewis.

-This episode is labelled as a “Christmas Special”.