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| {{Infobox Simpsons episode | |||
| |episode_name=Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire | |||
| |image= | |||
| |bgcolour=dedde2 | |||
| |episode_no=1 | |||
| |prod_code=7G08 | |||
| |airdate=December 17, 1989<ref name=officialsite> ''The Simpsons.com''. Retrieved on February 5, 2007</ref> | |||
| |show runner=]<br />]<br />] | |||
| |writer=]<ref name="bbc"> ''BBC.co.uk''. Retrieved on March 2, 2007</ref> | |||
| |director=]<ref name=bbc/> | |||
| |commentary=]<br />]<br />] | |||
| |season=1 | |||
| }} | |||
| "'''Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire'''", also known as "'''The Simpsons Christmas Special'''",<ref name=bbc/><ref name="ult">{{cite book |title=] |publisher=] |year=2010 |editor=Bates, James W.; Gimple, Scott M.; McCann, Jesse L., Richmond, Ray; Seghers, Christine |isbn=978-0-00-738815-8 |edition=1st |page=25}}</ref> is the ] episode of '']''. It was the first episode to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for ]. It is the only full-length episode to air during the 1980s. It originally aired on the ] in the United States on December 17, 1989.<ref name=officialsite/> In the episode, ] discovers that he will not be getting a Christmas bonus and thus his family has no money to buy Christmas presents after they had to waste on getting his son ]'s tattoo removed. He decides to keep their financial troubles a secret and gets a job as a shopping mall ], but later discovers that the job does not pay enough. Desperate for a miracle, Homer and Bart go to the dog racing track on ] in hopes of earning some money but end up adopting an abandoned greyhound, Santa's Little Helper. | |||
| The episode was written by ] and directed by ].<ref name=bbc/> The title alludes to "]", also known as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire".<ref name=bbc/> "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was nominated for two ]s in 1990, and has received positive reviews from television critics. It was viewed by approximately 13.4 million viewers in its original airing. Mimi Pond wrote only this episode of ''The Simpsons'', saying in 2013: "I would rather focus on my comics. It was not a great experience for me."<ref>https://twitter.com/pimimond/status/407672871012417536</ref> | |||
| ==Plot== | |||
| After attending the ] ] pageant, the ] prepare for the holiday season. ] asks ] and ] for their letters to Santa. Lisa requests a ], and Bart requests a ]. The latter enrages Homer and Marge and they forbid Bart from getting one. The next day, Marge takes the kids to the mall to go Christmas shopping. Bart slips away to the tattoo parlor and attempts to get a tattoo that reads "Mother". With the tattoo partially completed, Marge bursts in and drags Bart two doors down to the ] to have it removed. Counting on ] Christmas bonus, Marge spends all of the family's holiday money on the procedure. Meanwhile, at the ] Homer's very mean-spirited boss, ], announces that there will be no Christmas bonus this year. | |||
| Homer, discovering there is no money for Christmas presents and not wanting to worry the family, takes a job as a shopping mall ] at the suggestion of his friend ]. On ], Bart goes to the mall and harasses Santa, exposing Homer's secret. After Homer is paid ] for his Department Store Santa work, he and Bart receive a ] tip from Barney. | |||
| At Springfield Downs, Homer, inspired by an announcement about a last-minute entry named ], bets all his money on the 99-1 long shot. The ] finishes last. As Homer and Bart leave the track, they watch the dog's owner angrily disowning him for losing the race. Bart pleads with Homer to keep the dog as a pet, and he reluctantly agrees. When Bart and Homer return home, Homer finally comes clean to the family that he did not get his bonus, but all is forgiven with the arrival of Santa's Little Helper who is assumed to be a Christmas present for the whole family. The Simpsons family then celebrate by singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". | |||
| ==Development== | |||
| ===Origin of ''The Simpsons''=== | |||
| {{Main|History of The Simpsons|The Simpsons shorts}} | |||
| ] |alt=A man in glasses and a plaid shirt sits in front of a microphone.]] | |||
| ''The Simpsons'' creator ] conceived of the idea for the Simpsons in the lobby of ]'s office. Brooks, the producer of the sketch comedy program '']'', wanted to use a series of animated shorts as bumpers between sketches. He had asked Groening to pitch an idea for a series of animated shorts, which Groening initially intended to present as his '']'' series. However, when Groening realized that animating ''Life in Hell'' would require the rescinding of ]s for his life's work, he chose another approach and formulated his version of a ].<ref name=inter>{{cite interview |last=Groening |first=Matt |subjectlink=Matt Groening |interviewer=David Bianculli |title=Fresh Air |program=] |callsign=] |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1162008 |city=Philadelphia |date=14 February 2003 |accessdate=8 August 2007}}</ref> | |||
| The ] first appeared as ] in '']'' on April 19, 1987.{{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997 |p=14}} Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators and assumed that the figures would be cleaned up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial short episodes.<ref name="americasfirstfamily">{{cite video |people=BBC |date=2000 |title='The Simpsons': America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) |format=DVD |location=UK |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> In 1989, a team of production companies adapted ''The Simpsons'' into a half-hour series for the ]. Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lacitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/?id=568&IssueNum=32 |title='3rd Degree: Harry Shearer' |accessdate=1 September 2006 |author=Kuipers, Dean |date=15 April 2004 |publisher=Los Angeles: City Beat |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080308105912/http://www.lacitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/?id=568&IssueNum=32 |archivedate=March 8, 2008}}</ref> Groening said his goal in creating the show was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash" that they were watching.<ref name="toonterrific">{{cite news |first=Ken |last=Tucker |title=Toon Terrific |publisher='']'' |date=12 March 1993 |page=48(3)}}</ref> The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989, with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".<ref name="officialsite"/> | |||
| ===Production=== | |||
| ] directed the episode.]] | |||
| "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" is the first episode of ''The Simpsons'' and the ] was nervous about the show because they were unsure if it could sustain the audience's attention for the duration of the episode.<ref name="Groening"/> They proposed doing three seven-minute shorts per episode and four specials until the audience adjusted,<ref name="Groening"/> but in the end, the producers gambled by asking Fox for 13 full-length episodes.<ref name="Brooks">{{cite video |people=Brooks, James L. |date=2001 |title=The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The series was originally planned to premiere earlier in the fall of 1989 with the episode "]", but due to major problems with the animation of that episode, the series began on December 17 with this episode. "Some Enchanted Evening" instead aired as the season finale.<ref name="Groening2">{{cite video |people=Groening, Matt |date=2001 |title=The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The episode, being the first to air, lacked the ] which was later added in the second episode, "]", when Groening realized that a longer opening sequence resulted in less animation.<ref name="Groening"/> | |||
| The "Santas of many lands" portion of the Christmas pageant is based on Groening's experience in the second grade when he did a report on Christmas in Russia. Groening also used that reference in his comic strip "]" when he spoofed himself as a young man, being told that it is too bad his grandmother is from Russia, because Christmas is against the law there. Also, Groening claims that this episode has been incorrectly credited with creating the "alternate version" of "]" that has become a well-known children's playground song.<ref name="Groening"/> | |||
| ] wrote the episode<ref name="bbc"/> and staff writer ] came up with the title.<ref>{{cite web |last=Shea |first=Cam |title=The Simpsons: Gunning for 60 Seasons |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/121/1213014p1.html |work=] |accessdate=November 21, 2011 |date=November 20, 2011}}</ref> David Silverman directed this episode, while ] storyboarded it and designed ]. Several of the scenes were laid out by ], brother of ].<ref name="Silverman">{{cite video |people=Silverman, David |date=2001 |title=The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> In this episode, Barney had yellow hair which was the same color as his skin, but that was later dropped because of the belief that only the Simpson family should have such hair.<ref name="Groening">{{cite video |people=Groening, Matt |date=2001 |title=The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ], ], ], ], and ] all make their first appearances in this episode.<ref name=bbc/> ] is mentioned for the first time and ] can be heard over the speaker at the power plant, but he is not seen.<ref name=bbc/> | |||
| ==Reception== | |||
| In its original American broadcast, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" finished thirtieth place in the weekly ratings for the week of December 11–17, 1989 with a ] of 14.5 and was viewed in approximately 13.4 million homes. It was the second highest rated show on the ] up to that point.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fox gets early gift of ratings - CBS cancels 'Snoops' |date=December 20, 1989 |page=10E |publisher=] |author=Jicha, Tom}}</ref> Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. ]'s Robert Canning in a 2008 review of the episode noted, "though not the funniest of episodes, it certainly was groundbreaking. With this episode, ''The Simpsons'' had its premise down, and it certainly had its edge."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/878/878255p1.html |title=The Simpsons Flashback: "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" Review |accessdate=24 June 2008 |date=2 June 2008 |publisher=] |author=Canning, Robert}}</ref> Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', said of the episode: "pretty standard early fare, with the series not quite hitting its stride." They went on to say, "the realism of the first season is much apparent, with only the laser used to remove Bart's tattoo hinting at what the series will become."<ref name="bbc"/> In a DVD review of the first season, David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 3½/5 and commented: "Surprisingly, this early episode has a lot of the zest of the later shows, despite fairly odd looking art and a very Walter Matthau voice for Homer, still has some laughs".<ref>{{cite web |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20090202012353/http://www.wdbgproductions.com/cinerama/reviews/simpsonsseason1.htm |url=http://www.wdbgproductions.com/cinerama/reviews/simpsonsseason1.htm |title=The Complete First Season |accessdate=2011-09-15 |archivedate=2009-02-02 |date=2001-09-25 |author=Grelck, David B. |publisher=WDBGProductions}}</ref> Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide said in a review that the episode "is good but not great early Simpsons" and further commented: "For many years I thought of “Roasting” as a terrible episode, but it’s not. While I don’t feel it’s anything special, it remains a fairly entertaining show that has a few entertaining moments."<ref name="dvdmg">{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonone.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete First Season (1990) |date=|accessdate=2008-08-29 |first=Colin |last=Jacobson |publisher=DVD Movie Guide}}</ref> | |||
| The episode was nominated for two ]s in 1990: "]" and "Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or Special." Because "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was considered a separate special, ''The Simpsons'' was nominated twice in the Animated Program category. This episode lost to fellow ''The Simpsons'' episode "]".<ref name="Emmy"> ''emmys.org''. Retrieved on March 2, 2007</ref> In 2009, the website named the episode number 4 on its "Top 10 Holiday Specials" list, writing "With the off-beat sense of humor that we have learned to love from The Simpsons and a story showing the value of family on the Christmas holiday, we can't help but watch this great special every year."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/752/752042p2.html |title=Top 10 Holiday Specials |accessdate=2009-12-28 |date=2009-12-21 |publisher=] |page=2}}</ref> | |||
| The episode has become study material for sociology courses at ], where it is used to "examine issues of the production and reception of cultural objects, in this case, a satirical cartoon show", and to figure out what it is "trying to tell audiences about aspects primarily of American society, and, to a lesser extent, about other societies." Some questions asked in the courses include: "What aspects of American society are being addressed in the episode? What aspects of them are used to make the points? How is the satire conveyed: through language? Drawing? Music? Is the behavior of each character consistent with his/her character as developed over the years? Can we identify elements of the historical/political context that the writers are satirizing? What is the difference between satire and parody?"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sociology.berkeley.edu/documents/undergrads/syllabi/Soc190_1.pdf |publisher=University of California Berkeley |title=The Simpsons Global Mirror |year=2008 |author=Thomas B. Gold |accessdate=2011-07-18 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20090407081710/http://sociology.berkeley.edu/documents/undergrads/syllabi/Soc190_1.pdf |archivedate=2009-04-07}}</ref> | |||
| ==Home release== | |||
| The special was the subject of the series' first home video release, ''The Simpsons Christmas Special'', released on VHS in 1991.<ref name="amazon">{{cite web |title=The Simpsons Christmas Special (1989) |publisher=Amazon.com |asin=6302208645}}</ref> The episode was also included in ''The Simpsons - Christmas'' (later retitled ''Christmas with The Simpsons''), a DVD compilation of the series' Christmas episodes, produced in 2003.<ref name="amazon1">{{cite web |url=http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AGWRT |title=The Simpsons - Christmas (1989) |publisher=Amazon.com |accessdate=April 21, 2011}}</ref> The episode was also included on ''The Simpsons'' season one DVD set, which was released on September 25, 2001. Groening, Brooks, and Silverman participated in the DVD's ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Simpsons-Complete-1st-Season/311 |title=The Simpsons - The Complete 1st Season |publisher=] |accessdate=April 21, 2011}}</ref> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist|4}} | |||
| ;Bibliography | |||
| {{refbegin}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |authorlink=Matt Groening |editor1-first=Ray |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-link=Ray Richmond |editor2-first=Antonia |editor2-last=Coffman |title=] |others= Created by Matt Groening; edited by Ray Richmond and Antonia Coffman}}. |edition=1st |year=1997 |location=New York |publisher=] |lccn=98141857 |ol=433519M |oclc=37796735 |asin=0060952520 |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}} ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5}} | |||
| {{refend}} | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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