I'll be the first to admit that I am a shamelessly geeky fan of the Simpsons. I can tell you the last names of Moe, Apu, or Krusty the Klown's Rabbi father. And thanks to the advent of DVR, I usually have no less than a dozen episodes on my list of saved shows. I remember watching the show when it first came out, and I haven't grown tired of it yet.I was a tad apprehensive, however, when I learned last week that my local Fox affiliate would begin airing the series in it's entirety; one episode per day starting with the very first... Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire. (You know, the one where they acquire Santa's Little Helper.)
You see, since I was about Lisa's age when The Simpsons began airing in 1989, I was a tad too young to really appreciate it as anything more than a silly prime time cartoon. (Although, admittedly, I did think Bart was super cool, and I did go so far as to choreograph my own dance with my neighborhood friends to the song "Do the Bartman" off the Simpson's first album. I did, however, not go so far as to own a t-shirt that said "Don't Have A Cow Man." I had some class as a child.)
It wasn't until my teenage years, and what I consider to be the glory days of the Simpsons, that I really started to appreciate the show for how amazingly brilliant it is. (Or at least how brilliant it had become.)
Looking back now on the episodes of season 1, I see a completely different show from what we have come to know and love, and certainly very different in terms of humor and aesthetics as what recently appeared on the big screen. The voices just aren't quite right, the animation is sloppier, and it's majorly lacking in the scathing social commentary it has become so famous for.
That being said, it's almost worth watching just as a history lesson. It's not that great, but it's interesting to see the beginning of the great empire. Plus, in only a few weeks, they will be showing the Monorail episode. And I'm sure I'll appreciate it even more than ever before.
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