The Simpsons Christmas Special (1989)

On this day in 1989: 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙄𝙈𝙋𝙎𝙊𝙉𝙎 𝘾𝙃𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙈𝘼𝙎 𝙎𝙋𝙀𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙇 debuted on FOX-TV!

Also known as "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," this holds the distinction of being both the first episode of The Simpsons series, and the only episode to air in the 1980s, as the series proper began airing January 14, 1990.

𝑭𝒓ö𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒉𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 "𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔". 𝑰𝒏 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚, 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂'𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑹𝒖𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔!

Written by Mimi Pond and directed by David Silverman, the episode was originally intended to be the 8th series episode, but due to animation issues with "Some Enchanted Evening", it effectively became the series premiere. The episode introduces the Simpson family as they prepare for the Christmas season, with Bart getting a tattoo and Marge spending the family's Christmas money to have it removed. Homer, facing the cancellation of his Christmas bonus, takes a job as a mall Santa, leading to a series of events that ultimately bring the family closer and introduce them to their pet dog, Santa's Little Helper. This Christmas episode laid the foundation for the blend of humor and heart that would define the series.

The creation of The Simpsons began when Matt Groening was asked by James L. Brooks to pitch ideas for animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show. Groening initially planned to use his Life in Hell series, but instead created a dysfunctional family, which became the Simpsons, first appearing as short interstitials in 1987.

The production of this episode included a few notable details. The "Santas of Many Lands" scene was based on Groening's own second-grade experience with a report on Christmas in Russia. In the episode, Barney Gumble had yellow hair, which was later changed because it was decided that only the Simpson family should have that color hair. The episode lacked the now famous opening sequence, which was added in the second episode. Many characters made their first appearances in this episode, including Seymour Skinner, Milhouse Van Houten, and Ralph Wiggum. The episode was well-received, nominated for two Emmy Awards in 1990.