The late 1980s was a great period in which to be a kid.
Recession was for the adults to worry about, the teenagers "rocked out" to glam rock and we had The Simpsons. Now, twelve years later, recession looms, music still suffers, but the better part of our nostalgia has been reintroduced with the release of the complete first season of The Simpsons on DVD.
Although most episodes within the first season of The Simpsons lack the capacity of irreverence that marked later years, you nevertheless begin to realize what got you hooked in the first place.
The Simpsons set forth an aura of brilliance with its cutting edge brand of humor, and distinct examples are noticeable within the first season. There are instances that are so taboo in today's society they could never be duplicated on primetime network programs.
Case in point: school violence in the "Bart the General" episode. In the pre-Columbine days, Bart hurls knives and shoots rounds of ammo into Nelson's chest in a dream sequence in which he tries to thwart his schoolyard enemy. Just try getting away with that today.
A lot of the original characters make their introduction in the first season, such as Otto, Grampa Simpson, Mr. Burns, and, of course, the star, Homer.
At the time Fox was cornering the market on the blue-collar, dimwitted dad, with Al Bundy and then Homer Simpson, and Matt Groening and others involved with the production of The Simpsons did well to realize that Homer should indeed emerge as the star of the show.
At times within the first season the characters appear a bit odd, with Smithers appearing as a black man, and the voices differing marginally, but these details pale in comparison to the original short from The Tracy Ullman Show.
The short, offered as part of the feature section, shows just how far The Simpsons have come.
The only thing funny about the original shorts is the distorted quality of the animation, and the simple dialogue.
Simple indeed, but none the less an intimation of genius to come.
The DVD also offers original scripts for four episodes, outtakes and early sketches.
These features are interesting to browse through, because they show the raw basis that the show developed from; however, the real bulk of the entertainment is still in the episodes themselves.
The September 2001 issue of Maxim offers a guide to viewing hidden features within the DVD.
I was 10 the first time The Simpsons aired, and often watched episodes on a black-and-white television in my room.
Today I'm watching them on the latest in home theater technology.
A lot has changed, but one thing has stood the test of time, that being the talent in the humor. Just wait for subsequent seasons, in which neither church nor society in general is safe from the grips of The Simpsons.
