FOX (NEW YORK) — This is a very special holiday season for The Simpsons, because the long-running Fox animated comedy is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
The first full-length episode of The Simpsons premiered on Dec. 17, 1989. It followed a series of Simpsons shorts that aired in previous years on another Fox comedy, The Tracey Ullman Show.
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson have noticeably evolved since the episode, titled “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” hit the TV. The animation was less polished back then, and the characters sounded different. However, Bart was every bit the troublemaker then as he is now.
In the episode, Bart gets a tattoo without his parents’ permission, and Marge spends the family’s Christmas money to have it removed. Homer tries to replenish their holiday fund by first working as a shopping mall Santa, and then visiting the dog racing track. He places a bet on a loser of a pooch named Santa’s Little Helper, who ends up joining the Simpsons’ household.
“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” was nominated for a couple of Emmy Awards. The rest, as they say, is history. The Simpsons is the longest-running primetime scripted series in U.S. TV history; it’s currently in its 26th season. It also spawned a hit movie in 2007.
The Simpsons has inspired many comedies since its debut, including the animated series created by Seth MacFarlane for Fox, such as Family Guy. He tells ABC News Radio, “The Simpsons is part of that exclusive club that All in the Family belongs to, of shows that utterly transformed their genre.”
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