And here we are at last at the end of season one of The Simpsons. Granted, it's not the strongest season in terms of how it's weathered the near-three decades since it first premiered on that December night in 1989, but it's till important nonetheless. And to think that this very episode could have led to the Simpsons being cancelled before it started. That's not a lazy attempt at clickbait, that's the truth. And thus we talk about Some Enchanted Evening, the final episode of season one, that was at one point planned to be the series premiere.
However, the version that originally came back from AKOM in Korea was an ungodly mess with rubbery animation, and constant inconsistencies in the designs of of the characters. It's why Marge will go from skinny and somewhat normal in one shot to being some weird frog-like creature in the other. It was an embarrassment and everyone was put on notice that if the same issues befell Bart The Genius, then the show would be cancelled outright. Thankfully, that wasn't the case and Bart the Genius ended up passable enough for air. As for this episode, it eventually got finished and fixed in time for air on May 13th, 1990, just three days before the death of Jim Henson.
Couch Gag: Everyone just gets on the couch and nothing happens.
The episode starts as Marge is bothered by the lack of respect given to her by her family. They cut most of the opening scene of the original version which focused more on Marge pouring her heart out on giving the family a hearty breakfast and cuts right to the family just eating without a care. Marge feels dejected and depressed, but hears an ad for a Dr. Marvin Monroe's radio therapy line on the radio.
Dr. Marvin Monroe clearly learning his lesson from the family therapy racket and doing a job that will keep him away from taking metal rods to the kneecaps. Marge lets out her frustration, particularly with Homer, and Monroe's advice is to let him have it when he gets home. With this being on the air, Homer finds out about it and dreads the worst.
And considering the mood Marge is in, I'd say he has a right to be afraid.
Line of the Episode:
"See, you're a pig. Barney's a pig. Larry's a pig. We're all pigs! Except for one difference. Once in a while, we can crawl out of the slop, hose ourselves off and act like human beings. "- Moe Szyslak
But despite Marge's growing rage and frustration, she just can't stay mad at Homer. It isn't that Homer is even showing simple shows of affection like candy and flowers. It's that good and bad (and there's a hell of a lot of bad), she loves Homer. So, the two make up and it seems like this story has been tied together in a neat little package. But wait, there's still like 13 minutes of episode left. So Homer and Marge decide to go out for the evening, meaning that they need a babysitter for the kids. But considering how they've driven all eligible babysitters to the brink of traumatic torture, it's not that easy. We also get a guest appearance from June Foray as the employee from the Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper Babysitting Service.
They do luck out on a woman named Ms. Botz (voiced by Penny Marshall), and while she seems shady, she's the best they got. The kids watch the Happy Little Elves, until Bart decides that he's had enough of that and turns on America's Most Armed and Dangerous, which conveniently is talking about Eileen Botzukowski, AKA the Babysitter Bandit. And sure enough, it's Ms. Botz, who hogties the kids, forces them to watch the Happy Little Elves some more, and starts to rob the place. All while Homer and Marge are having one of the best nights together in a long time.
Eventually the kids get free and manage to knock out Ms. Botz. They get the cops to arrive, but much to their misfortune, Homer and Marge arrive and free her, thinking she was a victim of the kids regular hellion behavior. Yes, we end another episode with Homer reflecting on how stupid he really is, but being reassured by Marge that if he can raise three children that can hogtie a perfect stranger he must be doing something right. And we end with everything, for the most part, settled in a neat little package.
Some Enchanted Evening is an okay episode. Certainly not an episode strong enough to end a season on, nor really the best first episode for The Simpsons. I think the show really lucked itself out by having to start with the Christmas special. If anything, it's a decent middle of the road episode for this season. It gives us a fair enough mixture of two of the basic story structures we've seen so far in the show. The kids having to deal with some sort of threat, along with the already well worn concept of Homer and Marge's marriage being in jeopardy. It doesn't mix to perfection, but it's fine. And in the end, that's the best way to describe Season 1. It's not perfect, it's not funny, it's not even that good, but it's fine. But it's still necessary in the evolution of this show. It's not perfect building blocks, but they're stable enough to lead us to some really great stuff on the way.
NEXT TIME ON "'ROUND SPRINGFIELD"...
Before we get to season two proper, let's look at some examples of just how big Simpsonmania was in 1990/1991. Starting with THE SIMPSONS SING THE BLUES
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