When ‘The Simpsons’ Debuted Almost 30 Years Ago, Fox Was The Best Network For Groundbreaking Comedy

In the world of the digital written word, it’s hard to admit to being a part of Generation X. We’re a small generation, prone to complaining about how much of a shaft we were given by bad economies, the deaths of our musical heroes, and the fact that the best representations of our generation are the characters from Singles and Friends. But, boy, we have a lot to be thankful for.

Here’s a “for instance”: When we were in high school, college, or our young 20s, some of the best comedies on TV could be seen right on one network. NBC? Maybe, but “Must See TV” always had holes. ABC? Besides Roseanne, nah. CBS? Murphy Brown and Designing Women were great shows, but more geared towards our boomer parents than us. The CW? Believe it or not, it didn’t even exist yet (gasp!).

No, the best place for comedy in the late ’80s and early ’90s was Fox. It’s hard to imagine that now, given the fact that the network has only developed a single live-action comedy hit since George W. Bush was president (that show being New Girl). Right now its biggest live-action comedy hit is Last Man Standing, which they resurrected after ABC cancelled it.

What all the 30th anniversary coverage of The Simpsons that you’ll see over the next year is going to miss is that when The Simpsons debuted on December 17, 1989 with “The Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire,” it was part of a lineup of really funny, innovative shows that made college kids like myself drop their beer bongs (or maybe pick them up) and watch closely.

It all started, of course, with Married… With Children, which debuted in April 1987, seven months after the network itself began. It looks tame now, but the network’s first primetime series completely subverted the family sitcom genre, and by the time The Simpsons debuted, it was on a roll. In its fourth season, the ensemble was clicking: Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill) was at his most pathetic, Peg (Katey Sagal) was at her laziest, Kelly (Christina Applegate) was at her sexiest, and Bud (David Faustino) was at his horniest. The same night The Simpsons debuted, the show aired one of its best episodes, “It’s A Bundyful Life,” where Sam Kinison plays Al’s guardian angel, who shows him how much better everyone’s life would be if he wasn’t around.

The same night that MWC debuted, a sketch comedy show starring a British woman best known in the States for her song “They Don’t Know” debuted. Yes, I’m talking about The Tracey Ullman Show, where Ullman played so many different characters with so many different accents that it was hard to keep up with who she really was. The show also introduced us to a great sketch actor named Dan Castellaneta and reintroduced us to Julie Kavner (who was Rhoda’s little sister Brenda on Rhoda). Terms of Endearment‘s James L. Brooks was one of the producers. So the pedigree was there, and it turned out to be as good as anyone thought.

Sometime during that first season, of course, this crazy family called The Simpsons appeared in shorts coming in and out of commercial breaks. As a teenager who had a gruff, intimidating father, it was comforting to see a family act the way mine did. They were loud, they insulted each other, and very often the dad — in this case Homer (Castellaneta) — lost his cool.

There was also real people burping real burps, which was always a plus.

Because of the success of The Simpsons and MWC, and the fact that Fox really had nothing to lose back then, they took big comedic swings that led to shows that were successful (In Living Color) while others that were creatively rich but didn’t find an audience (Flying Blind, which to this date contains Tea Leoni’s best performance). Think about it: What network in 2018 would greenlight a show like Herman’s Head, which is essentially a randier version of Inside Out, made 25 years before the movie ever existed?

Bless The Simpsons, and bless Fox for having the smarts to give it a greenlight all those years ago.