Rewatching some of it on Disney+, it's really crazy to think that this show was a pop culture phenomenon pretty much from the word "go," yet season 1 might as well be a different show, from the looser animation, the sets looking completely different, the slower pace, and overall what feels like a bigger focus on a Peanuts/Calvin And Hobbes type of humor (think Bart The General and how it makes this showdown with the bullies feel larger than life). And of course there's Homer's voice... and the intro!
Really in many ways season 1 feels more like an extension of the Tracy Ullman shorts than what the show is known for today.
Season 2 brought the show to the recognizable style it would be known today for the most part, though Sam Simon was still showrunner and the humor wasn't quite at the "rapid fire pop culture reference bonanza" the show would be most known for today, moving away from the more overtly cynical and depressing tone the show started out with. Still, thinking about how the show is viewed today, it's difficult to imagine it all started with this season, and makes me wonder how the show might be today if it still kept this sort of style.
Really in many ways season 1 feels more like an extension of the Tracy Ullman shorts than what the show is known for today.
Season 2 brought the show to the recognizable style it would be known today for the most part, though Sam Simon was still showrunner and the humor wasn't quite at the "rapid fire pop culture reference bonanza" the show would be most known for today, moving away from the more overtly cynical and depressing tone the show started out with. Still, thinking about how the show is viewed today, it's difficult to imagine it all started with this season, and makes me wonder how the show might be today if it still kept this sort of style.