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The family dynamic at the center of The Simpsons, the one that helped make the show stand out, first really came to the fore in “There’s No Disgrace Like Home.” Now, Married…with Children had already established itself on FOX as a show about a dysfunctional family, but that was entirely a show built on irreverence. The Simpsons would thread the needle of a chaotic family that still cares about one another. Homer and Marge love one another in a way Al and Peg Bundy do not. “There’s No Disgrace Like Home” is also notable as it is the first episode written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who would run the show in seasons three and four, and then create The Critic.
The Simpson family has a disastrous time at the company picnic for the power plant. Notably, it’s Marge who gets drunk, and it’s Homer who is left feeling embarrassed by his family’s antics. Thus, the Simpsons agree to go to therapy together. Dr. Marvin Monroe finds the family a challenge, though. Memorably, perhaps even iconically at the time, the family takes to electrocuting each other for pettiness and fun in shock therapy. This is the sort of thing that made The Simpsons stand out in 1990, and made it feel so different from prior animated family sitcoms.
“There’s No Disgrace Like Home” definitely feels like The Simpsons. It’s not one of the two or three best episodes from the first season, but it’s a solid one. Oddly, it’s also the lowest-rated episode of season one by a considerable margin. I don’t know why. Something else must have been airing the same night that took a larger slice of the ratings pie. Sure enough, I just looked it up, and they aired this episode the same night as the Super Bowl. What a weird idea. Fortunately, The Simpsons would be just fine.
