From launching with an inexplicable Christmas show to wowing the public – and then being widely derided, the meta-cartoon changed TV for ever. Now, some say it’s back to its best

The Simpsons first aired 35 years ago, on 17 December 1989, with a Christmas special originally scheduled to run eighth in the series – but brought forward because the ugly animation on the planned debut episode was so disliked, it was shuffled to last place. With a scheduled autumn start already delayed, the creators had to begin by airing their festive episode, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, in mid-March. Despite this fumbling start, however, the series was an instant hit.

“After the Christmas show aired, I had a Simpsons jacket; I was at Disney World and people were approaching me asking me if they could buy it,” says Al Jean, who co-wrote the first series and is the show’s executive producer today. “They’d all seen the special. It was this phenomenon.”