KBCW'S Christmas Gift To You: A Simpsons Classics Holiday Series

Have you ever seen a conference room full of stiff suit-and-tie TV execs get completely giddy over something? Yeah, neither has anyone else, especially those of us who work in TV.

Until now.

It happened though, this very month.  It all began with an idea so simple, yet so astoundingly complex with all the bureaucratic red tape of copyrights, syndication, commercial inventory, and network distribution rights that it almost never came to reality.  The idea was to unlock a quarter century of television, and release the hidden, long-forgotten, dusty, moldy, smells-like-your-grandma's-house-after-the-windows-were-closed-all-winter episodes of TV's greatest comedy.

Yes, the idea was to play any frickin' Simpsons episode we wanted.

Sparing you the excruciating details, the unbelievable happened, and we got 'em.  And you get them!

Starting Monday, December 16th, at 10:30 p.m. on KBCW 44 Cable 12, the Bay Area's home of classic Simpsons, we will replay the very first full-length episode ever created – "Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire."  And after that, the Christmas miracle continues, with holiday episodes every weeknight at 10:30 p.m. through Christmas week.  The complete list is below, if the suspense is killing you.

And that's just the beginning.

While it may be crazy, (remember, these are giddy TV execs here), starting on Monday, January 6th, 2014, we fire up the flux capacitor and go back in our time machine, to 1989, and the premiere of the Simpsons TV series.

Set your DVRs for 6 p.m., as we will play every episode, in order, until we get caught up. Re-live "Who Shot Mr. Burns," "A Fish Called Selma," "Bart the Daredevil," and Germany's favorite, ""Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk"

It begins weeknights, January 6th, 2014, until we run out.  We work in TV, so we're not all the best in math, but it means a buttload of episodes that we have to go dust off, digitize, and line up for your viewing pleasure.

We didn't want to just repeat episodes, though, so at 10:30 p.m., we're starting a decade later -- playing Season 10 from the beginning, and going forward, from 1998. Funny how Bart doesn't age 10 years from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.  But-- you MIGHT spot the voices are a bit different and the animation evolves between the two seasons.

Oh, and guess what?  With budget cuts and all, we don't really have enough programming staff to go through them and find the best ones.  Our programming coordinator, Glennis--who wasn't even born when the Simpsons first came out--is giving up control (and that's a BIG deal, trust me!).  She's going to let you, the die-hard fans, help pick episodes for some marathons she's planning.  More on that later.

For now, grab a Duff beer, sit back on your ugly brown couch, and enjoy TV history all over again.  Maybe gather the little ones round, and introduce them to important phrases like "Ay caramba," "Don't' have a cow, man," and "Doh!"

Episodes:
MON, DEC. 16TH: "SIMPSONS ROASTING ON AN OPEN FIRE" – EP# 7G08,
TUES, DEC. 17TH: "MARGE BE NOT PROUD" – ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 12/17/1995
WED, DEC. 18TH:"MIRACLE ON EVERGREEN TERRACE" – ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 12/21/1997 (from Seas. 9)
THURS, DEC. 19TH: "SHE OF LITTLE FAITH" – ORIGINAL AIRDATE 12/16/2001 (from Seas. 13)
FRI, DEC. 20TH: "GRIFT OF THE MAGI" – ORIGINAL AIRDATE 12/19/1999 (from Seas. 11).
MON, DEC. 23RD:"DUDE, WHERE'S MY RANCH?" – ORIGINAL AIRDATE 04/27/2003 from Seas. 14)
TUES, DEC. 24TH:"'TIS THE FIFTEENTH SEASON" – ORIGINAL AIRDATE 12/14/2003
WED, DEC. 25TH: "SIMPSONS CHRISTMAS STORIES" – ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 12/18/2005 (from Seas. 17)
THURS, DEC. 26TH: "KILL GILL, VOLUME I AND II" – ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 12/17/2006 (from Seas.18)
FRI, DEC. 27TH: "THE FIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS" – ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 12/05/2010 (from Seas. 22)

Related articles

• The Simpsons - 'Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire' (cwsanfrancisco.cbslocal.com)
• The Simpsons - 'Marge Be Not Proud' (cwsanfrancisco.cbslocal.com)

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