Mimi Pond wrote the dialogue of the episode. David Silverman is the director of the episode. "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 1990. Critics of television gave good reviews for the episode. About 13.4 million people watched the episode when it was first shown on television. "The Simpsons" was first going to start with the episode "Some Enchanted Evening". The animation of that episode was not good enough at that time to be the first episode. 