(originally aired November 3, 1992)
Bart is a truly incorrigible hellion, seemingly from birth as we’ve seen in some flashbacks. The reasons for his behavior are occasionally explored, but ultimately he’s just an out-of-control kid, doing whatever his sick little mind desires. This episode shines a light on Homer and Marge’s parenting, and why exactly Bart manages to get away with so much shit. A warning flag is put up during parent teacher night over Bart’s shenanigans, on that he doesn’t get enough discipline for his actions. It’s here we see a different shade to Homer;,one that seems to be overly forgiving to his son. Perhaps due to his laziness or ineptitude, Homer seems to find it difficult to punish Bart, no matter what horrible thing he’s done. Following the reckless destruction of Abe’s dentures, Bart is sent to bed without supper, with the boy calling the bluff. In a pivotal scene, later that night, Bart realizes they aren’t budging, but just before he reconsiders his life of sin, Homer sneaks him some pizza, his buckling starting the chain of chaos all over again.
Alongside Bart’s antics is extensive coverage and promotion for the upcoming Itchy & Scratchy movie, which is slated to be the biggest motion picture event ever (though it claims to only feature 53% new footage.) With this, we get a bunch of great animation parodies, starting with the pretty brutal portrayal of Korean studios as demoralizing workhouses. The earliest I&S cartoon “Steamboat Itchy,” obviously a “Steamboat Willie” parody, is amazing: it looks so much like the original cartoon, it’s astounding. Also fantastic is the riff on 1940s wartime cartoons where the cat and mouse, modeled in a cutesier Warner Bros. style, brutally kill Adolf Hitler, and a strong-chinned, grinning, able-bodied FDR comes to kick his corpse in the ass. Not only is it great to see different styles and looks of animation in the show, but it’s amazing how good it all looks; it’s a real treat to watch.
These two stories intertwine in Homer finally getting the gumption to punish Bart: he is forbidden to ever see the Itchy & Scratchy movie ever, ever. This is another example of how Homer, when motivated, can get really be firm and focused on something. He’s concerned for his son’s future, and believes that not budging from this punishment will be the first step to helping him. The I&S movie is a monster hit and the talk of the town, with Bart miserably sitting in the sidelines. Even Marge and Lisa think it’s gone too far, but Homer remains true to his guns, having faith it will be all worth it. And, in the end sequence, it does: future Bart is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I like to see this is an accurate future; I think that Bart is one of those kids who will grow out of his rambunctious youth to actually make something of himself, so I think the end, with him and elderly Homer finally watching the I&S movie (a double bill with Beauty and the Beast) is a really sweet and satisfying ending to a dynamite show.
Tidbits and Quotes
– “Star Trek XII: So Very Tired” is a great opening parody, with Hank Azaria doing an amazing Kirk and Sulu (“Again with the Klingons…”)
– Homer in Miss Hoover’s class is really great; for some reason being in an elementary school gives Homer free reign to behave like a kid and make armpit noises. The drawing of him with a vacant stare and innocent smile, his gut bulging from the small desk chair, is absolutely hilarious.
– Where Homer receives all praise for Lisa, Marge is raked over the coals about Bart. The progressive dark turns regarding his behavior get funnier as they get grimmer, from a hidden switchblade inside a Krusty doll, to a child witness pointing out where Bart stuck a firecracker in him on an anatomically correct doll.
– Homer exhibits an unusual knowledge of past Supreme Court Justices for some reason (“Mmmm… Warren Berger.”)
– The dream sequence of Bart as a disheveled pudgy male stripper may be one of my favorites of the whole show; it’s so disturbing, but in the best way possible.
– I love Homer’s thought process in punishing Bart: since he broke Abe’s teeth, he gets to break his. Abe’s eager willingness to do so is also wonderfully unsettling. As is later when Jasper holds a gun to Abe when he tries to swipe his dentures late at night.
– I think this is the first appearance of Bumblebee Man, star of Latino daytime TV. He’s proven to be one of the most bizarre secondary characters ever, with no real explanation for who this guy is, but that makes it all the funnier.
– Homer’s blind eye to Bart gets worse and worse, to when Marge comes home to find Bart tearing up the carpet as Homer vacantly stares at the TV (another hilarious drawing.) I like how cavalier both of them are about their roles: prompted to do something, Homer sends Bart to his room. Bart casually leaves (“See you in the funny pages!”)
– Desperate to get Homer to rescind his ban on the I&S movie, Bart pulls on his pants, preparing to be spanked. Homer shouts, “Don’t point that thing at me!”
– Absolutely perfect that during the moon landing, teen Homer is obliviously lounging in a bean bag chair listening to Ohio Express.
– Great heart-to-heart with Bart as Homer explains reasoning for the punishment (“You know, when I was a boy, I really wanted a catcher’s mitt, but my dad wouldn’t get it for me. So I held my breath until I passed out and banged my head on the coffee table. The doctor thought I might have brain damage.”) When asked what the point of the story is, he answers, “I like stories.”
– Nice swipe from Lisa talking about how Michael Jackson and Dustin Hoffman did uncredited guest spots in the I&S movie (“They didn’t use their real names, but you could tell it was them.”)
– I love the humongous-sized I&S movie novelization; considering what the show is, what could be in there to make it that long?
– The billboard for the movie is also amazing, as is the replacement following the end of its run for Springfield Barber College.
– Finally, I love that when we finally see the movie, one of universal acclaim and winner of nine Academy awards, it’s basically the same exact stuff we see in the regular cartoon. Still funny, but even funnier due to all the hoopla attached to this particular incarnation.
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You may mention this later, but Bumblebee Man is based on an actual person–El Chapulin, a comedian who the writers of The Simpsons often remember seeing on Spanish language TV.
I think one of my favorite callouts ever is in Lisa’s Wedding, where Bart claimed he was ‘working off all my aggression until law school.’ It’s much more interesting for Bart to grow up than for him to stay the same and become a complete failure, as he did in the other future episodes.
[QUOTE]The dream sequence of Bart as a disheveled pudgy male stripper may be one of my favorites of the whole show; it’s so disturbing, but in the best way possible.[/QUOTE]
You have to listen to the audio commentary for this episode, because the writers (whom I refer to as “the nerds”) said that if they decide to end the show (Heaven forbid), then they should use the scene of male stripper Bart getting knocked out and booed by his female audience.
The swipe at the Korean animation production facility is one of the Simpson’s many self-deprecating inside jokes – the Simpsons is actually drawn by such a company.
Uh, this episode kind of rubs me the wrong way. I think they took Bart’s hellion-ness way over the top (switchblades? violating other kids with fireworks? trying to eat SLH?). And at 10 years old he’s way too young to have the same excuse as SLH did in “Two Dozen and One Greyhounds…”
The Itchy and Scratchy stuff is great of course, and there are some good Homer lines “Oh… that guy.” “Don’t point that thing at me!” “I like stories.”
To me, this is a lot like those later episodes Jean and Reiss wrote with The Critic staff… “Star Trek XII” and the suicidal hiccuping guy seem to be right out of a Critic/3G episode.
You may be right but since its the focus of the episode, its obvious you have to make things over the top to create the right situation, and even to make things funnier. In fact the problem would have been that, but they managed -as always did in golden era- to being over the top but still groundend, and without being dumb(which others shows always do). In this case Bart behaviour is exaggerated but never in a way that a 10yo kid like Bart wouldnt do. In next episodes this over the top exaggerations are not present though, and thats a great point in how to use character personality in the right situation in the right way.
Bart trying to eat SLH after hallucinating him turning into a pizza was just a silly cartoon gag, he obviously wouldn’t have done any harm beyond biting him maybe. Also what did you mean about SLH “having an excuse” in the episode where he had lots of babies? An excuse to what? Eat himself? What? And how is Bart too young to have that excuse? Is it normal for older people to hallucinate dogs as food?
Wait, are you trying to reference when SLH was acting crazy due to needing dog sex, and the things he did in his temporary state… is what you’re equating to Bart trying to eat him? This comment is baffling me.
The billboard is such a hilarious scene. I’m not sure which I like more, the blood it pours out or the fact that the married couple were okay with getting splattered with it because it was Itchy & Scratch.
I don’t agree with John V as there is nothing that rubs me the wrong way. The antics Bart performs had to set everything up for his punishment. It was meant to show that no matter what Bart did, he was always let go scott free. So building up to Homer’s punishment was justified. Not to mention we are talking about an episode where Maggie drives a car.
The fact that the Itchy & Scratch movie was out in theaters for 8 months is hilarious, especially these days when movies are out on video within 3 months. I’m not sure as to the logic behind Bart missing out for 40 years though. Was it never released on VHS?
Oh, Snake robbing a house and realizing the player he stole was a Beta was priceless.
Lastly, the Star Trek XII joke is easily the best thing to happen to that franchise. 😀
I love how in Homer’s negligence, Maggie is somehow behind the steering wheel in the Simpsons’ car. Like, how the hell did she get there? And for that matter, how can a baby even reach the gas pedal? Or for that matter, even turn the steering wheel? That moment is so nonsensical, it cracks me up.
It amazes me out this show in its early days could tackle so many different subjects in one episode without feeling too scattered. Here, they tackle the subject of movie adaptations of shows, from how many of them don’t differentiate themselves from the actual show, to the painstaking and long animation process, among others. Even without this, it’s a great story on how insane Bart’s antics can truly get. It shows that he’s not always going to get away with it.
The flash forward to where Homer and Bart choose to see it together in 3D is one of my favorite scenes in the show. Like you, I choose to believe that Bart will eventually grow out of his crazy antics and become a more mature person. It’s a very realistic scenario that also feels pretty in-character. It’s a great ending to a strong episode.
That’s not even getting into all the great moments here, from the mustard packet prank, to Maggie driving the car (and Wiggum’s reaction), and the line about using guests like Jackson and Hoffman, the show taking a great swipe at itself. If you couldn’t tell by how much I had to say, I really enjoy this episode. Not one of my absolute favorites, but still really great.
The Radioactive Man Movie episode was WAY ahead of its time. Superhero movies weren’t LIKE that yet, but they sure would be soon.
I think this is a great example of how the writers of the show from the Scully years to present, will feel the internet has double standards regarding what it deems as good/okay. Bart being asked to look after Maggie and her getting up to some kind of mischief is okay, but her taking the Simpsons car out for a joyride is not. If that scene was in Season 9 or above, Mike, the comments, everyone would be saying how unrealistic it is and how the show is now just like a cartoon, when in the old days it wasn’t etc.
I’m just pointing out that i think fans need to be consistent if we’re gonna ask the writers to be the same. I think this episode was pretty hit and miss tbh.
“If that scene was in Season 9 or above, Mike, the comments, everyone would be saying how unrealistic it is and how the show is now just like a cartoon, when in the old days it wasn’t etc. ”
LOL what a dumb, and rather clumsy attempt. Besides, the fact that you are just talking about the “What (what happens in a scene)” and not the “How (how it is executed)” really says everything, not only about your critical sense, but even shows that you never read or understood any comment or review here.
We can all reply by calling comments dumb and clumsy without actually providing an analytical response as to why somebody’s wrong – I mean, talk about dumb and clumsy!
I’ll tell you exactly why I’ve got a problem with that scene – it’s because it’s not just a throwaway joke. A very quick cutaway to something unrealistic is fine – it’s what the Simpsons have done many, many times over it’s existence.
However, Maggie driving the car was integral to the plot. So it’s not just a throwaway joke, it’s something we and all the characters have to accept as what actually happened. And that humour doesn’t work in The Simpsons, unless we can have some kind of plausible reason as to how she started the car, how she reaches the pedal, how she’s able to drive and not crash instantly etc.
If a scene’s funny, it might distract enough people to not care – look at the Scully years. They often get included in the ‘classic era’… why? Because for the most part they at least gave you some laughs. Everything else was a car crash but there were laughs. And for some fans, that’s enough. Others, like myself – it’s not.
So please, kindly go and suck on a glexnor.
Well, here’s what Mike had to say about this scene when he revisited this episode:
“…how I complain about the show doing weird unrealistic stuff despite the classic years having plenty of crazy moments, using Maggie driving the car as an example of a joke I would balk at if it were done in the series now. I can’t speak to every moment like this, but besides the comedy being subjective (this scene is funny to me, unlike [insert dumbass joke from season 29 here]), I can say that the Maggie driving scene also works in acting as the final straw of Bart’s reckless and negligent ways. Homer has let increasingly rowdy behavior go unpunished: destroying Abe’s dentures, ripping up the carpet, everything ramps up to this really cartoony, but still potentially dangerous incident of Bart letting his baby sister get into danger, resulting in Homer finally laying down the ultimate punishment.”
So this scene *does* work for Mike – as, indeed, it works for so many other fans.
If it turns out that this scene *doesn’t* work for you – well, it’s your opinion and you’re absolutely entitled to it. But you might have to accept that you’re in the minority here – and you definitely have to respect the view of the majority.
That was intended as a reply to Luke Gray, BTW.
This episode does say a lot about punishment and what its limits ought to be. Forbidding someone from seeing something ever (well, realistically, for another 8 years, yet apparently he still hasn’t seen it well into adulthood) seems like an impossibly mismatched consequence. But then, he was responsible for something that could have killed his baby sister, and he didn’t even seem sorry. Not that he should have been watching her in the first place, but…
And earlier, with the teeth, first I’m thinking “Spanking is fine, but withholding food seems like it violates the whole family contract thing, and the fact that he’s growing and has biological needs” then I realize he broke his grandpa’s teeth. Grampa can’t eat normal food until he has new ones made, so Bart missing a meal would kind of be a fantastic lesson in empathy. It all kind of depends on how seriously you take peril in a show like this where you know nothing super bad would ever really happen. Either way, Bart needs therapy. Lots of it.
I’ve never understood why certain types think it’s offensive to depict Korean art studios as brutal workhouses. That’s called sympathy. We feel bad for how bad they have it. If anything, it’d be “offensive” (in that totally innocuous Song of the South way) to depict anything BUT misery. Even if it weren’t true, wouldn’t you prefer to be depicted having it worse than you really do, vs. better?
I think the novelization gag was about how movie novels often contained a bunch of stuff that didn’t make it to the movie, and are thus longer.
The show by now was sure pretty OTT cartoony in a few moments (I’m particularly also thinking of the car-jumping in Homer the Heretic) but that’s OK both now and later, the problem with the later years was when it got really cartoony for a whole lot of the time in much less funny-to-annoying and when it also got real mean-spirited.