Bart Gets Hit by a Car
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"Bart Gets Hit by a Car" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons' second season. The episode aired on January 10, 1991. At the start of the episode, Bart is hit by Mr. Burns' car. Prompted by ambulance chasing lawyer Lionel Hutz and quack doctor Nick Riviera, the Simpson family seek extensive damages from Burns for Bart's injuries.
This episode marks the first appearance of Hutz, Riviera, and the Blue-Haired Lawyer. Recurring guest star Phil Hartman and the show's then-script supervisor Doris Grau also made their first performances in the show.
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[edit] Plot
Mr. Burns' car hits Bart when he is skateboarding. Bart has an out-of-body experience, and rides a gold escalator and visits Heaven. A public address message tells Bart to hold onto the handrail and not to spit over the side; he ignores both instructions and is sent to Hell, where he meets the Devil. He floats back into his body, waking up in Dr. Hibbert's room with only minor injuries. In the room, an attorney named Lionel Hutz has arrived (after chasing Bart's ambulance) and suggests that Homer sue Mr. Burns. Burns offers Homer $100, but he refuses, and he goes to see Hutz. Hutz promises Homer a cash settlement of $1,000,000 (of which Hutz gets 50% as his 'fee'). They see Dr. Nick Riviera, a quack doctor who claims that Bart has extensive injuries; he diagnoses a fingerprint on Bart's x-ray as "trauma". Marge, however, is skeptical of Riviera's real medical qualifications and decries him for exaggerating Bart's condition.
Homer sues Burns. On the witness stand, a wheelchair-bound Bart offers the implausible testimony that he was playing innocently, until the "Luxury Car of Death" hit him. Burns' testimony is even more outrageous, claiming that he had been driving to the orphanage to pass out toys until Bart darted in front of him. The jury does not believe Mr. Burns's testimony, who yells at his lawyers and orders them to bring Homer and Marge to his house. At his mansion, Burns offers Homer a $500,000 settlement. Homer and Marge discuss the matter, but Homer objects to the settlement, insisting that Burns knows he will lose the trial and will have to pay the family $1 million. Burns cancels the settlement after overhearing Marge saying the lawsuit is based on false evidence.
At the trial, Marge is called to the stand. In her testimony, she denounces Dr. Riviera as a phony doctor and outlines how limited Bart's injuries actually were. She also gives the hardships resulting from the accident a dollar value of $5, the sum they would have paid Bart for taking out the trash, had he been able to. Marge's honest testimony destroys Hutz's case and the Simpsons get nothing. That night, a downbeat Homer is angry that Marge cost him $1,000,000. Marge visits him at Moe's and asks Homer to forgive her for her testimony, but he says that he is not sure he loves her anymore, until he looks her in the eyes and realises he still loves her as much as ever.
[edit] Production
The producers of The Simpsons acknowledged on the DVD commentary that a significant influence on this episode's plot was Billy Wilder's The Fortune Cookie, in which Walter Matthau plays a dishonest lawyer who convinces Jack Lemmon's character to fake an injury for a large cash settlement.
[edit] Cultural references
The Devil says "Please allow me to introduce myself", a reference to The Rolling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil". In addition, When Bart wakes up from his out-of-body experience, he says, "I did go away, Mom! I was miles and miles and miles away, writhing in agony in the pits of Hell! And you were there! And you and you and you," a reference to the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy awakens from her slumber. In addition, the program's version of Hell is an homage to Hieronymus Bosch's triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, especially the Hell panel.[1] Approximately half-way through the episode, when Bart is on the witness stand, the characters Akbar and Jeff from Matt Groening's comic, Life in Hell, can be seen in the courtroom audience.
[edit] Reception
The episode's reference to The Wizard Of Oz was named the fourth greatest film reference in the history of the show by Nathan Ditum of Total Film.[2] The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, praised "Bart Gets Hit by a Car" as "An interesting episode in that we begin to see the very dark side of Burns that will develop later, although Smithers is still just a toady. A good introduction for Lionel Hutz and a nice look at Hell, Heaven and the original Snowball".[1] Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone contributor, concurred, stating that the episode led to "inspired looks at Heaven, Hell, and ambulance-chasing lawyers".[3] DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson lauded the episode for "provid[ing] a lot of great moments, especially in court when we heard the differing viewpoints of the accident offered by Bart and Mr. Burns. 'Car' worked well and was consistently amusing and lively." [4] Dawn Taylor of The DVD Journal thought that the best line was Bart's testimony, "It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I was playing in my wholesome childlike way, little realizing that I was about to be struck down by the Luxury Car of Death".[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Bart Gets Hit By A Car". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season2/page10.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
- ^ Ditum, Nathan (June 6, 2009). "The 50 Greatest Simpsons Movie References". Total Film. http://www.totalfilm.com/features/the-50-greatest-simpsons-movie-references/page:18. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ Pratt, Doug (2005). Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!. UNET 2 Corporation. p. 1094. ISBN 1932916016.
- ^ Jacobson, Colin. "The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season". DVD Movie Guide. http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseason2.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ Taylor, Dawn (2002). "The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season". The DVD Journal. http://www.dvdjournal.com/reviews/s/simpsons.season02.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
[edit] External links
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