Bart Carny

"Bart Carny"
The Simpsons episode
File:5F08.jpg
Episode no.	Season 9
Directed by	Mark Kirkland
Written by	John Swartzwelder
Original air dates	January 11, 1998
Episode features
Chalkboard gag	None
Couch gag	As the family wants to sit down, the couch gets pulled back. Then Nelson appears from behind the couch, doing his Ha-Ha.

Bart Carny is the twelfth episode of the ninth season of the animated series The Simpsons.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler When Marge unsuccessfully tries to get the kids to clean up the backyard, Homer runs into the house to exclaim to the family that the carnival is in town. Once after some fun and rides, Bart gets himself into trouble by driving the display of Hitler's limousine and wrecking it into a tree. Trying to repay the loss, Bart and Homer become carnies themselves and work at the carnival.

Here, they meet up with a carny, Cooder, and his son, Spud. They quickly befriend the carny and his son. When Cooder asks for a favor and has Homer run his fixed game, Homer fails to bribe Chief Wiggum, and Cooters game is shut down. Feeling badly, Homer invites Cooter and his son to stay at the Simpson residence.

To express their gratitude, the Cooders give the Simpsons tickets to a glass bottom boat ride. When the Simpsons return, something goes incredibly wrong. The keys don't turn, the windows are all boarded up, and the Simpsons name is crossed off the mailbox and replaced by the Cooders. The Cooders tricked them out of their own house, and forces the family to take up residence in Bart's treehouse.

But leave it up to Homer to outsmart the Cooders. Knocking on the front door, Homer proposes that if he can throw a hula-hoop onto the chimney, they'll get their house back, and if he misses, he'll sign the deed over to the carnies.

Cooder agrees and steps onto the lawn to watch Homer's attempt. Homer stretches and warms up as if he was about to throw it, and quickly he and the family escape into their house, leaving Cooder and Spud dumbfounded in the front lawn. Homer outwitted someone for possibly the first time in his life, and the Simpsons have their house back.

Quotes

• Homer: Look at them, Bart. If a carny can wind up homeless, it can happen to anyone.

• Marge: We can't just give up on our house. There's got to be a way to get these guys out of here.
  Bart: I say we set fire to the house, kill em that way.
  Marge: We don't want to kill them, Bart. We just want our home back.
  Lisa: (thinking it over) Well, if we did set fire to the house...
  Marge: No fires!
  Homer: I've got it!
  Marge: No fires!
  Homer: Aw.
  Marge: There must be a way to outsmart them.
  Homer: Uh, you can't outsmart carnival folk. They're the cleverest folk in the world. Just look at the way they sucker regular folks with those crooked games. (gasping) That's it! Fire!

• Homer: Cooder, Spud, get off that hog! You're gonna stay at our house!
  (cut to the Simpsons' living room, just as Marge shudders)
  Lisa: Why'd you shudder just now, Mom?
  Marge: I don't know.

• Bart (in Hitler's car): Outta my way! I'm Hitler!

• Nelson: You wrecked Hitler's car! What did he ever do to you? (Punches Bart)

• Homer: Look at them, watching my TV, sitting on my couch. YOU'D BETTER NOT BE IN MY ASS GROOVE!!!
• Cooder: Put some more photo albums on the fire son, it's freezin' in here!
• Spud: Which one? 'Precious Moments' or 'Treasured Memories'?

References

• The title of the episode is based on the comic actor Art Carney.
• When Bart says he and Homer are "natural born carnies", followed by "if only we weren't tied down to the family" is a reference of the film Natural Born Killers.
• The shark attacking the boat is loosely based on the movie Jaws, when the shark attacks the boat.
• When Spud says "Seen any pigeons yet?", captions say " Seen any suckers yet?

External links

• Episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive