The Boy Who Knew Too Much (The Simpsons)
| "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:Boy who knew too much image 2.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 |
| Directed by | Jeffrey Lynch |
| Written by | John Swartzwelder |
| Original air dates | May 5, 1994 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "There are plenty of businesses like show business" |
| Couch gag | The family runs to the couch, but they look around to see that they aren't at their house, they're on the set of David Letterman's talk show. |
| Commentary | Matt Groening David Mirkin David Silverman |
"The Boy Who Knew Too Much" is the 20th episode of The Simpsons' fifth season.
Plot
It's a beautiful day in Springfield, but Bart isn't happy about going to school (in part because they have to go on a prison bus) and when arriving to school, Bart and the rest of the class have to sit in extremely uncomfortable chairs with their desks. Bart forges a note claiming a dentist appointment so that he can skip school, but Principal Skinner isn't convinced.
Skinner goes after Bart, but as he finally corners him, Bart jumps into a passing car. The car is actually driven by Freddy, nephew of Mayor Quimby, going to his birthday party. At lunch, Freddy is served chowder, but he ridicules the waiter for saying it with a French accent. He then follows the waiter into the kitchen, and apparently roughs him up. Bart, hiding under a table, secretly witnesses the true turn of events. Freddy is arrested for the crime (presumably battery) and put on trial.
The whole town seems to believe that Freddy is guilty, and only Bart knows otherwise. He doesn't want to testify, however, because he would have to admit that he skipped school, and face punishment from Principal Skinner. Meanwhile, Homer is selected for jury duty for the trial.
During jury deliberations, Homer discovers that if the jury is deadlocked, they will have to be sequestered and stay at the Springfield Palace Hotel until they decide on a verdict. He votes against the others just to be able to take advantage of this benefit.
Bart reconsiders testifying to Freddy's innocence after watching a show on TV with a similar incident. Soon, in court, Bart tells everyone that Freddy didn't injure the waiter but the waiter injured himself in a series of clumsy actions. The waiter attempts to deny that he's clumsy, but in the process he falls out of the window into an open-roof truck filled with mouse traps. Freddy is free to go, while Bart is given four months detention. (Skinner's amending it from three to four months is cut in syndication.)
Trivia
- In the syndicated airings, the scene where Skinner and Groundskeeper Willie are asking Lisa what Bart is doing is completely cut out.
- A deleted scene showed Freddy Quimby attacking the waiter when the trial ends, trying to get him to say "chowda" when he gets pummeled by a group of policemen back into the courtroom. The waiter is then interviewed on the news.
- Another deleted scene shows Principal Skinner having a nightmare about his Vietnam days and acts as he's using a machine gun, shooting at soldiers. Homer is shown watching him, eating popcorn then yells "C'mon Skinner, get'em! get'em!" suggesting it happens every night.
- The jury members that can be identified are: Homer, Principal Skinner, Hans Moleman, Ned Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Jasper, Patty, Apu, and the man from the Japanese restaurant.
Cultural references
- 12 Angry Men - Homer is the only one voting "not guilty" against 11 "guilty" votes, just like in the movie (but Homer's reason for doing so is quite different).
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - The episode plot is similar to the Injun Joe/cemetery subplot. Bart also dreams of being outside on the river, on a raft with a Huck Finn type character.
- Dirty Harry - The character "McGarnigle" bears a striking resemblance to Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry.
- The Man Who Knew Too Much - episode title.
- The Kennedy family - Quimby's family is similar to this family.
- Free Willy - The new 'director's cut' of this movie features the boy being crushed by Willy.
- Westworld - The scene of Principal Skinner chasing Bart borrows heavily from the film.
- "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" - Freddy's supposed assault is similar to Zanzinger's actual assault.
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Principal Skinner on Bart's trail references Principal Rooney's quest to bust Ferris Bueller for truancy. However, Skinner is much more dogged than Ferris' principal and ultimately wins in punishing Bart for his truancy.
- Frasier and seaQuest DSV - Jasper makes reference to Eddie, pet dog of Martin Crane on Frasier, riding Darwin, the talking dolphin character from the science fiction series seaQuest DSV.
- Pink Panther - The waiter in his denial of his blundering injury shouts, "This is an outrage! I am not a clumsy, clouseau-esque waiter!" before his bumbling through the window into the truck full of mousetraps.
- Last Action Hero - Bart's claim to Ranier Wolfcastle that his "last movie really sucked" and Chief Wiggum's subsequent claim of "magic ticket, my ass, McBain" are in reference to a recent Arnold Schwarzenegger film that was panned by critics. Additionally, Wolfcastle's wife is named Maria; Schwarzenegger's wife is Maria Shriver.
- Matt Groening - appears in a cameo as the court illustrator in the Quimby trial; can be seen signing his name on his sketch.
- Meow Mix - Homer "sings" the jingle when Bart reads his thoughts in court.
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit - The waiter's accident in the kitchen is very reminiscent of the cartoon being filmed at the beginning of this film.
- The Terminator - Skinner's mechanical stance when following Bart; music played, similar; when coming out of water, similar in appearance to the reforming T-1000. His ability to walk through water amd his posture can also be compared to Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Oh my God, he is like some sort of (i.e. machine) ...non...giving up...school guy!
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