Bart Gets a "Z"

"Bart Gets a 'Z'"
The Simpsons episode
File:Zachary Vaughn.jpg
Episode no.	Season 21
Directed by	Mark Kirkland
Written by	Matt Selman
Original air date	October 4, 2009
Episode features
Chalkboard gag	Chalkboarding is not torture.
Couch gag	The Simpsons, wearing cowboy hats, exchange gunfire around the couch.

"Bart Gets a 'Z'" is the second episode of The Simpsons' twenty-first season. The episode aired on October 4, 2009 on Fox. In its original airing, the episode had an estimated 9.32 million viewers and received a Nielsen rating of 5.1/8.

Plot

Mrs. Krabappel's positive attitude is crushed when she sees her students distracted from class by their cell phones, so she takes the devices away. This angers Bart and the other children, and they decide Mrs. Krabappel needs to "chill out". Bart notices that Homer is goofy and easy-going once he's had a few beers, so the students decide to spike Mrs. Krabappel's coffee with liquor they steal from their parents. Once she has consumed a mug of heavily-spiked coffee, Mrs. Krabappel is quickly intoxicated. After a day of dangerous and drunken acts, Principal Skinner is forced to fire her.

Principal Skinner replaces her with a hip graduate of Tufts University named Zachary Vaughn. The students are immediately impressed with Zach, as he returns their cell phones and instructs them to use their electronic devices for classwork. Bart raves to his mother about how much fun it is to have Zach as a teacher, but Marge worries about Mrs. Krabappel's well-being. Bart goes to visit Mrs. Krabappel and is stricken with guilt when he sees her moping in front of the television. Bart and Milhouse meet at a bookstore and decide to get Mrs. Krabappel rehired. They buy a self-help book entitled "The Answer", which professes to have all the answers to help someone achieve their dreams. Mrs. Krabappel is initially skeptical, but reveals her dream is to open a muffin shop. Some time in the future, she does open a muffin shop and becomes very successful. Bart inadvertently confesses that he spiked her coffee with alcohol and is responsible for getting her fired. Mrs. Krabappel is furious, tells him that her real dream was to be a teacher, and concludes that Bart is the only kid she has ever met who is "bad on the inside."

Bart is deeply troubled by Mrs. Krabappel's statement, and decides to get her job back by spiking Zach's "Blue Bronco" energy drink, but instead decides to tell Principal Skinner the truth. Principal Skinner is pleased that Bart was honest, but tells him he cannot just rehire Mrs. Krabappel when Zach is doing a good job in her place. Their conversation is suddenly disrupted by a belligerently drunk Zach--who ironically secretly mixes vodka in his own drink--who insults the schoolchildren and tells them they have no future. Groundskeeper Willie drags Zach away and Mrs. Krabappel is reinstated. Bart hopes that there will be no hard feelings between Mrs. Krabappel and himself. She responds by making every student in the class eat a very stale muffin, as part of her "muffin-based revenge."

Internet meme

The URL grade4zackattack.com appears written in chalk on the blackboard when Homer is at a parent teacher conference at Bart's school. This may be a reference to the internet meme "Zack Attack", originally derived from the character Zachary Morris in the 90's sitcom Saved by the Bell.

Reception

In its original airing, the episode had an estimated 9.32 million viewers and received a Nielsen rating of 5.1/8, which was an improvement over the last episode.

Robert Canning of IGN.com stated the episode was "...neither hilarious nor incredibly terrible. It's middle of the road, but has just enough going for it that a fan will enjoy the episode."