Bart the General
| "Bart the General" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:Bart the General2.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 |
| Directed by | David Silverman |
| Written by | John Swartzwelder |
| Original air date | February 4, 1990 |
| Episode features | |
| Commentary | Matt Groening James L. Brooks David Silverman |
"Bart the General" is the fifth full length episode of The Simpsons' first season, which premiered on the Fox network on February 4, 1990.[1] The episode deals with Bart's troubles with the bully, Nelson Muntz. Bart chooses to go to war with Nelson uniting the neighborhood kids against him. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by David Silverman.[1]
Plot
Lisa bakes a batch of cupcakes for her teacher and Bart demands one. She says no, and Bart calls her a butt kisser. After an apology on the school bus, Lisa gives Bart the cupcake she dropped on the floor when the bus jolted, and he eats it none the wiser. When they get off the bus, Lisa was going to offer her friend Janey one. However, the cupcakes are snatched by one of Nelson Muntz's buddies and he stomps on them when Bart asks for them back. Bart jumps at the kid but Nelson shows up and holds Bart up by his neck, questioning his bravery. Bart persists to struggle and accidentally hits Nelson on the nose which makes him start bleeding. After, Bart attempts to shrug it all off, but is treated as a hero. After school, Nelson and his buddies beat Bart to a bloody pulp and dump him into a trash can, which he then rolls down a hill, stopping at his front door and coughing out his hat.
At home, Bart goes into the bathtub and Homer comes in, blasting a hairdryer into his face to dry his tears. Bart tells Homer and Marge about the bully, and Homer advises Bart to fight dirty, while Marge suggests that he tell Principal Skinner. Homer pressures Bart to fight, while Marge suggests reasoning with Nelson. Homer dismisses Marge's advice and has Bart face a punching bag. Disapproving of Bart's fighting skills, Homer jumps on top of the bag and shakes it around in an attempt to beat it up, going as far as biting a piece off, while Bart looks on. Homer then reassures Bart that he should "fight dirty," saying that it is okay every now and then. Bart confronts Nelson and at first throws mud in his eyes which enrages Nelson. Bart tries to fight but is once again, mauled by Nelson. This time, he turns to the toughest member of the Simpson family, Grampa Simpson, as suggested by Lisa.
Grampa introduces Bart to Herman, a veteran who runs an army surplus store. Herman tells Bart to declare war on Nelson and instructs him on a full-assault strategy, while Bart thinks Herman is crazy. Bart gathers other kids from school who have been traumatized by Nelson and enlists them as troops. After a long training program, the troops go marching one by one. Cornering Nelson and his buddies, they start firing numbers of water balloons. Terrorized and outnumbered, the buddies surrender. Nelson is taken prisoner, but he threatens to kill Bart as soon as he is released, and mentions that Bart will have to untie him sometime. So afterwards, Herman drafts an armistice, which Bart and Nelson agree to sign. Marge enters with cupcakes, and peace prevails. The episode ends with a disclaimer in which Bart explains why wars, with the exceptions of the American Revolution, World War II, and the Star Wars trilogy, are never justified.
Production
This episode was running too long to use the normal opening sequence. It therefore did not feature a chalkboard gag or a couch gag. Instead, it just cut to an image of the Simpson house.[2] David Silverman was the director and was kind of stressed, because he was doing storyboards for this episode while also directing "Bart the Genius".[2] Originally, he had planned to use the song "War" by Edwin Starr in the episode. The plans were dropped, when they decided that the song did not really fit the story.[2] The episode had problems with the censors, who did not want the characters to say "family jewels" on prime time television.[3] The producers ignored the notes and "family jewels" remained in the episode. This act of attempted censorship was reflected in the part where Grampa Simpson writes a letter complaining of how sexualized television has become and gives a list of words he never wants to hear on TV again, one of which is "family jewels".
Two new characters were introduced in this episode. The first, Nelson Muntz, remains a frequently used recurring character,[4] while the second, Herman, has been used far less.[4] The design of Herman, with the exception of his missing arm, was inspired by writer John Swartzwelder. His voice, as performed by Harry Shearer, was partly inspired by George H. W. Bush.[3] The original idea for Herman was for him to have a differing story for the loss of his arm with every appearance.[3]
Cultural references
The episode featured several references to war films. Several lines of dialogue, Bart slapping one of his soldiers for "being a disgrace", and the music are lifted directly from the film Patton from 1970. Fox owned the rights to this film, so it was no problem to use the soundtrack.[3] The marching sequence is a nod to Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket from 1987.[4] The Longest Day from 1962 is also referenced.[2] Bart concludes the episode by stating that the only "good wars" are the American Revolution, World War II, and the (original) Star Wars trilogy.[5]
Reception
Matt Groening notes on the commentary track that he finds it strange how controversial this episode seemed at the time of its release. Today, they would go a lot further and to him this episode now seems harmless.[3] The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, said: "Some good lines and setpieces aside - we love Bart's fantasy of death at Nelson's hands - this episode nevertheless feels a bit unsure of itself, particularly towards the end."[4] In a DVD review of the first season David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 3/5 and adds "Another episode that helped to propel Bart's popularity into the stratosphere ...".[6] The episode's reference to Full Metal Jacket was named the eleventh greatest film reference in the history of the show by Nathan Ditum of Total Film.[7]
In its original American broadcast, "Bart the General" finished 31st place in the weekly ratings for the week of January 29 - February 4, 1990 with a Nielsen rating of 14.3. It was the highest rated show on the Fox Network that week.[8]
Use in scientific research
"Bart the General" and Seinfeld's "The Tape" were used in a Dartmouth College experiment to study brain activity in relation to humorous moments in television shows. The results were published in a 2004 issue of the academic journal Neurolmage. The researchers noted, "During moments of humor detection, significant [brain] activation was noted in the left posterior middle temporal gyrus ... and left inferior frontal gyrus".[9]
Notes
- ^ a b Richmond, Ray (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. p. 21. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d Silverman, David (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the General" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d e Groening, Matt (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the General" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d Martyn, Warren (2000). "Bart the General". BBC. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Scott Chernoff (2007-07-24). "I Bent My Wookiee! Celebrating the Star Wars/Simpsons Connection". Star Wars.com. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ Grelck, David B (2003). "The Simpsons: The Complete First Season". WDBG Productions. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
- ^ Ditum, Nathan (June 6, 2009). "The 50 Greatest Simpsons Movie References". Total Film. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ Associated Press (February 8, 1990). "'ROSEANNE' GRABS EARLY SWEEPS LEAD". Orlando Sentinel. p. E8.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ qtd. in Keay Davidson. "So these scientists go into a lab to see what's funny ... - They find gender differences in how humor affects brain". San Francisco Chronicle. November 21, 2005. A1.
External links
