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 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 children against him. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by David Silverman.[1]
Plot
Lisa bakes a batch of cupcakes for Miss Hoover. Bart begs for one on the ride to school, until she eventually gives him a cupcake that fell on the floor. At school, a bully steals Lisa's cupcakes and steps on them, ruining them. Bart lunges at the bully to defend his sister, but is held back by Nelson Muntz, the worst bully in the school. Bart struggles and inadvertently gives Nelson a bloody nose. Nelson promises to get Bart back after school. Bart spends the day lost in daydreams about Nelson killing him, and his classmates and family attending his funeral. After school, he attempts to sneak away, but is caught by Nelson, beaten up, thrown in a trash can, and rolled down a hill.
Homer tries to give Bart advice, telling him that, according to the Code of the Schoolyard, Bart must defend himself. Homer teaches Bart to fight dirty, telling him to hit below the belt and throw mud in Nelson's eyes. Bart tries to follow his advice, but again finds himself beaten and rolled away in a trash can. Lisa suggests that Bart go to the toughest Simpson for advice - Grampa Simpson. Bart finds Grampa at the retirement home, where he sees Grampa is being harassed by an elderly bully of his own. Grampa takes Bart to an army surplus store, where they meet Herman, a possibly unbalanced veteran. Herman tells Bart that he must make war on Nelson, and begins drawing up a battle plan.
Bart gathers other bullying victims from school and turns them into an army. After some training and marching, they gather hundreds of water balloons and ambush Nelson and his cronies. The bullies attempt to run, but they are pelted with water balloons everywhere they turn. Nelson's henchmen surrender, claiming they were only following orders. Nelson is taken prisoner and a peace treaty is drawn up, under which he recognizes Bart's right to exist yet is permitted to remain a "figurehead of menace". In a postscript, Bart addresses the audience, telling them that war is not glamorous or fun, with the exceptions of the Revolutionary War, World War II, and Star Wars.
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 was 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 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. [dead link]
- ^ 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
- "Bart the General" at The Simpsons.com
- "Bart the General episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.
- "Bart the General" at IMDb
