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Difference between revisions of "Bart the General"

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki
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{{episode
 
{{episode
|image=BartTheGeneral.jpg
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|image=no5.jpg
 
|productionCode=7G05
 
|productionCode=7G05
 
|originalAirdate=February 4, 1990
 
|originalAirdate=February 4, 1990
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|couchGag=None
 
|couchGag=None
 
|billboard=
 
|billboard=
|Show Runner=[[James L. Brooks]]<br>[[Matt Groening]]<br>[[Sam Simon]]
+
|Show Runner=[[Zorgin Hmorgin]]
|Written By=[[John Swartzwelder]]
+
|Written By=[[Zorgin Hmorgin]], [[Shtoindas Hmoindas]]
 
|Episode Number=5
 
|Episode Number=5
|Directed By= [[David Silverman]]
+
|Directed By= [[Red Greensborough]]
 
|Transcript= Yes
 
|Transcript= Yes
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{Quote|I promise you victory, I promise you good times!|[[Bart Simpson]]}}
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{{Quote|Oh, Christ, you got to be kidding me! Nora, love of my life, is the Kickass?!|[[Jim Oglethorp]]}}
  
"'''Bart the General'''" is the fifth episode of [[Season 1]]. It aired on February 4, 1990. The episode was written by [[John Swartzwelder]] and directed by [[David Silverman]]. This is one of the few episodes that doesn't include an opening sequence.  
+
"'''No. 5'''" is the fifth episode of [[Season 1]]. It aired on March 19, 1981. The episode was written by [[Shtoindas Hmoindas]] and directed by [[Red Greensborough]].  
  
 
==Synopsis==
 
==Synopsis==
After defending [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] from school bully [[Nelson Muntz]], [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] becomes Nelson's latest school bullying target. Sick of the harassment and torment, Bart, [[Abraham Simpson]], and [[Herman]] (a slightly deranged military antique store dealer with a missing arm) rally the town's children into fighting back against Nelson and his cronies.
+
After being advised by Ez to take nude photos of Nora, Jim sneaks into her house, only to find to his horror, that she is his worst enemy, the Teenage Kickass. After this confrontation, he loses his concentration while attempting to fight her and performs his espionage poorly. As a result, for the first time in his crime-fighting career, he strikes out.
 
 
 
==Plot==
 
==Plot==
The episode begins inside the Simpson's kitchen before school where Lisa is baking cupcakes to bring to Miss Hoover at school. Homer and Bart think Lisa is trying to butter up her teacher but she is just being nice. On the school bus Lisa makes Bart suck up to her in exchange for a cupcake. Once at the schoolyard Lisa shows off her cupcakes to her friends and one of Nelson's minions steals the cupcakes away and begins to eat them. Bart comes over to Lisa's rescue and attacks the bully. Nelson then comes over to break up the fight; he picks up Bart by the shirt collar with Bart blindly swinging. One of Bart's punches lands and gives Nelson a bloody nose. Everyone gasps after seeing what Bart has unwittingly done. Nelson tells Bart he will get him after school. Inside the classroom a worried Bart daydreams about the showdown with Nelson after school. In the dream there is nothing Bart can do to defeat Nelson. Milhouse wakes Bart up in time to go to lunch. In the lunchroom everyone hails Bart as a hero. A modest and nervous Bart downplays the situation. Nelson walks up to a trembling Bart to remind him about the fight after school. Back in the classroom Bart daydreams again this time about his own funeral in which his family mourns him, and Nelson pounds him one last time. After school a nervous Bart darts around the playground hoping to avoid Nelson. Bart turns a corner only to see Nelson standing right in front of him. Nelson promptly pummels Bart, throws him in a trash can, and informs Bart to meet again tomorrow after school for another beating. Nelson and his minions roll Bart away in the trash can.
+
The episode starts when Jim and Fred are hanging around [[The Comestible Giraffe]] drinking soda. Fred leaves to use the bathroom, at which point Ez walks up to Jim and Jim starts talking about his love life. Ez gives him complicated advice on how to "win her", detailing a bizarre plan in which he would take a nude photo of her, put it up on his backpack, and then begin showing it around until he raises Nora's ire. "At first, she'll think you're the biggest creep on Earth," Ez declares, "but once you've cracked the ice she'll begin to soften little by little, and then you two will be much more open and willing to go to the bedroom together." Jim at first is skeptical, but Ez eventually convinces him, saying, "That's how I found my Laura. And she's the greatest girl in bed there is." Jim goes off to accomplish his goal, by sneaking first into his own house (where he borrows her mom's camera) and then going to Nora's. When he gets there and realizes that she isn't home yet, he hides in her dresser and gets out the camera. Jim is beginning to get very excited about the idea of seeing his dream girl "in the nood". When she finally comes home, after a relieving trip to the little girl's room she walks into her dressing area and begins changing. Jim holds out the camera, but seeing her picking up the Teenage Kickass outfit and starting to put it on, he misfires and ends up getting a picture of himself gazing in shock at the horrible revelation.
 
 
 
[[File:Nelson bleeding.JPG|thumb|right|150px|[[Nelson Muntz|Nelson]] bleeds from his confrontation with Bart.]]
 
[[File:Nelson bleeding.JPG|thumb|right|150px|[[Nelson Muntz|Nelson]] bleeds from his confrontation with Bart.]]
The garbage can with Bart inside rolls to a stop in front of the Simpson house, and a weary Bart stumbles out and goes inside the house. Once inside Bart walks past his parents in the living room and heads to the bathroom to cry. Marge sends Homer in to console Bart. Marge eavesdrops on the conversation and when it is revealed that Nelson is picking on Bart she bursts in and gives Bart advice. She advises him to talk nicely to Nelson and try to settle things like gentlemen. Homer doesn't like this advice and he takes Bart into another room and shows him how to fight Simpson's style (which is fighting dirty). The next day after school in the schoolyard Bart uses Homer's advice and flings mud in Nelson's eye which only makes Nelson mad. Nelson beats up Bart again, throws him into another trash can and rolls him away. Once again in front the Simpson house Bart's trash can rolls to a stop. Lisa is sitting out on the sidewalk and suggests that Bart should go and seek Grandpa's advice. Bart goes to the retirement home and visits Grandpa who is angrily typing a letter to TV advertisers. Grandpa tells Bart to just stand up for himself. Jasper quickly enters Grandpa's room and demands for Grandpa's newspaper. Grandpa says no and stands up for himself, but Jasper takes the paper away anyway. Realizing that Bart standing up for himself might not work, Grandpa says he knows someone else who can help. Grandpa and Bart go over to Herman's Military Antiques to ask Herman for advice. Herman tells them that Bart needs to start a small army and they begin to devise a plan.
+
Later, Jim, Fred, and Pamela are sitting around talking about their ceepy teacher Senator Stitch, when Jim gets a call from the "Office" that he must stop The Dragon's latest evil scheme. Jim reluctantly goes off and dons his suave spy outfit, and uses his hovercraft to reach the scene of the crime. Before he is halfway there the Teenage Kickass jumps in and attempts to use her kung fu against Jim. Although he dodges her successfully, he refuses to fight back and as a result she taunts him and calls him a weakling. Eventually, she hijacks his hovercraft, and pushes a button which ejects him in a farm outside Pinnacle. Weary and humiliated, Jim slowly tries to make his way home with a heavy heart.
 
+
At school Senator Stitch remarks on Jim's tardiness and his disheveled appearance. Fred asks him what happened but he dosen't want to talk about it. He says some things are better left unknown. Nora walks into class with a triumphant air and Senator Stitch immediately backs away in fear. All throughout his teaching, Stitch is constantly wary of Nora's presence and as a result stumbles around during the lesson. Jim begins to suspect that something fishy is going on, and after school he immediately dons his spy outfit and sneaks into Stitch's back office. There he sees the Teenage Kickass informing Stitch (who has been handcuffed behind his back) that for the first time in a while The Dragon has had a major victory, and that now he will have to either use his genius to serve the Dragon or return to his former status as a slave on an alien ship. Jim, infuriated by Nora's complete lack of concern for ethics, Jim leaps out and demands that Stitch be freed. The Teenage Kickass taunts him and calls him a "coward" and suggests that he start running, since that's what he does best. She also begins threatening violence on Senator Stitch. Jim, in the heat of anger, blurts out "Let him go, Nora!" When she hears her being called by name, she is overcome with fear and, in order to avoid further confrontation, seizes Senator Stitch and runs off in a hurry.
At school at note is passed around class. The note tells the kids that anyone fed up with Nelson should meet at Bart's treehouse after school. Inside the treehouse a group of kids along with Herman and Grandpa wait for Bart to arrive. Bart stumbles in after being beaten up again and rallies the recruits and encourages them to join in his battle plan against Nelson. A montage of army marches, drills, obstacle courses, and training with Bart as the drill sergeant commences. Back inside the treehouse, days later, the battle plan is being finalized by Bart, Lisa, Herman and Grandpa. Milhouse steps in and informs Bart of Nelson's whereabouts, and the battle plan begins. Outside on the streets Bart confronts Nelson and out of nowhere Bart's army appears with water balloons much to Nelson's surprise. Water bombing takes place and Nelson is captured. Bart wheels a tied up Nelson in a wagon back to the Simpson house. Bart tells Nelson that he hoped he has learned his lesson and reaches to untie him, but Nelson says as soon as he is free he is going to pound Bart. Inside the Simpson house Herman draws up a peace treaty between Bart and Nelson which they both sign. Marge steps in and hands out cupcakes to everyone for a happy ending.
 
  
At the end of the episode, Bart sits on a table in a library and talks directly to the camera about the seriousness of war.
+
The story is continued in the next episode.
  
 
==Production==
 
==Production==
This episode was running too long to use the normal [[Opening Sequence|opening sequence]]. It did therefore not feature a chalkboard gag or a couch gag. Instead they just cut to image of the Simpson house.<ref name="silverman">{{cite video | people=Silverman, David|year=2001|title=The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the General"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> David Silverman was the director and was kind of stressed, because he was doing storyboards for this episode while also directing "[[Bart the Genius]]".<ref name="silverman"/> 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.<ref name="silverman"/> The episode had problems with the censors, who did not want the characters to say "family jewels" on prime time television.<ref name="groening">{{cite video | people=Groening, Matt|year=2001|title=The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the General"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The producers ignored the notes and "family jewels" remained in the episode.
+
Red Greensborough was the director of this episode, while most of the script was written by Shtoindas Hmoindas with some trimming by Zorgin Hmorgin. The episode is notable for containing the first scene of voyeurism in a cartoon series.  
 
 
Two new characters were introduced in this episode. The first one is [[Nelson Muntz]], who remains a frequently used recurring character.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season1/page5.shtml|title=Bart the General|accessdate=2008-01-14|author=Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian |date=2000|publisher=BBC}}</ref> The second is [[Herman]] who has been used less.<ref name="BBC"/> The design of Herman except for only having one arm was inspired by the look of the writer John Swartzwelder. The voice was partly inspired by [[George H. W. Bush]] and performed by [[Harry Shearer]].<ref name="groening"/> The original idea with Herman was that every time he would be shown he would have a different story to why he only has one arm.<ref name="groening"/>
 
  
 +
No new characters were introduced in this episode, however it did mark the first time that Senator Stitch had more than two lines of dialogue in the series. It was also the first episode in which Jim's mom Yvonne did not appear.
 
==Reception==
 
==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.<ref name="groening"/> 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."<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season1/page5.shtml|title=Bart the General|accessdate=2008-01-14|author=Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian |date=2000|publisher=BBC}}</ref> 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 ...".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wdbgproductions.com/cinerama/reviews/simpsonsseason1.htm|title=The Simpsons: The Complete First Season|accessdate=2008-01-14|date=2003|author=Grelck, David B|publisher=WDBG Productions}}</ref>
+
The episode was generally viewed very positively, and was ranked in one survey as the fourth greatest episode of the first season. Many fans applauded its pathos and character development. Additionally, some viewed it as daring since it openly portrayed male lust toward female nudity. Many believe that it was the popularity of No. 3, No. 4, and this episode that helped to permenantly establish Jim and the Teenage Kickass as part of the CRO-TV lineup.
 
 
=== Use in scientific research ===
 
"Bart the General" and ''[[wikipedia:Seinfeld|Seinfeld]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "[[wikipedia:The Tape|The Tape]]" were used in a [[wikipedia:Dartmouth College|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 [[wikipedia:academic journal|academic journal]] ''Neurolmage''. The researchers noted, "During moments of humor detection, significant [brain] activation was noted in the left posterior middle temporal [[wikipedia:gyrus|gyrus]] ... and left inferior frontal gyrus".<ref>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.</ref>
 
 
 
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
 
<references />
 
<references />
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[[Category:Episodes]]
 
[[Category:Episodes]]
 
[[Category:Season 1]]
 
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:1990]]
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[[Category:1981]]
[[Category:Bart episodes]]
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[[Category:Nora episodes]]
[[Category:Nelson episodes]]
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[[Category:Stitch episodes]]

Revision as of 15:06, July 1, 2011

Season 1 Episode
004 "There's No Disgrace Like Home"
005
"Bart the General"
"Moaning Lisa" 006
  1. REDIRECT Template:Featured episode
"Bart the General"
250px
Episode Information
Showrunner: [[{{{showrunner}}}]]



"Oh, Christ, you got to be kidding me! Nora, love of my life, is the Kickass?!"
Jim Oglethorp

"No. 5" is the fifth episode of Season 1. It aired on March 19, 1981. The episode was written by Shtoindas Hmoindas and directed by Red Greensborough.

Synopsis

After being advised by Ez to take nude photos of Nora, Jim sneaks into her house, only to find to his horror, that she is his worst enemy, the Teenage Kickass. After this confrontation, he loses his concentration while attempting to fight her and performs his espionage poorly. As a result, for the first time in his crime-fighting career, he strikes out.

Plot

The episode starts when Jim and Fred are hanging around The Comestible Giraffe drinking soda. Fred leaves to use the bathroom, at which point Ez walks up to Jim and Jim starts talking about his love life. Ez gives him complicated advice on how to "win her", detailing a bizarre plan in which he would take a nude photo of her, put it up on his backpack, and then begin showing it around until he raises Nora's ire. "At first, she'll think you're the biggest creep on Earth," Ez declares, "but once you've cracked the ice she'll begin to soften little by little, and then you two will be much more open and willing to go to the bedroom together." Jim at first is skeptical, but Ez eventually convinces him, saying, "That's how I found my Laura. And she's the greatest girl in bed there is." Jim goes off to accomplish his goal, by sneaking first into his own house (where he borrows her mom's camera) and then going to Nora's. When he gets there and realizes that she isn't home yet, he hides in her dresser and gets out the camera. Jim is beginning to get very excited about the idea of seeing his dream girl "in the nood". When she finally comes home, after a relieving trip to the little girl's room she walks into her dressing area and begins changing. Jim holds out the camera, but seeing her picking up the Teenage Kickass outfit and starting to put it on, he misfires and ends up getting a picture of himself gazing in shock at the horrible revelation.

File:Nelson bleeding.JPG
Nelson bleeds from his confrontation with Bart.

Later, Jim, Fred, and Pamela are sitting around talking about their ceepy teacher Senator Stitch, when Jim gets a call from the "Office" that he must stop The Dragon's latest evil scheme. Jim reluctantly goes off and dons his suave spy outfit, and uses his hovercraft to reach the scene of the crime. Before he is halfway there the Teenage Kickass jumps in and attempts to use her kung fu against Jim. Although he dodges her successfully, he refuses to fight back and as a result she taunts him and calls him a weakling. Eventually, she hijacks his hovercraft, and pushes a button which ejects him in a farm outside Pinnacle. Weary and humiliated, Jim slowly tries to make his way home with a heavy heart. At school Senator Stitch remarks on Jim's tardiness and his disheveled appearance. Fred asks him what happened but he dosen't want to talk about it. He says some things are better left unknown. Nora walks into class with a triumphant air and Senator Stitch immediately backs away in fear. All throughout his teaching, Stitch is constantly wary of Nora's presence and as a result stumbles around during the lesson. Jim begins to suspect that something fishy is going on, and after school he immediately dons his spy outfit and sneaks into Stitch's back office. There he sees the Teenage Kickass informing Stitch (who has been handcuffed behind his back) that for the first time in a while The Dragon has had a major victory, and that now he will have to either use his genius to serve the Dragon or return to his former status as a slave on an alien ship. Jim, infuriated by Nora's complete lack of concern for ethics, Jim leaps out and demands that Stitch be freed. The Teenage Kickass taunts him and calls him a "coward" and suggests that he start running, since that's what he does best. She also begins threatening violence on Senator Stitch. Jim, in the heat of anger, blurts out "Let him go, Nora!" When she hears her being called by name, she is overcome with fear and, in order to avoid further confrontation, seizes Senator Stitch and runs off in a hurry.

The story is continued in the next episode.

Production

Red Greensborough was the director of this episode, while most of the script was written by Shtoindas Hmoindas with some trimming by Zorgin Hmorgin. The episode is notable for containing the first scene of voyeurism in a cartoon series.

No new characters were introduced in this episode, however it did mark the first time that Senator Stitch had more than two lines of dialogue in the series. It was also the first episode in which Jim's mom Yvonne did not appear.

Reception

The episode was generally viewed very positively, and was ranked in one survey as the fourth greatest episode of the first season. Many fans applauded its pathos and character development. Additionally, some viewed it as daring since it openly portrayed male lust toward female nudity. Many believe that it was the popularity of No. 3, No. 4, and this episode that helped to permenantly establish Jim and the Teenage Kickass as part of the CRO-TV lineup.

References


External Links

Season 1 Episodes
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire Bart the Genius Homer's Odyssey There's No Disgrace Like Home Bart the General Moaning Lisa The Call of the Simpsons The Telltale Head Life on the Fast Lane Homer's Night Out The Crepes of Wrath Krusty Gets Busted Some Enchanted Evening