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Difference between revisions of "Bart the Genius/References"

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|episode= Bart the Genius
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{{EpisodePrevNextRef|Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire|Homer's Odyssey}}
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== Production ==
 
The concept for the episode developed from writer [[Jon Vitti]] coming up with a long list of bad things Bart could do and imagining the potential consequences. The only idea that developed into an interesting episode concept was Bart cheating on an IQ test.<ref name="Vitti">{{cite video | people=Vitti, Jon|year=2001|title=The Simpsons The Complete First Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Genius"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> This idea was based on an incident from Vitti's childhood when a number of his classmates did not take an intelligence test seriously and suffered poor academic treatment because of it. Because Bart was already obviously unintelligent, Vitti reversed the problem for his episode.<ref name="interview">Jankiewicz, Pat. "Jon Vitti." ''Comic Scene'' #17, February 1991.</ref> Vitti used all his memories of elementary school behavior to produce a draft script of 71 pages, substantially above the required length of about 45 pages. It was Vitti's first script for a 30-minute television program.<ref name="Vitti"/> Bart's use of the phrase "Eat my shorts" was intended to reflect his adoption of catchphrases he had heard on TV; the creative team had told Vitti that he should not come up with original taglines for the character.<ref name="Vitti"/> The scene where the family plays Scrabble was inspired by the 1985 cartoon ''[[The Big Snit]]''.<ref name="Groening">{{cite video | people=Groening, Matt|year=2001|title=The Simpsons The Complete First Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Genius"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
 
 
 
The episode was the first to feature the series' full title sequence, including the [[chalkboard gag]] and [[couch gag]]. [[Matt Groening]] developed the lengthy sequence in order to cut down on the animation necessary for each episode, but devised the two gags as compensation for the repeated material each week.<ref name="Groening"/> Groening, who had not paid much attention to television since his own childhood, was unaware that title sequences of such length were uncommon by that time.<ref name="Groening"/> As the finished episodes became longer, the production team were reluctant to cut the stories in order to allow for the long title sequence, so shorter versions of it were developed.<ref name="Silverman">{{cite video | people=Silverman, David|year=2001|title=The Simpsons The Complete First Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Genius"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
 
 
 
Director [[David Silverman]] had difficulty devising a legible Scrabble board for the opening scene that would get across the idea that the Simpsons had only been able to come up with very simple words.<ref name="Silverman"/> The design of Bart's visualization of the math problem was partially inspired by the art of [[Saul Steinberg]]. The increasing appearance of numbers in that sequence derived from Silverman's use of a similar tactic when he had to develop a [[set design]] for the play ''[[The Adding Machine]]''. Each successive scene in the sequence was shorter than the one before it by exactly one [[film frame|frame]].<ref name="Silverman"/> The scene where Bart writes his confession was done as one long take to balance the shorter scenes elsewhere in the episode. It was animated in the United States by [[Dan Haskett]].<ref name="Silverman"/> There were a few problems with the finished animation for the episode. The banana in the opening scene was colored incorrectly, as the [[Korea]]n animators were unfamiliar with the fruit,<ref name="Groening"/> and the final bathtub scene was particularly problematic, including issues with [[lip sync]]. The version in the broadcast episode was the best of several attempts.<ref name="Silverman"/> [[Martin Prince]] and [[Edna Krabappel]] make their first appearances in this episode.<ref name="bbc">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season1/page2.shtml|title=Bart the Genius|accessdate=2007-08-05|author=Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian |date=2000|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
== Reception and legacy ==
 
In a 1991 interview, Jon Vitti described "Bart the Genius" as his favorite among the episodes he had written to that point.<ref name="interview"/> [[James L. Brooks]] mentioned the episode among his favorites, saying that "we did things with animation when that happened that just opened doors for us."<ref>Braun, Kyle. [http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=17581&sectionId=2 The Simpsons Movie Interviews]. Ugo.com. Retrieved on August 5, 2007.</ref> The show received mail from viewers complaining that the throwing away of a comic book was an incident of [[censorship]].<ref name="Groening"/> In a DVD review of the first season David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 2.5/5, noting "it's easy to see with this episode why Bart became the figurehead for a few years of class clowns."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wdbgproductions.com/cinerama/reviews/simpsonsseason1.htm|title=The Complete First Season|accessdate=2007-05-07|date=2001-09-25|author=Grelck, David B.|publisher=WDBGProductions}}</ref> Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', strongly praised the episode calling it "superbly written and directed, often a literal child's-eye view of education, the first ''Simpsons'' episode proper is a classic." They went on to say, "these twenty minutes cemented Bart's position as a cultural icon and a hero to all underachievers, and managed a good few kicks at hothouse schools along the way. Especially worthy of note is the sequence where Bart visualises his maths problem, the viewing of which should be a required part of teacher training."<ref name="bbc"/>
 
 
 
The invented word "Kwyjibo" inspired the creator of the [[Melissa (computer worm)|Melissa worm]].
 
 
 
  
 
== Cultural references ==
 
== Cultural references ==
In the opening scene, [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] spells EMCSQU with her blocks, a reference to Albert Einstein's mass-energy equivalence equation. A picture of Einstein also appears on the wall of Dr. Pryor's office. At one point Homer erroneously refers to Einstein as the inventor of the [http:///index.php?title=Incandescent_light_bulb&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1 light bulb]. Dr. Pryor compares Bart's proposed work among ordinary children to Jane Goodall's study of chimpanzees.<!-- unsupported placeholder type --> Goodall was pleased to be mentioned in the episode, sending the program a letter,[[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] and Vitti a signed book.[[Maggie Simpson]] Jane Goodall was later featured as a major guest star in the episode "[[Simpson Safari]]". The composer of the opera the family attends is named Boris Csuposki, a reference to animator [[Gabor Csupo]].<!-- unsupported placeholder type --> The opera attended by the family is [http:///index.php?title=Carmen&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1 Carmen], by [http:///index.php?title=Georges_Bizet&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1 Georges Bizet]; the song Bart mocks is a famous aria called the Toreador Song.[[Simpson Safari]]
+
[[File:EMCSQU (Bart the Genius).png|thumb|[[Maggie]] spells out EMCSQU.]]
 
+
*The Simpsons play [[Scrabble]].
*"Scrabble" The Simpsons are playing it in the beginning.
+
*In the opening scene, Maggie spells EMCSQU with her blocks, a reference to [[Albert Einstein]]'s {{W|mass-energy equivalence}} equation. A picture of Einstein also appears on the wall of Dr. Pryor's office. At one point Homer mistakes "Einstein" for [[Thomas Edison|"Edison"]], referring to Einstein as the inventor of the {{W|Incandescent light bulb|light bulb}}.
*"Albert Einstein" Various references throughout the episode.
+
*While in Principal Skinner's officer, Dr. Pryor puts his {{W|calipers}} against Bart's head to conduct what is known as {{W|phrenology}}, a mental state analysis which had previously been discredited by the scientific community in the 1840s.
*"Carmen" The Simpsons go to see it.
+
*Dr. Pryor compares Bart's proposed work among ordinary children to {{Ch|Jane Goodall}}'s study of chimpanzees. Goodall was pleased to be mentioned in the episode, sending the program a letter, and [[Jon Vitti|Vitti]] a signed book.
*"Gabor Csupo" Look carefully on the poster and you will see the name Boris Csuposki a play on animator Gabor Csupo.
+
*The opera attended by the family is ''{{ap|Carmen|opera}}'', by {{W|Georges Bizet}}; the song Bart mocks is a famous aria called the "{{W|Toreador Song}}".
*"Plato" Appears on bookshelf.
+
*Books on the shelf in Bart's new advanced school classroom include ''Quantum Mechanics'', ''[[Plato]]'', ''[[Alexander Pushkin|Puskin]]'', ''Life of [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo]]'', ''Crime and Punishment'', ''Nana'' by [[Émile Zola]], ''[[Shakespeare]] I-XV'', ''Dante's Inferno'', ''Babylonian Myths'', ''Design of Computers'', ''[[Moby Dick]]'', ''Paradise Lost'', ''Iliad'' by {{ap|Homer|author}}, ''Oddesy'' by {{ap|Homer|author}}, ''Candide'', ''Astrophysics'' and ''[[Honoré de Balzac|Balzac]]''.
*"Moby Dick" Appears on bookshelf.
 
*"Leonard DaVinci" A book called ''The Life of Leonardo'' appears on the bookshelf.
 
  
 
== Trivia ==
 
== Trivia ==
===General===
+
*"[[Bart the Genius]]" is the first "proper" ''Simpsons'' episode and the second ''Simpsons'' episode of the show.
*There is a picture of Bart on the wall opposite one of Albert Einstein in Dr. Pryor's office.
+
*This is the first episode of the show to feature the [[Opening sequence|introduction sequence]].
*After Bart comes home green Homer washes him in Turpentine.
+
*This is also the first episode to have Bart's name somewhere in the title.
*Homer thinks it was Albert Einstein that invented the light bulb.
+
*There is a picture of [[Bart]] on the wall opposite one of [[Albert Einstein]] in Dr. Pryor's office.
*Maggie spells out EMCSQU (or E=MC²) on her building blocks.
+
*After Bart comes home green, [[Homer]] washes him in turpentine.
*Maggie falls once (As Lisa looks up id).
+
*[[Homer]] thinks it was Albert Einstein that invented the light bulb.
===Introductions===
+
*This is the first [[Bart]] is seen [[List of nudity|naked]] on ''The Simpsons'', excluding the [[shorts]].
*[[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]] has black hair in this episode.
+
*[[Maggie]] spells out EMCSQU (or E=MC²) on her building blocks.
*This is the first episode where Bart uses his soon to be famous catch phrase "Eat My Shorts".
+
*This is the first (and so far, only) couch gag to visually continue into the TV scene.
===Hard to See Stuff===
+
*[[Milhouse]] has black hair in this episode.
 +
*When the Simpsons are playing Scrabble and Homer is complaining that he has no good letters, his slate of letters shows "O-X-I-D-I-Z-E", which is the highest word score one can achieve in Scrabble by using seven letters.
 +
**This would only be useful if there was an S to play on (to form "oxidizes") or if it was the first move of the game. As such, the word may have been unplayable.
 
*[[Martin Prince]] is the train conductor when Bart is told to visualize his IQ problems.
 
*[[Martin Prince]] is the train conductor when Bart is told to visualize his IQ problems.
 
*[[Principal Skinner]] devotes an entire file drawer to Bart Simpson.
 
*[[Principal Skinner]] devotes an entire file drawer to Bart Simpson.
 
*Homer makes a cheque of $75, to pay for Bart's defacing of school property, to "Dept. of Education".
 
*Homer makes a cheque of $75, to pay for Bart's defacing of school property, to "Dept. of Education".
 
*Martin's IQ is 216.
 
*Martin's IQ is 216.
*Bart wears a pink shirt to his first day of class at the "Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children".
+
*Bart wears a pink shirt to his first day of class at the [[Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children]].
*Books on the shelf in Bart's new advanced school classroom include Crime & Punishment, Babylonian Myths, Paradise Lost, Moby-Dick, Plato, Dante's Inferno, The Illiad, Plato, Design of Computers (remember this is 1990), Astrophysics, Wana by Emile Zona, Puskin, Shakespeare I-XV, Quantum Mechanics, and the Life of Leonardo.  
+
*The Simpsons attend the opera ''{{W|Carmen}}''. advertised as "Tonight Only in Russian".
*The Simpsons attend the opera "[[wikipedia:Carmen|Carmen]]", advertised as "Tonight Only in Russian."
+
*On the opera poster, the conductor is identified as [[Boris Csupovski]], a play on the name of producer and supervising animation director [[Gabor Csupo]].
*On the opera poster, the conductor is identified as Boris Csuposki, a play on the name of producer and supervising animation director Gabor Csupo.
+
*After he is dubbed a genius, Bart's [[Principal Skinner]] graffiti is framed and labeled as a work of art entitled "The Principal" by Bart Simpson.
*After he is dubbed a genius, Bart's Principal Skinner graffiti is framed and labeled as a work of art entitled "The Principal" by Bart Simpson.
+
*Martin and his parents were at the opera. [[Mr. Prince]] is the man commenting on Homer and Bart's boorish behavior.
*Martin and his parents were at the opera.
+
*In the smart class, there is an overweight student with glasses, character sketches on the Season 1 DVD reveal this was a preliminary design for Martin Prince.
 +
 
 +
== Continuity ==
 +
*[[Ms. Melon]], teacher at The Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children is seen dancing with [[Jacques]] in the music video ''[[Do the Bartman]]''.
 +
*Homer comments to Bart that for generations Simpson men have dreamed of outsmarting someone. Homer does just that, by outsmarting [[Cooder]] in "[[Bart Carny]]".
 +
*[[Bart]] spray paints defamatory graffiti of [[Principal Skinner]] on a school wall in the comic ''[[The Kiss of Blecch!]]'', this time spelling "wiener" correctly.
 +
*This is the first episode where Bart uses his soon to be famous catch phrase "[[Eat My Shorts]]".
 +
*A ''{{ap|Radioactive Man|comic}}'' comic book is seen, though the {{Ch|Radioactive Man|title character's}} appearance is vastly different from his appearance is later episodes.
 +
*Bart's lab accident apparently closed The Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children since some of the students were later seen at Springfield Elementary. ''[[Do the Bartman]]'' and "[[Bart Gets an "F"]]".
 +
 
 +
== Goofs ==
 +
*There are no answers on Martin's paper.
 +
*When Homer enters Skinner's office, he starts talking. There is a brief shot of Homer's mouth, which is closed when Homer starts talking.
 +
*There is a blackboard behind Dr. Pryor, although when the camera does a close-up on him there is just a purple wall behind him.
 +
*When Homer tells Bart about ties, his hair is missing.
 +
*In one shot at the breakfast table, Homer is missing his hair.
 +
*When Bart makes his science experiment explode, he is at the right (our view) side of the room. After a shot of the outside of the school, there is a shot of the classroom, where Bart is holding his test tube, surrounded by kids, at the LEFT side of the room. However, the impact of the explosion could have moved everyone from the right side of the room to the left side of the room.
 +
*In the breakfast scene about 10 minutes into the episode, Homer lifts up the box of [[Frosty Krusty Flakes]] and looks on the back. The back is blank. When he puts the box back on the table a few frames later, there are three boxes on the back, one saying "Take Offer". Also, when Homer holds the box lopsided, Krusty's hair on the left (our view) side of the box goes up, with the outline looking like someone has drawn a squiggle going up to the top of the box.
 +
*When Bart and Ms. Melon walk towards the bookcase, some of the kids appear in two places at once.
 +
*In one shot of Bart's class, [[Calvin]] is visible despite the fact that he should be at the Enrichment school.
 +
*When Ian, Calvin and [[Ethan Foley]] talk about Bart in the lunchroom, Ian's voice changes instantly.
 +
*The absence note that Skinner pulls out of his filing cabinet is initially written in neat, clear handwriting, but then suddenly changes to a childish scrawl to match the check that Homer wrote out.
 +
 
 +
{{Season 1|R}}
  
{{Season1 ref}}
+
[[Category:Cultural references]]
[[Category:References]]
+
[[Category:Trivia]]
 +
[[Category:Continuity]]
 +
[[Category:Goofs]]

Latest revision as of 05:54, June 30, 2024

References/Trivia


Season 1 Episode References
001 "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
002
"Bart the Genius"
"Homer's Odyssey" 003


Cultural references[edit]

Maggie spells out EMCSQU.
  • The Simpsons play Scrabble.
  • In the opening scene, Maggie spells EMCSQU with her blocks, a reference to Albert Einstein's mass-energy equivalence equation. A picture of Einstein also appears on the wall of Dr. Pryor's office. At one point Homer mistakes "Einstein" for "Edison", referring to Einstein as the inventor of the light bulb.
  • While in Principal Skinner's officer, Dr. Pryor puts his calipers against Bart's head to conduct what is known as phrenology, a mental state analysis which had previously been discredited by the scientific community in the 1840s.
  • Dr. Pryor compares Bart's proposed work among ordinary children to Jane Goodall's study of chimpanzees. Goodall was pleased to be mentioned in the episode, sending the program a letter, and Vitti a signed book.
  • The opera attended by the family is Carmen, by Georges Bizet; the song Bart mocks is a famous aria called the "Toreador Song".
  • Books on the shelf in Bart's new advanced school classroom include Quantum Mechanics, Plato, Puskin, Life of Leonardo, Crime and Punishment, Nana by Émile Zola, Shakespeare I-XV, Dante's Inferno, Babylonian Myths, Design of Computers, Moby Dick, Paradise Lost, Iliad by Homer, Oddesy by Homer, Candide, Astrophysics and Balzac.

Trivia[edit]

  • "Bart the Genius" is the first "proper" Simpsons episode and the second Simpsons episode of the show.
  • This is the first episode of the show to feature the introduction sequence.
  • This is also the first episode to have Bart's name somewhere in the title.
  • There is a picture of Bart on the wall opposite one of Albert Einstein in Dr. Pryor's office.
  • After Bart comes home green, Homer washes him in turpentine.
  • Homer thinks it was Albert Einstein that invented the light bulb.
  • This is the first Bart is seen naked on The Simpsons, excluding the shorts.
  • Maggie spells out EMCSQU (or E=MC²) on her building blocks.
  • This is the first (and so far, only) couch gag to visually continue into the TV scene.
  • Milhouse has black hair in this episode.
  • When the Simpsons are playing Scrabble and Homer is complaining that he has no good letters, his slate of letters shows "O-X-I-D-I-Z-E", which is the highest word score one can achieve in Scrabble by using seven letters.
    • This would only be useful if there was an S to play on (to form "oxidizes") or if it was the first move of the game. As such, the word may have been unplayable.
  • Martin Prince is the train conductor when Bart is told to visualize his IQ problems.
  • Principal Skinner devotes an entire file drawer to Bart Simpson.
  • Homer makes a cheque of $75, to pay for Bart's defacing of school property, to "Dept. of Education".
  • Martin's IQ is 216.
  • Bart wears a pink shirt to his first day of class at the Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children.
  • The Simpsons attend the opera Carmen. advertised as "Tonight Only in Russian".
  • On the opera poster, the conductor is identified as Boris Csupovski, a play on the name of producer and supervising animation director Gabor Csupo.
  • After he is dubbed a genius, Bart's Principal Skinner graffiti is framed and labeled as a work of art entitled "The Principal" by Bart Simpson.
  • Martin and his parents were at the opera. Mr. Prince is the man commenting on Homer and Bart's boorish behavior.
  • In the smart class, there is an overweight student with glasses, character sketches on the Season 1 DVD reveal this was a preliminary design for Martin Prince.

Continuity[edit]

  • Ms. Melon, teacher at The Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children is seen dancing with Jacques in the music video Do the Bartman.
  • Homer comments to Bart that for generations Simpson men have dreamed of outsmarting someone. Homer does just that, by outsmarting Cooder in "Bart Carny".
  • Bart spray paints defamatory graffiti of Principal Skinner on a school wall in the comic The Kiss of Blecch!, this time spelling "wiener" correctly.
  • This is the first episode where Bart uses his soon to be famous catch phrase "Eat My Shorts".
  • A Radioactive Man comic book is seen, though the title character's appearance is vastly different from his appearance is later episodes.
  • Bart's lab accident apparently closed The Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children since some of the students were later seen at Springfield Elementary. Do the Bartman and "Bart Gets an "F"".

Goofs[edit]

  • There are no answers on Martin's paper.
  • When Homer enters Skinner's office, he starts talking. There is a brief shot of Homer's mouth, which is closed when Homer starts talking.
  • There is a blackboard behind Dr. Pryor, although when the camera does a close-up on him there is just a purple wall behind him.
  • When Homer tells Bart about ties, his hair is missing.
  • In one shot at the breakfast table, Homer is missing his hair.
  • When Bart makes his science experiment explode, he is at the right (our view) side of the room. After a shot of the outside of the school, there is a shot of the classroom, where Bart is holding his test tube, surrounded by kids, at the LEFT side of the room. However, the impact of the explosion could have moved everyone from the right side of the room to the left side of the room.
  • In the breakfast scene about 10 minutes into the episode, Homer lifts up the box of Frosty Krusty Flakes and looks on the back. The back is blank. When he puts the box back on the table a few frames later, there are three boxes on the back, one saying "Take Offer". Also, when Homer holds the box lopsided, Krusty's hair on the left (our view) side of the box goes up, with the outline looking like someone has drawn a squiggle going up to the top of the box.
  • When Bart and Ms. Melon walk towards the bookcase, some of the kids appear in two places at once.
  • In one shot of Bart's class, Calvin is visible despite the fact that he should be at the Enrichment school.
  • When Ian, Calvin and Ethan Foley talk about Bart in the lunchroom, Ian's voice changes instantly.
  • The absence note that Skinner pulls out of his filing cabinet is initially written in neat, clear handwriting, but then suddenly changes to a childish scrawl to match the check that Homer wrote out.
Season 1 References
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