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"Bart Gets Hit by a Car" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons' second season. The episode aired on January 10, 1991.

Synopsis

Mr. Burns's car hits Bart when he is skateboarding. Bart has an out-of-body experience, and begins to ascend into heaven on an escalator. Mischievously spitting over the side, the escalator turns into a slide, sending him to Hell. The Devil gleefully welcomes Bart, but then notes by his database that he isn't due to arrive just yet. Because of this, Bart is returned to the mortal plane. He floats back into his body, waking up in Dr. Hibbert's room. The injuries Bart has are a bump on the head and a broken toe, but there is nothing serious. In the room, an attorney named Lionel Hutz comes in and suggests that Homer sue Mr. Burns. Burns offers Homer $100, but he refuses, and he goes to see Lionel Hutz. Hutz promises Homer a cash settlement of $1,000,000. They see Dr. Nick Riviera, who says that Bart is a very sick boy. Marge, however, decries Dr. Nick for saying Bart is sick, arguing that he is not a real doctor.

Homer sues Mr. Burns, with Bart offering his (unbelievable) testimony that he was playing innocently, until the "Luxury Car of Death" hit him, and Burns saying in his testimony that he was driving to the orphanage to pass out toys until Bart darted in front of him. The jury does not believe Mr. Burns' testimony, who yells at his lawyers and orders them to bring Homer and Marge to his house. At his mansion, Burns offers Homer a $500,000 settlement. Homer and Marge discuss the matter, but Homer objects to the settlement, insisting that Burns knows he will lose the trial and will have to pay the family $1 million. Marge angrily voices her opinion of his tactics, from lying to phony doctors. During this time, Burns and Smithers have been spying on the two, and upon hearing this, reappear, cancel the offer, and release the hounds on the couple.

At the trial, Marge is called to the stand. In her testimony, she denounces Dr. Nick Riviera as being a phony doctor concerned more about wrapping Bart in bandages than in making him feel better, while proving Dr. Hibbert to be a real doctor. She is asked to describe Bart's intense mental anguish and suffering, and when she does, she isn't sure how intense it is, although she mentions that Bart did miss three days of school, and when asked to put a dollar amount on the hardships, she says that Bart would have made $5 if he were able to take out the garbage. With her honest testimony, Marge has effectively destroyed Hutz's case. And Burns has one more settlement to offer: $0. Although Bart receives good treatment and now feels better after the trial, a downbeat Homer worries that Marge cost him $1,000,000, and he tells Marge he is going to Moe's. Moe tries his best to cheer Homer up: "You're better off, Homer...Rich people really aren't that happy." Then Marge comes into Moe's and asks Homer to forgive her for her testimony, but he says that he is not sure he loves her anymore, until he looks her in the eyes to find out and feels happy, and they love each other.

Appearances

Characters

• Bart Simpson
• Waylon Smithers
• Mr. Burns
• Aunt Hortense
• Orville Simpson
• Snowball I
• Devil
• Marge Simpson
• Ned Flanders
• Rod Flanders
• Jacques
• Homer Simpson
• Lisa Simpson
• Maggie Simpson
• Lionel Hutz
• Julius Hibbert
• Lenny Leonard
• Carl Carlson
• Blue-Haired Lawyer
• Della
• Dr. Nick Riviera
• Judge Roy Snyder
• Herman
• Sam
• Larry
• Moe Szyslak
• Barney Gumble

Vehicles

• Burns Limo

Locations

• Heaven
• Hell
• Springfield General Hospital
• Springfield Mall
• I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm!
• Springfield Nuclear Power Plant
• 742 Evergreen Terrace
• Springfield Court
• Moe's Tavern
• Burns Manor

Trivia

• This is the second episode to show its title (the first being The Telltale Head) and first to show its number (episode 23).
• The Devil was off in his calculation of the next time the Yankees would have won the American League pennant: not "a century from now," but 1996.
• The Devil uses a Macintosh computer to check Bart's record.
• Sign in Dr. Nick Riviera's office: "Yes, we use anesthetic!" Also, one of his diplomas reads: "I went to medical school for four years and all I got was this lousy diploma."
• This episode shows Great Grandma Simpson, Aunt Hortense, and Snowball I in Heaven.
• Dr. Hibbert pokes Bart's bump and he shouts "Ow! Quit it." two times. This was the second time we hear Bart shout "Ow! Quit it." He first shouted it in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." Matt Groening claims this reference comes from what his real life siblings (Maggie and Lisa) used to do to him when he was a child.
• The program's version of Hell is an homage to Hieronymus Bosch's triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights; esp. the Hell panel.
• This is one of the most heavily edited episodes in syndication. The full opening sequence is replaced with the short opening from Season 5's Rosebud, and there are 17 cut scenes, none of which are over nine seconds long.
• Approximately half-way through the episode, when Bart is on the witness stand, the characters Akbar and Jeff from Matt Groening's comic, Life in Hell, can be seen in the courtroom audience.

Goofs

• When Marge was called to the stands, Mr. Burn's lawyer called her "Mrs. Homer J. Simpson".

Cultural references

• The song "Tijuana Taxi" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass is heard twice in the show's history: in this episode (as Mr. Burns is recalling the time leading up to the incident), and in "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister."
• The Devil says "Please allow me to introduce myself", a reference to The Rolling Stones song Sympathy for the Devil
• When Bart wakes up from his out-of-body experience, he says, "I did go away, Mom! I was miles and miles and miles away, writhing in agony in the pits of Hell! And you were there! And you and you and you," a reference to The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy awakens from her slumber.

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