Bart of Darkness
Plot
Bart of Darkness From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Bart of darkness)• Ten things you may not know about images on Wikipedia •Jump to: navigation, search The Simpsons episode "Bart of Darkness"
Bart witnesses Flanders apparently tell Rod and Todd he has killed Maude, and will soon kill them. Episode no. 104 Prod. code 1F22 Orig. airdate September 4, 1994 Show runner(s) David Mirkin Written by Dan McGrath Directed by Jim Reardon Chalkboard "Beans are neither fruit nor musical."[1] Couch gag The family sits in midair as the couch runs in, puts itself together on top of them, and they collapse under its weight.[2] DVD commentary Matt Groening David Mirkin Jim Reardon David S. Cohen Greg Daniels David Silverman Season 6 September 4, 1994 – May 21, 1995 Bart of Darkness Lisa's Rival Another Simpsons Clip Show Itchy & Scratchy Land Sideshow Bob Roberts Treehouse of Horror V Bart's Girlfriend Lisa on Ice Homer Badman Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy Fear of Flying Homer the Great And Maggie Makes Three Bart's Comet Homie the Clown Bart vs. Australia Homer vs. Patty & Selma A Star Is Burns Lisa's Wedding Two Dozen and One Greyhounds The PTA Disbands 'Round Springfield The Springfield Connection Lemon of Troy Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)
List of all The Simpsons episodes "Bart of Darkness" is the first episode of The Simpsons' sixth season, which originally aired September 4, 1994.[1] It was written by Dan McGrath, and directed by Jim Reardon. In the episode, Bart breaks his leg; his resultant isolation causes him to believe that Ned Flanders has committed murder. The episode was produced during the 1994 Northridge earthquake which held up production by a month, and is largely a parody of the film Rear Window.
Contents [hide] 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Cultural references 4 Reception 5 References 6 External links
[edit] Plot A heat wave in Springfield leads Bart and Lisa to pester Homer for a swimming pool, who, to avoid months of nagging, gives in. Word soon spreads that the Simpsons have a pool and every child in the town comes to use the new facility. After being dared, Bart tries an ambitious dive into the pool. However, after being distracted by Nelson, he falls and breaks his leg. This forces him to spend the rest of the summer in his bedroom wearing a cast. His isolation slowly makes him more and more irritable and paranoid. Lisa loans Bart her telescope to entertain him. Soon, Bart hears a scream next door, and witnesses Ned Flanders burying something in his backyard. He becomes convinced that Flanders has murdered his wife Maude, and vows to reveal the truth.
Meanwhile, Lisa basks in the glow of her new popularity. However, Martin Prince gets a larger pool, and everyone abandons Lisa. Bart convinces her to go and look for evidence of the murder. When Ned returns early, Lisa is trapped in the Flanders house, eventually being cornered in the attic; Bart painfully makes his way over there on his own, just in time to discover that Ned is actually putting away an axe, not threatening Lisa with it. Maude, it turns out, is alive and well, and had just gone to Bible camp for the weekend, learning to be more judgmental. The victim of Ned's "murder" was merely her favorite ficus plant.[3]
[edit] Production
Dan McGrath was chosen to pen the episode, while Jim Reardon directed.[1] The episode was originally produced as the season finale of the fifth season, but was held-over and aired as the premiere of the sixth.[4] This was because, along with "Lisa's Rival", the episode was in production at the time of the Northridge earthquake of 1994. The earthquake damaged much of the Film Roman building in which The Simpsons writing and animation staff worked, forcing them to move out for three months and continue production in a temporary building.[5] David X. Cohen came in the weekend after the earthquake to see what had happened, as was told that "it was no more dangerous than it was before the earthquake," as the building was "a ninety year old, decrepit shack."[6] The only staff members that came in expecting to work were future show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein.[4] As a result, the staff were given a month more than they would usually have had to work on the episode, which Reardon described as "greatly benefiting" it.[5] Having been a director on the series for five years before this episode, he believed that this "was closer to what [he] was trying to achieve as a director then [he] had done before."[5] He credited this to the extra time, and used it to insert little details, such as having Bart get stuck on the fabric of the chair he was in,[5] and wearing his underwear instead of a swimsuit.[7]
Many of the heat wave jokes at the start of the episode were based on past events of the crew's lives. The sitting in front of the fridge-freezer joke, came from McGrath, who had done a similar thing as a child.[8] The Springfield Pool-Mobile was based on a similar vehicle from David Mirkin's childhood, where a truck with a "spinning cars" fairground ride on the back would often come around his neighborhood.[4] Flanders' feminine scream was performed by Tress MacNeille and not his regular voice actor Harry Shearer.[7] Krusty's mispronunciation of Ravi Shankar's name was an ad-lib, than Mirkin kept in after the editing process because he liked it so much.[4]
[edit] Cultural references
James Stewart caricatured in the episode.The episode is largely a parody of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. As in the film, a wheelchair-bound Bart witnesses an apparent murder through his telescope, with musical cues from the film also being used.[1] James Stewart's character L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies appears twice, caricatured as he looks in the film.[2] Also, the pictures on the wall of Jeff's room are a racing car accident and a plane, the same as in Rear Window.[1] The barn building scene, including the on looking Amish man is a reference to Peter Weir's film Witness.[2] The Itchy & Scratchy episode's title is a reference to The Planet of the Apes, with the mutants being a reference to the Star Trek episode "The Menagerie", as well as Beneath the Planet of the Apes.[2] At the end of the episode Martin sings Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind".[2] Springfield's wax museum features models of The Beatles and the cast of M*A*S*H,[2] and Bart plays Stratego on his own.[8] The pool dance scene sees Lisa in a role like those of Esther Williams, whilst Bart's play has similar elements of the works of Anton Chekhov.[2] The title of this episode comes from Heart of Darkness, a novella by Joseph Conrad.
[edit] Reception
Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, called it a "fine episode" and found that the "eventual explanation for [Flanders'] murderous behaviour is hilarious."[2] Tim Knight called it "a terrific opener to the season."[9]
[edit] References
^ a b c d e Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, p. 148-149. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.
^ a b c d e f g h Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). Bart of Darkness. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
^ "Bart of Darkness". The Simpsons.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
^ a b c d Mirkin, David. (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart of Darkness" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
^ a b c d Reardon, Jim. (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart of Darkness" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
^ Cohen, David. (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart of Darkness" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
^ a b Groening, Matt. (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart of Darkness" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
^ a b Daniels, Greg. (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart of Darkness" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
^ Tim Knight. The Simpson: The Complete Sixth Season (1994)(4 DVD Set). Reel.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
[edit] External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: "Bart of Darkness" The Simpsons Portal "Bart of Darkness" at The Simpsons.com "Bart of Darkness" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive "Bart of Darkness" at TV.com "Bart of Darkness" at the Internet Movie Database Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_of_Darkness" Category: The Simpsons episodes, season 6
Template:Spoiler
On a hot summers day a pool mobile stops by the Simpsons’ house which makes Bart and Lisa develop a taste for it. Bart and Lisa agreed that getting a pool is the only wat to go. They make an offer to Homer he could not refuse. "Now, before you respond, you must understand that your refusal will result in months and months of - Can we have a pool, dad? Can we have a pool, dad? Can we have a pool, dad? Can we have a pool, dad? Can we have a pool, dad? Can we have a pool, dad?" and so on
The Simpsons agree to get their own pool which attracts many kids. While attempting to jump from the roof of the treehouse, Bart falls and breaks his leg. Bart has to miss the summer and stays in his room and starts acting strangely. Lisa becomes popular but gives Bart a telescope. While spying on the neighbourhood, Bart sees various signs that Ned Flanders has killed his wife Maude. Martin gets a bigger pool than Lisa and all the kids leave. Lisa now has time for Bart and breaks into Ned’s house to find evidence of Maude’s murder. Ned comes home with an axe and Bart tries to save Lisa. Maude is revealed to have been at bible camp and Ned actually killed Maude’s plant.
