Bart Gets Hit by a Car
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"Bart Gets Hit by a Car"
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Episode Information
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- ""Hutz is the name, Mr. Simpson. Lionel Hutz, attorney at law. Here's my card. It turns into a sponge when you put it in water.""
- ―Lionel Hutz
Bart Gets Hit by a Car is the tenth episode of Season 2. The episode was first broadcast on January 10, 1991. It was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Mark Kirkland. The plot itself is based on The Fortune Cookie and the episode contains references to movies such as: To Kill a Mockingbird and The Verdict.
Bart is knocked off his skateboard by Mr. Burns in his car. After a brief trip to Heaven, and a slightly less brief visit to Hell, he falls to Earth. With the help of dodgy lawyer Lionel Hutz, Homer tries to sue Burns for a million dollars. And Marge and Lisa discover there are many ways that you can arrive at the truth.
Plot
Mr. Burns hits Bart with a car, prompting Bart to hallucinate that he is going to heaven. On his way up he spits off the escalator, and is sent to Hell, but the Devil tells him he is not there until the Yankees win the pennant (which turns out to be 1996). Regaining consciousness, Bart is fine, but with the help of shifty lawyer, Lionel Hutz and quack doctor Nick Riviera, Homer sues Mr. Burns. The jury is unsympathetic to Burns' condescending attitude, and he invites Homer and Marge over to discuss a settlement. While spying on them, Burns learns that Marge feels Homer is taking advantage of the situation, and he pays Homer nothing. Homer is distraught and wonders if he can still be with Marge, but when she comes to see him at Moe's he realises she'll always be the love of his life.
Production
The episode's plot was based on Billy Wilder's 1966 film , The Fortune Cookie in which Walter Matthau plays a dishonest lawyer who convinces Jack Lemmon's character to fake an injury for a large cash settlement. While working on the court room scenes, director Mark Kirkland watched To Kill a Mockingbird and The Verdict to get ideas for different angles he could use. Although the episode was written by John Swartzwelder, a lot of the ending was pitched by executive producer James L. Brooks. Brooks felt that the episode needed a more emotional ending, so some shots were reworked so that voice-overs could be added.
The episode includes the debuts of three recurring characters, Lionel Hutz, Dr. Nick and the Blue Haired Lawyer. Lionel Hutz was designed by Mark Kirkland, who gave him a evil design, but was asked to make him more "bland looking." He gave him a powder blue suit to make him stand out more. Phil Hartman, who voices Hutz, also guest stars for the first time. He would later become one of the most frequently appearing guest stars, with Hutz and Troy McClure (who was introduced later in the second season) being his most well-known characters.
Dr. Nick Riviera is voiced by Hank Azaria, who used a "bad Ricky Ricardo" impression. The animators modeled Dr. Nick after then-supervising director Gabor Csupo, because they mistakenly believed that Azaria was impersonating him. The Blue-Haired Lawyer, who does not have a proper name, was based on Roy Cohn, who became famous as Senator Josepth McCarthy's lawyer. His voice, provided by Dan Castellaneta, was also an impression of Cohn. The devil is also shown for the first time, and he was designed by Mark Kirkland, who originally tried to give him a scary design, but the writers asked him to use a more comedic look.
The show's then- script supervisor Doris Grau also appears in the show for the first time. She was used because of her unique voice, and appears as a minor character in this episode, but would later become known for voicing Lunchlady Doris.
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