Bart Gets Hit by a Car
"Bart Gets Hit by a Car"
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Episode Information
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"Bart Gets Hit by a Car" is the tenth episode of the second season of The Simpsons.
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 lov if his life.
Plot
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.
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.
Cultural references
The Devil says "Please allow me to introduce myself", a reference to The Rolling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil". In addition, 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. The design of Hell in the episode references Hieronymus Bosch's triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, particularly the Hell panel.
pt:Bart é atropelado
