Bart's Comet
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- "'Hurrah for science, woo?' I can't say I approve of the 'woo,' but the 'hurrah' was quite heartening."
- ―Principal Skinner
"Bart's Comet"
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Episode Information
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"Bart's Comet" is the fourteenth episode of Season 6. It aired on February 5, 1995. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Bob Anderson. The episode contains references to Where's Waldo? and The Twilight Zone.
Synopsis
Springfield's days are numbered when Bart discovers a comet is heading straight for them. Now they must decide who will brave the comet's arrival and who can stay in the Flanders' bomb shelter.
Plot
After vandalizing the school's new weather balloon, Bart, as usual, is considered the chief suspect. Bart's guilt is proven when he carelessly left plans lying around of how to embarrass Principal Skinner. As a result, Bart is punished by being made to awaken at the early hours and having to help Skinner while he goes sky watching. Skinner hopes to find something which he could have named after himself. However, he spots the balloon and leaves briefly to try and catch it, telling Bart not to touch the telescope. Bart messes with the telescope, but swirls it in the direction of a comet and reports it, much to Skinner's dismay.
His discovery makes the papers and he becomes famous among the nerds at school. However, Lisa is the first to realize that the comet is heading for Earth, and is going to decimate the town. Homer comforts his family by saying that the comet will just burn up in the atmosphere and become a rock the size of a Chihuahua's head.
Springfield officials plan to launch a rocket at the comet, leading to relief and arrogance among the townspeople . Instead of leaving town like they should, the townspeople stay to watch the rocket, but it misses and blows up the only bridge out of town, leaving them doomed.
They all decide to go to a bomb shelter, however the only one in town belongs to Ned Flanders, who is too nice to refuse them. The bomb shelter is too cramped and the door being unable to shut, so the inhabitants decide to evict Ned from his own shelter after discussing who would be unnecessary in the new world. To pass the time, they play a guessing game which instead makes them argue. Feeling guilty about sending Ned to die Homer leaves the shelter, the whole group of people abandon the shelter and join Ned Flanders outside, waiting for the comet to strike and joining him in song. The comet burns up in Springfield's toxic atmosphere and shrinks to the size of a Chihuahua's head, where it first pops Skinner's weather balloon and then it hits the shelter causing it to collapse. Bart puts the remains of his comet into his pocket.
The episode ends with the sick and tired townspeople burning down the observatory to prevent this type of incident from happening again, while Bart and Lisa being astonished, because what Homer said regarding the comet finally came true.
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