New Kid on the Block
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- "If you had a bad teenage mustache, I'd go out with you in a second."
- ―Laura Powers to Bart
"New Kid on the Block"
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Episode Information
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"New Kid on the Block" is the eighth episode of broadcast season 4 of The Simpsons and the sixty-seventh episode overall. It originally aired on November 12, 1992. The episode was written by Conan O'Brien and directed by Wes Archer. It guest stars Sara Gilbert as Laura Powers and Pamela Reed as Ruth Powers.
Synopsis[edit]
- Bart falls for his new next-door neighbor, young teenager Laura Powers. However, Bart can't get Laura to take interest in him romantically and feels heartbroken when he finds out that Laura is dating school bully Jimbo Jones.
Plot[edit]
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While watching the TV show Hunks, Mrs. Winfield comes to the door to inform the Simpsons that she and her husband are moving out. She asks Homer to wear pants when walking in front of the window, take in the old jack-o-lanterns from past Halloweens, and cover his garbage to help them sell their house. Homer refuses to do any of this. Homer then takes some of the items the Winfields are throwing out, including old medication. Homer then sees an advert for The Frying Dutchman, which has an all-you-can-eat buffet, and decides that he and Marge will go there, even though Marge is allergic to seafood. Meanwhile, Gary Price, a realtor, is trying to sell the Winfields' house, but is unsuccessful due to Homer's behavior.
Bart and Lisa sneak into the basement of the Winfields' house to explore, and Bart makes up a story about their mutated son being kept in the basement. Bart successfully scares Lisa, only to get scared himself by someone else in the basement. This turns out to be Laura Powers, who has just moved into the house with her mother, Ruth. Bart thinks that Laura is beautiful, so he wants to say something to impress her, but only manages to say that he fell on his bottom. The next day, Marge and Bart go to welcome the Powers to the neighborhood. Ruth explains to Marge that she and Laura's father divorced two years ago. Meanwhile, Laura and Bart become friendly with each other, with Laura showing Bart that she knows the various prank techniques that Bart knows. She then gives Bart a palm reading, claiming that he will be rich in the future before spitting into his hand to symbolize the pool he will own. Bart vows to never wash his hand again.
Bart uses his now gross hand to tease Lisa while Homer tries to find a babysitter for the kids so he and Marge can go to The Frying Dutchman. Bart suggests Laura could babysit them, which she agrees to. In an attempt to impress Laura, Bart takes a bath before donning a jacket and pipe, a la Hugh Hefner. Laura and the kids order food from Two Guys from Kabul before Laura teaches them how to waltz. When it comes to Bart's turn, he imagines him and Laura dancing around a fancy location together before Laura gives him a wedgie. Meanwhile, at The Frying Dutchman, Homer begins clearing out the all-you-can-eat buffet of all the food the restaurant has.
Eventually, closing time for The Frying Dutchman comes around, and Homer is kicked out, despite not having eaten his fill yet. Back at home, he tells Marge that he plans to take the restaurant to court over the false advertising. The next day, Laura and Bart are hanging out playing Escape from Death Row at the Kwik-E-Mart. Apu points out that Bart likes Laura, which surprises Bart, as he thought he was hiding it. Homer goes to I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm! to get Lionel Hutz to take on his case against The Frying Dutchman. Meanwhile, Bart goes to the Retirement Castle to talk to Grampa about Laura. That night, Laura tells Bart to meet her in his treehouse. Bart goes there, thinking that Laura might confess her feelings to him, but she reveals that she has a new boyfriend. Bart becomes heartbroken, imagining Laura ripping his heart out before throwing it in the trash. She then reveals that her boyfriend is Jimbo Jones, who she is attracted to because he is a rebel. Jimbo pulls up on a bike, and the two of them go off together.
Homer's court case against The Frying Dutchman comes around, and Lionel Hutz makes the case that Homer did not have all he could eat, while the blue-haired lawyer makes the case that Homer was eating them out of business. While Homer and Marge are at court, Laura babysits for the Simpsons again. She tells the kids that she wants them in bed before Jimbo arrives. Meanwhile, the Sea Captain comes up with a solution that satisfies both parties and starts to use Homer's eating as an attraction to the restaurant.
When Jimbo arrives at the Simpson house, Bart places a prank call to Moe, telling him that his name is Jimbo and giving him their address. Moe grabs a knife and goes over to the Simpson house to confront Jimbo. However, when he does, Jimbo breaks down crying. Moe tells Jimbo that he is not going to kill him, only cut him a bit. Moe then feels bad for the bully and leaves without doing anything else. Laura breaks up with Jimbo because he is not the guy she thought he was. Laura tells Bart that if he were old enough to grow a bad teenage mustache, she would have dated him in a second. She then gives Bart a kiss on the cheek before the pair place another prank call to Moe.
Production[edit]
"New Kid on the Block" was the first episode written by Conan O'Brien, who was new to the show.[1] The episode came about because James L. Brooks wanted the Simpsons to get new neighbors, a single mother and her daughter. This was left to Conan O'Brien, as he was the new guy on the show.[2]
The episode marked the first appearance of the Sea Captain, who was created by O'Brien.[3] Originally, the episode's B-story involved comedian Don Rickles doing a comedy show that Homer attends. When Rickles insults Homer, Homer hits him, and a fight breaks out between the two, ending up in court. The producers were sure that Rickles would accept, but he rejected the role.[4] Matt Groening also said that he was introduced to Don Rickles at a Fox publicity event by Rupert Murdoch, and Rickles started yelling at Groening about the script, accusing the Simpsons staff of spying on his Las Vegas show and stealing his jokes.[5] The producers used old Don Rickles records as inspiration for the jokes, but did not steal any of his jokes directly. Conan O'Brien assumed that Rickles took being portrayed as a bad guy on the show the wrong way, hence the hostility.[4] Another B-story that was scrapped involved Homer taking a night course as a hairdresser, where he found that he was a natural. This was also scrapped.[1] This idea was later used as the plot of the season 22 episode "Homer Scissorhands".
Hank Azaria, who voices the Sea Captain, based the voice on actor Robert Newton.[1]
Gallery[edit]
In other languages[edit]
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References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Reiss, Mike (2004). Commentary for "New Kid on the Block", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season.
- ↑ Jean, Al (2004). Commentary for "New Kid on the Block", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season.
- ↑ Silverman, David (2004). Commentary for "New Kid on the Block", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 O'Brien, Conan (2004). Commentary for "New Kid on the Block", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season.
- ↑ Groening, Matt (2004). Commentary for "New Kid on the Block", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season.
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