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| {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}{{For|the titular character|Bart Simpson}}{{Good article}} | |||
| {{Infobox Simpsons episode | {{Infobox Simpsons episode | ||
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| | episode_name = {{PAGENAME}} | |||
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| | image = ] | |||
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| season = 10 | ||
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| episode = 3 | ||
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| director = ] | ||
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| writer = ] | ||
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| production = 5F22 | ||
| | airdate = {{Start date|1998|09|27}} | |||
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| | guests = * ] as ] | |||
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| | couch_gag = Two firemen hold the couch as if it were a safety net. ], ], ], and ] land safely on the couch. ], however, is not so lucky — he falls through the floor. | |||
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| | commentary = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>David X. Cohen<br>] | |||
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| Two firemen hold the couch adjust it to catch ], ], ], and ], but ] falls through the floor. | |||
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| ''' |
"'''Bart the Mother'''" is the third episode of the ] of the American animated television series '']''. It originally aired on ] in the ] on September 27, 1998. In the episode, ] accidentally kills a mother bird with a ], and decides to hatch and take care of the two eggs he found in the bird's nest. | ||
| ==Synopsis== | |||
| {{spoiler}} | |||
| When ] takes the family to the Family Fun Center, she notices that ] is acting like an incredible nut, especially when he knocks ] off the track and wins a ]. ] and ] attempt to be friends, but Marge insists that she does not want him to be with Nelson. Bart uses Nelson's BB gun anyway, and when he does, he kills a ], and leaves two eggs behind after the bird dies. Marge is mad that Bart killed an animal, but instead of punishing him, she refuses to have anything to do with his destructive ways. Bart secretly keeps the eggs warm; eventually, they hatch as ]s, which he names "Chirpy Boy" and "Bart Jr." | |||
| "Bart the Mother" was written by ] and directed by ]; it was the last full-length episode Cohen wrote for ''The Simpsons'' before leaving to work on '']''. The original idea for the episode was intended to be a ], but because it was too difficult to work into other episodes, it eventually became a primary plot. The episode features the final speaking appearance of character ] and was dedicated to the character's voice actor, ], who was murdered by his wife on May 28, 1998, four months before the episode aired.<ref name="finalep">{{cite news|title=Tributes To A Star And His Voices|date=September 23, 1998|work=]|first=Virginia|last=Rohan|page=Y8}}</ref> | |||
| Bart and Marge take the lizards to the ] Birdwatching Society, and when they are there, ], a member of the Society, explains they are ]n tree ]s. A Bolivian tree lizard is a type of lizard that steals a bird's eggs and leaves their own eggs to be watched after by the mother bird. Skinner wants the lizards killed by law, because they have killed many bird species. Bart escapes and runs away with the lizards, which later decimate the entire ] population of Springfield. Much to Marge's surprise, the rest of the town considered the pigeons to be a nuisance, so they are in fact delighted. | |||
| In its original American broadcast, "Bart the Mother" finished 58th in ratings for the week of September 21–27, 1998, with a ] of 7.4, translating to 7,355,600 households. | |||
| ==Trivia== | |||
| *This is the last episode in which ] appears, as ]. Hartman was murdered earlier in ], and so the producers dedicated this episode to him. | |||
| The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Bart's moral dilemma and soul searching moments. ], the voice actress of Bart, described the episode as one of her favorites. | |||
| *The "Bolivian tree lizard" is a fictional species. However, its behavior mirrors the habits of the ] (though the cuckoo does not eat its host). | |||
| In this episode Marge does not like Nelson but in a recent episode ] | |||
| she takes a liking to Nelson | |||
| ==Plot== | |||
| ==Cultural references== | |||
| When ] takes the family to the Family Fun Center, she notices ] intentionally knocking ] off a racetrack and winning a ] from stolen prize tickets. ] and Nelson attempt to be friends but Marge forbids Bart to be with Nelson. Bart goes to his house anyway to use his BB gun. When Nelson pressures Bart to shoot a bird in a nest, Bart accidentally kills it. Marge learns where he went, goes to Nelson's house and is furious after seeing what he did but instead of punishing him, she refuses to have anything to do with his destructive ways and leaves. Bart discovers two eggs in the bird's nest and not wanting the babies to die too, decides to hatch them, secretly keeping the eggs warm in his treehouse. Marge gets suspicious after noticing him spending more time in his treehouse but forgives him after finding out what he has been doing. With Marge's help, the eggs eventually hatch but the ] is shocked when a pair of lizards emerge from them, whom Bart had already named Chirpy Boy and Bart Jr.<ref name=episode>{{cite episode |title=Bart the Mother |series=The Simpsons |airdate=September 27, 1998}}</ref> | |||
| *Homer: (to Marge) "Who am I? ]?" When Marge is puzzling about what Bart might be doing in his tree-house she asks Homer what he thinks, and in a very short quip he mentions Kreskin. George Kresge, better known as "The Amazing Kreskin," (b. January 12, 1935 in Montclair, New Jersey) is a mentalist, popular on North American television in the 1970s and still busy as a live performer. He appears annually on New Years Day on CNN to give his predictions for the upcoming year. Perhaps his best known trick is finding the check for his performance fee, which he instructs his hosts to hide before each show. He has only failed to find the check nine times. | |||
| *Nelson (to Bart): "You're an octowussy!" This is a pun on the title of the 1983 James Bond movie '']''. | |||
| *The episode's title and basic plot – Bart killing a mother bird with his BB gun – are taken from the classic Andy Griffith Show episode "Opie the Birdman" (wherein Opie adopts three baby birds after he kills their mother with a slingshot). | |||
| *Inside the arcade of the Family Fun Center, there is a game called "Pack-Rat Returns"; a reference to the arcade game "Peter Packrat". | |||
| *When Nelson goes inside to cook lunch on a frying pan after Bart kills the bird, he is seen humming the theme song to the show itself. | |||
| Bart and Marge take the lizards to the ] Birdwatching Society, where ] explains they are ]n tree lizards, a breed that ] to be watched after by the mother bird, which is then eaten by the offspring once they hatch. As Skinner wonders how their mother ended up in Springfield, a nervous ] secretly remembers that a pair of the lizards had come with his shipment of Bolivian donuts and escaped his store while he was putting them on the shelf. Skinner says the lizards must be killed by law because they have killed many bird species. Bart escapes and runs away with the lizards, but Skinner catches up to him and they struggle on top of the society building. The lizards fall off the side but to everyone's disbelief (except Skinner's), glide to the ground. The lizards grow in population and start to eradicate pigeons in Springfield. Since the town considered the pigeons a nuisance, they are delighted and Bart is thanked and honored by ] with a ] scented candle. ] worries the town will become infested by lizards but Skinner assures her they will send in Chinese needle snakes to eat them, followed by snake-eating gorillas, which will "simply freeze to death" when wintertime rolls around. Lisa questions why Bart was upset when he killed just one bird, but was at ease with indirectly killing thousands, but their train of thought is disrupted when they fight over who gets to ride in the front seat on the ride home.<ref name=episode /> | |||
| ==Goofs== | |||
| * When Bart takes out the light bulb, Homer is seen falling down the stairs to the basement. The basement door is located next to the stairs to the second floor of the house. However, in ], we see that Homer tries to stick a skeleton in a closet at the same location. | |||
| * When the tree lizards hatch, all the family runs to the nearby table, however, Homer left the refrigerator open, when the camera zooms to him, he is standing infront of the fridge, but the door has been closed. | |||
| ==Quotes== | |||
| *''']:''' Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from such nature films as ''], Ew!'' and ''Man Vs. Nature: The Road to Victory''. | |||
| *''']:''' ''(on the lizards)'' One, they don't have beaks. Two, they don't have feathers. And three, they're lizards!<br/>'''Bart:''' You're a lizard! | |||
| *'''Bart:''' Check it out, guys. I've been working on this regurgitation thing. ''(gagging)'' Ooooh yeah, hope you like Pop-Tarts. | |||
| *'''Lisa:''' You knew they could fly?<br/>'''Principal Skinner:''' Yes, I just hoped they didn't. | |||
| *'''Homer:''' Aw, I hate folding sheets. <br/> '''Marge:''' That's your underwear. <br/> '''Homer:''' Whatever this is, it's a two man job. Where's Bart? <br/> '''Marge:''' Bart! <br/> '''Homer:''' I'll get him, Marge. '''''BAAAAAAAAAAART!''''' <br/> '''Lisa:''' What the heck's going on? <br/> '''Marge:''' We need Bart to help fold your father's ]. Where is he? <br/> '''Lisa:''' Uh, he went to play with a friend. <br/> '''Marge:''' He didn't go to Nelson's did he? <br/> '''Lisa:''' No, I'm sure he's at Milhouse's. <br/> '''Homer (leaning out the window):''' '''''MILHOUSE!''''' <br/> '''Milhouse (in the distance):''' ''What?'' <br/> '''Homer:''' '''''TELL BART TO COME HOME!''''' <br/> '''Milhouse:''' ''I think he's at Nelson's!'' <br/> '''Homer:''' '''''WHO'S NELSON?''''' <br/> '''Marge:''' Nelson! I explicitly forbade Bart from playing with that little monster. Oh, Bart is in deep, deep trouble! Oh, and punish Lisa for lying to us. <br/> '''Homer:''' All right, young lady! I want you to march yourself down to the ] and buy me some ]s and a ]. ''(gives some money to Lisa, then gives her an extra dollar)'' And get a little something for yourself, sweetheart. | |||
| *''(in Bart's fantasy, he is in a ] with an ], ], and a ])''<br/>'''Eagle:''' Bart Simpson, do you know why you have been summoned before this ]? <br/>'''Bart:''' Yes sir, because I killed an innocent bird. <br/> ''(the judges gasp)'' <br/> '''Vulture:''' Dear lord! We just wanted you to put fresh newspaper on the tribunal floor! <br/> '''Eagle:''' We're knee-deep in our droppings. It's disgusting.<br/>'''Toucan:''' But since you've confessed to bird slaughter, we have no choice but to peck your face off! <br/> '''Bart:''' No! Not the face! | |||
| *'''Skinner:''' Okay that is exactly one moment... | |||
| *'''Homer (waiting for the eggs to hatch):''' This is the most exciting thing I've seen since ] collided with the ]! <br/> '''Lisa:''' That never happened, Dad. <br/> '''Homer:''' ''(sarcastically)'' Sure it didn't. | |||
| *'''Homer:''' Why is this taking so long? Bart was born in about five minutes. <br/> '''Marge:''' Actually, it took fifty-three hours. <br/> '''Homer:''' Wow, the time just flew by, didn't it? | |||
| *'''Skinner:''' Now, there has been some confusion over our bird watching rules. You cannot count birds you have seen at the ], on ], or in ]s. <br/> ''']:''' Well, I'm back to square one. | |||
| *'''Troy McClure:''' ...and sometimes the mother will ] food for its offspring. <br> '''Billy:''' Eugh, that's gross Mr. McClure. <br> '''Troy McClure:''' Hahaha! It sure is Billy, it suuuuuuuure is! | |||
| *'''Principal Skinner:''' ''(referring to the Bolivian tree lizard)'' It's already wiped out the dodo, the cuckoo, and the ne-ne, and it has nasty plans for the booby, the titmouse, the woodcock, and the titpecker. <br> '''Marge:''' How vile! | |||
| == |
==Production== | ||
| ] wrote for ''The Simpsons'' before he left to work on '']''.|alt=A closeup of a man in front of a microphone. He has a receding hairline and wears dark-framed glasses.]] | |||
| *{{snpp capsule|5F22}} | |||
| "Bart the Mother" was the last full-length episode ] wrote for ''The Simpsons''. Shortly after the episode aired, Cohen teamed up with ''The Simpsons''{{'}} creator ] to develop '']'', where he served as ] and ] for the series' entire run. Cohen's idea for the episode started out as a ] for ]. In the original concept, pigeons nest outside Homer's window at the ]. ] exterminates the pigeons and Homer climbs out onto the ledge of the window, in the middle of a blizzard, to nest the eggs. Cohen said the idea " fit in anywhere", so he decided to pitch it as an A story instead, with Bart nesting the eggs instead of Homer. ''The Simpsons'' writer ] thought the idea of Bart shooting the bird and simply nesting the eggs was too straightforward, and he did not think it had "enough of a twist" to be a good episode. Cohen and Meyer eventually decided the eggs should be lizard eggs. Cohen thought the twist was what ultimately made the episode both "touching" and "interesting".<ref name=Cohen>{{cite video | people=Cohen, David S. |date=2007|title=The Simpsons The Complete Tenth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Mother"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> | |||
| *{{imdb episode|id=0781977|episode=Bart the Mother}} | |||
| Producer ] came up with the idea of someone shooting a bird and feeling guilty about it. Hauge told the staff a few weeks before Cohen started writing the episode that when he was 13 or 14 years old, he accidentally killed a bird after he got a Wrist Rocket slingshot, and took a shot at a bird that he thought was "far, far away".<ref name=Hauge>{{cite video | people=Hauge, Ron |date=2007|title=The Simpsons The Complete Tenth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Mother"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Hauge said his friends were excited about it, but he was "dying inside".<ref name=Hauge/> For the scene in which the bird is killed, Cohen received further inspiration from an episode of '']'' entitled "Opie the Birdman". The writers were trying to figure out a way to have Bart kill the bird without actually wanting to kill it, and decided to give the gun a crooked sight that Bart would be unaware of, so when Bart intentionally takes a shot at the right of the bird to avoid it, the bullet still hits the bird. After Bart kills the mother bird, he imagines himself before a bird court with a ], an ], and a ] as judges. This sequence was added to "liven up the visuals", because the writers thought the episode tended too heavily towards extreme realism and because most of the scenes in the episode were taking place in and around the ].<ref name=Cohen/> Then-] ] had done the same thing with an episode he wrote for ] called "]". In that episode, Bart gets caught shoplifting, and writer ] suggested the addition of a fantasy sequence to get away from the realism in the episode.<ref name=Scully>{{cite video | people=Scully, Mike|date=2007|title=The Simpsons The Complete Tenth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Mother"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> | |||
| ] | |||
| ]'', seen here, served as inspiration for the Bolivian tree lizard in the episode.|alt=A diagram of a gliding lizard]] | |||
| ] | |||
| The Family Fun Center the Simpsons visit is based on a real ] in ] that Cohen went to as a child to play video games. The Bolivian tree lizard is a fake species, but Cohen based it on real animals, including the ] species ], which was originally thought to eat eggs. The species is also based on the ] and the ], which lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and '']'', a genus of gliding lizards. Cohen also received inspiration from the ] that started ].<ref name=Cohen/> | |||
| "Bart the Mother" marked the last guest appearance of ] on ''The Simpsons'' as ]. On May 28, 1998, four months before the episode aired, he was shot and killed by his wife Brynn.<ref name="finalep"/> "Bart the Mother" was dedicated in his memory in response to this.<ref name="finalep"/> Rather than replace Hartman with a new voice actor, the production staff retired McClure from the show, along with Hartman's other recurring character, ].<ref name=inter>{{cite interview|last=Groening|first=Matt|subject-link = Matt Groening| interviewer = ]| title = Fresh Air| work = ]| publisher = ]| url = https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4249835| location = Philadelphia| date = 2004-12-29| access-date = 2007-06-09| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070610050752/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4249835| archive-date= 10 June 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> | |||
| ==Reception== | |||
| In its original American broadcast, "Bart the Mother" finished 58th in the ratings for the week of September 21–27, 1998, with a ] of 7.4, translating to 7,355,600 households.<ref>{{cite news |title=Weekly Nielsen Ratings |work=The Stuart News |date=1998-10-11}}</ref> | |||
| ], the voice of ], called it one of her favorite ''The Simpsons'' episodes, along with "]" and "]".<ref>{{cite web |access-date=2009-02-03 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3940355.stm |title=Voice of Bart Simpson steps into limelight |publisher=BBC |date=2004-07-30 |author=Oakes, Keily |archive-date=September 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911040530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3940355.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| The '']''{{'}}s Bruce Kirkland wrote that "Bart the Mother" was one of the "classic episodes" of the series' tenth season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Funny 1998–99 season of The Simpsons out in a box set loaded with extras|work=The Toronto Sun|author=Kirkland, Bruce|date=2007-08-10|page=E11}}</ref> | |||
| The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood wrote, "We particularly like the moral dilemma at the end, as underlined by Lisa, regarding the eventual culling of the lizards that will need to take place. A good romp, this one, with some nice laughs at Homer's expense."<ref name=bbc>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season10/page2.shtml|title=Bart, The Mother|access-date=2008-12-03|author1=Martyn, Warren|author2=Wood, Adrian|publisher=BBC|archive-date=December 31, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041231083052/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season10/page2.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said, "The show generates decent heart as it shows Bart's attempts to make up for his misbehavior. The show becomes reasonably enjoyable if not especially memorable."<ref name=dvdmg>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonten.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season (1998) |access-date=2008-12-03|author=Jacobson, Colin|publisher=DVD Movie Guide| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090101085324/http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonten.shtml| archive-date= 1 January 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> | |||
| Jesse Hassenger of ] named the tenth season of ''The Simpsons'' the series' "first significant dip in quality, a step away from its golden era with broader gags and more outlandish plots". However, Hassenger enjoyed "Bart the Mother", and wrote, " explores the show's sweet and dark sides simultaneously as Bart, remorseful after killing a bird, tries to care for orphaned eggs that turn out to hold ravenous lizards."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/the-simpsons-the-complete-tenth-season-2496218646.html |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season |publisher=PopMatters |date=2007-08-07|access-date=2022-01-23|author=Hassenger, Jesse | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090206063426/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/the-simpsons-the-complete-tenth-season| archive-date=2009-02-06 | url-status= live}}</ref> | |||
| DVD Town's James Plath described "Bart the Mother" as an episode that viewers would either love or hate, because of Bart's rare moments of soul searching, and he found the episode to be a memorable one.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=2009-02-03 |url=http://www.dvdtown.com/reviews/simpsons-the-the-complete-10th-season/5056 |title=Simpsons, The: The Complete 10th Season |publisher=DVD Town |date=2007-08-17 |author=Plath, James |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206232903/http://www.dvdtown.com/reviews/simpsons-the-the-complete-10th-season/5056 |archive-date=6 February 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_10#Bart_the_Mother|"Bart the Mother"}} | |||
| {{Portal|The Simpsons}} | |||
| *{{Snpp capsule|5F22}} | |||
| *{{IMDb episode|id=0781977}} | |||
| {{The Simpsons episodes|10}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Bart The Mother}} | |||
| ] | |||
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Latest revision as of 00:20, 25 December 2024
For the titular character, see Bart Simpson. 3rd episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons| "Bart the Mother" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 10 Episode 3 | ||
| Directed by | Steven Dean Moore | ||
| Written by | David X. Cohen | ||
| Production code | 5F22 | ||
| Original air date | September 27, 1998 (1998-09-27) | ||
| Guest appearance | |||
| Episode features | |||
| Couch gag | Two firemen hold the couch as if it were a safety net. Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie land safely on the couch. Homer, however, is not so lucky — he falls through the floor. | ||
| Commentary | Matt Groening Mike Scully George Meyer Ron Hauge David X. Cohen Steven Dean Moore | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| The Simpsons season 10 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Bart the Mother" is the third episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 1998. In the episode, Bart accidentally kills a mother bird with a BB gun, and decides to hatch and take care of the two eggs he found in the bird's nest.
"Bart the Mother" was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Steven Dean Moore; it was the last full-length episode Cohen wrote for The Simpsons before leaving to work on Futurama. The original idea for the episode was intended to be a B story, but because it was too difficult to work into other episodes, it eventually became a primary plot. The episode features the final speaking appearance of character Troy McClure and was dedicated to the character's voice actor, Phil Hartman, who was murdered by his wife on May 28, 1998, four months before the episode aired.
In its original American broadcast, "Bart the Mother" finished 58th in ratings for the week of September 21–27, 1998, with a Nielsen rating of 7.4, translating to 7,355,600 households.
The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Bart's moral dilemma and soul searching moments. Nancy Cartwright, the voice actress of Bart, described the episode as one of her favorites.
Plot
When Marge takes the family to the Family Fun Center, she notices Nelson intentionally knocking Milhouse off a racetrack and winning a BB gun from stolen prize tickets. Bart and Nelson attempt to be friends but Marge forbids Bart to be with Nelson. Bart goes to his house anyway to use his BB gun. When Nelson pressures Bart to shoot a bird in a nest, Bart accidentally kills it. Marge learns where he went, goes to Nelson's house and is furious after seeing what he did but instead of punishing him, she refuses to have anything to do with his destructive ways and leaves. Bart discovers two eggs in the bird's nest and not wanting the babies to die too, decides to hatch them, secretly keeping the eggs warm in his treehouse. Marge gets suspicious after noticing him spending more time in his treehouse but forgives him after finding out what he has been doing. With Marge's help, the eggs eventually hatch but the Simpson family is shocked when a pair of lizards emerge from them, whom Bart had already named Chirpy Boy and Bart Jr.
Bart and Marge take the lizards to the Springfield Birdwatching Society, where Principal Skinner explains they are Bolivian tree lizards, a breed that steals a bird's eggs and leaves their own to be watched after by the mother bird, which is then eaten by the offspring once they hatch. As Skinner wonders how their mother ended up in Springfield, a nervous Apu secretly remembers that a pair of the lizards had come with his shipment of Bolivian donuts and escaped his store while he was putting them on the shelf. Skinner says the lizards must be killed by law because they have killed many bird species. Bart escapes and runs away with the lizards, but Skinner catches up to him and they struggle on top of the society building. The lizards fall off the side but to everyone's disbelief (except Skinner's), glide to the ground. The lizards grow in population and start to eradicate pigeons in Springfield. Since the town considered the pigeons a nuisance, they are delighted and Bart is thanked and honored by Mayor Quimby with a loganberry scented candle. Lisa worries the town will become infested by lizards but Skinner assures her they will send in Chinese needle snakes to eat them, followed by snake-eating gorillas, which will "simply freeze to death" when wintertime rolls around. Lisa questions why Bart was upset when he killed just one bird, but was at ease with indirectly killing thousands, but their train of thought is disrupted when they fight over who gets to ride in the front seat on the ride home.
Production
"Bart the Mother" was the last full-length episode David X. Cohen wrote for The Simpsons. Shortly after the episode aired, Cohen teamed up with The Simpsons' creator Matt Groening to develop Futurama, where he served as executive producer and head writer for the series' entire run. Cohen's idea for the episode started out as a B story for Homer. In the original concept, pigeons nest outside Homer's window at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Mr. Burns exterminates the pigeons and Homer climbs out onto the ledge of the window, in the middle of a blizzard, to nest the eggs. Cohen said the idea " fit in anywhere", so he decided to pitch it as an A story instead, with Bart nesting the eggs instead of Homer. The Simpsons writer George Meyer thought the idea of Bart shooting the bird and simply nesting the eggs was too straightforward, and he did not think it had "enough of a twist" to be a good episode. Cohen and Meyer eventually decided the eggs should be lizard eggs. Cohen thought the twist was what ultimately made the episode both "touching" and "interesting".
Producer Ron Hauge came up with the idea of someone shooting a bird and feeling guilty about it. Hauge told the staff a few weeks before Cohen started writing the episode that when he was 13 or 14 years old, he accidentally killed a bird after he got a Wrist Rocket slingshot, and took a shot at a bird that he thought was "far, far away". Hauge said his friends were excited about it, but he was "dying inside". For the scene in which the bird is killed, Cohen received further inspiration from an episode of The Andy Griffith Show entitled "Opie the Birdman". The writers were trying to figure out a way to have Bart kill the bird without actually wanting to kill it, and decided to give the gun a crooked sight that Bart would be unaware of, so when Bart intentionally takes a shot at the right of the bird to avoid it, the bullet still hits the bird. After Bart kills the mother bird, he imagines himself before a bird court with a vulture, an eagle, and a toucan as judges. This sequence was added to "liven up the visuals", because the writers thought the episode tended too heavily towards extreme realism and because most of the scenes in the episode were taking place in and around the Simpsons' house. Then-show runner Mike Scully had done the same thing with an episode he wrote for season seven called "Marge Be Not Proud". In that episode, Bart gets caught shoplifting, and writer Bill Oakley suggested the addition of a fantasy sequence to get away from the realism in the episode.
The Family Fun Center the Simpsons visit is based on a real family fun center in Falmouth, Massachusetts that Cohen went to as a child to play video games. The Bolivian tree lizard is a fake species, but Cohen based it on real animals, including the dinosaur species Oviraptor, which was originally thought to eat eggs. The species is also based on the cowbird and the cuckoo, which lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and Draco, a genus of gliding lizards. Cohen also received inspiration from the cane toad that started "taking over" Australia in 1935.
"Bart the Mother" marked the last guest appearance of Phil Hartman on The Simpsons as Troy McClure. On May 28, 1998, four months before the episode aired, he was shot and killed by his wife Brynn. "Bart the Mother" was dedicated in his memory in response to this. Rather than replace Hartman with a new voice actor, the production staff retired McClure from the show, along with Hartman's other recurring character, Lionel Hutz.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Bart the Mother" finished 58th in the ratings for the week of September 21–27, 1998, with a Nielsen rating of 7.4, translating to 7,355,600 households.
Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, called it one of her favorite The Simpsons episodes, along with "Bart Sells His Soul" and "Lisa's Substitute".
The Toronto Sun's Bruce Kirkland wrote that "Bart the Mother" was one of the "classic episodes" of the series' tenth season.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood wrote, "We particularly like the moral dilemma at the end, as underlined by Lisa, regarding the eventual culling of the lizards that will need to take place. A good romp, this one, with some nice laughs at Homer's expense."
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said, "The show generates decent heart as it shows Bart's attempts to make up for his misbehavior. The show becomes reasonably enjoyable if not especially memorable."
Jesse Hassenger of PopMatters named the tenth season of The Simpsons the series' "first significant dip in quality, a step away from its golden era with broader gags and more outlandish plots". However, Hassenger enjoyed "Bart the Mother", and wrote, " explores the show's sweet and dark sides simultaneously as Bart, remorseful after killing a bird, tries to care for orphaned eggs that turn out to hold ravenous lizards."
DVD Town's James Plath described "Bart the Mother" as an episode that viewers would either love or hate, because of Bart's rare moments of soul searching, and he found the episode to be a memorable one.
References
- ^ Rohan, Virginia (September 23, 1998). "Tributes To A Star And His Voices". The Record. p. Y8.
- ^ "Bart the Mother". The Simpsons. September 27, 1998.
- ^ Cohen, David S. (2007). The Simpsons The Complete Tenth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Mother" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Hauge, Ron (2007). The Simpsons The Complete Tenth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Mother" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- Scully, Mike (2007). The Simpsons The Complete Tenth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart the Mother" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- Groening, Matt (December 29, 2004). "Fresh Air". National Public Radio (Interview). Interviewed by Terry Gross. Philadelphia: WHYY-FM. Archived from the original on June 10, 2007. Retrieved June 9, 2007.
- "Weekly Nielsen Ratings". The Stuart News. October 11, 1998.
- Oakes, Keily (July 30, 2004). "Voice of Bart Simpson steps into limelight". BBC. Archived from the original on September 11, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- Kirkland, Bruce (August 10, 2007). "Funny 1998–99 season of The Simpsons out in a box set loaded with extras". The Toronto Sun. p. E11.
- Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian. "Bart, The Mother". BBC. Archived from the original on December 31, 2004. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
- Jacobson, Colin. "The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season (1998)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
- Hassenger, Jesse (August 7, 2007). "The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- Plath, James (August 17, 2007). "Simpsons, The: The Complete 10th Season [Special Edition]". DVD Town. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
