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Revision as of 20:11, 6 December 2006 by 192.252.76.200 (talk) (→Quotes)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Episode of the 5th season of The Simpsons| "Bart Gets Famous" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:1f11.gif | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 |
| Directed by | Susie Dietter |
| Written by | John Swartzwelder |
| Original air dates | February 3, 1994 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "My homework was not stolen by a one-armed man" |
| Couch gag | The family collides when running and lands into the couch as one big hunk of amorphous glop. |
| Episode chronology | |
| The Simpsons season 5 | |
| List of episodes | |
"Bart Gets Famous" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons' fifth season, first aired on February 3, 1994.
Synopsis
Bart goes on a class field trip to the box factory. However on the tour of the box factory Bart gets bored and escapes from the class to go to the Channel 6 TV studio nearby where he wanders by a beach scene and Bumblebee Man. With his absence, Skinner calls Homer who arrives, thinking that Bart was killed in one of the box-making machines.
Meanwhile, Bart meets up with Krusty who is angry that he doesn't have his Danish. Because of this, Bart steals a Danish from Kent Brockman and gives it to Krusty who becomes grateful and asks him to become his assistant (though he forgets all the other times Bart has helped him out; from saving his career to renewing Krusty's relations with his father). When Bart returns home, Homer is relieved that he doesn't have to tell Marge that Bart was killed in a box accident. Afterwards, Bart continues his work as Krusty's assistant, though soon he gets tired in that the cast members don't treat him well and he doesn't get credited for his work of helping the show. However, before Bart decides to quit Krusty offers him to say one line in a sketch. Bart messes up his lines and destroys all of the props on the stage and when the crowd's focus comes on him, he tries to get out of it, saying, "I didn't do it", which causes the audience to laugh and applaud. Seeing this, Krusty immediately uses Bart and his "I didn't do it" catch phrase in later sketches and eventually creates a franchise out of Bart such as the "I didn't do it" music video.
As Bart continues with his "I didn't do it" catch phrase, he begins to fear that the fad will eventually wear off so he tries to act intelligent (as during his interview on Conan O' Brien's show). Even so, eventually Bart's catch phrase loses its humor and Bart loses his fame.
Trivia
- Krusty the Klown used the catchphrase "I didn't do it" at least twice in the first season episode Krusty Gets Busted. Note that one of the times that Krusty used it was as a talking pull string doll, where Bart pulled the string on the Krusty doll and said "I didn't do it."
- Bart getting famous for one phrase might be a reference to 1930's comedian Joe Penner whose major claim to fame was his phrase "Wanna buy a duck?".
- This episode was shown on the UK's Channel 4 shortly after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. As a result, the references to a tidal wave from Kent Brockman and Bumblebee man were cut out. As of September 2006, these lines are still ommited from airings of this episode. Because of this, Bumblebee Man is seen to take the news script off Kent Brockman, then fall straight over without saying anything.
- In Bart's imagining of himself as a future celebrity panelist on "Match Game 2034", one of the other panelists is the "lovely and vivacious" head of Kitty Carlisle, which was located in a glass jar filled with water. This may have served as a basis for Futurama's similar use of heads kept alive in jars, though the show takes place almost a millenium after Bart's dream occurred.
Cultural references
- The writing on the blackboard is a reference to The Fugitive
- Bart's line "Jawohl, mein Mommandant" is similar to Sergeant Schultz's line to Colonel Klink: "Jawohl, mein Kommandant" from Hogan's Heroes
- Krusty with a candlestick in the conservatory is a reference to the board game "Cluedo" (Clue in the United States)
- Krusty's line "Hey kid!" is a parody of "Mean" Joe Greene's line from the Coke television commercial, which was recently voted the best commercial in Super Bowl history
- The set of "Match Game 2034" makes a reference to the Jetsons and Match Game
- The musical cue is a parody of the Batman television series
- Bart raps to Rick James' "Superfreak"/Hammer's "You Can't Touch This"
- Bart's album cover looks similar to the Kris Kross rap duo
- In the beginning of the episode, Bart hums the Simpsons theme, then Marge tells him to stop whistling that annoying tune. This is a reference to TV Guide saying the Simpsons theme was one of the most annoying themes ever.
- Bart does Late Night with Conan O'Brien after he becomes famous. Conan, was part of the writing staff before he got his talk show, was written into the show just before he got the job because it wasn't 100% if Conan would get the Late Night spot or not.
- Cast members on Bart's imagining of "Match Game 2034" include himself (As "The I Didn't Do It Boy"), Billy Crystal, Farrah Fawcet-Majors-O'Neal-Varney (A reference to her marriages to Lee Majors and Ryan O'Neal, and a supposed union with Jim Varney), "ventriloquist" Loni Anderson, Spike Lee, and the head of Kitty Carlisle.
Quotes
- Lisa: I've got a weekend job helping the poor and I'm only eight.
Homer: That's not a job, it's a waste of time. What can poor people pay you? Nothing! What satisfaction you get from helping them? None! Who wants to help poor people anyway? Nobody! - Krusty: Don't listen to him, kid. This is a dream factory, the birthplace of magic, an enchantment! Now I need you to go clean out my toilet.
- Bart: Damn TV, you've ruined my imagination, just like you've ruined my ability to... uh...
- Tour guide: That's just a TV studio where they film Krusty the Clown and other non-box-related programs.
- Homer: You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel.
- Homer: Whaddaya mean, you lost him? He might have fallen into one of these machines! (sees Bart's hat on a box) Oh, my God, that's his lucky red hat. He's a box! My boy's a box! Damn you, a box!
- Lisa: If I ever become famous, I want it to be for something worthwhile, not because of some obnoxious fad.
Bart: Obnoxious fad?
Homer: Aw, don't worry, son. You know, they said the same thing about Urkel -- that little snot boy! I'd like to smash that kid! - Lisa: And now you can go back to just being you, instead of a one-dimensional character with a silly catch-phrase.
Homer: (breaking a lamp) D'oh!
Bart: Ay, carumba!
Marge: (Groans)
Maggie: (Sucks her pacifier)
Ned: (through the living room window) Hi-dilly-ho!
Barney: (opens the door and belches)
Nelson: (sitting on the stairs) Ha, ha!
Burns: (standing near the stairs) Excellent!
(long pause, everyone in the room then stares at Lisa)
Lisa: If anyone wants me, I'll be in my room.
Homer: What kind of catch-phrase is that? - Bart: I am waiting for a...whoa! (Krusty yells) (short pause)
Bart: I didn't do it! (Crowd laughs and cheers very loudly)
- Krusty: Some people got it and some people don't. And you, my friend, do not have...hold on, I wanna finish this tought outside.
Krusty opens the door. Throngs of people are waiting outside. They see Bart and go crazy.
Crowd: It's him! It's the "I didn't do it" guy!, etc.
Krusty's jaw drops. He grabs Bart and brings and tries to bring him back inside.
Krusty: He's mine! I own 'im! And all his subsidiary rights!
- Kent Brockman: Yeah, I know I'm on, but I don't care. I'm not reading the news until I get my danish. Go ahead, try to find a replacement. (Bumblebee Man runs over and pushes him aside.)
Bumblebee Man: (reading the news) A powerful tidal wave in Kuala-Lumpur has killed a hundred and twenty people. ¡Ay,Chihuaua! Whoa, whoa, whoa! (falls out of Kent Brockman's chair.)