Bart the Lover
Encyclopedia
"Bart the Lover" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons
' third season
. It first aired on the Fox network
in the United States on February 13, 1992. In the episode Mrs. Edna Krabappel
, Bart
's teacher, feels increasingly isolated and, looking for a companion, places a personal ad in the newspaper. Bart, who was given a month's detention for breaking the class fish tank with his yo-yo
, decides to get revenge by responding to the ad. He creates a new adult male alter ego
named Woodrow
, inspired by a picture of former President Woodrow Wilson
, and Mrs. Krabappel becomes infatuated with "Woodrow". Meanwhile, Ned Flanders
asks Homer
to cut down on his swearing, so Homer starts using a swear jar.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
and directed by Carlos Baeza
. Vitti had wanted an episode centered around Mrs. Krabappel that examined what it was like to have Bart as a student. It was the first episode of the show to feature her in a prominent role. The subplot where Homer tries to clean up his language was written partially in response to the many complaints the show had been getting about the amount of cursing on the show. Woodrow's voice was performed by Harry Shearer
, who did an impression of Ricardo Montalbán
. The picture Bart sends Edna is of NHL
and WHA
star Gordie Howe
. The writers had originally wanted to use a picture of American football
player Johnny Unitas
, but were unable to get the rights to use his image for free.
In its original airing on the Fox Network during February sweeps, the episode had a 12.9 Nielsen rating
, finishing the week ranked 29th, up from the season's average. Marcia Wallace
, the voice of Mrs. Krabappel, won a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
for her role in the episode.
. A yo-yo
craze sweeps through the school after a group of four demonstrate the potential of the toys. Bart
breaks the class fish tank with his yo-yo, and is given one month of detention by Mrs. Krabappel. While snooping in her desk to take back his yo-yo, he discovers her personal ad and decides to get revenge on her pulling a prank and responding by mail. He creates a new adult male alter ego
named Woodrow, after former President Woodrow Wilson
. Mrs. Krabappel responds by sending a suggestive photograph. Bart writes a response to Edna using lines from an old love letter Homer had sent Marge.
Meanwhile, Marge
notices that their dog Santa's Little Helper
needs a new dog house. She wants to buy one, but Homer
says that he can save money by building one instead. His infuriating attempts at constructing the dog house cause him to curses loud enough for Todd Flanders to overhear. Todd says "hell no" and "damn" at the dinner table, so his father Ned
tries to find out where he learned such language. Ned discovers that Homer is the source. He complains to Homer, who in turn criticizes Ned's mustache. Ned promises to shave off his mustache in return for Homer's curtailing uses of profanity. He promises to put money in a "swear jar" - 25 cents for each curse.
Edna asks "Woodrow" for a photograph, so Bart searches through a book called NHL
Stars of 1969 and sends her a picture of hockey
star Gordie Howe
. Bart, as Woodrow, writes Mrs. Krabappel more letters, telling her what she wants to hear. He then sends a letter asking for them to meet at the Gilded Truffle. Bart sees Mrs. Krabappel waiting for Woodrow, and laughs as he goes to watch a movie. On his way back home he sees Mrs. Krabappel still waiting at the restaurant, on the verge of tears. Bart feels guilty to see her so sad. Meanwhile, Homer resists temptations to curse but nevertheless experiences intense feelings of rage. However, his constant swearing eventually puts enough money in the jar to purchase a dog house.
Bart talks to Mrs. Krabappel after class and starts to feel worse about what he did when he is unable to console her. He tells the family what he has done, and The Simpsons then write a poetic letter to tell her why Woodrow must leave which makes Mrs. Krabappel feel better.
, who wanted an episode centered around Mrs. Krabappel that examined what it was like to have Bart as a student. Executive producer Mike Reiss
pitched the idea of having Bart answer Mrs. Krabappel's personal ad. It was the first episode of the show to feature Mrs. Krabappel in a prominent role. The subplot where Homer tries to clean up his language was written partially in response to the many complaints the show had been getting about the language on the show. Near the end of the episode, there is a montage where Homer has a series of bad experiences that cause him to curse, although the scene always cuts out before he can be heard swearing. While recording Homer's lines for that sequence, Dan Castellaneta
was told to include the cursing. According to Mike Reiss, by coincidence, some eight year old children were allowed to visit the studio the day those lines were recorded. Reiss recalls that "their eyes were as big as saucers" after hearing Homer curse. The ending of the episode was largely pitched by James L. Brooks
, who wanted a scene where the entire family got together to write Woodrow's final letter to Edna.
The episode was directed by Carlos Baeza
. In the background of the classroom, there are several portraits of past United States presidents. These were added for the scene where Bart tries to think of a name for his fictional letter writer, and sees a portrait of Woodrow Wilson. Woodrow's voice was performed by Harry Shearer
, who did an impression of Ricardo Montalbán
. The picture Bart sends Edna is of NHL and WHA
star Gordie Howe. The writers had originally wanted to use a picture of American football
player Johnny Unitas
, but were unable to get the rights to use his image for free. Howe, their second choice, was suggested by Al Jean
, who had been a Detroit Red Wings
fan growing up. At the end of the episode, Howe's NHL and WHA statistics are shown because the writers decided to try something different to fill time.
During the opening sequence in which Bart's class watch a film about zinc
, a character in the film tries to shoot himself in the head. The Fox censors objected to this, so the producers had to claim that the character was not aiming at his head. For the name of the yo-yo trick that Bart performs for Milhouse, the writers had wanted to use a term that was slang for masturbation
. They proposed several names to the censors, and "Plucking the Pickle" was the term they deemed acceptable.
sent to schools to perform tricks. Todd Flanders watches a television show that features Gomer Pyle
from Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
. Bart sees the fictional movie Ernest
Needs A Kidney, based on the character Ernest P. Worrell
. Rod and Todd Flanders sing the song "Bringing in the Sheaves
", because the writers liked having them sing "obscure religious songs."
and was viewed in approximately 11.88 million homes. It finished the week of February 10–16, 1992 ranked 29th, up from the season's average rank of 39th. The Simpsons was the second highest rated show on Fox that week, after Married... with Children
.
Marcia Wallace
, the voice of Mrs. Krabappel, won a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
for her role in the episode. She was one of six voice-actors from The Simpsons to win the award that year. She is one of three guest stars on the show to win the award. The other two are Jackie Mason
, who shared the award in 1992, and Kelsey Grammer
who won in 2006 for voicing Sideshow Bob
.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It was named the eighth best episode of The Simpsons by Sarah Culp of The Quindecim. Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict said "Bart the Lover" represent The Simpsons "at its apex as a well tuned talent machine grinding out the good stuff with surprising accuracy and skill." Gibron added that the episode shows that the made-up romance between Mrs. Krabappel and Woodrow "works because it's so painfully true. [...] How the kiss-off to Mrs. Krabappel is created and handled shows that The Simpsons has heart to add to its humor." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 5/5 rating. He thought the intertwining of the two plots in the episode "works very well, creating a fast paced story. Bart's alias, Woodrow, is a delight to hear in voice-overs and Homer's antics produce many laughs." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said "Bart the Lover" stands out as a "very strong episode" because it "steers clear of most potentially sappy material and offers a lively piece. [...] The 'B' story in which Homer tries not to swear also swings and creates some great moments." The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, said they "loved" Homer's suggestion for the kiss-off letter from Woodrow: "Dear Baby. Welcome to Dumpsville, population: you. P.S. I am gay." In 2000, the staff of the Star Tribune
listed their top ten episodes. "Bart the Lover" was listed at number four.
In the July 26, 2007 issue of Nature
, the scientific journal's editorial staff listed an education film seen in the episode among "The Top Ten science moments in The Simpsons", writing: "'Thank goodness I still live in a world of telephones, car batteries, handguns and many things made of zinc,' says Jimmy, a character in an educational film. When confronted with a world without zinc he attempts suicide but fails, as his zinc-free gun cannot work." In 2002, Bill Brioux of The Canadian Press ranked the episode and its use of Gordie Howe as the top reference to Canada on the show. In 2004, ESPN
released a list of the Top 100 Simpsons sport moments, ranking Gordie Howe's image in the episode at number 34.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
. It first aired on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States on February 13, 1992. In the episode Mrs. Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel is a fictional character from the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. She is a 4th grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School. Krabappel is the only character Wallace voices on a regular basis.- Profile :...
, Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's teacher, feels increasingly isolated and, looking for a companion, places a personal ad in the newspaper. Bart, who was given a month's detention for breaking the class fish tank with his yo-yo
Yo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
, decides to get revenge by responding to the ad. He creates a new adult male alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
named Woodrow
Woodrow (name)
Woodrow was originally an English surname which may originally derive from a place name meaning row of houses by a wood in Old English. Other sources suggest the family name is descriptive originating as Woodroe or the border hedge as the clan consisted primarily of border guards at the English,...
, inspired by a picture of former President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, and Mrs. Krabappel becomes infatuated with "Woodrow". Meanwhile, Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
asks Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
to cut down on his swearing, so Homer starts using a swear jar.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
and directed by Carlos Baeza
Carlos Baeza
Carlos Baeza is an animation director. He has worked for The Simpsons and Futurama.- The Simpsons episodes :He is credited with directing the following episodes:*"Lisa's Pony"*"Radio Bart"*"Bart the Lover"*"Treehouse of Horror III"...
. Vitti had wanted an episode centered around Mrs. Krabappel that examined what it was like to have Bart as a student. It was the first episode of the show to feature her in a prominent role. The subplot where Homer tries to clean up his language was written partially in response to the many complaints the show had been getting about the amount of cursing on the show. Woodrow's voice was performed by Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
, who did an impression of Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
. The picture Bart sends Edna is of NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
star Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe
Gordon "Gordie" Howe, OC is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League , and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association . Howe is often referred to as Mr...
. The writers had originally wanted to use a picture of American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...
, but were unable to get the rights to use his image for free.
In its original airing on the Fox Network during February sweeps, the episode had a 12.9 Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, finishing the week ranked 29th, up from the season's average. Marcia Wallace
Marcia Wallace
Marcia Karen Wallace is an American character actress, comedienne and game show panelist, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies...
, the voice of Mrs. Krabappel, won a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
for her role in the episode.
Plot
Springfield Elementary School teacher Mrs. Edna Krabappel feels increasingly isolated and, looking for a companion, places a personal ad in the newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. A yo-yo
Yo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
craze sweeps through the school after a group of four demonstrate the potential of the toys. Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
breaks the class fish tank with his yo-yo, and is given one month of detention by Mrs. Krabappel. While snooping in her desk to take back his yo-yo, he discovers her personal ad and decides to get revenge on her pulling a prank and responding by mail. He creates a new adult male alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
named Woodrow, after former President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
. Mrs. Krabappel responds by sending a suggestive photograph. Bart writes a response to Edna using lines from an old love letter Homer had sent Marge.
Meanwhile, Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
notices that their dog Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper is a recurring character in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons...
needs a new dog house. She wants to buy one, but Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
says that he can save money by building one instead. His infuriating attempts at constructing the dog house cause him to curses loud enough for Todd Flanders to overhear. Todd says "hell no" and "damn" at the dinner table, so his father Ned
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
tries to find out where he learned such language. Ned discovers that Homer is the source. He complains to Homer, who in turn criticizes Ned's mustache. Ned promises to shave off his mustache in return for Homer's curtailing uses of profanity. He promises to put money in a "swear jar" - 25 cents for each curse.
Edna asks "Woodrow" for a photograph, so Bart searches through a book called NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
Stars of 1969 and sends her a picture of hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
star Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe
Gordon "Gordie" Howe, OC is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League , and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association . Howe is often referred to as Mr...
. Bart, as Woodrow, writes Mrs. Krabappel more letters, telling her what she wants to hear. He then sends a letter asking for them to meet at the Gilded Truffle. Bart sees Mrs. Krabappel waiting for Woodrow, and laughs as he goes to watch a movie. On his way back home he sees Mrs. Krabappel still waiting at the restaurant, on the verge of tears. Bart feels guilty to see her so sad. Meanwhile, Homer resists temptations to curse but nevertheless experiences intense feelings of rage. However, his constant swearing eventually puts enough money in the jar to purchase a dog house.
Bart talks to Mrs. Krabappel after class and starts to feel worse about what he did when he is unable to console her. He tells the family what he has done, and The Simpsons then write a poetic letter to tell her why Woodrow must leave which makes Mrs. Krabappel feel better.
Production
The script for "Bart the Lover" was written by Jon VittiJon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
, who wanted an episode centered around Mrs. Krabappel that examined what it was like to have Bart as a student. Executive producer Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
pitched the idea of having Bart answer Mrs. Krabappel's personal ad. It was the first episode of the show to feature Mrs. Krabappel in a prominent role. The subplot where Homer tries to clean up his language was written partially in response to the many complaints the show had been getting about the language on the show. Near the end of the episode, there is a montage where Homer has a series of bad experiences that cause him to curse, although the scene always cuts out before he can be heard swearing. While recording Homer's lines for that sequence, Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
was told to include the cursing. According to Mike Reiss, by coincidence, some eight year old children were allowed to visit the studio the day those lines were recorded. Reiss recalls that "their eyes were as big as saucers" after hearing Homer curse. The ending of the episode was largely pitched by James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
, who wanted a scene where the entire family got together to write Woodrow's final letter to Edna.
The episode was directed by Carlos Baeza
Carlos Baeza
Carlos Baeza is an animation director. He has worked for The Simpsons and Futurama.- The Simpsons episodes :He is credited with directing the following episodes:*"Lisa's Pony"*"Radio Bart"*"Bart the Lover"*"Treehouse of Horror III"...
. In the background of the classroom, there are several portraits of past United States presidents. These were added for the scene where Bart tries to think of a name for his fictional letter writer, and sees a portrait of Woodrow Wilson. Woodrow's voice was performed by Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
, who did an impression of Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
. The picture Bart sends Edna is of NHL and WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
star Gordie Howe. The writers had originally wanted to use a picture of American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...
, but were unable to get the rights to use his image for free. Howe, their second choice, was suggested by Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
, who had been a Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
fan growing up. At the end of the episode, Howe's NHL and WHA statistics are shown because the writers decided to try something different to fill time.
During the opening sequence in which Bart's class watch a film about zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, a character in the film tries to shoot himself in the head. The Fox censors objected to this, so the producers had to claim that the character was not aiming at his head. For the name of the yo-yo trick that Bart performs for Milhouse, the writers had wanted to use a term that was slang for masturbation
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
. They proposed several names to the censors, and "Plucking the Pickle" was the term they deemed acceptable.
Cultural references
The 1950s educational film at the beginning of the episode is a reference to old science movies that were often shown in classes when the writers were in school. The Twirl King yo-yo champions are based on groups that companies like DuncanDuncan Toys Company
The Duncan Toys Company is an American toy manufacturer based in Middlefield, Ohio, best known for its Yo-yo line. The company was founded in 1929 by Donald Duncan. In 1968, it became a division of Flambeau, Inc..- Yo-yo Product Line :...
sent to schools to perform tricks. Todd Flanders watches a television show that features Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle is a bubbly, gentle, rural auto mechanic character played by American singer/ television actor Jim Nabors. Gomer Pyle became a character on the TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, when actor Howard McNear, who played Floyd the barber, suffered a stroke and took a respite from acting. Jim...
from Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
. Bart sees the fictional movie Ernest
Ernest P. Worrell
Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was...
Needs A Kidney, based on the character Ernest P. Worrell
Ernest P. Worrell
Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was...
. Rod and Todd Flanders sing the song "Bringing in the Sheaves
Bringing in the Sheaves
"Bringing In the Sheaves" is a popular American hymn used almost exclusively by Protestant Christians...
", because the writers liked having them sing "obscure religious songs."
Reception
In its original airing on the Fox Network during February sweeps, the episode had a 12.9 Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
and was viewed in approximately 11.88 million homes. It finished the week of February 10–16, 1992 ranked 29th, up from the season's average rank of 39th. The Simpsons was the second highest rated show on Fox that week, after Married... with Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
.
Marcia Wallace
Marcia Wallace
Marcia Karen Wallace is an American character actress, comedienne and game show panelist, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies...
, the voice of Mrs. Krabappel, won a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
for her role in the episode. She was one of six voice-actors from The Simpsons to win the award that year. She is one of three guest stars on the show to win the award. The other two are Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
, who shared the award in 1992, and Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
who won in 2006 for voicing Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It was named the eighth best episode of The Simpsons by Sarah Culp of The Quindecim. Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict said "Bart the Lover" represent The Simpsons "at its apex as a well tuned talent machine grinding out the good stuff with surprising accuracy and skill." Gibron added that the episode shows that the made-up romance between Mrs. Krabappel and Woodrow "works because it's so painfully true. [...] How the kiss-off to Mrs. Krabappel is created and handled shows that The Simpsons has heart to add to its humor." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 5/5 rating. He thought the intertwining of the two plots in the episode "works very well, creating a fast paced story. Bart's alias, Woodrow, is a delight to hear in voice-overs and Homer's antics produce many laughs." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said "Bart the Lover" stands out as a "very strong episode" because it "steers clear of most potentially sappy material and offers a lively piece. [...] The 'B' story in which Homer tries not to swear also swings and creates some great moments." The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, said they "loved" Homer's suggestion for the kiss-off letter from Woodrow: "Dear Baby. Welcome to Dumpsville, population: you. P.S. I am gay." In 2000, the staff of the Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
listed their top ten episodes. "Bart the Lover" was listed at number four.
In the July 26, 2007 issue of Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, the scientific journal's editorial staff listed an education film seen in the episode among "The Top Ten science moments in The Simpsons", writing: "'Thank goodness I still live in a world of telephones, car batteries, handguns and many things made of zinc,' says Jimmy, a character in an educational film. When confronted with a world without zinc he attempts suicide but fails, as his zinc-free gun cannot work." In 2002, Bill Brioux of The Canadian Press ranked the episode and its use of Gordie Howe as the top reference to Canada on the show. In 2004, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
released a list of the Top 100 Simpsons sport moments, ranking Gordie Howe's image in the episode at number 34.
External links
- "Bart the Lover" at The Simpsons.com