Radio Bart
Encyclopedia
"Radio Bart" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons
' third season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 1992. In the episode, Bart
receives a microphone that transmits sound to nearby AM radios. To play a prank on the citizens of Springfield
, Bart places a radio deep inside a well and uses the microphone to trick the town into thinking a little boy is stuck in it. At first, he is successful, but soon realizes that he left a "property of Bart Simpson" label on the radio. Whilst trying to retrieve it, Bart gets trapped in the well and when the town decides to leave him there after finding out about the prank, Homer
decides to rescue Bart by himself.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
and directed by Carlos Baeza
. Musician Sting guest starred in the episode as himself, though the producers originally approached Bruce Springsteen
to appear. The episode features cultural references to charity singles such as "We Are the World
". Since airing, "Radio Bart" has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating
of 14.1 and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired. It was nominated for an Emmy Award
, but lost to A Claymation Easter.
are busy preparing for Bart
's birthday party. Homer
sees a commercial on television for a prank microphone called the Superstar Celebrity Microphone that can be used to tap into localized radio systems and instantly decides to buy one for Bart. Subsequently, Bart experiences a crushingly disappointing birthday party when all his gifts turn out to be useless things like a cactus, a label maker
, and a new suit
. At first, he is also disappointed by the microphone, but later finds a use for it in creating practical joke
s, such as tricking Ned Flanders
' boys into believing that God is talking to them, listening in on Lisa
and Janey's conversations about boys, and persuading Homer that martians are invading the Earth.
Bart throws a radio down a well and speaks through it with the microphone, tricking the townspeople into thinking an orphan named Timmy O'Toole has fallen down the well. Although they are unable to get "Timmy" out, as the well is too small for any adult to fit in, the entire town offers moral support and do everything they can to give him hope. Krusty even gets musician Sting to join other celebrities in recording a charity single, "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well". However, Bart—after realizing that his name is on the radio thanks to his label-maker—falls into the well while trying to retrieve it. When the townspeople find out, he confesses that Timmy O'Toole does not exist. Angry at being tricked, the townspeople leave Bart in the well. At the same time, "We're Sending Our Love Down The Well" dramatically falls off the number one spot to be replaced by "I Do Believe We're Naked" by Funky C, Funky Do.
Despite efforts by Homer and Marge
to mobilize a rescue operation, the entire town remains outraged at Bart and refuses to help. Finally, Homer has had enough—he decides to dig a tunnel and rescue Bart himself. Groundskeeper Willie
sees this and joins Homer. With a little help from Sting, and several residents who put their anger aside, an excavation operation is started. A regretful Bart is finally rescued and Willie puts up a small warning sign near the well the next morning to prevent future incidents.
and directed by Carlos Baeza
, though series creator Matt Groening
came up with the idea for it. The episode was based on the 1951 film Ace in the Hole, which sees the story of a former journalist exploiting a story about a man trapped in a cave to re-jump start his career. Vitti did not watch the film until after the episode had been written; "[Groening] came in out of nowhere and just gave me, start to finish, the whole story." Vitti said renting the film was the first thing he did after finishing the script. He remarked, "It's surprisingly hard to rent. It's really dark and funny and it's by Billy Wilder
, so you think it would be in stores, but it's not. It was hard to find."
The producers approached singer Bruce Springsteen
to appear in the episode because he had participated to the charity song "We Are the World
", on which "We're Sending Our Love Down The Well" is based. Springsteen declined so the producers offered the role to British musician Sting instead. Executive producer Al Jean
said Sting is one of his favorite guest stars that have appeared on the show and he "couldn't have been better. He was really funny." The Simpsons director David Silverman
said Sting's appearance in the episode worked for his persona because he has campaigned for political and social causes in real life. Sting was staying in New York City
at the time of the episode's recording so Vitti flew there to record the lines with him.
The television commercial for the Superstar Celebrity Microphone that Homer watches was inspired by a popular Ronco
Mr. Microphone commercial from the late 1970s, in which a boy becomes popular and "scores with the girls" by using his microphone to be on the radio. Both commercials feature a boy riding by in a car full of friends saying, "Hey, good-looking, we'll be back to pick you up later," a line the staff thought was "hilarious". In the Superstar Celebrity Microphone commercial, the boy sings the 1975 song "Convoy
" by C. W. McCall
into the microphone. The producers originally wanted him to sing "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
" by Gordon Lightfoot
, a song about the sinking of the bulk carrier
S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior
. Vitti said the reason the song was not used was because Lightfoot had made it so that in order to clear the copyrights for song, they would have to get permission from the families of the twenty-nine crewmen who died on the ship. In another scene, Bart uses his radio to make Homer believe aliens are invading Earth; Homer was originally supposed to create a punch
made from Kool-Aid
and rat poison so that he and the family could commit suicide before the aliens arrived. The writers thought this scene was "too dark" and changed it to Homer getting a shotgun and going after the aliens, before finding out that Bart is playing a trick on him.
and its host Don Cornelius
on television. The Wall E. Weasel pizza restaurant that Bart celebrates his birthday at is a parody of the family pizza restaurant franchise Chuck E. Cheese's
. The episode also parodies charity singles. The song "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" is a spoof of "We Are the World
", and the idea of celebrities singing it is based on USA for Africa
, the name under which forty-five famous artists recorded "We Are the World". Funky-See, Funky-Do with their hit "I Do Believe We're Naked" resembles the music style of Milli Vanilli
.
This episode is similar to an incident involving Jessica McClure
, who fell into a well and received support from citizens and celebrities. One citizen suggests using chocolate attached to a fish-hook to save Timmy, a reference to a character from the 1975 film Jaws
. Kay McFadden of The Seattle Times
used "Radio Bart" as an example of the Simpsons writers ability to predict the future. He said "Radio Bart" aired more than seven years before Princess Diana's death
that "provoked the exact same celebrity posturing and media panic
" as seen in the episode. Timmy's story is eventually bumped off the front page when the media discovers a squirrel who resembles Abraham Lincoln
. Kay said Princess Diana's death was "bumped by a fund-raising imbroglio involving Vice President Al Gore
, a political figure who resembles oatmeal, which squirrels sometimes eat."
In its original American broadcast, "Radio Bart" finished 31st in the ratings for the week of January 6–12, 1992, with a Nielsen rating
of 14.1, equivalent to approximately 13 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award
in the "Outstanding Animated Program
" category, but lost to Will Vinton
's A Claymation Easter on CBS
. "Radio Bart" was submitted for consideration because it was the staff's favorite episode of the season. Executive producer Al Jean
said they thought this episode or an episode of Ren & Stimpy would win and they were "absolutely floored" when neither did. The Simpsons director David Silverman said he thinks The Simpsons and Ren & Stimpy split the vote
, allowing A Claymation Easter to win the Emmy.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It was named the second best episode of The Simpsons by Kirk Baird of the Las Vegas Sun
and the third best episode by Sarah Culp of The Quindecim. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented: "Despite the potential for some heavy-handed moralizing, 'Radio Bart' provides a terrific show. From Bart’s crappy birthday to his pranks to the public reaction to Timmy’s trapping, the humor flies fast and furious in this excellent episode. It’s one of the better ones." The Daily Telegraph
characterized the episode as one of ten best episodes of The Simpsons. DVD Times's Chris Kaye said "Radio Bart" is "another demonstration of the series' knack for cultural references, parodying the Billy Wilder movie Ace in the Hole." Entertainment Weekly
ranked "Radio Bart" as the twentieth best episode of The Simpsons and commented that "it's a media parody so sharp, we're still stinging a bit."
Monsters and Critics
's Trent McMartin praised Sting's guest performance, calling it "humorous". Total Film
s Nathan Ditum ranked his performance as the 11th best guest appearance in the show's history. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, commented that "The Police
had a song called 'Canary in the Coalmine', and Sting had made a point of campaigning for good causes, which explains why he was singled out in this sharp critique of celebrity posturing and media panic." Tom Nawrocki of Rolling Stone
rated the "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" song as one of the best musical moments in the history of the show.
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 originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 1992. In the episode, 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...
receives a microphone that transmits sound to nearby AM radios. To play a prank on the citizens of Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
, Bart places a radio deep inside a well and uses the microphone to trick the town into thinking a little boy is stuck in it. At first, he is successful, but soon realizes that he left a "property of Bart Simpson" label on the radio. Whilst trying to retrieve it, Bart gets trapped in the well and when the town decides to leave him there after finding out about the prank, 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...
decides to rescue Bart by himself.
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"...
. Musician Sting guest starred in the episode as himself, though the producers originally approached Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
to appear. The episode features cultural references to charity singles such as "We Are the World
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
". Since airing, "Radio Bart" has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a 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...
of 14.1 and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired. It was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
, but lost to A Claymation Easter.
Plot
The Simpson familySimpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
are busy preparing for 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 birthday party. 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...
sees a commercial on television for a prank microphone called the Superstar Celebrity Microphone that can be used to tap into localized radio systems and instantly decides to buy one for Bart. Subsequently, Bart experiences a crushingly disappointing birthday party when all his gifts turn out to be useless things like a cactus, a label maker
Embossing tape
Embossing tape is a labelling medium usually of hard plastic. Embossing tape is used with embossing machines, often handheld.- Method :The machine features a wheel with raised characters, similar to a daisy wheel. The user turns the wheel to align the desired character with the tape and presses a...
, and a new suit
Suit (clothing)
In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...
. At first, he is also disappointed by the microphone, but later finds a use for it in creating practical joke
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
s, such as tricking 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...
' boys into believing that God is talking to them, listening in on Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
and Janey's conversations about boys, and persuading Homer that martians are invading the Earth.
Bart throws a radio down a well and speaks through it with the microphone, tricking the townspeople into thinking an orphan named Timmy O'Toole has fallen down the well. Although they are unable to get "Timmy" out, as the well is too small for any adult to fit in, the entire town offers moral support and do everything they can to give him hope. Krusty even gets musician Sting to join other celebrities in recording a charity single, "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well". However, Bart—after realizing that his name is on the radio thanks to his label-maker—falls into the well while trying to retrieve it. When the townspeople find out, he confesses that Timmy O'Toole does not exist. Angry at being tricked, the townspeople leave Bart in the well. At the same time, "We're Sending Our Love Down The Well" dramatically falls off the number one spot to be replaced by "I Do Believe We're Naked" by Funky C, Funky Do.
Despite efforts by Homer and 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...
to mobilize a rescue operation, the entire town remains outraged at Bart and refuses to help. Finally, Homer has had enough—he decides to dig a tunnel and rescue Bart himself. Groundskeeper Willie
Groundskeeper Willie
William McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
sees this and joins Homer. With a little help from Sting, and several residents who put their anger aside, an excavation operation is started. A regretful Bart is finally rescued and Willie puts up a small warning sign near the well the next morning to prevent future incidents.
Production
"Radio Bart" 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...
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"...
, though series creator Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
came up with the idea for it. The episode was based on the 1951 film Ace in the Hole, which sees the story of a former journalist exploiting a story about a man trapped in a cave to re-jump start his career. Vitti did not watch the film until after the episode had been written; "[Groening] came in out of nowhere and just gave me, start to finish, the whole story." Vitti said renting the film was the first thing he did after finishing the script. He remarked, "It's surprisingly hard to rent. It's really dark and funny and it's by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
, so you think it would be in stores, but it's not. It was hard to find."
The producers approached singer Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
to appear in the episode because he had participated to the charity song "We Are the World
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
", on which "We're Sending Our Love Down The Well" is based. Springsteen declined so the producers offered the role to British musician Sting instead. Executive producer 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...
said Sting is one of his favorite guest stars that have appeared on the show and he "couldn't have been better. He was really funny." The Simpsons director David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
said Sting's appearance in the episode worked for his persona because he has campaigned for political and social causes in real life. Sting was staying in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the time of the episode's recording so Vitti flew there to record the lines with him.
The television commercial for the Superstar Celebrity Microphone that Homer watches was inspired by a popular Ronco
Ronco
Ronco is an American company that manufactures and sells a variety of items and devices, most commonly those used in the kitchen. Ron Popeil founded the company in 1964, and commercials for the company's products soon became pervasive and memorable, in part thanks to Popeil's personal sales pitches...
Mr. Microphone commercial from the late 1970s, in which a boy becomes popular and "scores with the girls" by using his microphone to be on the radio. Both commercials feature a boy riding by in a car full of friends saying, "Hey, good-looking, we'll be back to pick you up later," a line the staff thought was "hilarious". In the Superstar Celebrity Microphone commercial, the boy sings the 1975 song "Convoy
Convoy (song)
"Convoy" is a 1975 novelty song performed by C. W. McCall that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US. Written by McCall and Chip Davis, the song spent six weeks at number one on the country charts and one week at number one on the pop charts...
" by C. W. McCall
C. W. McCall
C. W. McCall is the pseudonym of William Dale Fries, Jr. , an American singer, activist and politician known for his truck-themed outlaw country songs.-Biography:...
into the microphone. The producers originally wanted him to sing "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a song written, composed and performed by Canadian Gordon Lightfoot to commemorate the sinking of the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. It was inspired by the Newsweek article on the event, "The Cruelest Month", which...
" by Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
, a song about the sinking of the bulk carrier
Bulk carrier
A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
. Vitti said the reason the song was not used was because Lightfoot had made it so that in order to clear the copyrights for song, they would have to get permission from the families of the twenty-nine crewmen who died on the ship. In another scene, Bart uses his radio to make Homer believe aliens are invading Earth; Homer was originally supposed to create a punch
Punch (drink)
Punch is the term for a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from India to England in the early seventeenth century; from there its use spread to other countries...
made from Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid is a brand of flavored drink mix owned by the Kraft Foods Company.-History:Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska, United States. All of his experiments took place in his mother's kitchen. Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack...
and rat poison so that he and the family could commit suicide before the aliens arrived. The writers thought this scene was "too dark" and changed it to Homer getting a shotgun and going after the aliens, before finding out that Bart is playing a trick on him.
Cultural references
"Radio Bart" features several pop culture references. At the beginning of the episode, Homer watches the show Soul TrainSoul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
and its host Don Cornelius
Don Cornelius
Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius is an American television show host and producer who is best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971-1993...
on television. The Wall E. Weasel pizza restaurant that Bart celebrates his birthday at is a parody of the family pizza restaurant franchise Chuck E. Cheese's
Chuck E. Cheese's
Chuck E. Cheese's is a chain of family entertainment centers. Chuck E...
. The episode also parodies charity singles. The song "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" is a spoof of "We Are the World
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
", and the idea of celebrities singing it is based on USA for Africa
USA for Africa
USA for Africa was the name under which forty-seven predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a US and UK Number One for the collective in April of that year...
, the name under which forty-five famous artists recorded "We Are the World". Funky-See, Funky-Do with their hit "I Do Believe We're Naked" resembles the music style of Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli was a pop/dance music project formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1988, visually fronted by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on Feb. 21, 1990. Milli Vanilli became one of the most...
.
This episode is similar to an incident involving Jessica McClure
Jessica McClure
Jessica McClure Morales became famous at the age of 18 months after falling into a well in the backyard of 3309 Tanner Dr. Midland, Texas, on October 14, 1987. Between that day and October 16, rescuers worked for 58 hours to free "Baby Jessica" from the eight-inch-wide well casing below the ground...
, who fell into a well and received support from citizens and celebrities. One citizen suggests using chocolate attached to a fish-hook to save Timmy, a reference to a character from the 1975 film Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
. Kay McFadden of The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
used "Radio Bart" as an example of the Simpsons writers ability to predict the future. He said "Radio Bart" aired more than seven years before Princess Diana's death
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Fayed's...
that "provoked the exact same celebrity posturing and media panic
Media panic
Media panic is a term often used to describe criticism against a new medium or media technology. Such debates have in recent years focused on computer media such as the Internet and the World Wide Web, computer games and social media - but media panic is an old phenomenon with a long history...
" as seen in the episode. Timmy's story is eventually bumped off the front page when the media discovers a squirrel who resembles Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. Kay said Princess Diana's death was "bumped by a fund-raising imbroglio involving Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, a political figure who resembles oatmeal, which squirrels sometimes eat."
Reception
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...
of 14.1, equivalent to approximately 13 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in the "Outstanding Animated Program
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
" category, but lost to Will Vinton
Will Vinton
Will Vinton is an American director and producer of animated films. He was born in McMinnville, Oregon, near Portland. He has won an Oscar for his work, and several Emmy Awards and Clio Awards for the work of his studio.- Education :...
's A Claymation Easter on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. "Radio Bart" was submitted for consideration because it was the staff's favorite episode of the season. Executive producer 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...
said they thought this episode or an episode of Ren & Stimpy would win and they were "absolutely floored" when neither did. The Simpsons director David Silverman said he thinks The Simpsons and Ren & Stimpy split the vote
Vote splitting
Vote splitting is an electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate....
, allowing A Claymation Easter to win the Emmy.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It was named the second best episode of The Simpsons by Kirk Baird of the Las Vegas Sun
Las Vegas Sun
The Las Vegas Sun is a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper. It is one of Las Vegas, Nevada's two daily newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group....
and the third best episode by Sarah Culp of The Quindecim. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented: "Despite the potential for some heavy-handed moralizing, 'Radio Bart' provides a terrific show. From Bart’s crappy birthday to his pranks to the public reaction to Timmy’s trapping, the humor flies fast and furious in this excellent episode. It’s one of the better ones." The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
characterized the episode as one of ten best episodes of The Simpsons. DVD Times's Chris Kaye said "Radio Bart" is "another demonstration of the series' knack for cultural references, parodying the Billy Wilder movie Ace in the Hole." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
ranked "Radio Bart" as the twentieth best episode of The Simpsons and commented that "it's a media parody so sharp, we're still stinging a bit."
Monsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics is a web-only entertainment/celebrity news and review publication with movie, DVD, video game, and music reviews, along with political commentary as well as coverage of world news, technology, sports, and science.- Background :...
's Trent McMartin praised Sting's guest performance, calling it "humorous". Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
s Nathan Ditum ranked his performance as the 11th best guest appearance in the show's history. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, commented that "The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
had a song called 'Canary in the Coalmine', and Sting had made a point of campaigning for good causes, which explains why he was singled out in this sharp critique of celebrity posturing and media panic." Tom Nawrocki of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
rated the "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" song as one of the best musical moments in the history of the show.
External links
- "Radio Bart" at The Simpsons.com