Bart of Darkness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Simpsons episode
"Bart of Darkness"

Promotional image, showing Bart, with his broken leg, looking through his telescope at Ned Flanders.
Episode no.	104
Prod. code	1F22
Orig. Airdate	September 4, 1994
Show Runner(s)	David Mirkin
Written by	Dan McGrath
Directed by	Jim Reardon
Chalkboard	"Beans are neither fruit nor musical."
Couch gag	The family sits in midair as the couch runs in, puts itself together on top of them, and they collapse under its weight.
DVD commentary by	Matt Groening David Mirkin Jim Reardon David S. Cohen Greg Daniels David Silverman
SNPP capsule
Season 6 September 4, 1994 – May 21, 1995
Bart of Darkness Lisa's Rival Another Simpsons Clip Show Itchy & Scratchy Land Sideshow Bob Roberts Treehouse of Horror V Bart's Girlfriend Lisa on Ice Homer Badman Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy Fear of Flying Homer the Great And Maggie Makes Three Bart's Comet Homie the Clown Bart vs. Australia Homer vs. Patty & Selma A Star is Burns Lisa's Wedding Two Dozen and One Greyhounds The PTA Disbands! 'Round Springfield The Springfield Connection Lemon of Troy Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"Bart of Darkness" is the first episode of The Simpsons' sixth season, which originally aired September 4, 1994. It was written by Dan McGrath, and directed by Jim Reardon. When Bart breaks his leg, his resultant isolation causes him to believe that Ned Flanders has committed murder.

1 Synopsis
2 Trivia
3 Cultural references
4 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A heat wave in Springfield leads Bart and Lisa to pester Homer for a swimming pool. After several seconds of their relentless nagging, Homer gives in. Once all the children in the neighborhood learn of the Simpson's new pool, they come in droves.

When Bart tries an ambitious dive from the treehouse into the newly built pool, he breaks his leg, forcing him to remain in his bedroom. His isolation slowly makes him more and more irritable and paranoid. Lisa loans him her telescope, so Bart will have something to take his mind off things. Soon Bart hears a scream next door, and witnesses Ned Flanders burying something in his backyard. He becomes convinced that Flanders has murdered his wife, Maude, and vows to reveal the truth. It is soon discovered that Maude is alive and well, having gone to Bible camp for the weekend, and the only thing Ned killed was her favorite plant through overwatering. Ned Flanders himself was the source of the high-pitched scream which Bart heard.

Meanwhile, Lisa basks in the glow of her new popularity. However, Martin Prince gets a larger pool, causing everyone to abandon Lisa, leaving her alone in the bottom of the pool as all of the water has drained out. However, Martin's newfound popularity is shattered when his pool is filled with one person over capacity, causing it to burst. Martin stands alone his dreams of popularity in shreds as the other children run off in search of a new pool; the last to leave is Nelson who before he goes rips off Martin's bathing suit. Naked and alone, Martin begins to sing the song "Summer Wind" as the sun sets.

[edit] Trivia

This is the first episode of The Simpsons to air on Sunday nights at 8:00/7c, a timeslot it retains to this day.
While in his room, Bart plays Stratego by himself.
This episode, along with many in season 6, was produced during the Northridge earthquake of 1994.
Nelson's comment about epidermis is close to the fact, but not correct; epidermis is actually the skin, not hair.
The content of Bart's play further reinstates his bizarre obsession with the Cockney accent and Victorian England, he previously expressed a desire to live as a bootblack and frequently slips into Nadsat.

[edit] Cultural references

The episode's title refers to the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the inspiration for the 1979 movie, Apocalypse Now. The Simpsons later spoofed Heart of Darkness more directly in "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore".
The plot of the episode, as well as several visual and musical cues (including the "human head" in the freezer), parody the Alfred Hitchcock film, Rear Window. At one point while looking through his telescope Bart sees Jimmy Stewart, who also has his leg broken and watching people from his window, while wearing the same pyjamas he wore through almost the entirety of Rear Window. He even calls out to "Grace", an obvious reference to Stewart's leading lady Grace Kelly.
The part in the beginning where the hippie sings "Sunshine on My Shoulders" and gets punched by a passerby is similar to a scene in National Lampoon's Animal House during the toga party where a hippie singer performs "The Riddle Song" and gets his guitar wrecked by Bluto (played by John Belushi).
The scene in which an ice cream truck driver passes Bart and Lisa claiming to be out of ice cream and adding "it's true, you know", references the claim often made to children by parents: "if the ice cream man is playing music, it means he's run out".
The episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show parodies the Star Trek pilot episode "The Cage" (whose footage was used in the two-part story "The Menagerie"), the telepathic Itchys of the future resembling the Talosians.
The musical number in the swimming pool parodies Busby Berkeley's movies.
Bart dials 911 and gets through to an automated IVR system. Reference to the increasing use of computer based answering systems around the world at that time.