Bart Gets an "F"
"Bart Gets an 'F'" | |
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Commentary | Matt Groening James L. Brooks Al Jean Mike Reiss David Silverman |
"Bart Gets an 'F'" is the first episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It aired originally on Fox in the United States on October 11, 1990. In this episode, Bart Simpson fails four consecutive history exams, and the district psychiatrist recommends he repeat the fourth grade.
Written by David M. Stern and directed by David Silverman, "Bart Gets an 'F'" marks the first appearance of Mayor Quimby as well as a new opening sequence. It was the third episode produced for the second season. It was chosen to be the season premiere because it prominently features Bart, who enjoyed popularity during the early 1990s.
Due to the success of the first season of The Simpsons, Fox decided to switch the show's time slot to Thursday at 8:00 p.m.
"Bart Gets an 'F'" received positive reviews from television critics. Entertainment Weekly ranked it 31st on its 1999 list of "The 100 Greatest Moments in Television".
Plot
At
Homer and Marge meet with the school psychiatrist, Dr. J. Loren Pryor, who recommends for Bart to repeat the fourth grade. Scared for Bart's academic future, Marge and Homer support this idea, but a terrified Bart vows to improve his grades.
In desperation, Bart asks
Despite his best efforts, Bart fails the next day's test by one point. Bart breaks down in tears and compares his failure to
Production
"Bart gets an 'F'" was the first episode of The Simpsons written by
The episode was the first to feature a new opening sequence, shortened by fifteen seconds from its original length of roughly 90 seconds. The first season's opening sequence shows Bart stealing a "Bus Stop" sign, while the new sequence features him skateboarding past several characters, introduced during the previous season. Lisa's bike ride was cut, replaced by a one-second whiplash pan of Springfield showing other characters, before Homer's car pulls up in the driveway. Starting with season two, there were three versions of the opening: a full roughly 75-second version, a 45-second version, and a 25-second version. This gave the show's editors more leeway.[10]
David Silverman believes the animators began to "come into their own" as they became used to the characters and were able to achieve more with character acting. During the scene where Bart delivers a speech saying he is "dumb as a post", Silverman wanted to cut quickly from several angles to give a sense of anxiety.[10] Martin Prince's design was changed several times during the episode. There was a different model with larger eyes and wilder hair designed for the scene where Martin betrays Bart and runs off.[10] Silverman describes the "Snow Day" sequence as one of the hardest things he ever had to animate. It features several long pans showing many characters engaging in various activities difficult to time correctly.[10] Bart's fantasy where he sees the founding fathers of the United States uses muted colors and variations of red, white and blue.[10] Silverman also had to work hard to make Bart cry without making his design look too off-putting; for this reason he is shown covering his face with a piece of paper.[10]
First broadcast
Move to Thursday
The first season of The Simpsons had finished as high as fourth in the weekly ratings
"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" was the first episode produced for the season, but "Bart Gets an 'F'" aired first because Bart was popular at the time and the producers had wanted the premiere to be an episode involving him.[9] It aired opposite the fourth episode of the seventh season of The Cosby Show titled "Period of Adjustment", which saw the addition of Erika Alexander to the cast.[20] The first 13 episodes of The Simpsons had been rerun several times through the summer, and Fox had promoted the first new episode heavily since May.[21] News outlets had published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry.[19][22][23]
Nielsen rating
Reruns of The Simpsons that aired in the Thursday time slot against new episodes of The Cosby Show were ranked as low as 73rd in the weekly ratings (compared with third place for The Cosby Show).[24][25] Several critics predicted "Bart Gets an 'F'" would do considerably worse in the ratings than The Cosby Show.[11] Greg Dawson of the Orlando Sentinel wrote he would "bet dollars to plain-cake doughnuts (a Homer pet peeve) that even a fresh Simpsons won't come within five rating points of Cosby, which could get a 30 share in a power blackout."[23] Fox executive Peter Chernin said they were hoping to establish a foothold on Thursday night and "if we're really lucky and very fortunate, we're going to come in second place".[26]
Early overnight ratings figures for the original broadcast of "Bart Gets an 'F'" in 24 cities projected that The Simpsons had a 19.9 Nielsen Rating and 30% share of the audience, while The Cosby Show had a 19.3 Nielsen Rating and 29% share.
Cultural references
Bart's slapdash book report was on the
Reception
The episode has received positive reviews from television critics. 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, "A cracking opener to the second season – especially memorable for the sequence in which Bart prays for school to be cancelled the following day only to find himself exiled from the ensuing winter wonderland."
The episode was ranked 31st on Entertainment Weekly's list of "The 100 Greatest Moments in Television", with Bruce Fretts noting it "stands as classic irreverent family TV".[40] In 2007, Larina Adamson, a supervising producer on The Simpsons, named "Bart Gets an 'F'" as her favorite episode of the series.[41] In 2010, the BBC named "Bart gets an 'F'" as one of the ten most memorable episodes of the show, calling it "insightful and poignant".[42]
References
- ^ OL 433519M.
- ^ a b c Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Bart Gets an F". BBC. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Martin (June 29, 2007). "Is The Simpsons still subversive?". BBC News. Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
- ^ Rohter, Larry (December 30, 1990). "Overacheiver – and Learning to Deal With It, Man". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ The Record.
- ^ Tucker, Ernest (October 10, 1990). "New 'Simpsons' episodes return – as smart as ever". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ a b Shales, Tom (October 11, 1990). "The Simpsons – they're scrapping again-but this time it's a ratings fight". The Washington Post.
- ^ Boss, Kit (October 10, 1990). "Family Feud – The Simpsons and Huxtables will fight it out on Thursdays". The Seattle Times.
- ^ a b Jean, Al. (2002). Commentary for "Bart gets an 'F'", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Silverman, David. (2002). Commentary for "Bart gets an 'F'", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ The Milwaukee Journal.
- ^ "TV Ratings: 1989–1990". ClassicTVHits.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2006. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
- ^ Cassidy, John (July 8, 1990). "Cartoon leads a revolt against apple-pie family – Simpsons". The Sunday Times.
- ^ "Simpsons set for big screen". The Daily Telegraph. July 15, 2007. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
- ^ Kleinfield, N.R. (April 29, 1990). "Cashing in on a Hot New Brand Name". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
- ^ Lomartire, Paul (October 11, 1990). "Brat Bart vs. Cool Cos – FOX already has nabbed a share of Thursday's viewers". The Palm Beach Post.
- ^ a b Cerone, Daniel (May 9, 1991). "'Simpsons' steals away Cosby viewers". Los Angeles Times. p. 4.
- ^ Davies, Don (October 11, 1990). "'Simpsons'-'Cosby' duel needs VCR stat". Wisconsin State Journal.
- ^ a b Groening, Matt. (2002). Commentary for "Bart gets an 'F'", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Holloway, Diane (October 11, 1990). "Have a cow, Bill: 'The Simpsons' have returned". Austin American-Statesman.
- ^ Marin, Rick (October 11, 1990). "Tonight Bart Simpson gets an 'A' – Season debut is sort of classy". The Washington Times.
- ^ "Bart Simpson–Defiant, Saw-Topped and Cheeky—the Brat Terrible Gave Underachievers a Good Name". People. Vol. 34, no. 26. December 31, 1990. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ a b Dawson, Greg (October 11, 1990). "Barbs still pointed in new 'Simpsons' shows". Orlando Sentinel.
- Milwaukee Sentinel.
- ^ Paeth, Greg (October 10, 1990). "Fox puts its bets on Simpsons". The Cincinnati Post.
- ^ Dawidziak, Mark (October 11, 1990). "Bart vs. Cosby: First real showdown is tonight". Lexington Herald-Leader.
- ^ Stein, Joe (October 12, 1990). "Bart beats Cos locally and in cities". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
- San Jose Mercury News.
- ^ Bickelhaupt, Susan (October 12, 1990). "Cosby beats Bart, but just barely". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Belcher, Walt (October 18, 1990). "'The Simpsons', 'Cosby' square off in second round". The Tampa Tribune. p. 6F.
- ^ The Associated Press (October 17, 1990). "'Cheers' is No. 1 show again". Houston Chronicle.
- ^ a b Pierce, Scott D. (October 18, 1990). "Don't have a cow, man! More viewers watch 'The Simpsons' than 'Cosby'!". Deseret News. p. C5.
- ^ The Associated Press (January 7, 1995). "Fox hits NFL playoff paydirt". Toronto Star.
- ^ Potts, Kimberly (2006). "'The Simpsons' Best Episodes: No. 15 – 11". AOL. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 0-664-22419-9.
- News & Record.
- The Miami Herald.
- ^ Kloer, Phil (October 11, 1990). "TV review". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ISBN 0-310-25992-4.
- ^ Fretts, Bruce (1999). "The 100 Greatest Moments in Television/1990s". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 2, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
- ^ "'Simpsons' insiders pick their favorites". Idaho Statesman. May 29, 2007.
- ^ "The Simpsons: 10 classic episodes". BBC News. January 14, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.