Bart of War
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Bart of War" | |
 |
|
|---|---|
| Episode no. | 312 |
| Prod. code | EABF16 |
| Orig. Airdate | May 18, 2003 |
| Writer(s) | Marc Wilmore |
| Director | Michael Polcino |
| Chalkboard | Sandwiches should not contain sand |
| Couch gag | Giant baby picks up family |
| Guest star(s) | None |
| SNPP capsule | |
| Season 14 November 3, 2002 – May 18, 2003 |
|
|
|
| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
Bart of War is an episode of the fourteenth season of The Simpsons that aired on May 18, 2003. Unusually, the episode first aired in Australia two weeks earlier than the US premiere, on May 4 [citation needed].
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
When Marge sees Bart and Milhouse incited to violence after watching an episode of South Park, she tries to turn them onto some good television on the PAX television network. They run out of the room and find themselves outside and bored. After tying a thread to a fly, that lands itself inside of the Flanders home, Bart and Milhouse find themselves inside the home, unsupervised. They cause some damage and find Ned's collection of Beatles memorabilia. They drink from cans of a 40-year-old novelty beverage and start to hallucinate, with Bart seeing Milhouse as John Lennon through various stages of his life. Ned and the boys return to their home to find the house "slightly askew," and they flee to their panic room and call the police. The police arrive and capture the boys and Bart pleads that his parents not be called. The parents are called and as part of Bart's punishment he is sentenced to spending all his time under the supervision of a parent. He is also no longer allowed to play with Milhouse, who Marge believes incites Bart into his bad behavior.
Bart joins the "Pre-Teen Braves" and Homer becomes the tribe leader. When Homer fails in his leadership skills, Marge takes over. Marge takes the boys on a nature walk and they meet a Native American who shows them a field that is in need of restoration. The "Pre-Teen Braves" return to the field to begin their clean-up effort, only to discover that the "Calvary Kids" that Milhouse and his father are members of have already done the job. The two groups go to war and try to outdo each other in doing good. When the opportunity to become batboys at a Springfield Isotopes game is on the line, the two sides redouble their efforts for their candy sales. The "Pre-Teen Braves" lace the "Cavalry Kids" candy bars with laxatives and believe they are going to win.
Unfortunately for them, the senior citizens, in a need of relief from constipation, buy the "Cavalry Kids" a win. At the Isotopes game, the "Cavalry Kids" are delayed from arriving and the "Pre-Teen Braves" take their place singing their version of the national anthem(see below). The crowd becomes angered by the version of the anthem that is being sung and when the real "Cavalry Kids" arrive, a fight breaks out between everyone in the crowd. When the image of Marge crying is shown on the Jumbotron, the fighting ends and the sweet soothing hymn of the national anthem of Canada is sung by all present. In the end, Bart and Milhouse sum it up by saying that they've learned that: "War is not the answer--except to all of America's problems."
[edit] Trivia
- Ned Flanders has all sorts of Beatles merchandise: dolls, signed posters, Ed Sullivan Show suits, "Learn carpentry with the Beatles" book, lunchboxes, mugs, a yellow submarine, novelty beverages (John Lemon, Orange Harrison, Paul McIcedTea and Mango Starr) and framed album covers, among many others. Bart drinks one of the 40-year-old soda and hallucinates (in reference to the popularity of halluginogens in the '60s), seeing Milhouse as John Lennon in different stages of his life with corresponding music: 1963 "mop top" with "I Want to Hold Your Hand", 1967 (complete with green Sgt. Pepper outfit) with "Yellow Submarine", 1969 (as seen in "Let It Be") with "Get Back" and 1980 (parodying a scene from his last photo session) with "(Just Like) Starting Over".
- After a nod to The Simpsons appeared on South Park in the episode "Simpsons Already Did It", this show returns the "compliment." Bart makes a comment about the show staying fresh after 43 episodes, but in fact South Park had been going on for twice as long (Similarly, Butters makes a comment about watching all 132 Simpsons episodes twice, when the number was twice that)
- When Bart and Milhouse leave after Marge turns on PAX (now i), it alludes to the fact that almost no one watches the network (see main page for details)
- During the singing of the national anthem of Canada, Marge is seen waving two flags, Canada's and Quebec's, one of Canada's provinces. Quebec is the only province that has had two unsuccessful referendums to become its own country.
- When Lou talks about Eddie sleeping with his ex wife, he may have been referring to his ex wife Amy who was also mentioned in episode EABF03 "The Dad Who Knew Too Little"
[edit] Cultural references
- The title is a play on Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
[edit] Quotes
- (South Park episode)
Stan: I can't believe we paid to see a concert with Steve Guttenberg, Calista Flockhart, and Farty the Crippled Robot.
Farty: Look who's in my fart...OJ.
OJ: I'm going to kill you all. (beheads the robot, the band, and Cartman) Now I'm going to find the real killer! - Chief Homer: I will now give you your specially chosen tribal names. Pick one.
Nelson: I am "Burger with fries". Man, is that uninspired. - Homer: I never knew you liked The Beatles, Flanders.
Ned: Of course I liked The Beatles, they were bigger than Jesus! But then your son went all Yoko and destroyed my collection! - Homer: (mimes playing the bongos with Beatles bobblehead dolls) Look, Marge, I'm Brian Epstein! (stops playing) Now I'm Michael Jackson. (falsetto) I own all your songs, Losers.
- Lisa: You should be the chief, Dad.
Homer: You mean like some sort of mad man?!
Lisa: Ideally no, but...
Homer: I'll do it! - Homer: I am Homer, tribal chief!/I am wearing tiny briefs!Braves teach values boys should know!/ Now extended drum solo!
- Marge: Here are some activities we can all do together. "Future Veterans of Foreign Wars", "The 5-H Club"...
Homer: Five-H?!
Marge: They had to admit homosexuals. - Chief Homer: Let's see. What Native American activities should we do? (flips through handbook) Making wallets? Faking crop circles? Respecting nature?! Geez, no wonder these people lost the Civil War!
- Lisa: I don't think dad is accurately portraying Native American life.
Marge: Yeah, Indians don't sit around drinking beer and watching TV. - Marge: Nelson, leggings?
Nelson: No way! If my dad sees me in these, he'll kill me.
Bart: You haven't seen your dad in years.
Nelson: Hey, today might be the day.
Mr. Muntz: Nelson.
(Nelson sees his father)
Nelson: Papa? Is that you? You came back from the store!
(Nelson then goes to hug his...tree?)
Bart: Who's he talking to, Mom?
Marge: Let's admire Nelson's...love of nature.
Nelson (kissing the tree): Papa! Papa! Never leave me again!
Marge (to the other Pre-Teen Braves): Okay, let's go inside now. - Marge: Those Cavalry Kids are bigger credit hogs than the Red Cross.
Apu: I must disagree, Mrs. Bart. They've painted this town with a fresh coat of "give a hoot".
Marge: Well, you ain't seen nothing till you've seen the Pre-Teen Braves.
Apu: The Pre-Teen Braves? Is this another one of those youth groups that apes the cultures of those indigenous people you invaded and destroyed?
Marge: Exactly! The Pre-Teen Braves! - Bart:Hey! Some jerks cleaned our field!
Nelson:It's awful! It looks like Wisconsin - Ned (singing): We'll be safe inside our fortress when they come/We'll be safe from creeps and killers when they come/Unless they have a blowtorch/Or a poison gas injector/Then I don't know what'll happen when they come
- Marge: What are we going to do to that field?
Pre-teen braves: Clean it!
Bart: And why are we going to do it?
Other pre-teen braves: Liberal guilt!
Marge: Yay! - Homer: Where does it say we have to be gracious in defeat?!
Bart: It's on the back of our vests. (Turns around, along with the other Pre-Teen Braves, so that the backs of their vests are shown. All of them say "Gracious In Defeat".)
Homer (to Marge): Remove that stitching! - Mr. Burns: (noticing Marge and Lisa's smoke signals) Oh no, the Pawnee have returned. They'll probably want their souls back.
- Bart: A Mohican? I thought you guys had died out.
Mohican: No, but we encourage the myth. Chicks really dig you when you're the last of something. - Pre-Teen Braves impersonating Cavalry Kids: Oh say can you see/Back in row Double Z/That the team sucks out loud/and you fans are all plowed
- Ralph (with a note tied to him, crashes through window): I'm a brick!
