Bart to the Future

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The Simpsons episode
"Bart to the Future"

Episode no.	243
Prod. code	BABF13
Orig. Airdate	March 19, 2000
Show Runner(s)	Mike Scully
Written by	Dan Greaney
Directed by	Michael Mercantel
Chalkboard	"Non-flammable is not a challenge."
Couch gag	The living room is a nightclub and everyone except Homer is let in.
Season 11 September 26, 1999 – May 21, 2000
Beyond Blunderdome Brother's Little Helper Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner? Treehouse of Horror X E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt) Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder Eight Misbehavin' Take My Wife, Sleaze Grift of the Magi Little Big Mom Faith Off The Mansion Family Saddlesore Galactica Alone Again, Natura-Diddily Missionary: Impossible Pygmoelian Bart to the Future Days of Wine and D'oh'ses Kill the Alligator and Run Last Tap Dance in Springfield It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge Behind the Laughter
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"Bart to the Future" is the 17th episode of the eleventh season of The Simpsons

1 Synopsis
2 In the year 2030
3 Trivia
4 Cultural references
5 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Simpsons are going to a park, but when they arrive, they find that mosquitos have gone crazy and have taken over. While driving back, they find an Indian casino and stop by. Bart tries to sneak in, but is caught by the casino's manager. To teach Bart a lesson, he gives Bart a glimpse of himself in the year 2030 (although it is never referred to as "2030" during the episode, only that it is thirty years in the future).

[edit] In the year 2030

Bart himself is apparently going through an awkward period of his life. With no stable job such as his demolition job, or his hinted ultimate profession of Chief Justice, he is very much adrift.
Bart apparently becomes good (or possibly best) friends with Ralph Wiggum. Although Ralph appears to frequently get a little agitated by Bart's current (as of that time) flakey and unhelpful nature, he seems to show a lot of patience towards him, apparently sticking with him even after he swears the end to their friendship.
Bart lives with Ralph and they have an unsuccessful band, the Tequila Mockingbirds. Bart also dropped out of DeVry University.
Ralph is himself turning out to be a bit different from his child self. He ironically seems quite down to earth and a bit more focused, as he pretty much single handedly supports both himself and Bart as of the beginning of the episode, with little to no help from him in return. Ralph has also grown a full head of light brown hair. Despite this more mature Ralph, occasional hints of his childhood stupidity slip out from time to time: while travelling to the White House in a helicopter, he falls out twice. Ralph's profession is never mentioned so it is unknown if he pursues a career in entertainment as hinted at in "Lisa's Wedding".
Lisa Simpson is elected president of the United States and apparently remains unmarried.
The United States has previously had at least one female president (see below); Lisa only has the honor of being the first straight female president.
Milhouse, who now looks exactly like his father bar the voice, is a secretary for Lisa (and still in love with her). His reaction to Bart is nonexistent, hinting that perhaps the two have had a falling-out.
Kearney works for the Secret Service, and is Lisa's bodyguard.
Nelson owns a nightclub and has Willie as his technical supervisor.
Lenny and Carl still frequently go to Moe's Tavern, but Barney doesn't; he is instead a patron of Nelson's club.
Donald Trump has been president. His administration made the catastrophic choice to invest in the nation's children. Thanks to him, America is in the midst of a massive crime wave. Well-balanced breakfast programs for children has created a generation of ultra-strong super-criminals; midnight basketball taught them how to function without sleep.
Ned Flanders is blind from laser eye surgery. At one point, he thanks Bart for not "outing" his two sons.
Maggie Simpson is an astronaut and has left behind one daughter, Maggie Junior, in Marge's care. She looks like an exact replica of the present-day Maggie; same red pacifier, blue bow and baggie.
Homer has a robotic prostate and now has only one hair.
Soylent Green is on the market (and now has more girls!). [See Futurama]
"Smell you later" replaced "good-bye" in all social situations.
There was a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.
Krusty the Klown is in a wheelchair (but is apparently still able to walk).
The extra bedroom Homer built on the Simpsons' house in Lisa's Wedding is still there.
Alan Greenspan is in Lisa's cabinet. This would make him 104 years old.
The United States is completely bankrupt and relies on foreign aid from Europe and China. To help, America sold the "purple mountain majesties and amber waves of grain", among other properties they do not even own.
Helen Thomas is still in the presidential press corps.
Chastity Bono ran for president against Lisa, presumably for a non-consecutive second term.
The ocean needs refilling.
Kent Brockman is now an anchor for BrainVision News, a fictional news service projected directly into the minds of people. His catchphrase for the show is "From around the globe to your frontal lobe."
Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. has liquor stores and adult bookstores right next to the White House.
Illegal Aliens can now vote

[edit] Trivia

This is the second of three future-themed Simpsons episodes (along with "Lisa's Wedding" and "Future-Drama"). However, these three all depict different futures, so should be seen as independent of each other.
The February 7, 2003 issue of Entertainment Weekly listed this as the worst Simpsons episode of all time.
In the trailers for the episode, Maggie Simpson is shown as an astronaut on the moon with an air hose that she sucks on like a pacifier. However, there was no sign of this scene in the aired episode.
Another scene where Bart plays with a frisbee outside the White House is often deleted from television broadcasts of the episode, although it has been known to occasionally be kept in certain broadcasts.
The text on Gabbo's truck says "Was seen on TV" (with the W poorly painted on).
This episode aired exactly 5 years after "Lisa's Wedding".

[edit] Cultural references

The name of Bart's band is a reference to To Kill a Mockingbird.
The title of the episode is a reference to Back to the Future. Also, Nelson's look is an homage and reference to the Alternate 1985 version of Biff Tannen from Back to the Future Part II
The part where Bart and Ralph perform while the audience attempts to throw bottles at them is a reference to the 1980 film The Blues Brothers and the 1999 music video "I Wouldn't Believe Your Radio" by Stereophonics.
The bar scene at Camp David is a reference to the film The Shining; the scene is an exact replica of the Jack Torrance/Lloyd the Bartender scene.
When Homer is looking for Lincoln's gold, he counts fourscore seven paces, a reference to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which begins with the words "Fourscore and seven years ago...".