Bart Gets Hit by a Car

Mr. Burns' car hits Bart when he is skateboarding. Bart has an out-of-body experience, and rides a gold escalator and visits Heaven. Naturally, Bart does the opposite of what he is supposed to do (hold on to the hand rail and not to spit over the side), and visits Hell. In Hell, he meets the Devil. He floats back into his body, waking up in Dr. Hibbert's room. Bart has minor injuries, a bump on the head and a broken toe, but nothing serious. In the room, an attorney named Lionel Hutz comes in and suggests that Homer sue Mr. Burns. Burns offers Homer $100, but he refuses, and he goes to see Lionel Hutz. Hutz promises Homer a cash settlement of $1,000,000. They see Dr. Nick Riviera, who says that Bart is a very sick boy. According to Dr. Nick a fingerprinted x-ray was in fact broken ribs. Marge, however, decries Dr. Nick for saying Bart is sick, arguing that he is not a real doctor.

Homer sues Mr. Burns, with Bart offering his (unbelievable) testimony that he was playing innocently, until the "Luxury Car of Death" hit him, and Burns saying in his (even more unbelievable) testimony that he was driving to the orphanage to pass out toys until Bart darted in front of him. The jury does not believe Mr. Burns's testimony, who yells at his lawyers and orders them to bring Homer and Marge to his house. At his mansion, Burns offers Homer a $500,000 settlement. Homer and Marge discuss the matter, but Homer objects to the settlement, insisting that Burns knows he will lose the trial and will have to pay the family $1 million. Burns cancels the settlement after overhearing Marge saying the lawsuit is based on false evidence.

At the trial, Marge is called to the stand. In her testimony, she denounces Dr. Nick Riviera as being a phony doctor concerned more about wrapping Bart in bandages than in making him feel better, while proving Dr. Hibbert to be a real doctor. She is asked to describe Bart's intense mental anguish and suffering, and when she does, she is not sure how intense it is, although she mentions that Bart did miss three days of school, and when asked to put a dollar amount on the hardships, she says that Bart would have made $5 if he were able to take out the garbage. Marge, offering honest testimony, destroys Hutz's case. Mr. Burns then offers Homer another settlement, this time for the amount of $0, which Hutz advises Homer to accept. Although Bart receives good treatment and now feels better after the trial, a downbeat Homer worries that Marge cost him $1,000,000, and he tells Marge he is going to Moe's. Marge comes into Moe's and asks Homer to forgive her for her testimony, but he says that he is not sure he loves her anymore, until he looks her in the eyes to find out and feels happy, and they love each other.

[edit] Debut appearances

Characters making a first appearance in this episode are:

Dr. Nick Riviera
Lionel Hutz
Judge Roy Snyder (although he is called Judge Moulton here)
Blue-Haired Lawyer

[edit] Notes

This is the second episode to show its title (the first being The Telltale Head) and first to show its number (episode 23).
The Devil was off in his calculation of the next time the Yankees would have won the American League pennant: not "a century from now," but 1996.
The Devil uses a Macintosh computer to check Bart's record.
Sign in Dr. Nick Riviera's office: "Yes, we use anesthetic!" Also, one of his diplomas reads: "I went to medical school for four years and all I got was this lousy diploma."
This episode shows Great-Grandpa Simpson, Aunt Hortense and Snowball I in Heaven.
Dr. Hibbert pokes Bart's bump and he shouts "Ow! Quit it." two times. This was the second time we hear Bart shout "Ow! Quit it." He first shouted it in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." Matt Groening claims this reference comes from what his real life siblings (Maggie and Lisa) used to do to him when he was a child.
Lisa only has five lines in this episode.
The program's version of Hell is an homage to Hieronymus Bosch's triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights; esp. the Hell panel.
This is one of the most heavily edited episodes in syndication. The full opening sequence is replaced with the short opening from Season 5's Rosebud, and there are 17 cut scenes, none of which are over nine seconds long.
Approximately half-way through the episode, when Bart is on the witness stand, the characters Akbar and Jeff from Matt Groening's comic, Life in Hell, can be seen in the courtroom audience.

[edit] Cultural references

The song "Tijuana Taxi" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass is heard twice in the show's history: in this episode (as Mr. Burns is recalling the time leading up to the incident), and in "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister."
The Devil says "Please allow me to introduce myself", a reference to The Rolling Stones song Sympathy for the Devil.
When Bart wakes up from his out-of-body experience, he says, "I did go away, Mom! I was miles and miles and miles away, writhing in agony in the pits of Hell! And you were there! And you and you and you," a reference to the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy awakens from her slumber.