Bart's Comet

"Bart's Comet" is the 14th episode of The Simpsons' sixth season. The episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 5, 1995.^[2] In the episode, Bart Simpson accidentally discovers a comet, which is heading towards Springfield. The show's writing staff saw an issue of Time magazine which presented the threat of comets hitting Earth on its cover, and decided to create an episode in a similar vein. John Swartzwelder wrote the script, while Bob Anderson directed. "Bart's Comet" contains references to Where's Waldo? and The Twilight Zone, and received positive commendations from reviewers.

Plot

After Bart sabotages Principal Skinner's weather balloon, Skinner decides to punish him by having him help with his amateur astronomy. Skinner dreams of finding something in the sky and having it named after him. Bart accidentally locates a comet which is named after him. Scientists soon discover that the comet is heading straight for Springfield. Professor Frink plans to launch a missile at the comet, dispelling everyone's fears (save only by Lisa, who knows that this plan can backfire, and Moe, because in any circumstance, his tavern will be destroyed anyway). However, the missile flies past the comet, instead blowing up the only bridge out of town, dooming the people.

After a Congressional bill to evacuate Springfield is defeated, Homer decides that they should stay in the bomb shelter that Ned Flanders built. Anticipating this, Ned had built it large enough for both families. One hour before Springfield is destroyed, the rest of the townspeople arrive, demanding a place in the bunker. Homer is unable to close the door and someone has to leave. Homer decides that the only thing the "world of the future" will not need is left-handed stores and tells Ned to go. After Ned leaves the bomb shelter, Moe decided that they should play a barnyard noise guessing game to past the time, however, it causes a huge argument.

Eventually, Homer feels guilty and leaves as well, followed by the other townspeople and they all converge on a hill to await death. As the comet enters the atmosphere, it burns up in the thick layer of pollution over Springfield, popping Skinner's weather balloon and destroying Ned's bunker on the way. The town decides to burn down the observatory to prevent a similar incident from ever happening again. The Simpsons, however, are more worried at the fact Homer correctly predicted the fate of the comet - that it would burn up and fall to earth as a rock no bigger than a Chihuahua's head.

Production

John Swartzwelder wrote the episode.

The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Bob Anderson. After seeing an issue of Time magazine, which presented the threat of comets hitting Earth on its cover, the writing staff decided to have an episode based on the concept of a comet hitting Springfield. They fleshed out the episode's plot over several days and Swartzwelder then set about writing the details of the script.^[1] According to showrunner David Mirkin, examples of "Swartzwelder humor" in the episode include the American fighter pilots mistaking Groundskeeper Willie for an Iraqi jet and cutting to Grampa and Jasper outside a 1940s General store.^[1] For the bomb shelter scene, the mass of townspeople was constructed on multiple layers so that it was easier to animate.^[4]

Kent Brockman's list of gay people is composed of the show's production staff, who had to sign legal agreements that they would not sue their own show. As a result, according to Groening, many of the staff appear on lists of gay people on the Internet.^[1][5] The episodes marks the first appearance of Database, a character show creator Matt Groening dislikes if he is used for anything more than one line.^[5]

Mirkin considers the episode to be one of his all time favorites, calling it a "perfect Simpsons episode" due to the size of the plot, emotion and observational humor.^[1]

Cultural references

David Mirkin put Waldo in the top-left of the frame.^[1]

The couch gag is a reference to the animation of Fleischer Studios.^[1] The constellation of the Three Wise Men is a drawing of the original The Three Stooges.^[1] The townspeople yanking their collars after the rocket destroys the only bridge out of town is a reference to Charles Nelson Reilly's performance in The Ghost & Mrs. Muir.^[1] Waldo from Where's Waldo? appears near the top-left of frame during the first group shot in the bomb shelter, imitating the style of the Where's Waldo? books.^[1] The bomb shelter scenes were based on The Twilight Zone episodes "The Shelter" and "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street".^[1] The episode makes references to Back to the Future, including when Professor Frink accidentally sets his town model on fire, just like Doc Brown.^[3] The Super Friends are named after the 1970s cartoon of the same name and as the comet approaches Springfield, the townspeople sing "Que Sera Sera", a song originally recorded by Doris Day.^[3][1]

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "Bart's Comet" finished joint 33rd (with The X-Files and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper) in the ratings for the week of January 3 to February 5, 1995, with a Nielsen rating of 11.3. It was the fourth highest rated show on the Fox network that week.^[6][7]

Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, called it an "excellent episode" and praised the "great moment when the ever-pious Maude Flanders happily sacrifices her Neddy."^[3] Mikey Cahill of the Herald Sun picked the episode's chalkboard gag "Cursive writing does not mean what I think it does" as one of his favorite chalkboard gags in the history of the show.^[8] Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said in a review of the sixth season DVD that he did not "share the same level of enthusiasm for it" as Mirkin, concluding: "I think it provides a consistently strong show. It stretches reality a bit, but that’s not a problem–or unusual for the series–and the program ends up as a positive one."^[9] Ryan Keefer of DVD Verdict gave the episode a B-.^[10] In the July 26, 2007 issue of Nature, the scientific journal's editorial staff listed "Bart's Comet" among "The Top Ten science moments in The Simpsons".^[11]

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: "Bart's Comet"

• "Bart's Comet" at The Simpsons.com
• "Bart's Comet" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
• "Bart's Comet" at TV.com
• "Bart's Comet" at the Internet Movie Database