Vitals
Title: Bart the Genius
Air Date: January 14, 1990
Episode No. 7G02 (Season 1, Episode 2)
Written by: John Vitti
Directed by: David Silverman
I am a big fan of the writer of this episode, John Vitti, in fact he is probably my favorite all-time Simpson's writer. Vitti, in my opinion, works better than any other writers with the James L. Brooks sensibility. Brooks brought a strong dose of humanity (and an appropriately measured dose of sentiment) that gave the early show its center and is the framework upon which all the louder moments of humor hang. The Simpsons could never have succeeded as a show without that facet and Vitti is as good as anyone at finding both humor and poignancy in the same story beats. He establishes that reputation firmly from the very start and manages to bring surprising complexity to such fresh characters.
The story is about as simple as the show gets. The show opens with a family game of scrabble that highlights that the Simpsons aren't very smart (or at least not great at scrabble) and gives us the classic Kwyjibo. The family seems happy and loving, even if the scene ends with Homer flying into a rage and chasing Bart around the house. Then Bart, in his latest act of misbehavior, spray paints Skinner graffiti on the side of the school the next day ("I am a weiner") and gets turned in by Martin, who has never been worse as he not only torments Bart by abusing the trust of the teachers, but also mocks his intelligence with palpable condescension. Bart is caught, literally red-handed by Skinner (who has thankfully lost his stammer from Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire) and Marge and Homer are called in for an after school meeting.
Weiner may not be the common spelling, but it is an acceptable ethnic variation.
Bart is returned to class and sits down just in time for a standardized IQ test. After some more poor treatment from Martin, Bart settles in, facing the window so he doesn't cheat, to take the test. It seems like every other line in the episode is about Bart's intelligence, and a fantasy sequence makes clear that having every adult in his life write him off as a stupid and incorrigible trouble-maker weighs on him. The math word problem become literal as Bart is trapped on a train where he seeks help solving the problem. As he becomes more confused and desperate numbers begin to take over the frame, until everything that can has taken on a numerical form. Its a very sharp, very Silverman piece of animation that illustrates just how heavily it all weighs on Bart.
Yet another round of mocking from Martin, who is of course finished with the test, leads Bart to do the only thing he thinks he's good at, mischief. When Krabappel's back is turned he grabs Martin's finished test and exchanges it for his own. When Marge and Homer arrive for their meeting with Skinner, who has an entire drawer in his filing cabinet for Bart's permanent record, is about to announce some drastic action to address Bart's behavior when the school psychologist, Dr. J. Loren Pryor, rushes in and puts the result of Bart's IQ test before Skinner, who is stopped in his tracks. Although he, Marge and Homer are incredulous, Skinner is happy to be rid of Bart by any means necessary and arranges a transfer to a school for the gifted.
At first Bart basks in the better treatment he receives. Finally his poor behavior is seen as a good sign, the byproduct of a special, but bored mind, and everyone gets off his back. He knows he won't be able to maintain the charade, but he tries, at first because he doesn't want to be caught and later because he doesn't want to disappoint Marge and Homer. Of course, Bart can't cut it at the new school, where the students quickly determine he isn't one of them and abuse him relentlessly. At home, he is happy to be treated better, especially by Homer. However, he is also exhausted by Marge, who is so intimidated by Bart's new intelligence that she sets up a series of unwanted culture outings. We see the trip to the opera, which the rest of the family uses to mock the singers, even though Marge somehow managed to snag a private balcony.
Finally, exhausted from the abuse and heightened expectations, Bart is about to give up and confess, but decides to stick it out when Homer invites him to play catch and they have a rare bonding moment. Then, though, the time limit for the episode intervenes and Bart is send back to Springfield Elementary after he mixes an acid and base and fills the lab with something green that dyes his skin. Dr. Pryor, incompetent as he is, can't understand Bart's failure at the new school, and buys Bart's final lie about wanting to go undercover to observe the normal kids in his old class. It is only then, realizing he doesn't want to keep playing this game, that Bart confesses.
Sadly, its played for laughs when Bart finally tells Homer the truth as he is being de-greened with turpentine in a metal washtub. He pours his heart out, telling Homer how much better it was to not be treated like a screw-up. Homer reacts with his typically oversized rage and chases Bart through the house and into his bedroom. A literal and figurative door closes on their better relationship and everyone falls back into their dysfunctional, but familiar roles. Its was only choice the show could make, but it always leaves me a bit sad for Bart, who has yet to find the acceptance he was seeking 25 years later.
As a piece of comedy, Bart the Genius is an enjoyable, but ultimately disappointing outing. Vitti, as usual, does great work with the family dynamics, hinting at Lisa's put-upon brilliance, Marge's desire to nurture the children into a higher social class, and, of course, Homer's frustration with Bart.
However, while the jokes are sharply observed and the satire bites hard (for instance the transformation of Dumb Bart's graffiti into a monument to Genius Bart's early greatness), they are merely amusing rather than actually funny. The scenes at Bart's new school are particularly disappointing, with most of the jokes falling flat and not making the children seem odd, rather than brilliant.*
I appreciate this episode for the emotions and complex feelings that it minds, even though it ultimately pulls its punches hard and reverts to the status quo. It makes sense for the second episode of the series, there is value to staying broad and malleable and there probably isn't anything to be gained from focusing on the saddest aspects of the family relationships.The particular pathos of this episode does come back a few time, with its peak in the second season's Bart Gets an F (which might be the most heartbreaking outing in the show's history), and the groundwork is laid here with impressive economy.
*I do love David Silverman's work in the scenes in the school, which looks amazing and overflows with nerd-thrilling detail. I like the retro-futuristic desks and Bart's struggle with the kneeling chair (especially because Lisa is the only 8 year old in the world who uses one - someone on staff is obviously an enthusiast).
"Discover your desks people."
Running Gags
The Children's Treasury of Amusingly Mundane Names: Dr. J. Loren Pryor, school psychologist
Dr. Nick Riviera's Parade of Incompetent Experts:
J. Loren Pryor is the first of many impossibly incompetent professionals in Springfield. This is one of the shows most common, and often best tropes, and is used so frequently that almost every adult in Springfield is terrible at their job. Dr. Pryor guides this train out of the station by cavilierly ignoring all the evidence that Bart's IQ test couldn't be accurate. When Skinner suggests they retest Bart to be sure, he caliverly refuses. He does, though, take time to measure Bart's head with calipers.
I imagine this has something to do with phrenology, but what?
Jeff Albertson's Obsessive Watcher Moment:
The question of the Simpson daughter's intelligence comes up frequently on the show. Although Lisa's brilliance hasn't been firmly established at this point, Lisa quickly develops into a (mostly) platonic ideal of precocious intelligence. There are countless episodes where Lisa must learn to navigate life as a smart Simpson. Maggie's mind is a less common topic, but does come up. In A Streetcar Named Marge she escapes the Ayn Rand School for Tots a la The Great Escape and may or may not be brilliant in Smart and Smarter, which features Simon Cowell and Lisa's ego.
Great Introductions of Classic Characters:
The late Marcia Wallace starts of with a grand slam as Mrs. Krabappel. Her first on screen advise for the class as she hand's out the IQ test: "I don't want you to worry class, these tests will have no effect on your grade, they merely determine your future social status and financial success. If any." A little on the nose, perhaps, but that's what makes Mrs. K so great, the only thing missing is the disaffected laugh.
(Wallace also does double duty in this episode, voicing Bart's other teacher, Ms. Mellon).
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