Whether he's accidentally learning French in season 1's "The Crepes of Wrath" or growing up to become a troubled artist in season 27's elegantly-structured "Barthood," Bart Simpson (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) has been one of the most important characters on The Simpsons since the beginning. Though The Simpsons has many likable characters, it was Bartmania that really took the world by storm during the cartoon's second season. Remember the Butterfinger commercials? Ay, caramba!
Commonly known as the troublemaker, Bart has done everything from decapitating Jebediah Springfield's statue to release a giant balloon of Principal Skinner with a big behind. But sometimes he repents his sins, even uses his powers of mischief for good. Though all of Bart's best episodes are consistently hilarious and often include some of his most extravagant crimes, they also depict the emotional range this 10-year-old rascal is capable of under the right circumstances.
The Simpsons
TV-14ComedyThe satiric adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.
Release Date December 17, 1989 Cast Dan Castellaneta , Julie Kavner , Nancy Cartwright , Yeardley Smith , Hank Azaria , Harry Shearer Main Genre Comedy Seasons 36 Studio Fox10 'Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie'
Season 4, Episode 6
Bart is on a terror-streak in season 4's "Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie." Marge is told that her boy has replaced his teacher's birth control pills with Tic-Tacs, snuck knives into school, and stuck some fireworks in places where they definitely do not belong. But Homer won't put his foot down, and the result is so destructive that Bart feels entitled to tear up the carpet for absolutely no reason without facing repercussions.
That's about to change. After letting Maggie drive the car and inadvertently starting a prison break, Bart leaves Homer no choice but to take fatherhood seriously for once. While Lisa and everyone else go to watch the Itchy and Scratchy movie, Bart finds it impossible to even sneak into the theater. He tries to compensate by reading the novel, but not even acclaimed author Norman Mailer captures the essence of this Academy Award-winning cartoon slash-fest. It takes comically long for Bart to see it; thus, the episode aptly demonstrates more than most the value of direct consequences.
9 'Grade School Confidential'
Season 8, Episode 19
Bart goes from villain to hero in season 8's "Grade School Confidential." After discovering Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel making out during a hysterically-bad birthday party, Bart nearly announces what he saw to the entire cafeteria. Skinner summons him to the principal's office just in time, though, and a deal is made. One might expect Bart to exploit this agreement, but it's actually the other way around. In fact, the audience takes Bart's side throughout the second half of this episode.
"Grade School Confidential" is gut-busting the whole way through, but it also displays several different sides of Bart: we see him awkward, shocked, confident, helplessly submissive, embarrassed, annoyed. The best is when he combines his disobedient nature with compassion in the episode's climax: he locks the school down to fashion another bargain for his teacher and principal's right to love. It is not often that Bart this noble, and it's a testament to the character that Bart's virtuous side is just as funny as his devilish one.
8 'Bart Gets an F'
Season 2, Episode 1
The premiere of the season that launched Bart to superstardom began with one of his biggest crises. After studying Milhouse's answers for a test in advance and somehow scoring even worse, Bart gets the fright of his life: "As shameful and emotionally crippling as it may be," the school psychiatrist recommends that Bart repeat the 4th grade. The viewer may be inclined to recall a class they struggled in, making this an exceptionally relatable story.
Bart's so desperate that he asks school-nerd Martin for help in exchange for coolness lessons. Unfortunately, while Martin basically becomes the new Bart, the real Bart studies as hard as he can and still comes up short. In all the cartoons' history, rarely does the viewer sympathize with him (or any character) more than in "Bart Gets an F." Bart's desperation, his genuine attempt to apply himself on a ridiculously-perfect snow day, and David Silverman's immersive direction come through to make this a surprisingly deep Simpsons episode and surely one of Bart's best storylines.
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7 'Bart of Darkness'
Season 6, Episode 1
"Bart of Darkness" shows that Bart can be a great character even when he can't pull any pranks. After falling and breaking his leg, he must endure an entire summer watching everyone else splash around in the backyard pool while Lisa suddenly becomes the most popular girl in the neighborhood. It doesn't take long for Bart to go stir-crazy, watching Krusty reruns about collective bargaining agreements and writing a bland play about English polite society.
So the young Simpson begins to spy on everyone. That, along with his belief that Ned Flanders killed his wife, turn the episode into an amusing parody of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window and one of the scariest non-Treehouse of Horror episodes. In his dark, deep isolation, Bart becomes funny, creepy, and sympathetic all at once. Though it's always great to watch him play detective, his attempt to save his sister is also one of his most admirable moments.
6 'Radio Bart'
Season 3, Episode 13
In "Radio Bart," Bart goes from being the center of attention for the right reasons to being the center of attention for the wrong ones. It's his birthday, so he gets himself a spot on the Krusty Birthday Pals list. It's the best eight bucks he's ever spent, and thank goodness for that, because his other presents fall short of expectations. That is until he uses his Superstar Celebrity Microphone to pull pranks on everybody.
Eventually, he fools the entire town into believing there's a boy called Timmy O'Toole trapped in a well. It's one of Bart's most sadistic practical jokes, but the town's response (both inept and overblown) is equally hilarious. Unfortunately for Bart, he genuinely falls down the well trying to retrieve his toy. This time, though, Springfield doesn't care. It's a brutal lesson, and his tears of despair manage to let the viewer sympathize with him more than they might have expected.
5 'Bart the Daredevil'
Season 2, Episode 8
Bart is at his most reckless in season 2's classic, "Bart the Daredevil." Springfield's Monster Truck Rally is offering "car crunching, fire-breathing, prehistoric insanity" with none other than Truckasaurus. This is bound to give the impressionable Bart some dangerous ideas. Sure enough, enter Captain Lance Murdoch: a man who rides a motorcycle over so many ferocious creatures that Bart decides he must become the next death-defying showman.
Bart can be extremely disciplined when he wants to be, and this episode displays his passionate work ethic when the subject isn't school-related. After some skateboard jumps of increasing difficulty, the boy achieves proper recognition. Finally, Bart decides to jump his skateboard over Springfield Gorge, a stunt that will surely kill him. It's almost as inspiring as it is alarming to watch him chase his dream, culminating in one of the funniest and most spectacular climaxes in the Simpsons canon.
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"You can be so cruel when you're sober."
4 'Separate Vocations'
Season 3, Episode 18
Bart is never more likable than in season 3's brilliant "Separate Vocations." The kids at Springfield Elementary take the career aptitude normalizing test (CANT for short), which yields mixed responses. Lisa's apparently destined to be a homemaker, and Bart a police officer. So he gets to ride in a police car as she grows jaded and rebels. It's a tremendous subversion of the siblings' roles in the show, and it's done so well that their transformations are completely believable.
Who knew Bart would make such a good cop? He does Maggie's fingerprints, clears Santa's Little Helper's name, and becomes the most successful hall monitor in his school's history. Bart's best act of all, however, is when he selflessly (and cleverly) sacrifices his hard-won reputation for someone he cares about. "Separate Vocations" concludes with one of the most wholesome endings (and detentions) ever.
3 'Krusty Gets Busted'
Season 1, Episode 12
When Krusty the Clown is accused of holding up a liquor store, Bart can't believe it. Directed by legendary animator Brad Bird (who would go on to direct such films as The Iron Giant and The Incredibles), this episode intensely depicts Bart grappling with a crisis of faith. Although his idol is definitely guilty of sports gambling, Bart is determined to find evidence to disprove the armed robbery accusation. With Lisa's help, Krusty's number-one fan searches for clues in the Kwik-E-Mart and elsewhere.
Also, one of the best Krusty episodes, "Krusty Gets Busted" is one of the few times when everyone is wrong and Bart is right. Although Sideshow Bob proves a sophisticated fellow, Bart actually has a pretty shrewd wit himself when he's hard-pressed to use it. Not Lisa, not the cops, not the lawyers, but detective Bart is the one who figures out who framed Krusty. And he does it in style: live on TV. In the end, this is the first and very best of Bart's investigations.
2 'Bart vs. Thanksgiving'
Season 2, Episode 7
Leave it to Bart to ruin Thanksgiving. In season 2's "Bart vs. Thanksgiving," he insensitively burns Lisa's centerpiece of American feminist trailblazers while clearing the table, and is subsequently sent to his room without any supper. So he runs away to have his own holiday banquet. While Lisa writes a poem to vent, her brother winds up at a soup kitchen, where Kent Brockman pretends to care about the homeless and Bart learns to be a little more grateful for the people in his life.
This is easily The Simpsons' best Thanksgiving episode, and much of that has to do with Bart's holiday-odyssey across town. He tries to steal a pie from Mr. Burns's impressively-guarded window sill, donates blood with a fake ID to get a cookie that he's too groggy to finish (to his dog's delight), and winds up back home with a guilty conscience and some perspective on economic inequality. Bart's reunion with Lisa on the roof has a certain cinematic finesse to it, and the audience believes him when he (eventually) says he's sorry.
1 'Bart the Lover'
Season 3, Episode 16
Presenting Bart's alter-ego: Woodrow. He likes holding hands, hates yo-yo's, and pens romantic letters. By studying a comically-drunken postcard and mediocre television, Woodrow captures Edna Krabappel's heart with just his letters. As heartless as that may be, the deep and sensuous voice in Krabappel's head as she reads these farces is so absurdly misleading that one cannot help but laugh along to "Bart the Lover."
This time, Bart doesn't even get caught; he stops of his own volition. With surprising humility, he doesn't try to solve this dilemma single-handedly but humbly asks his family for help. It's so charming to watch the entire Simpson clan workshop together to somehow write a goodbye-letter that will end this relationship, guarantee that Edna won't find out Woodrow's true identity, and yet make sure the teacher still feels loved. This under-appreciated classic ends with a touching final scene between Bart and Mrs. Krabappel that turns detention into a bonding experience between two common enemies. It's a perfect redemption arc for one of TV's wildest characters.
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