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The Simpsons: Bart Gets an "F" really is a memorable episode
- Thread starter Cheddahz
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A video link to the scene.
Season 2 was definitely a step more in the sentimental camp. Season 3 was probably the sweet spot for me (Saturdays of Thunder always hits hard when Homer wont leave to see Bart race).
Season 2 was definitely a step more in the sentimental camp. Season 3 was probably the sweet spot for me (Saturdays of Thunder always hits hard when Homer wont leave to see Bart race).
bananafactory
Banned
I cried the first time I got a C
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Crimsonclaw111
Member
I absolutely love this episode. A real highlight of Season 2.
However, seasons 4 and 5 will always be my favorites
However, seasons 4 and 5 will always be my favorites
terrisus
Member
Yeah, the first season or two - while having many great episodes - were a bit rough around the edges and at times out of place as things tried to find themselves and figure out what they were going to do and such.
Still definitely great though.
Thanks for making me feel even older >.>
theSlacker
Member
Part of this D- belongs to God.
Great way to end the episode. Just little stuff like that was what made Simpsons great.
Great way to end the episode. Just little stuff like that was what made Simpsons great.
It is certainly one of the best episodes, if not THE best.
I really miss this aspect of Bart, when he can be very vulnerable and insecure.
Today's Bart is extremely malicious, to the point of being downright evil instead of a "problem child".
Also, that episode means a lot to me because I was always a terrible student. I couldn't focus in class, leading to bad grades. So I understand Bart's frustration of actually trying to learn and still failing. That episode is like an episode of my life.
I really miss this aspect of Bart, when he can be very vulnerable and insecure.
Today's Bart is extremely malicious, to the point of being downright evil instead of a "problem child".
Also, that episode means a lot to me because I was always a terrible student. I couldn't focus in class, leading to bad grades. So I understand Bart's frustration of actually trying to learn and still failing. That episode is like an episode of my life.
Succinct Verbosity
Member
Back when the simpsons was a family drama with comedic elements instead of a whacky show with barely any character drama (and then straight up shit, obviously).
SliceSabre
Banned
I loved this episode when I first saw it cause I was in the fourth grade myself and could totally get the horror of possibly failing and getting held back which was something that almost happened to me in the third grade.
Still my favorite episode of the series.
Still my favorite episode of the series.
ratcliffja
Member
Yeah it's a really great episode. Also, it just hit me that Bart is actually older than me. I was 7 when this episode aired.
Brerlappin
Member
I was always bad at Maths as a kid and pretty much failed every test in it i ever took, which made me feel like a complete idiot, so as a kid yeah, this episode hit me hard too
What also heightens this scene is the way Mrs Krabappel genuinely consoles Bart ("there there!") during his traumatic realisation; like him she also breaks free from her emotional detachment from the classroom, whereby she is moved by his dilemma and finds a new purposeful voice... and she is only too happy when she figures that all is not lost...
terrisus
Member
If you weren't 8 when the series started, he's older than you.
Since, he was that age from the beginning.
Or, alternatively, he's been younger than you for decades.
Exactly.
Today's Simpsons have become too one-dimensional, like extreme parodies of their former selves. They've always been caricatures of common stereotypes, of course, but in the old days you could see more aspects to their personality and their struggles instead of what we have now.
The episode where Bart pretends to be a man mailing Ms. Krabappel for a relationship is also magnificent.
terrisus
Member
Funny, that's Eric Cartman now too.
Though he was always malicious. It just took a turn for the extreme when he tried to help Cthulhu literally end the world.
Bart, and by extension his whole family, were still human beings in early Simpsons. There were their "comedy" elements, and then there were the things that made them laugh and cry.
terrisus
Member
The thing is, The Simpsons now are undeniably different than they were previously, but it's not as simple as saying "They were better then than they are now," since there is a notable difference between how they were the first season or two while they were trying to figure themselves out, and the 10 or so seasons after that.
Not to say they were bad at the beginning of anything, just that they were a bit different at times, as opposed to pretty much all of like seasons 3-12 when they were consistently great.
Not to say they were bad at the beginning of anything, just that they were a bit different at times, as opposed to pretty much all of like seasons 3-12 when they were consistently great.
No matter how I worded the above post, I have a feeling someone's going to take it as me saying they weren't great during seasons 1 and 2. That's not what I'm saying >.>
crimzonflame
Member
I remember that GAF user who said the the new Simpsons is the exact same as the old Simpsons and it's we who have changed and not the show. He was pretty adamant about it and called everyone who thought otherwise an asshole.
This is a great episode, a landmark of the series. It speaks great of the series that, by now, Bartmania was at its peak, and instead of capitalizing with that by making Bart some sort of badass kid who would always get his way, no, here we have it in the season premiere (which broke audience records, 33.6 million viewers for God's sake) being the most human and relatable he could be.
It's also one I like because it's one of the few episodes, even in the classic era, that's truly carried by Bart's characterization. Even in the golden days, he was the least developed of the main four. You'll say, no, there are dozens of Bart episodes. But if you pay attention, after the first few seasons most so-called Bart episodes have things happening to him, and gags mined out of stuff that occurs around him, but rarely if ever actually born out of Bart himself. Here it's completely Bart's show from beginning to end, and for that, I love it.
It's also one I like because it's one of the few episodes, even in the classic era, that's truly carried by Bart's characterization. Even in the golden days, he was the least developed of the main four. You'll say, no, there are dozens of Bart episodes. But if you pay attention, after the first few seasons most so-called Bart episodes have things happening to him, and gags mined out of stuff that occurs around him, but rarely if ever actually born out of Bart himself. Here it's completely Bart's show from beginning to end, and for that, I love it.
Note that the reason this episode is the highest rated episode of the series in viewership though is not because of the content, but because, after months of media speculation and hype, this was the first episode that aired on a Thursday night opposite The Cosby Show. Also note that the episode wasn't even viewable in a good portion of the country at the time, I think I've read that upwards of 20% of America didn't have access to Fox when the episode aired.
So viewership could have been even higher. Fascinating.
Oh and I know it wasn't because America read the plot summary and went nuts over Bart studying for an exam, but it's still worth remarking the writing staff was unaffected by the Bartmania and stuck to their guns regarding solid characterization.
Masquerader
Member
Ahh, before they made Bart's character sociopathic. Great episode.
terrisus
Member
And, as I said, there would have been many warnings and interventions along the way, it would harldy come as a shock.
Zen_Arcade
Banned
This is my favorite Simpsons episode as well. So many laughs in that one.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Way before the animation became super stale and boring too. Earlier seasons are so much more fun to look at.
Jawmuncher
Member
yeah that episode is absolutely great.
The moment isn't played for laughs, though, and the episode invites you to sympathize with Bart by showing that this is one time he's actually sticking with the honest way to success.
SniperHunter
Banned
equally depressing because I failed in Grade 6 and had to repeat. I barely passed the second time around lol
zero shift
Banned
That's what made this episode perfect.
I'm surprisingly older than this episode.
RadioHeadAche
Member
I think I still have this episode as a part of a VHS boxset.
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