The Simpsons episodes 11 through 15

The Crepes Of Wrath

This episode ran on April 15th 1990 in it's usual time slot. It was up against The Living Daylights (The James Bond Film), Murder She Wrote and The Wonderful World Of Disney.

Bart leaves his stuff scattered around the house including his skateboard, which Homer trips on and falls down the stairs, he's stuck at the bottom listening to the Krusty doll until Marge comes home. Marge orders Bart to clean up his room, while doing so he finds an old cherry bomb. The next day at school Bart flushed it down the toilet which causes a massive back flow of water, however Skinner's mother is on the toilet at the time. Skinner comes to the Simpson's house and offers to send Bart into the foreign exchange program instead of being expelled. Bart heads to France but instead of going to school he's forced to work for a couple of wine frauds. Meanwhile the Simpsons take in an exchange student, Adil from Albania. Homer is happy with the new kid without realizing he's a spy, The Sparrow. After months of working Bart sees the French guys mixing antifreeze into the wine to rapidly age it, this was based on a real scandal in 1985. The French guys test the wine on Bart and when he doesn't die they send him to town for supplies so they can finish bottling the now tainted batch. Bart goes to a police officer but he doesn't speak English, however Bart discovers that he picked up some French and complains about how he's being treated, and the antifreeze wine. The police officer jumps into action, after hearing about the wine of course. Meanwhile Homer brings home blueprints from the plant for Adil but before he can turn them over the FBI shows up and arrests The Sparrow. Bart becomes a national hero in France while Adil is sent back to Albania as part of a prisoner exchange program.

In this episode the chalkboard gag is Garlic gum is not funny, the couch gag is a repeat, Homer pops out and falls on the floor.

The show introduces Skinner's mother, but not by her first name. She calls him Spanky and comes across more kindly than in future episodes. This is also the first episode where they mention Milhouse and Lenny by name.

Another somewhat offensive joke the writers slipped in was when Bart says "the life of a frog, that's the life for me" just before he finds out he's going to France. If you don't get it, look it up.

While driving to the chateau in France they pass through several famous paintings, Monet's Bridge Over Pond Of Water Lilies, Van Gogh's Wheat Field With Crows, Rousseau's The Dream and Manet's Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe. Bart brings Maggie a red balloon, a joke relating to the 1956 art film of the same name.

The show features a joke about how Maggie might say her first word any day now. This will become a running gag throughout the series despite the fact that Maggie spoke in the Ullman shorts.

Now on to the next episode.

Krusty Gets Busted

The show ran in it's normal time slot on April 29th, 1990. It was opposite Tim Conway's Funny America (which only lasted 7 episodes), Murder She Wrote and 227.

The show starts off with the Krusty The Clown show, in honor of a girl's birthday they attempt to fire Sideshow Bob out of a cannon however he just fall out after the explosion. Later Homer stops at Kwik-E-Mart for ice cream. While there he sees a guy robbing the store. After a sketch artist does a drawing based on Homer's description they figure out that it is Krusty and he is arrested but claims he's innocent. After the trial Bart asks Lisa to help him prove Krusty didn't do it. They figure out the robber used the microwave despite Krusty's pacemaker and reads a magazine despite being illiterate. They go to the studio to talk to Sideshow Bob, Bart is invited up on stage and figures out, thanks to Bob's big feet, that he robbed the store and framed Krusty, Bart exposes him on the air. The police show up and drag Bob off in cuffs.

The chalkboard gag for this episode is "They are laughing at me, not with me" The couch gag is a repeat of Maggie popping up and landing in Marge's arms.

This is Kent Brockman's first appearance in the series and the first time Bob speaks, he is voiced by Kelsey Grammer

Patty and Selma brings slides from the Yucatan. Their various vacation photos will be seen in several episodes.

Krusty runs an episode of The Itchy And Scratchy show, in this one Scratchy sets Itchy on fire. Marge says she doesn't understand the senseless violence, Lisa responds that if cartoons were meant for adults they would put them on prime time, a reference to complaints the producers got about their show being too adult.

In this episode Krusty says "Don't blame me, I didn't do it." and his doll says "I didn't do it" This will come back as the plot of another episode. Also the reporter covering the crime claims that Krusty's show runs on a rival network however in later episodes they are all at the same studio. The show also mentions Krusty's pacemaker, it too will become part of the plot of future episodes.

This is the first time Apu gets robbed in the series. Krusty, aka Bob wears the classic robbers mask

Homer calls him Cruddy and Crummy before coming up with Krusty the Clown.

In pop culture references, at the lineup Wiggums says "Send in the clowns" this is from the song of the same title from A Little Night Music and a hit for Judy Collins. While he's being taken away Bart says "Say it ain't so Krusty" in reference to the the reporter asking Shoeless Joe Jackson about the Black Sox Scandal and uttering the phrase "Say it ain't so Joe". At the end of the episode Bob says "I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for these darn meddling kids." a reference to Scooby Doo.

This show set up a long running gag about Sideshow Bob and his many attempts to get revenge on Bart and Krusty. 

Some Enchanted Evening

This episode premiered on May 13, 1990 in it's usual time slot and ran against Tim Conway's Funny America, Murder She Wrote and 227. It was the last episode of the Spring seasons.

In the episode Homer overhears Marge on the radio talking about how she feels unappreciated. Later at the bar Moe tells Homer he has to do a grand romantic gesture so he plans a special night out including checking into a motel. Homer calls a babysitting service but finds out they've been banned so he calls back and claims to be the Sampsons instead. Mrs. Botz, voiced by Penny Marshall, shows up and the parents go out for the night. Bart watches America's Most Armed And Dangerous and sees Mrs. Botz, aka the Baby Sitter Bandit. They try to catch her and call the show but she manages to tie them up. Maggie comes downstairs and wants to rewatch a video but has to untie Lisa in order to do that. Mrs. Botz sees Maggie and follows the sound of her pacifier into a dark room where Bart hits her over the head. They tie her up and head to a pay phone to call the show. Meanwhile Marge calls home and can't get through so she and Homer head back. When they get there they find the babysitter tied up, Homer unties her and pays her off, after she leaves the cops show up and find out that he had set her free. He later appears on the news, listed as "Local Boob" and tries to make up a story about fighting with her during her escape. 

The chalkboard gag in this episode was "I will not yell "Fire" in a crowded classroom." the couch gag was a repeat of the family sitting on the couch and nothing happening. There are two phone gags, first Bart calls Moe and asks for "Al Caholic" he calls back and asks for "Oliver Clothesoff"

This is the first show where we hear the radio station KBBL, it's where Marge calls to talk to Dr. Monroe and they also go to their helicopter reporter Bill Pie, The Pie In The Sky, later his name will be changed to Artie. We also see the band The Larry Davis Experience. Larry Davis will appear in other episodes with a different band name. In this episode Barney has blond hair again. Bart refers to Meatloaf Night for the first time and we are introduced to the Off Ramp Inn.

The show America's Most Armed And Dangerous is a reference to The Simpsons real world lead in show Americas Most Wanted.

There are two dated references in this episode. First is the VHS player they used to watch their video of The Happy Little Elves (a move that comes up a lot in both the Ullman shorts, the Christmas Special and the regular series) and they use a pay phone to call the Most Wanted show.

This was the last episode of the Spring season. The show had become very popular to the point where Bart Simpsons t shirts were being banned in schools for being offensive. Don't have a cow man.  Naturally it was scheduled for the fall season. 

Bart Gets An "F"

The show premiered on October 11th 1990.  During the spring season the show had run on Sunday night but now it was being moved to Thursday as the prime time lead in for Fox, and it was followed by Babes, a show about three overweight sisters living in New York City.  It ran opposite Father Dowling Mysteries, Top Cops and the number one sitcom of the day, The Cosby Show. It was ironic consider that the network had such little faith in the show that they insisted on a test of a Christmas special before approving the prime time series.

The opening credits are changed. When doing the pan over through Springfield the Mostly Painless Dentist sign is gone. Instead of a guy eating a sandwich with tongs we see Mr. Burn and Mr. Smithers checking out some plans behind Homer. When the quitting time whistle blows Mr. Burns checks his watch. Bart no longer skateboards past Moe's and steals the Bus Stop sign, instead he goes by several of the main characters, Helen Lovejoy, Apu, Moe and Barney at Moe's Tavern, Jacque (the bowling instructor Marge almost had an affair with), Bleeding Gums Murphy, and Chief Wiggums, who shakes his billy club. When Bart reaches the cross street we can see the statue of Jebediah Springfield in the background and Marge runs the stop sign. After the Marge honking the horn scene there is a fast pan across a lot of the other characters that I'm sure are listed out elsewhere. The part with Lisa on her bike is cut out and it jumps to Homer arriving at the house. In the original opening Lisa is seen riding with what look like a banjo case but now she goes by on her bike with her saxophone, and then it cuts to the couch gag. And another note, the crooked boat painting is now over the couch.

Martin gives a book report on The Old Man And The Sea complete with a costume. Bart has to give a report on Treasure Island but he didn't read it so he describes the image on the cover instead. When asked for the name of the pirate he runs through a list including Long John Silver but settles on Bluebeard. He is punished by having to write "I will not fake my way through life" on the chalkboard, a credit gag in the main series. Bart is warned that he has to pass his history test but instead of studying he goes to the arcade, watches Itchy and Scratchy and ends up hanging out with Homer while they watch gorilla movies on Gorilla Week. Later when he tries to read his homework the history book is so boring that Bart falls asleep. On the bus Bart tries to get answers from the other students, Terri and Sherri give him a bunch of false answers but Martin tips him off. Bart fakes getting sick to get out of the test and then calls Milhouse to get the answers however he also flunked the test and Bart gets another F. The school psychologist (first seen in Bart the Genius) recommends that Bart be held back and repeat the fourth grade. Bart has a vision about the future where he's older and in school and still can't name the pirate in Treasure Island. As his last hope Bart enlists the help of Martin to pass the class, in exchange he offers to help Martin become more popular. Unfortunately for Bart Martin does becomes popular and decides to go off and have fun instead of helping him. Bart prays to God for help and the next day there is a blizzard, instead of going out in the snow Bart has to stay home and study. However despite his efforts Bart flunks the test again but gives a couple of historical references to explain why he is so upset so Mrs. Krabappel gives him extra credit and he passes. 

The chalkboard gag for this episode is I will not encourage others to fly and the couch gag is the family all plops down, and then the couch breaks through the floor crashing into the basement, Homer utters his famous phrase "D'oh!"

Itchy and Scratchy do The Three Musketeers, Itchy is beheaded and then dynamite is shoved in his mouth.

We hear the Bill And Marty show on KBBL for the first time. It's the first time they mention Bill Pie but he is just heard on the radio, not seen. We also get a hint about the Simpsons basement when Bart goes downstairs to study. 

We have several pop culture references in this episode.  While everyone is out playing in the snow they all join hands in a giant circle and start singing like in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Then Patty and Selma go by in a horse drawn sled in a scene from a Currier and Ives drawing. When Bart fantasizes about founding fathers he imagines a snow storm during the signing of the Declaration of Independence and  John Hancock goes outside to write his name in the snow. When Homer and Bart watch Gorilla Week this is a reference to Shark Week on The Discover Channel, but instead of learning about Gorillas it's just a series of old movies.

The dated reference in this show is Bart going to the arcade and playing a coin operated machine instead of studying.

Simpson and Delilah

This episode first aired on October 18th in it's new regular time slot and ran opposite Father Dowling Mysteries, Top Cop and The Cosby Show.

While watching Grade School Challenge Homer sees a commercial for Dimoxinil, at the time Minoxidil, aka Rogaine, had come on the market and bald guys everywhere were lining up for the miracle hair growth formula. He finds out that it costs $1000 for a 6 month treatment but Lenny and Carl convince him to exaggerate on his company insurance form. The next day Homer wakes up with a full head of hair and goes running through the streets. Mr. Burns sees the new Homer and promotes him, according to the union contract. Homer has to hire an assistant and ends up with Karl, voiced by Harvey Fierstein, who then does a Pygmalion transformation on him. At his first executive meeting Homer suggests giving more tartar sauce to the employees, when Burns follows his advice accidents drop and production is up, equal to the number of accidents Homer causes and the production level of when he's on vacation. Mr. Smithers becomes jealous and investigates, only to discover Homer's faked insurance form, Homer wrote he needed the treatment to keep his brain from freezing. Karl pretends that he's the one who faked the insurance form and gets fired. Homer has to give a speech to the executives but doesn't know what to do, meanwhile Bart fantasizes about having a beard and uses the hair treatment. When he's caught he accidentally spills the bottle and the next day Homer wakes up bald again. Karl shows up with a speech for Homer however since he's bald again nobody listens. Mr. Burns takes pity on Homer and gives him his old job back.

In this episode the chalkboard gag is Tar is not a plaything and in the couch gag the family does a quick dance number.

This episode features the first appearance of Lenny. Also Barney has brown hair again. Mr. Burns mentions his age and at this time he's 81. Silvia Winfield and her husband appear in this episode, they shout at Homer to "get a haircut" on the morning he discovers the drug worked and is joyfully running down the street.

For the dated reference Mr. Burns mentions watching a show on The DuMont network. For those who don't know television history it was the fourth network however restrictive FCC practices kept it from growing. It also found itself stuck on the UHF bandwidth at a time when most TVs only picked up the VHF signal, in order to watch their programming you had to buy a DuMont TV. It went defunct in 1956. One of the reasons The Simpsons included this joke was because their market share, which included a thanks to the animated series, was growing and they were in a position to compete with the Big Three, especially thanks to the growing cable market. Adjusted for inflation the $1000 cost for the hair treatment would be $2345 in the modern world.

So that's another 5 episodes of The Simpsons, 735 to go, unless they stay on the air and then who knows.

ps, the next episode is a pretty important one in the history of The Simpsons.