The Simpsons episode
"Bart the Genius"
Homer chases Bart through the house.
Episode no.	2
Prod. code	7G02
Orig. airdate	January 14, 1990
Show runner(s)	James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon
Written by	Jon Vitti
Directed by	David Silverman
Chalkboard	"I will not waste chalk"
Couch gag	The family hurries on to the couch. Bart is popped off and flies into the air. He comes down during the shot of the TV.
DVD commentary	Matt Groening James L. Brooks David Silverman Jon Vitti
Season 1 December 17, 1989 – May 13, 1990
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire Bart the Genius Homer's Odyssey There's No Disgrace Like Home Bart the General Moaning Lisa The Call of the Simpsons The Telltale Head Life on the Fast Lane Homer's Night Out The Crepes of Wrath Krusty Gets Busted Some Enchanted Evening
List of all The Simpsons episodes

"Bart the Genius" is the second episode of The Simpsons' first season. Simpsons redirects here. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 475 × 387 pixelsFull resolution (475 × 387 pixel, file size: 30 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Homer chases Bart through the house. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... James L. Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is a three-time Academy Award, nineteen-time Emmy and Golden Globe-winning American producer, writer, and film director. ... Matthew Abram Groening (born February 15, 1954[2] in Portland, Oregon;[3] his family name is pronounced ) is an Emmy Award-winning American cartoonist and the creator of The Simpsons,[4] Futurama and the weekly comic strip Life in Hell. ... Sam Simon was one of the original developers of The Simpsons, along with Matt Groening and James L. Brooks. ... The Simpsons writing staff in season 13, including current show runner Al Jean (fourth from left in middle row) and previous show runners Mike Scully (first from left in back row), David Mirkin (sixth from left in back row), and Mike Reiss (fourth from left in back row). ... Vitti as portrayed in the episode of The Simpsons The Front. Jon Vitti is a writer who is most noted for his well-received scripts for the television series The Simpsons. ... The three people are caricatures of (left to right) Rich Moore, Wes Archer and David Silverman[1] The following is a list of directors who have worked on the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... David Silverman (born on 15 March 1957 in New York City, New York) is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, where he would go on to be the supervising director of animation for several years, as well as animating on all... Bart writes The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with Hail Satan The chalkboard gag is a running visual joke that occurs during the opening credits of many episodes of The Simpsons. ... The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. ... The Simpsons DVD season boxsets have been released since 2001 in different regions all over the world. ... Matthew Abram Groening (born February 15, 1954[2] in Portland, Oregon;[3] his family name is pronounced ) is an Emmy Award-winning American cartoonist and the creator of The Simpsons,[4] Futurama and the weekly comic strip Life in Hell. ... James L. Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is a three-time Academy Award, nineteen-time Emmy and Golden Globe-winning American producer, writer, and film director. ... David Silverman (born on 15 March 1957 in New York City, New York) is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, where he would go on to be the supervising director of animation for several years, as well as animating on all... Vitti as portrayed in the episode of The Simpsons The Front. Jon Vitti is a writer who is most noted for his well-received scripts for the television series The Simpsons. ... The first season of The Simpsons originally aired between December 1989 and May 1990. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Season 2episode list header}} {{Template:Infobox Simpsons season 1 Season 2episode list}} Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, also known as The Simpsons Christmas Special,[2] is the first episode of The Simpsons to air. ... Homers Odyssey is the third full length episode of The Simpsons, that originally aired January 21, 1990. ... Theres No Disgrace Like Home is the fourth full length episode of The Simpsons. ... Bart the General is the fifth full length episode of The Simpsons. ... Moaning Lisa is the sixth full-length episode of The Simpsons. ... The Call of the Simpsons is the seventh episode of The Simpsons. ... The Telltale Head was the eighth episode of The Simpsons. ... Life on the Fast Lane, also known as Jacques To Be Wild,[1] is the ninth episode of The Simpsons first season, which originally aired on March 18, 1990. ... Homers Night Out is the tenth episode of The Simpsons from the first season. ... The Crepes of Wrath is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons first season. ... Krusty Gets Busted is the 12th episode of the first season of The Simpsons. ... This article is about the Simpsons episode; for other uses see Some Enchanted Evening (disambiguation). ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... The first season of The Simpsons originally aired between December 1989 and May 1990. ...

Plot

The episode starts with the Simpson family playing a game of Scrabble. Homer has difficulty making a word with his letters, which spell out "oxidize". He decides to make the word "do". After much deliberation, Marge makes "he". Bart lays down all his tiles in no particular order, thus introducing the word "Kwyjibo", which, according to him, means "Uh... a big, dumb, balding North American ape. With no chin..." to which Marge adds "and a short temper". He is subsequently mocked by Lisa for being unintelligent and chased out of the house by an enraged Homer (Kwyjibo on the loose!). The verb to scrabble also means to scratch, scramble or scrape about: see Wiktionary:scrabble. ... Look up do in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article contains speculation and may try to argue its points. ...

In class, Bart has trouble with an intelligence test and, after being mocked by the brainy Martin Prince, switches tests with him. When psychiatrist Dr. J. Loren Pryor studies the results, he identifies Bart as a genius. Homer and Marge seem confused by this as they know Bart isn't smart at all. They enroll Bart in a new intellectual school nevertheless. ... Martin Prince, Jr. ... Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. ... This is a List of Recurring characters from the animated television show The Simpsons. ... A genius is a person of great intelligence. ... Homer Jay Simpson (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. ... Marjorie Marge Simpson (née Bouvier) is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons and is voiced by Julie Kavner. ...

On his first day at the Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children, Bart feels out of place amongst the other students who possess advanced academic skills. Back at home, he enjoys the newfound attention Homer shows him. Hoping to stimulate her son with a little culture, Marge buys the family opera tickets. The night doesn't go down a treat with Homer and Bart, and they leave early and head off to Krusty Burger. The next night Homer plays baseball catch with Bart in the yard.

Ostracized by his genius classmates, Bart visits his old school, where he is rejected by Millhouse, Lewis and Richard and labelled a "poindexter". When Bart's science project explodes and nearly destroys his classroom, he confesses to Dr. Pryor that he cheated on his intelligence test. Bart returns home and tells Homer that he switched tests and, although it was a stupid thing to do, he is glad that he did as they are now closer than ever. Homer's opinion is not identical and he proceeds to chase Bart through the house naked. Robin Rhodes Millhouse is an Australian politician. ... Lewis (Leòdhas in Scottish Gaelic) or The Isle of Lewis (Eilean Leòdhais), is the northern part of the largest island of the Western Isles of Scotland or Outer Hebrides (Na h-Eileanan Siar). ... Look up Richard in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Debut Appearances

Characters making a first appearance in this episode are:

• Martin Prince
• Edna Krabappel
• Rainier Wolfcastle
• Dr. J. Loren Pryor
• Richard
• Mr Prince
• First time Bart says "Eat My Shorts"
• First time someone is naked(Bart).
• First chalkboard gag.

Martin Prince, Jr. ... Edna Krabappel is a fictional character featured in The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In the television series The Simpsons, Springfield Elementary School is the name of the school that Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson and their fellow peers attend. ... Springfield Elementary School This is a list of the students who attend the fictional Springfield Elementary School from The Simpsons. ... Bart writes The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with Hail Satan The chalkboard gag is a running visual joke that occurs during the opening credits of many episodes of The Simpsons. ...

Parodies and References

Two physicists are referred to in the episode. In the beginning, Maggie spells out EMCSQU (E=MC²) on her blocks, which is Einstein's energy-mass equation. There is a picture of Bart on the wall opposite one of Einstein in Dr. Pryor's office, under which Dr. Pryor says "It doesn't take a Bart Simpson to figure out that something's wrong." Later in the episode, Homer consoles Bart by saying, "I bet Einstein turned himself all sorts of colors before he invented the light bulb." Thomas Edison, famous to Americans as the inventor of the light bulb, would later become a fascination of Homer's in the episode "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace". An incandescent lamp bulb and its glowing filament. ... Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices which greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph and a long lasting light bulb. ... The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace is the second episode of the tenth season of The Simpsons. ...

A number of classical books are found on the shelf in Bart's new advanced school classroom. They include Crime & Punishment, Babylonian Myths, Paradise Lost, Moby-Dick, Plato, Dante's Inferno, The Illiad, Design of Computers, Astrophysics, Nana by Emile Zola, Puskin, Shakespeare I-XV, Quantum Mechanics, and the Life of Leonardo. The work of Sigmund Freud is mentioned when the class discusses paradoxes, as is the quote, "If you want peace, you must prepare for war," attributed to Roman military writer Flavius Vegetius Renatus. On the opera poster, the conductor is identified as Boris Csuposki, a play on the name of producer and supervising animation director Gabor Csupo. Crime and Punishment (Russian: Преступление и наказание) is a novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments in 1866,[1] and was later published as a novel. ... Title page of the first edition (1667) Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. ... Moby-Dick book cover Moby-Dick - the official title of the first edition - is a novel by Herman Melville. ... PLATO was one of the first generalized Computer assisted instruction systems, originally built by the University of Illinois (U of I) and later taken over by Control Data Corporation (CDC), who provided the machines it ran on. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, in Michelinos fresco. ... The Iliad is, with The Odyssey, one of the two major Greek epic poems traditionally attributed to Homer, a blind Ionian poet. ... Fig. ... Sigmund Freud (IPA: ), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939), was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who co-founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Look up paradox in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A modern reconstruction of a Roman centurion around 70 A modern reconstruction of a Roman miles, (10-240) The Roman legion (from Latin , from lego, legere, legi, lectus — to collect) was the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army. ... Vegetius (Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus) was a celebrated military writer of the 4th century. ... Gabor Csupo [gab-or tchoo-po] is a Hungarian-born animator and co-founder of Klasky Csupo, which made shows like Rugrats and Duckman. He is also a big fan of Frank Zappa, he credits the singer for helping him learn English and his collection of albums by Zappa were...

Homer promises Bart what he thinks Bart would want to hear after Bart has locked the door to his room. This may be influenced by the comments made by the main character in The Shining played by Jack Nicholson when his wife locks him in a storage room. The Shining may mean: The Shining (novel), by Stephen King The Shining (film), Stanley Kubricks adaptation of the novel The Shining (mini-series), the ABC mini-series scripted by Stephen King The Shining (band), an English music group named after Kings novel This is a disambiguation page: a... Nicholson as Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). ...

Series development

As the second episode produced on the show after the disastrous animation of "Some Enchanted Evening", the future of the series depended on how the animation turned out on this episode. The vast majority of the footage turned out to be of acceptable quality, with only a few sequences needing to be redone (these were overseen by Cullen Blaine, as David Silverman had moved on to other episodes). This is the first episode where Bart uses his soon to be famous catch phrase, "Eat my shorts". This article is about the Simpsons episode; for other uses see Some Enchanted Evening (disambiguation). ... David Silverman (born on 15 March 1957 in New York City, New York) is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, where he would go on to be the supervising director of animation for several years, as well as animating on all...

Trivia

• In the first look of the Scrabble board, the letters appear to be in the middle of the board. The next scene where Homer placed a D to make "do", the letters got shifted to the top right corner of the board. Also, the words got shifted. This is believed to be an error.
• Homer could have placed every letter to make "oxidize" (American spelling) if he put all the letters in the top row with Z on top of "one" and would have scored points for making "oxidize" and "zone" and 50 bonus points for using every letter in his rack.
• When Lisa made the word "id", she wouldn't have gotten triple word score since that square wasn't the corner square or the exact middle of the board (the letter I was placed on the top row, fourth square from the right.
• Bart wouldn't get triple word score for "kwyjibo" because the letters weren't placed in the last column of the board. All triple word score squares are at the corners and the middle of all edges in an official scrabble board.
• The episode was the first to have a guest appearance.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Bart the Genius

The Simpsons Portal

• Episode capsule on "Simpsons Archive"
• "Bart the Genius" at the Internet Movie Database