Tuesday, May 03, 2016

The Telltale Head


Credits:
Episode Number 7G07 (#108)
Created by Matt Groening; Developed by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Sam Simon
Written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon, Matt Groening
Directed by Rich Moore
Starring Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, and Harry Shearer

For some reason, Bart and Homer are carrying the head of a statue through Springfield and are soon chased by a mob with torches and pitchforks. We soon learn that Bart had sawed the head of town founder, Jebidiah Springfield, off because some older kids thought it would be cool and Bart wanted to fit in. As the mob surrounds them, Bart tells the story.

The Simpsons are off to church but no one but Marge really wants to go. Bart and Lisa are in Sunday School and learning about who and what go to Heaven or Hell. It's here that the kids learn that Heaven is only for people and not Lisa's cat Snowball or cavemen but a soldier's gangrenous leg will be waiting for him in Heaven.

On the way home, Bart sees that Space Mutants IV is playing and wants to see it but Marge refuses. He later sneaks out to see it anyway where he runs into Dolph, Jimbo and Kearney who are sneaking into the theater. The kids are kicked out of the movie and go to the Kwik-E-Mart where the older boys shoplift while Apu's back is turned making the Squishees that Bart is buying for his new friends. They lounge on the ground looking up at the clouds and see some very specific formations.
Bart then sees a cloud that looks like the statue of Jebidiah Springfield only with the head cut off and Jimbo remarks that he wishes someone would cut the head off which gives Bart a wonderful idea.

Convinced by Homer that popularity is the only thing that matters, Bart sneaks out at night to saw the head off of the statue and feels bad almost immediately. It's soon learned how beloved the town founder was to the people of Springfield and even to Dolph, Jimbo and Kearney who threaten to knock the block off the person who cut the head off.

Friendless, public enemy number one, and carrying around a giant bronze head, Bart buries the head in his backyard but admits what he did when Jebidiah keeps talking to him. Realizing that this is partly his fault, Homer goes with Bart to return the head when they run into the mob of Springfieldians and wind up back at the beginning of the episode.
After hearing the story, the mob "no longer feels like killing anymore" so Bart returns the head and everything is wrapped up nicely. Homer cautions Bart, however, that not all mobs are this nice.



This is a short post because the notes I wrote for this episode were lost and I am currently unable to watch the episode and write new ones. #ElevenSeasons will be going on hiatus until I can figure out a way to watch the episode and get screenshots. Thanks for reading and I hope to have #ElevenSeasons back as soon as I can.