Bart pulls an extreme prank in an attempt to impress his new friends.
I’m starting to notice that any Bart centered episodes always seem to have a bit more pizzaz to them. When Bart isn’t a side character and gets his moment to shine, he goes from a caricature to someone truly three dimensional. This episode is no exception to that, and perfectly encapsulates the true nature of Bart.
The episode is really funny, and a lot of that is due to the dynamic of Bart and Kearney, Jimbo, and Dolph. Bart really isn’t acting out because he’s bad, he thinks it’s what will make him cool. As a kid that can seem really important.
I love seeing the town of Springfield come together and how they interact with each other. It makes you realize how many great characters make up the ensemble. It also feels like this was one of the first official episodes of The Simpsons, as every character is pretty much in their true form of what they’ll look like for seasons to come. You can tell the show found its footing in animation, characters, and storytelling. We even got our first Sideshow Bob appearance, which is huge for me.
My one gripe with the episode is when the boys sneak into the movies. It shows a humungous line of people buying tickets to see Space Mutants IV. But when the boys are in the theater watching the movie, it’s virtually empty. Where did all the people go?