History Recap / TheSimpsonsS7E11MargeBeNotProud

* VocalTic: Don Brodka has one, uh-huh. It sounds like he's responding to someone even when he's not, that's right.

* AwesomeButImpractical: "[[AwesomeMcCoolName Thrillhouse]]"[[note]]Milhouse's player name for ''Bonestorm''.[[/note]] sounds cool, but it's too long for the game screen (it's cut at Thrillho). This wouldn't have been an issue with the actual name.

** Detective Don Brodka. He has [[JerkassHasAPoint every right to be pissed about Bart's shoplifting]], (attempt to) notify his parents, and ban him from the store...but when Bart and his family come back to get their picture taken, Brodka could have at least waited until their picture was done before he chastises the boy again. But he doesn't, and the picture shows a husky arm grabbing Bart.

* AnAesop: It's never okay to steal, and how it disappoints those you care about can hurt even more than legal repercussions for it.

* TheAtoner: Bart becomes guilt-ridden when Marge becomes heartbroken by his shoplifting and tries to make it up to her.

* ShooOutTheClowns: Homer doesn't appear in the scene where Marge chases Bart around the house in the living room towards the end of the episode.

** Homer explodes at Bart about stealing but the thing is this is the same guy who constantly steals from his neighbor Ned Flanders.

* AnAesop: It's never okay to steal, and how it disappoints those you care about can hurt even more than legal reprucutions for it.

* BrickJoke: When Bart tries to rent a copy of ''Bonestorm'' from the Android's Dungeon, Comic Book Guy doesn't have any but tries to convince Bart to rent ''Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge'' since no one was buying it, which is what Bart ends up getting for Christmas.

* {{Unishment}}: Marge figures out that Homer's proposed punishment for Bart's shoplifting (putting him under not just mere [[YouAreGrounded grounding]] but house arrest, no eggnog, and [[ComicallyMissingThePoint no stealing for three months]]) would be this to Bart.

-->"We live in a society of laws! Why do you think I took you to all those ''Film/PoliceAcademy'' movies?! For fun?! Well, I didn't hear anyone laughing! Did you?! [[SidetrackedByTheAnalogy Well, except for the guy who did sound effects...]]"

* TranquilFury: Marge goes through this after Bart tries to steal a video game and gets caught shoplifting. Marge doesn't scream, yell, or even scowl. She just has this ThousandYardStare as she sits quietly in the living room, and the only thing she tells Bart is that he should go to his room for a while and she doesn't even look at him when she says it.

* DisappointedInYou: Both Homer and Marge when they find out about Bart's shoplifting. Homer [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness is outraged]], while Marge goes into a HeroicBSOD. Even Lisa says she wouldn't have expected Bart to do such a thing.

* {{Shoo Out The clowns}}: Homer doesn't appear in the scene where Marge chases Bart around the house in the living room towards the end of the episode.

* TakeThat: As Homer reprimands Bart for stealing:

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Homer's reaction to Bart's theft has a rare instance of him being utterly ''outraged'' (and not in the normal hammy style Homer usually has, either). Granted, he forgets what he's angry at Bart about when he gets sidetracked.
** Marge stands out as well. She no longer decides to be the smothering mother she usually is toward Bart after finding out her son attempted shoplifting.

* AnalogyBackfire: When Bart demands ''Bonestorm'' for Christmas, Homer crosses from SidetrackedByTheAnalogy right into this. He recalls how, when he was ten, he "wanted an electric football game" (it's not entirely clear if he means a video game by this)--and his parents bought it for him.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Bart feels smothered by Marge's babying of him and wishes she would back off. [[OhCrap Not too long after he's caught shoplifting...]]

* BadassSanta: In the video game commercial, two children are bored playing a bloodless knock-off of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'', when Santa's sleigh (pulled by two snarling reindeer) bursts through their living room wall. Santa is bulging with muscles and is heavily armed. ''"YOU WANT EXCITEMENT?!?! STICK '''THIS''' UP YOUR STOCKING!!!"'' He fires a video game cartridge via RPG into their port. It is an incredibly bloody BeatEmUp and the children (and Bart) are instantly enthralled. He closes the commercial saying ''"TELL YOUR PARENTS TO BUY YOU '''''BONESTORM''''', OR GO TO HELL!!!"''

** Milhouse of all people is this towards Bart when he finds out that Milhouse got Bonestorm as a Chrismas present: he starts making excuses about why they can't play it together and when Bart isn't falling for them, he yells to his mom that Bart's swearing, getting him kicked out for something he didn't do.

* MustMakeAmends: Bart, [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas after seeing how upset Marge is when she find out about his shoplifting]]. He makes it up to her by getting her a framed photo of himself (making sure he has the receipt as well to show he paid for it this time).

* {{Shoo out the clowns}}: Homer doesn't appear in the scene where Marge chases Bart around the house in the living room towards the end of the episode.

* SelectiveEnforcement: Nelson, Jimbo, and Bart all steal the new Bonestorm game, but only Bart gets caught by Detective Brodka and [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin faces severe punishment for his actions]]. For some reason, he either massively FailedASpotCheck and didn't notice their attempts at shoplifting (despite them being, if anything, ''more'' obvious than Bart's) didn't feel the need to also punish Nelson and Jimbo and so he [[KarmaHoudini lets them get away with their crimes]].

* DatkerAndEdgier: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM6NcxTC-rI There was in fact a Tracy Ulman short in which Bart was caught shoplifting]], in which the crime and punishment are played for laughs. Here, Bart's act of shoplifting is a much bigger deal with more realistic consequences. The security guard is actually intimidating and the act ran the risk of heavily damaging Bart's relationship with Marge.