Line #26 Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E14NewKidsOnTheBlecch


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/simpsonsnewkids.jpg]]
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3	'''Original air date:''' 2/25/2001 ''(produced in 2000)''
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5	'''Production code:''' CABF-12
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7	After Bart cheats at the Springfield Marathon, he is recruited by record producer L.T. Smash alongside Milhouse, Nelson, and Ralph Wiggum to form The Party Posse. However, when Lisa sees something strange in the band's new music video, she discovers a shocking conspiracy.
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9	----
10	!!Tropes appearing in this episode:
11	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: When they find out they were going to appear in ''MAD'', they actually lament that they won't be able anymore, with Nelson even laughing at the article calling him "Smellson".
12	* AsHimself: Music/{{NSYNC}}.
13	* AutoTune: The Party Posse have terrible singing voices, so L.T. uses NASA voice enhancing technology [[ThatSyncingFeeling to make them sound like teenage dreamboats]]. The secret is let out when his commander turns off the enhancers during a big concert.
14	* BaitAndSwitch: Done twice. When L.T. learns that the Party Posse will no longer be able to gather recruits for the Navy, his commander says "It's over" before pointing a gun at him... which he then uses to turn off the Party Posse's voice enhancers. Angrily, L.T. takes the gun from him... which he then uses to recommission the battleship.
15	* BigNo: J.C. gives out this after the rest of the band enlisted him in the Navy and he's carried off by two recruiters.
16	* BoyBand: The Party Posse
17	* BrokenRecord: The chorus of "Drop Da Bomb."
18	-->'''Singers''': Yvan eht nioj\
19	Yvan eht nioj\
20	Yvan eht nioj, eht nioj!
21	* BulletTime: One of N'Sync's dance moves is "a Matrix", where the five jump and stay frozen in mid-air while the camera pans around them. ([[ButtMonkey Chris Kirkpatrick falls down mid-freeze.]])
22	* CallBack:
23	** "New Kids on the Blecch" was namedropped by Alfred E. Newman when Bart visited the MAD headquarters in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E1TheCityOfNewYorkVsHomerSimpson The City Of New York vs. Homer Simpson]]".
24	** L.T. Smash demonstrates "super-liminal" advertisement by simply shouting "Hey, you! Join the Navy" at Lenny and Carl, both of whom previously served in the Navy Reserve in "Simpson Tide"
25	* CassandraTruth: Homer and Marge dismiss Lisa's claims that the Party Posse is unwittingly brainwashing people as jealousy of Bart's newfound fame.
26	* CharacterCatchphrase: Justin Timberlake always says "Word."[[note]]Which he actually said only once during the recording session; as a joke, the editing team placed it after almost all of Timberlake's lines, because he was reluctant to say "Word".[[/note]] Joey Fatone repeatedly says "Old school!"
27	* CityShoutOuts: "Party Posse" boy band debuts on the stage of the Springfield Elementary auditorium. The following follows:
28	-->'''Bart:''' Hello, Springfield! Now here's a song that your Principal Skinner doesn't ''want'' us to play!\
29	'''Audience:''' [booing]\
30	'''Principal Skinner:''' That's not true! This assembly was my idea. I like your inoffensive brand of pop-rock!\
31	'''Bart:''' Screw you, man, we're gonna play it anyway!
32	* ColorCodedCharacters: The Party Posse by their shoes:
33	** Bart - Purple
34	** Milhouse - Red
35	** Nelson - Green
36	** Ralph - Blue
37	* ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive: The circumstances behind Bart's first meeting with L.T. Smash. Bart had cheated at the Springfield Marathon, and an angry mob of marathon runners are advancing on him. Suddenly, Smash drives up from nowhere in an Ford Mustang convertible and shouts, "Get in, hurry!" Bart glances between the mob and Smash for a while before deciding the trust the stranger.
38	* CreditsMontage: The credits for this episode featured behind-the-scenes footage (taken from an episode of a documentary series called ''Total Access 24/7'' that aired on then-sister network [[Creator/{{Freeform}} Fox Family]]) of NSYNC recording their lines, plus clips from the episode. The credits were split-screen, the footage airing next to the credits template Fox used at the time. These credits have never been altered for syndication airings, at least in the United States. Watch them [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-onl-O5GNE here]].
39	* DarkReprise: When Lisa puts in the tape for the music video in her room, a more-ominous sounding version of the "Yvan Eht Nioj" chorus plays.
40	* DisproportionateRetribution: L.T. Smash decided to blow up ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' Magazine just because they wanted to do a spoof of the band. Even more, the boys themselves took the "insult" as a ''[[ActuallyPrettyFunny compliment]].''
41	* {{Fanservice}}: The "Drop Da Bomb" music video features girls in bikinis with 3 of them singing the subliminal "Yvan Eht Nioj" message.
42	-->'''Marge:''' None of those girls has had three kids, I can tell ya that!
43	* FollowTheBouncingBall: The chorus of "Drop Da Bomb" has a bouncing Ralph.
44	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Smash's military connection is hinted at by his record company: "Classified Records". [[FreezeFrameBonus The musical notes]] [[GeniusBonus atop the sign are from]] ''The Star-Spangled Banner''.
45	* GotVolunteered: The other members of N'SYNC enlist J.C. in the Navy without telling him. He doesn't find out until a couple recruiters drag him away.
46	* HollywoodToneDeaf: During first rehearsal, Bart, Milhouse, Nelson, and Ralph sing horribly and way off key. Smash fixes this by using a sound synthesizer to make their voces sound like N'Sync. Near the end of the episode, Smash's superior cuts the power to the synthesizer during a live concert, reverting the boys' voices to normal, their now horrible singing scaring the audience away.
47	* ImagineSpot: L.T. has one where the military fights a group of hippies mounted on the back of a giant praying mantis. Based on the conversation with his commander, it's a common occurrence.
48	* LouisCypher: Parodied. L.T. Smash is really '''Lieutenant'''... L.T. Smash.
49	* LustfulMelt: The Party Posse's CampGay dance instructor uses the reason he's not affected by this trope as a reason to sharpen their moves. When he hears their voice enhanced singing, he gasps for breath and fans himself.
50	* MeaninglessVillainVictory: L.T. succeeds in blowing up the ''MAD'' building, however, the writers survive the explosion and are even sober now.
51	* MemeticMutation: Invoked for weaponization in-universe. "Yvan eht nioj" is used in Party Posse's music video to subliminally brainwash people into joining the navy.
52	* MommasBoy: When Lt. Smash accuses Skinner of standing in the Party Posse's way:
53	--> '''Skinner:''' No I didn't! I even came in early and made orange drink!\
54	'''Smash:''' "Orange drink"? [[BasementDweller What, do you live with your mama]]?\
55	'''Skinner:''' (''defiantly'') ''She'' lives with ''me''!
56	* PaperThinDisguise: Bart's disguise consisted of a hat and mustache. No one, of course, recognized him until a bird stole the mustache.
57	* RhymingWithItself: Happens during the Party Posse's last song...
58	--> ''So sign me up for a hitch of love''\
59	''Recruit my heart; four sweet years of love!''
60	* {{Scatting}}: Smash gets away with his SubliminalSeduction because the catchy chorus of "Drop Da Bomb" ("Yvan eht nioj") is widely assumed to be an instance of this, with Homer likening it to "Rama lama ding dong."
61	* SeriousBusiness: MAD's satires affect popularity so much, that L.T's superior shuts down his boy band project purely because an upcoming satire will tank the band's popularity.
62	* ShaggyDogStory: In the end, Lisa learning the truth about L.T and trying to convince Homer and Marge was unnecessary since [[NonProtagonistResolver the Party Posse was shut down due to a slanderous article about them]].
63	* [[HeKnowsTooMuch She Knows Too Much]]: Lisa finds out Lt. Smash's secret, but leaves before he can do anything about it.
64	* ShoutOut:
65	** Bart's line "I use-a up all-a my Engleesh!" was a nod to Roberto Benigni's Best Actor Oscar acceptance speech for ''Film/LifeIsBeautiful''.
66	** His cheating in the Springfield Marathon was this/a TakeThat to Rosie Ruiz, who infamously cheated in the 1980 Boston Marathon under similar circumstances. (She also appeared out of nowhere near the finish line to win it all, but unlike Bart, she didn't wear a disguise.)
67	** The title is a reference to the band, Music/NewKidsOnTheBlock, and also MAD Magazine's frequent [[ParodyNames spoof titles]] involving "blecch" as a substitution.
68	* SingingVoiceDissonance: PlayedForLaughs when the Party Posse is singing with the voice enhancers. They're pre-pubescent boys singing in deep male teenage/young adult voices. It's especially funny how Ralph Wiggum's voice is the deepest out of all the four.
69	* StrongFamilyResemblance: During the marathon, Homer looks just like his father Abe when he's dehydrated.
70	* SubliminalAdvertising:
71	** Parodied with "Drop Da Bomb"; the lyrics and music video are blatantly dripping with military imagery and it's obviously propaganda, but the {{Backmasking}} "Yvan eht nioj" is treated as the most heinous part of it.
72	** Inverted with Lt. Smash's "superliminal" strategy. He simply yells out his window to Lenny and Carl, "Hey you! Join the Navy!" It works.
73	* TakeThat: When asked about the "Yvan eht nioj" chant, Homer replies it's just a meaningless phrase, like "Sha-ma-la-ma-ding-dong" or [[Music/JohnLennon "Give peace a chance."]]
74	* TemptingFate: When Bart is introduced to the other members of Party Posse, he's annoyed that they're just guys from his school. He asks, "Who's next? Ralph Wiggum?" [[ChairReveal Cue Ralph revealing himself.]]
75	-->'''Ralph:''' Whee! I'm a pop sensation!
76	* ThereAreNoGoodExecutives: Or at least honest ones. L.T. Smash is really '''Lt.''' Smash (or '''Lt.''' '''''L.T.''''' Smash) and he tries to enlist the children of Springfield Elementary as well as other town denizens to join the Navy.
77	* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: [[RuleOfFunny This week]], it's a short boat ride from New York Harbor.
78	* WouldHurtAChild: The citizens were not amused by Bart's deception in the marathon and were willing to harm him over it.
79	-->'''Moe:''' Let's have a fun run... on his trachea!
80	* YouAreTooLate: Even with the help of N'Sync, the Party Posse is unable to stop L.T from blowing up the [=MAD=] building.

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS12E14NewKidsOnTheBlecch