Line #6 Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E5BartTheGeneral


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bart_the_general_promo_picture17.jpg]]
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3	'''Original air date:''' 2/4/1990
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5	'''Production code:''' 7G05
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7	After [[TheBully Nelson]] steals cupcakes Lisa made for her teacher, Bart decides to stand up for her and ends up getting bullied by Nelson. After taking advice from Marge and Homer, Bart visits Grampa Simpson and a one-armed, mentally unstable military antique store owner named Herman and the three plan an all-out war against Nelson and his cronies.
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9	!!This episode contains examples of:
10	* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: The episode ends with Bart [[BreakingTheFourthWall telling the audience]] that war isn't cool or glamorous, unless it's The American Revolutionary War, UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, or the ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy[[note]]meaning the three films that had been released when the episode first aired: ''Film/ANewHope'', ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', and ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''[[/note]].
11	* AppealToTradition: Bart and Homer both insist that the ''"Code of the Schoolyard"'' must be obeyed, the first tenet of which is not to squeal on your classmates, even if said classmates are threatening to beat you to a pulp. Homer, in particular, declares he'd rather his son ''die'' than violate the Code. Marge looks at him as though he's lost his mind, especially when Homer gets lost on the specifics of the code, after the second or third tenet.
12	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "You can push them out of a plane, you can march them off a cliff, you can send them off to die on some godforsaken rock, but for some reason you can't slap them."
13	* ArtEvolution: Whereas the previous four episodes (in production order) were all over the place in terms of animation quality, by this point the animators were evidently starting to get the feel for the series, resulting in this being the first episode that really resembles the more familiar animation style employed by the series.
14	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Herman draws up a declaration of war, using one from the UsefulNotes/FrancoPrussianWar and crossing out "UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck" and replacing it with "Bart Simpson". It was actually France who declared war on Prussia, though as Grandpa points out, Herman is completely out of his mind.
15	* AtArmsLength: Bart tries to employ the GroinAttack strategy Homer recommended for fighting Nelson, only for Nelson to easily hold him back with one hand. At this point Homer's FloatingAdviceReminder just shrugs.
16	* BarbaricBully: Nelson and his cronies, the Weasels, for sure. On top of having an already-established reputation as such, their response to Bart standing up for Lisa and accidentally causing Nelson a light nosebleed is to give him a vicious NoHoldsBarredBeatdown after school ''[[DisproportionateRetribution every single day]]''.
17	* BigBrotherInstinct: Bart has been insulting Lisa all morning. Upon getting to school, one of Nelson's cronies takes a batch of muffins Lisa had baked earlier, which is all it takes for Bart to attack him and wind up punching Nelson in the face. It's the first sign in the series that [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther Bart isn't a total jerk towards his sister]].
18	* BrickJoke:
19	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E3HomersOdyssey Homer's Odyssey]]," Mrs. Krabappel tells her class about the boy who stuck his arm out the window of a school bus and had a passing truck rip it off. Then in this episode, we learn that [[AndThatLittleGirlWasMe Herman was that boy]], when he reveals to Bart how he lost his arm.
20	** While giving Bart tips on how to fight Nelson, Homer advises him to go for the [[GroinAttack "family jewels"]]. Later on when Abe is typing his letter to the TV advertisers, he lists "family jewels" [[HypocriticalHumor as one of the words he never wants to hear on TV again]].
21	* TheBully: Nelson, for sure. It's one of the only instances where the threat he poses is [[TheDreaded played dead seriously]].
22	* BullyBrutality: The whole dilemma of the story: Nelson's brutality growing to the point Bart fears he will be killed someday.
23	* BullyTurnedBuddy: The end of the episode starts Nelson's path to being this to Bart, as they sign an armistice agreement and even [[DefeatMeansFriendship toast each other with Marge's cupcakes]].
24	* ButtMonkey: Bart. Milhouse also can't catch a break in the training sequence.
25	* ChallengingTheBully: Bart defends Lisa from Nelson, and gets beat up for his efforts. This leads to a final confrontation between the two, which becomes a pastiche of WWII movies.
26	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Nelson was a truly feared bully in this early episode. With this, his first defeat, he began to be less and less threatening. Over time, other bully characters like Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney were more likely to play the role of a bully strong enough to threaten someone like Bart, while Nelson became more of a parody of bully clichés and an on-again off-again BullyTurnedBuddy to both him and Lisa.
27	* CombatPragmatist: Homer says that Simpsons have to fight dirty to overcome their physical shortcomings, recommending Bart to toss sand in his enemy's eyes and kick him in the groin. [[SubvertedTrope Even that didn't work for Bart]].
28	* CrazyIsCool: Invoked by Grampa in regards to Herman.
29	-->'''Bart:''' Psst, Grampa, I think this guy's a little nuts.
30	-->'''Grampa:''' Oh yeah? Well General George S. Patton was a little nuts and this guy is completely out of his mind. We can't fail!
31	* CurbStompBattle: Bart's two onscreen "fights" with Nelson go like this; the first time, it's a straight-up NoHoldsBarredBeatdown as Bart doesn't do anything to defend himself. The second time, after Homer gives him fighting tips for a better advantage, Nelson is [[NoSell unaffected]] and easily holds Bart off before attacking him again. [[LaserGuidedKarma It then gets turned the]] ''[[LaserGuidedKarma other]]'' [[LaserGuidedKarma way in the climax]], with Nelson and the Weasels quickly being reduced to fleeing (and then ineffectually cowering) from an onslaught of hundreds of water balloons from [[TheDogBitesBack all their previous victims]].
32	* DefeatMeansFriendship: Nelson agrees to recognize "Bart's right to exist", which sets him on the path to later becoming Bart and Lisa's on-again off-again BullyTurnedBuddy.
33	* DidNotThinkThisThrough: Bart had assumed that his army pelting Nelson with water balloons and then tying him up would result in Nelson learning his lesson and ending his bullying. Bart failed to consider that the assault might instead enrage Nelson and result in him seeking retribution once he was untied. Luckily for Bart, Herman had prepared for such a scenario.
34	* DirtyCoward: The Weasels, Nelson's henchmen. They love to talk tough and nasty when they're with Nelson and have Bart alone and beaten bloody, but immediately start fleeing and begging for mercy -- outright stating that they were JustFollowingOrders -- when Bart and his troops come back for revenge.
35	* DisproportionateRetribution: For giving a swipe on the nose that causes light bleeding, Nelson gives Bart a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, and continues the treatment ''every single day'' afterwards.
36	* TheDogBitesBack: The whole episode is a set-up for Bart doing this to Nelson... alongside ''every kid that Nelson has ever bullied''.
37	* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: Janey Powell was introduced here with a completely different design, and isn't even black. Unless this is a different Janey...
38	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
39	** Nelson has a more common EvilLaugh than his famous "Haw! Haw!". He also had two kids called "The Weasels" as his sidekicks; later episodes would have Nelson either bullying alone or bullying with Dolph, Jimbo, and Kearney.
40	*** According to the season 25 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS25E14WinterOfHisContent Winter of His Content]]", the Weasels moved to Shelbyville Elementary, which is why they haven't been seen in ages.
41	** Grampa was more of a bitter and deceptively wily old man rather than a forgetful loser like in most later episodes. That being said, he ''does'' display enough CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass qualities in later seasons that his behavior here just comes across as him being in a situation which plays to his strengths, instead of seeming entirely out of character. It's also implied by Lisa's comment to Bart that he was only placed in the nursing home recently, while "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E10LisasFirstWord Lisa's First Word]]" would establish it happened around the time Lisa was born.
42	** Jasper is more a SitcomArchNemesis to Grampa, used to exemplify his theories of bullying, compared to being his [[RedOniBlueOni Blue Oni companion]] in most later episodes.
43	** A smaller one: the Kwik-E-Mart being spelled "Quick-E-Mart" on the battle plans, though that could be down to a mistake made by the animators.
44	** Lisa claims to like Ms. Hoover, enough that she'll make cupcakes for her. This is hard to reconcile with the inattentive Ms. Hoover we know today, whom Lisa thinks little of. Ms. Hoover is also called Mrs. Hoover.
45	** This is one of three episodes from Season 1 to have no CouchGag. The opening sequence ends at the establishing shot of Springfield Elementary, fading right to the Simpsons' house. (This unusual way of shortening the opening sequence would only be used for Season 1, and was replaced with various condensed versions of the opening from midway through the second season.)
46	** Herman, while still shown to be AxeCrazy when he mutilates the dummy, is otherwise AffablyEvil and helpful to the Simpson family in getting to stop Nelson from bullying Bart, and is even shown enjoying cupcakes with them at the very end. This is a stark contrast to the dangerous FauxAffablyEvil criminal who's [[KnightOfCerebus played seriously]] that he becomes in later seasons.
47	** Bart's ImagineSpot shows him with X's instead of eyes (to show he's dead). Expressions such as this would be prohibited by the show's style guide.
48	** The end credits run over a shot of the Simpsons' house; whilst many later episodes would experiment with nonstandard credits, this is the only one to just have a still frame and no other changes. This appears to be related to the decision to put an advert break between Act 3 and the end credits, meaning some sort of content was felt to be needed to justify the credits' isolation.
49	* FailedASpotCheck: Somehow Homer fails to recognize the "tall, grey haired kid" is his own father.
50	* FirstInjuryReaction: Bart manages to land a hit on [[BarbaricBully Nelson]] during their first encounter in the episode. [[NasalTrauma Nelson's nose bleeds]]; at first, [[NotHisBlood he thinks that it's Bart's, but he soon realizes that it's his own blood and gets angry]].
51	* FloatingAdviceReminder: PlayedForLaughs when Homer's CombatPragmatist advice fails and "Homer" as imagined by Bart hangs around to cringe as he watches Bart get [[TakeOurWordForIt beat to a pulp offscreen]].
52	* TheFunInFuneral: During a scene where Bart [[ImagineSpot envisions]] his own funeral, Milhouse cheerfully expresses his pleasure that he got the day off from school and Homer cheerfully expresses his pleasure at getting a day off -- until Marge sets him straight. Later, as Bart's classmates are tearfully filing past his casket to say their goodbyes, Nelson punches Bart's corpse as a parting shot.
53	* GroinAttack: Or as Homer calls it, "the Family Jewels." He suggests Bart give Nelson this when he fights. [[note]][[HypocriticalHumor Which is one of the words Grampa doesn't want to hear on TV again]][[/note]]. [[SubvertedTrope Nelson easily holds Bart off when he tries to kick him]].
54	* AHandfulForAnEye: Homer suggests for Bart to throw a handful of mud into Nelson's eyes. It just made Nelson angrier when Bart tried it.
55	* HandicappedBadass: Herman has been missing an arm ever since [[YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb a stupid accident he had when riding the school bus as a kid]].[[note]]It was originally going to be a RunningGag of Herman [[UnreliableNarrator telling a different story every appearance]], but this was either forgotten or scrapped by his second appearance.[[/note]] He's still grown up to be a tough guy with his own weapons store.
56	* ImagineSpot: Prior to their first fight, Bart pictures himself trying to run from Nelson, trying to ward him off with every method in his arsenal, but Nelson is unfazed and grows into a giant ... before grabbing Bart, growling "Lunchtime!" and [[IAmAHumanitarian swallowing him whole]]. Later, Bart imagines his own funeral, his friends, teachers and family tearfully saying their goodbyes before Nelson punches Bart's corpse.
57	* ImprovisedImprisonment: After being defeated, Nelson is tied up with rope and brought to Bart. Bart, figuring that Nelson "learned his lesson", starts to untie Nelson until Nelson taunts him by saying that the second Bart unties him, he will get beaten to death. Bart [[OhCrap suddenly realizes]] that Nelson has a point: taking Nelson captive was just meant to be a short-term solution to humiliate the bully, and Bart had no plan in place for what to do after that. Fortunately, Herman, the man who had been instructing Bart, had prepared a plan just for this occasion.
58	* InsaneTrollLogic: Somewhat literally as Bart and Grampa discuss Herman as a military strategist.
59	-->'''Bart''': Hey, Grampa, I think this guy's a little nuts.
60	-->'''Grampa''': Oh, yeah? [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S._Patton Gen. George S. Patton]] was "a little nuts," and this guy's completely out of his mind. We can't lose!
61	* JustFollowingOrders: This is what Nelson's lackeys claim when they surrender.
62	* LastDisrespects: Bart imagines his funeral after being killed by Nelson, who takes a cupcake left in the casket by Lisa and resumes beating up Bart's corpse one last time.
63	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When Grandpa is typing out words he never wants to hear on TV again, one of them is "Family Jewels" - which was used just a few minutes prior.
64	* LiteralMinded: Nelson orders Bart to "put 'em up", as in to prepare himself to fight. Bart just raises his hands in the air, enabling Nelson to deck him in the face several times.
65	* LoopholeAbuse: After Bart's army celebrates Nelson's defeat, Bart assumes Nelson learned his lesson and goes to untie him. However, Nelson tells him that the second Bart unties him he's gonna beat Bart to a pulp. Bart then threatens to not untie him, to which Nelson points out Bart has to do it eventually, as doing otherwise would be illegally detaining him against his will. Ultimately, Herman solves the dilemma by drawing up a peace treaty that states Bart won't get beaten up anymore, but Nelson retains his authority as school bully but with no legitimate power, which both of them agree to and sign.
66	* MundaneMadeAwesome: Taking payback on a bully by throwing water balloons at him until he calls it quits... played like a war movie (including ShellShockedVeteran kids, boot camp, shots of the desolate and soaking wet "battlefield" and kisses on the mouth during the victory celebration).
67	* NighInvulnerability: Nelson, in Bart's ImagineSpot. In fact, all of Bart's weapons have the reverse effect; instead of hurting Nelson, the knives, guns, arrows, etc. only make Nelson angrier ... and much larger.
68	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Herman's voice is based upon then-President UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush.
69	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Because he stood up for his sister when one of Nelson's cronies had completely destroyed her box of cupcakes, Bart is soon apprehended by Nelson himself, who is accidentally punched in the nose, causing the bully to beat the living tar out of Bart before stuffing him inside the trash can. This goes on for about three days.
70	* NobodyLikesATattletale: Homer is horrified when Marge says Bart should go to the Principal about being bullied by Nelson because he'd be violating the "Code of the Schoolyard," the first rule of which is, "Don't tattle."
71	* NotHisBlood: Discussed but subverted. Bart gets into a fight with [[TheBully Nelson.]]
72	-->'''Franklin:''' Nelson, [[FirstBlood y-you're bleeding]].
73	-->'''Nelson:''' Naw, happens all the time, somebody else's blood splatters on me. ''[realizes his nose is bleeding]'' Hey, wait a minute... you're right! ''[to Bart, threateningly]'' You made me bleed my own blood.
74	* PummelingTheCorpse: One of Bart's nightmares is that Nelson won't just apply BullyBrutality on him until he dies, but that he will ''beat up his corpse in the funeral parlor''.
75	* RamblingOldManMonologue: Abe Simpson types up a very long letter on an old fashioned typewriter regarding the portrayal of the elderly on television.
76	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Grampa Simpson. He goes above and beyond to protect his oldest grandchild while at the same time he also disciplines him for slapping another boy for being afraid of a dog and orders him to apologize to him, which he does (and the kid forgives him).
77	* ReflexiveResponse: During the celebration of Nelson's defeat, a random boy grabs Lisa and kisses her, ala the famous photo of a sailor kissing a nurse at the end of World War II. Lisa promptly slaps him. ''Hard.''
78	* ShareTheMalePain: Bart winces when Homer uses a punching bag to demonstrate a GroinAttack on Nelson.
79	* ShoutOut: To the majority of war films.
80	** Some music was directly lifted from ''Film/{{Patton}}''. As Fox owned the rights to the soundtrack, there were no issues in using the music. There is also a spoof of the famous scene where Patton slaps a soldier for crying, though it's deconstructed when Grandpa points out that officers aren't allowed to physically strike people under their command.
81	** The marching sequence is from ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', as are several shots of Bart's platoon training.
82	** A random kid kisses Lisa at the end of the "war," referencing TheVJDayKiss, the famous photo of a sailor newly returned from World War II kissing a nurse in the middle of Times Square.
83	** A shot of the kids charging with a fallen helmet in the foreground references ''Film/TheLongestDay''.
84	** In the public service announcement at the end, Bart mentions the ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy as one of the only good wars ever fought (along with the [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution American Revolutionary War]] and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII).
85	* SkewedPriorities: Discussed for laughs by Grandpa after Bart slaps a soldier of his army in a ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Patton}}'', which was also pretty much the beginning of the end of Patton's career, at least in the movie. As he mentions, a DrillSergeantNasty can do many things to make a soldier's life hell (but for some reason hitting them is a gigantic no-no), so he orders Bart to apologize.
86	* TrainingMontage: Of Bart training his army for their battle against Nelson.
87	* WaterGunsAndBalloons: The episode culminates in an all-water balloon ''Patton'' parody.
88	* WingdingEyes: Bart's dead body in his ImagineSpot replaces his eyes with X's.
89	* YouAndWhatArmy: A textbook example:
90	-->'''Bart:''' Nelson, I'm afraid I'm going to have to teach you a lesson.\
91	'''Nelson:''' Oh yeah? You and what army?\
92	'''Bart:''' ''This'' one.\
93	''[Bart's water-balloon-armed troops emerge from their hiding places, surrounding Nelson and his cronies on all sides]''\
94	'''Bart:''' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Artillery,]] ''[[PreAssKickingOneLiner COMMENCE SATURATION BOMBING!]]''
95	* ZergRush: Nelson and his cronies may be stronger than any of their schoolmates individually, but they're left completely helpless when ''all'' the kids they bullied attack them en masse.

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS1E5BartTheGeneral