Line #69 Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E20TheBoyWhoKnewTooMuch


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6	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_boy_who_knew_too_much_213.JPG]]
7	[[caption-width-right:350:"Ahhh, the joys of mortgaging your future..."]]
8
9	'''Original air date:''' 5/5/1994
10
11	'''Production code:''' 1F19
12
13	Bart sneaks out of school and finds himself at a party for Mayor Quimby's nephew, Freddy — but when Freddy gets in trouble for allegedly assaulting a French waiter, Bart must choose to keep his mouth shut about the ordeal or expose the truth and admit that he cut school to see it happen.
14	----
15	!!This episode contains examples of:
16	* AccidentNotMurder: Not murder, but one of Mayor Quimby's nephews stands accused of beating up a waiter. Bart, who witnessed the event, reveals that the waiter actually had a series of clumsy accidents. The waiter denies it ever happened, only to suffer a series of similar accidents right there in court.
17	* ActingUnnatural:
18	-->'''Marge:''' ''(reading the paper)'' Mmm. It says Freddy Quimby beat a waiter half to death! Those Quimby children are so wild and rich, I hope he finally gets what's coming to him.\
19	'''Bart:''' But Freddy Quimby's innocent!\
20	'''Lisa:''' How do you know? There weren't any witnesses.\
21	'''Bart:''' Heh, oh yeah, right.\
22	'''Lisa:''' You'd think someone would have seen something at a crowded party like that.\
23	'''Bart:''' Well they didn't, OK? They didn't. It says right here in black and white, "No witnesses." Case closed. ''(grabs paper)'' Now let's all read the funnies. ''(reads)'' Oh look: [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Charlie Brown]] said "good grief". Hah. I didn't see ''that'' coming. ''(forced laughter)''
24	* ActorRoleConfusion: Bart and Chief Wiggum address Rainer Wolfcastle as [=McBain=].
25	* AllForNothing: Although this doesn't happens on the episode proper, in a deleted scene that would be shown on the DVD release Freddy was taken back into custody shortly after being released (about ''two seconds later'') because he grappled the waiter and started threatening to hurt him for real, making Bart's sacrifice meaningless. As well, Bart's attempt to prevent getting detention for playing hookie are all turned futile in the end because of his own conscience and Skinner's pettiness.
26	* AmusingInjuries:
27	** Mr. Lacoste, the waiter, undergoes a series of kitchen accidents [[EpicFail in a ridiculously short time]] after arguing with Freddy Quimby (and tries to get some money out of it by suing him in court).
28	** And later on he falls several stories from the courtroom window on the back of a truck full of rat traps (which of course had an open roof).
29	* ArtisticLicenseLaw: The court proceedings play out more like a civil case than a criminal one. Also lampshaded by the judge, who acknowledges reopening the proceedings once deliberations have begun is unconstitutional, but she can't say no to kids.
30	* AssholeVictim:
31	** What Freddy ''would'' have been if Bart hadn't vouched for him. While he didn't beat up the waiter, he's still not a very nice person--or a "horrible yet innocent person", as Lisa puts it.
32	** The waiter himself, who promptly falls to another lengthy slapstick HumiliationConga after it's revealed he tried to frame and jail Freddy simply to hide he is just TheKlutz.
33	* BaitAndSwitchComment: When Bart argues that having Freddy acquitted cancels out his skipping school, Skinner gives him three months detention. Then he says "Wait", as if he's going to take it back, only to give him ''four'' months.
34	* BerserkButton: Freddy really doesn't like it when people mispronounce "chowdah."
35	-->'''Defense Attorney''': Mr. Quimby, did you assault Mr. [=LaCoste=]?\
36	'''Freddy:''' Of course not, I love every living creature on God's green Earth.\
37	'''Defense Attorney:''' So therefore you certainly would never lose your temper over something as trivial as the pronunciation of the word "chowder."\
38	'''Freddy''': That's "chowdah!" "Chowdah!" I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you! [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Especially those of you on the jury!]]\
39	'''Defense Attorney''': Wow, that didn't go well. The defense rests.
40	* BlatantLies: Edna:
41	--> '''Bart''': ''(handing her the phony note)'' My mom's number's on there in case you want to check up on me.\
42	'''Edna''': That's okay, Bart. I trust you.\
43	''(SmashCut to Edna showing the note to Skinner)''
44	* BreakTheBadass: Skinner's {{Trope Namer\|s}} "NonGivingUpSchoolGuy" moment is probably one of the few times in the show when we see Bart honestly ''terrified'' of the principal.
45	* BuffySpeak: "[[BaitAndSwitchComment He's some sort of]] [[NonGivingUpSchoolGuy ...non...giving-up...school...guy!]]"
46	* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Bart ditches school after the school day has been lengthened, with Skinner in [[ImplacableMan hot pursuit]]. He gets away and witnesses an accident that later implicates Mayor Quimby's nephew Freddy. He later testifies on the stand to clear his name, which proves to Skinner that he indeed played hooky. Skinner, petty as he is, gives him three months detention -- "Wait... make that ''four'' months detention."
47	* CaptivityHarmonica: Played by one pupil at the prison school bus.
48	* ChekhovsGag: The final straw in a series of events that make cutting class irresistible to Bart is seeing a well-dressed young man drive by in a convertible with a blonde babe fawning over him, musing out loud that he "got all this after dropping out of the fourth grade." That young man is Freddy Quimby, the mayor's nephew, and Bart will later stow away in his convertible to get away from Skinner and ride to his 18th birthday party where he'll witness his innocence in the alleged beating of the waiter. (Finding out who he is doubles as a BrickJoke on his earlier statement--he got all that stuff because he's a SpoiledBrat, not because he has the wherewithal to succeed as a pre-high school dropout.)
49	* ClockTampering: Mrs. Krabappel says that, thanks to a clock-tampering incident, class will be extended for two hours to make up for lost time. Bart groans and begrudgingly looks at the Lil' Bastard Clock Tampering Kit hidden in his desk.
50	* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
51	** Chief Wiggum, arriving in a kitchen where a waiter lies on the floor after an apparent beating, is shocked that someone's taken a bite out of the giant Rice Krispie square.
52	** Skinner thinks Willy is the bad guy of ''Free Willy'', calling him disobedient.
53	* ConvenientlyCoherentThoughts: {{Parod\|y}}ied. Bart is [[InnerMonologueConversation randomly able to hear Principal Skinner and Homer's inner monologues]]. Skinner's monologue is played straight, but Homer's thoughts suddenly trail off into [[EarWorm the Meow Mix jingle]].
54	* CouchGag: The family sits and realizes the couch is on the set of ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman''. David spins in his chair to face forward at his desk.
55	* CourtroomEpisode: The trial of Freddy Quimby and all of the antics that ensue within it compose most of the episode.
56	* CreatorBacklash: InUniverse. Rainer Wolfcastle agrees with Bart that his last movie was terrible and explains that it was because of script problems.
57	* CreatorCameo: Creator/MattGroening as the courtroom sketch artist.
58	* DeathOfAChild:
59	** The clip of the ShowWithinAShow "[=McGarnagle=]" that Bart watches has the titular detective asking a kid named Billy to testify and promises he will be safe... GilliganCut to DaChief telling [=McGarnagle=] that Billy was killed by whoever tried to frame [=McGarnagle=] for foiling their chance to put him away and his throat was sliced open, and [=McGarnagle=] telling his chief that he was eating a sandwich.
60	** The "re-cut" version of ''Film/FreeWilly'' that Homer watches has Jesse getting flattened by Willy when the whale tries jumping over the seawall.
61	* {{Determinator}}: Nothing is going to stop Skinner from finding out that Bart skipped school.
62	* DeusExMachina: Just as Bart is about to get caught by Skinner, Freddy Quimby happens to drive by the place, allowing him to escape.
63	* DisasterDominoes: The waiter slips and slides facefirst into a row of pans, which knocks him into the microwave and accidentally jams his hand in the toaster, which sends him flailing into a closet full of rat traps, etc.
64	* DisproportionateRetribution:
65	** Bart skips school and when he confesses to it so Freddie Quimby won't be sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit. Skinner gives him four months detention.
66	** The waiter attempts to cover up his clumsiness by framing Freddy for his injuries, who had insulted him beforehand.
67	** Bart is afraid of being sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor in the cafeteria for skipping classes.
68	** Freddie ''threatens to kill everybody in the courtroom'' because his own lawyer doesn't say "chowder" as "chow''dah''". This one backfires on him hard because he did it right after testifying that he ''didn't'' have such a HairTriggerTemper.
69	** Homer swears that he will make sure that Quimby ends up in jail because he was summoned to perform JuryDuty — the irony then is that he becomes a RogueJuror and votes Quimby "not guilty" because the deadlock would allow him to spend the night in a five-star hotel with free HBO.
70	* EvilIsPetty:
71	** Skinner admits to being a petty man right before defying SavedByTheAwesome and give Bart three... no, ''four'' months' detention for skipping school just ''one day'' (he also went all "Hah! I '''knew''' you would slip up!" right when Bart testified (and thus confessed his skipping), unnerving the rest of the jury (with Apu telling him to stop acting like that).
72	** The case against Freddy Quimby is so open-and-shut because he is the kind of guy who ''would'' clobber someone just for not saying a word the way he wants to... even if it's inside a courthouse.
73	** The waiter tried to hide his humiliating clumsiness by framing and jailing Freddy for assault as payback for mocking him earlier.
74	* ExtraYExtraViolent: One of the pieces of evidence used against Freddy Quimby is Dr. Hibbert exposing that he has an "Evil Gene".
75	* FauxHorrific: Just to show how insulated and small the people of Springfield are, Quimby's lawyer has his opening statement being to defame the waiter's character by point out not only is he not from Springfield, he's not even from ''America''. Cue several people rushing to the phones, and Hutz angrily whispering that he be told everything.
76	* FingertipDrugAnalysis: Skinner notices a chewed wad of gum on the ground and tastes it:
77	--> '''Skinner''': His brand of gum: Doublemint. Trying to double your ''fun'', eh, Bart? Well I'll double your ''detention''! Heh... I wish someone was around to hear that.
78	* FisherKingdom: Otto snaps at Bart and Lisa, but quickly apologizes, blaming it on the prison bus he's been forced to drive ("This bus and I have sort of a ''[[Film/TheShining Shining]]'' thing going on."). Likewise, the other kids start acting like they're in prison (complete with banging a cup against the bars).
79	* FlashbackEffects: When Bart recalls the fateful event, it is preceded by a fuzzy visual transition and the typical xylophone sound effect.
80	* ForgedLetter: Bart creates one as an excuse to skip school.
81	-->''Please excuse my handwriting, I busted whichever hand it is I write with. Signed, Mrs. Simpson.''
82	* FrameUp: Freddy Quimby may be a complete {{Jerkass}}, but he is innocent of the crime he is accused of.
83	* FreudianSlip: When Homer [[RogueJuror deliberately deadlocks the jury]] by voting not guilty instead of guilty:
84	-->'''Homer:''' I'm only doing what I think is right. I believe Freddy Quimby should walk out of here a free hotel.
85	* FromBadToWorse: The events that motivate Bart to skip school. On a beautiful spring day, Bart has to take a dingy prison bus to school, where new and painful chairs have been installed to eliminate slouching, and everyone has to stay behind for an hour thanks to Bart's own tampering with the clocks.
86	* GilliganCut: Lisa assures Bart that Quimby will receive a fair and impartial jury. Cut to...
87	--> '''Homer''': Ohhhh, jury duty?! I'll see that Quimby kid ''hang'' for this!!\
88	'''Lisa''': I knew it was a bad idea to watch him open the mail.
89	* GoodCopBadCop: Skinner and Groundskeeper Willie try this on Lisa after Bart skips school, but it fails because they both keep forgetting whether they're supposed to be Good Cop or Bad Cop.
90	* HairTriggerTemper: Freddy. Having it go off in the middle of declaring under oath that he ''didn't'' have it almost did him in.
91	* HardTruthAesop: The episode really hits it with a hammer that doing the right thing will ''not'' let you off the hook. Sometimes you just have to admit your wrongdoings and face the consequences because it is the right thing to do.
92	* HollywoodLaw:
93	** The entire jury was made of major cast members, such as Homer, his sister-in-law Patty, his next-door neighbor Ned, Apu (who at the time was not yet a US citizen), and Principal Skinner (whose presence is a plot point, because it means that Bart can't admit that he witnessed what really happened without admitting that he was skipping school to a school official). Part of the process to ensure jury impartiality is to ensure that none of the jurors are personally connected to the defendant, the plaintiff, any witnesses, or ''each other''. No sane judge would impanel a jury where everybody knows everyone else. Plus witnesses are bribed right there in open court, and [[RuleOfFunny no one cares]]. A deleted scene acknowledges that Mayor Quimby has deliberately rigged the jury selection to make things easier for Freddy (which would have been even more illegal).
94	** {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d on one point. The judge acknowledges that re-opening the case when she does is grossly unconstitutional, but she 'just can't say no to kids'.
95	** And it still might be an example, since re-opening the case due to new evidence which could have changed the original verdict is usually permitted, though it's only permissible in regards to ''exculpatory'' evidence, as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_jeopardy Double Jeopardy attaches in the event of an acquittal]].
96	** No-one seems to realise that if Bart wants to not be caught out by Skinner, there is the option to make a deposition, thus avoiding the need to testify in open court. Or that Bart upon being asked how he was able to witness the events in the kitchen could choose to invoke his fifth amendment rights to avoid incriminating himself in front of Skinner.
97	** Also, while the trial appears to be a criminal case, it is being run as a civil trial.
98	* HollywoodNewEngland: Freddy, like all the Quimbys, has a Kennedyesque Boston accent. In fact, his insistence that the French waiter pronounce chowder "correctly" as ''chowdah'' is the whole reason the trial is taking place.
99	* HypocriticalHumor: Freddy harasses a French waiter for pronouncing "chowder" with his thick French accent ("shau-dare") while insisting with his Boston accent that the correct pronunciation is "chow-dah". Since most American English dialects would pronounce it as "chow-dur" many would also say that Freddy is pronouncing it wrong as well.
100	* IDontPayYouToThink:
101	--> '''Girlfriend''': Freddy, honey, I think something just jumped into the backseat.\
102	'''Freddy''': I'm not paying you to talk.
103	* IgnoredEpiphany: Skinner tries to find where Bart is playing hooky, but all the places he expects Bart to be hanging out (like the 4-H Club) are abandoned. Skinner asks himself if he's really become this out-of-touch, but then only concludes, "No, it's the ''children'' who are wrong."
104	* ImagineSpot:
105	** Bart has one when Skinner passes him when exiting the jury box:
106	--> '''Skinner''': I can't wait until the sentencing part. That's where I ''really'' shine!\
107	''(Bart has a daydream where Bart's on trial and Skinner's the judge)''\
108	'''Skinner''': Bart Simpson, for the heinous crime of hooky, I sentence you to a lifetime of hard labor in the cafeteria!\
109	''(flashes forward to the future, where Bart is serving the sons of the school bullies)''\
110	'''Bart''': ''(now with a hoarse voice, a la Lunchlady Doris)'' More cream corn, Jimbo Junior?\
111	'''Jimbo Junior''': This cream corn tastes like cream ''crap''!\
112	'''Bart''': Watch the potty mouth, honey.
113	** At the beginning of the episode, while riding to school, Bart sees a pond and imagines himself hanging out on a raft with [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn Huckleberry Finn]] and UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln. Later, while he is at the pond, he sees a raft with two figures approach, assuming his fantasy is coming true. But it turns out to be two creepy men who offer to show Bart a dead body.
114	* ImplacableMan: Skinner, when he chases Bart. He just walks through a raging stream and scales a cliff face with nothing but his bare hands.
115	* InexplicableCorneredEscape: Bart is chased up a mountain by [[NonGivingUpSchoolGuy Principle Skinner]]. He hides behind a rock and shakes in fear. Skinner approaches the rock, but when he reaches for Bart behind the rock, he is gone. Apparently, the boy jumped onto a bypassing car during the split second Skinner had his eyes closed savoring the moment.
116	* InherentlyFunnyWords: "Mcgarnagle". That's probably why the ShowWithinAShow has someone [[SayMyName mention his name]] every couple of seconds.
117	* InstantlyProvenWrong: Lisa. When Bart compares going to school to being in prison, Lisa scoffs at the comparison. Then Otto drives up on a prison bus because the regular school bus is being repaired, even acting like a vicious prison guard.
118	* IResembleThatRemark: "This is an outrage! I am not some clumsy Clouseauesque waiter! I will..." [''falls out of the court window into an open truck fall of rat traps''].
119	* JuryAndWitnessTampering: A pretty memorable subversion in that, even with all of the blatant bribery that Quimby was tossing around, Freddy was ''still'' going to be declared guilty (the fact that Freddy threatened to kill said everybody in court, jury included, when he was put on the witness seat was all the jury needed to decide).
120	* JuryDuty: Homer's reaction to being summoned for it was wanting to make Freddy pay for it.
121	* KarmaHoudini: {{Played with}}. Freddy Quimby didn't do anything to the waiter except act like a jerk, so he did deserve a not-guilty verdict. On the other hand, he was also a massive jackass, and it's very easy to see why the jury would believe he assaulted the waiter (and he even did so in a deleted scene, which lands him back in court and makes Bart's sacrifice pointless). [[http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/the-simpsons-classic-the-boy-who-knew-too-much-96279 One review]] of the episode said that part of what made it interesting was that beating up the waiter was probably the only thing Freddy ''wasn't'' guilty of.
122	* KickTheDog: Skinner admits to being a "small, petty man" before defying SavedByTheAwesome by giving Bart ''three months'' of detention for skipping a single day of school. He then tells Bart to wait as he's walking away dejected and appears to be thinking it over (thus making it happen for real) before telling Bart that he's adding an additional month to that punishment.
123	* TheKlutz: TheReveal as to where the French waiter's injuries ''really'' came from. Freddy teased him a little, then got distracted by a bottle of champagne and walked off with it. The waiter promptly slipped and stumbled around the kitchen, brutally beating himself against various appliances. The case is made when the waiter, standing up to protest this as defamation, undergoes a similar experience in the courtroom before falling into the back of an open truck carrying a load of mousetraps.
124	* LaymansTerms: When Homer is reviewing the instructions of the jury, he asks Principal Skinner to explain not only "sequestered" and "deadlocked" but also "if".
125	* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain:
126	** Marge mentions an uncle who used to say "Shoot 'em all and let God sort it out." And he did just that.
127	--->'''Marge''': It took 75 federal marshals to bring him down. Now let's never speak of him again.
128	** And then Marge actually does speak of him again when she tells Bart to listen to his heart, and "...not the voices in your head like a certain uncle did one gray December morn."
129	* LittleStowAway: Bart in the backseat of Freddy's car.
130	* LostMyAppetite:
131	--> '''DaChief''': Well [=McGarnagle=], Billy is ''dead''! They slit his throat from ear to ear!\
132	'''[=McGarnagle=]''': Hey! I'm trying to eat lunch here!
133	* MauriceChevalierAccent: The French waiter's accent becomes the object of Freddy's ridicule.
134	* MiscarriageOfJustice: Even with all of the blatant bribery and tampering Quimby is doing, the case against Freddy is pretty much a KangarooCourt and would have gotten him sentenced regardless if not for Bart's testimony (that Freddy ''threatened to kill everybody in the courtroom, jury included'' in a moment of HairTriggerTemper when he almost had it made didn't help him any). Lisa lampshades it such:
135	--->"It's ironic that a monstrous, yet innocent, man will be found guilty."
136	* MisspellingOutLoud: In his fantasy, Bart asks Huck what "L-I-N-C-O-N" is doing there (to which Huck replies that he doesn't know; it's Bart's fantasy).
137	* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Given that Freddy Quimby straight up says "I'm not through demeaning you", it's easy to assume that hiding his klutziness was the not only reason the waiter framed him.
138	* MoodWhiplash: Bart is having a nice, relaxing time down by the river when all of a sudden he sees two indistinct, but familiar-looking figures approaching on a raft. At first Bart gasps, thinking that his dream earlier in school is coming true. But then the figures come closer, revealing themselves not to be Abe Lincoln and Huckleberry Finn, but a pair of raggedy, scary-looking hobos.
139	-->'''Hobo''': Hey, kid! Ya wanna see a dead body?\
140	'''Bart''': ''(screams and runs away)''
141	* MouseTrap: When the waiter tries to tell everybody that he's not clumsy, he slips and falls out the window into a truck full of mousetraps.
142	* MundaneMadeAwesome: Springfield Elementary has an entire crime lab for working out that Bart's incredibly obviously forged letter is a fake. And their machine still can't work out whether it is or not.
143	* MutilationConga: In the span of about 30 seconds, the French waiter slips on the floor, hits his head on several frying pans, smashes his head on a glass window, gets one hand caught in a mixer and the other in a toaster, knocks a pot of boiling water onto himself, stumbles into a room filled with mouse traps, and crashes through a stack of wine glasses.
144	* NeverMyFault:
145	** Skinner looks for Bart in all the places he thinks a boy would go for fun, but when he can't find him at the museum or the 4-H club (which has been abandoned for a long time), he considers "Am I so out of touch? No, it's the children who are wrong."
146	** The whole courtroom plot is pivoted by a waiter more willing to falsely accuse and jail a man for assault than admit he suffered injuries from being a klutz.
147	* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Bart suddenly has the ability to read Skinner's and Homer's minds, and they both know it.
148	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
149	** The Quimbys are parodies of the Kennedys, with the family scandals and [[HollywoodNewEngland Boston accents]]. When Mayor Quimby says he does not recognize Bart, Bart says he's a nephew he doesn't see often named "Bart Bart." This is a play on the nickname of [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy President Kennedy's]] son, John Jr., who was known as "John John." John's mother, Jackie, kept him away from Kennedy family events, so he wouldn't get caught up in their scandals.
150	** Rainier Wolfcastle moves from being a generic TheAhnold to having more specific character traits of the actual Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger. His wife is named Maria, like Arnold's (now ex-)wife and Kennedy family member, Maria Shriver. And there is a [[TakeThat joke about a movie]] that sounds suspiciously like ''Film/LastActionHero''.
151	-->'''Bart''': Hey, [=McBain=], I'm a big fan, but your last movie really sucked.
152	-->'''Wolfcastle''': I know. [[TroubledProduction There were script problems from day one.]]
153	-->'''Chief Wiggum''': Yeah, I'll say. Magic ticket, my ass, [=McBain=].
154	-->'''Wolfcastle''': Maria, my mighty heart is breaking.
155	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Hilariously subverted with the injured waiter.
156	* NonGivingUpSchoolGuy: The TropeNamer episode itself. Skinner will stop at ''nothing'' to get Bart back into the classroom. When Bart destroys a bridge, Skinner just ''walks through the river''.
157	--> '''Bart:''' Oh my God. He's like some sort of... [[BuffySpeak non... giving-up...school guy!]]
158	* NoSympathy:
159	** When discussing the "slouch-eliminating" chairs:
160	--> '''Milhouse''': ''(slurring)'' I lost all feeling in the left side of my body. ''(tries to lift hand but fails)''\
161	'''Edna Krabappel''': Yeah, yeah.
162	** Lisa also repeatedly guilt trips Bart over failing to testify and even tries to goad him into facing the judge, despite knowing the consequences he will face ''and'' that [[HonorBeforeReason Freddy Quimby isn't really someone worth defending]]. Justified, since Lisa would hardly find avoiding punishment for skipping school a worthy excuse for letting someone get framed for a crime.
163	* NotablyQuickDeliberation: The jury was all set to declare Freddy guilty from second one of day one, and voted so. The only reason the jury gets deadlocked was because Homer wanted a free hotel stay.
164	* NotHelpingYourCase: Needless to say, Freddie does ''not'' help his case ''at all'':
165	** When Freddy's attorney says it's ludicrous that his client would attack someone for the way he says chowder, Freddy snaps back "That's 'chowdah'! ''Chowdah!'' '''''IllKillYou I'll kill all of you! Especially those of you in the jury!'''''"
166	*** Even worse is that he was almost home free at that point, something the man even points out before summoning Freddy to the stand.
167	** In a deleted scene, Freddy walks out of the courthouse, only to grab the waiter demanding he say 'chowdah' correctly. And the cops pull him back inside.
168	* ObviouslyEvil: Freddy Quimby ''starts'' a jackass and becomes more vile as the episode goes on. The moment he roars that he will kill everybody in the courtroom (''especially'' the people in the jury) because his own lawyer didn't say "chowder" as "chowdah", the people in the jury are actually happy it is going to take only a few minutes to vote him guilty.
169	* OddCouple: Skinner and Homer at the hotel. Skinner even tries pointing out the comparison, but Homer yells at him to shut up.
170	* OldShame: Rainer Wolfcastle agrees with Bart's assessment of his last film and says there were a ton of script problems.
171	* OnceMoreWithClarity: When the confrontation happens between Freddy and the waiter, the audience hears the dialogue but [[InstantMysteryJustDeleteScene only sees Bart watching the scene]]. When Bart testifies later, he reveals that after Freddie says, "I'm gonna enjoy this!" he picks up a bottle of champagne, chugs it, and leaves the kitchen. The waiter [[TheKlutz then slips and causes his own injuries]].
172	* PaperThinDisguise:
173	** While skipping class, Bart sees Homer and hides. To avoid getting caught for skipping class, Bart pushes his hair forward in hopes Homer won't recognize him. Homer, meanwhile, is skipping work, recognized Bart but is afraid of Bart catching him out, so he puts a hair comb on his face to pass it off as a mustache. They pretend not to recognize each other.
174	** Homer's fake glasses, which don't hide the fact he's snoring and drooling in court.
175	* PerpSweating: Lisa is grilled by Skinner about Bart's whereabouts under a lamp.
176	* [[PrecisionFStrike Precision A-Strike]]: "I know you can read my thoughts, Bart. Just remember, if I find out you cut class, your ass is mine. Yes, you heard me. I think words I would never say."
177	* RearWindowWitness: {{Parodied}}. The twist is that, in fact, Bart saw that a crime ''wasn't'' committed. Freddie Quimby is innocent, but there's so much circumstantial evidence, and the legal system in Springfield is so corrupt, that he'll be convicted unless Bart speaks up.
178	* ReCut: Homer is watching ''Free Willy'', but instead of making the famous jump, the whale doesn't and crushes the boy.
179	-->'''Homer:''' Oh, I don't like this new director's cut.
180	* RecycledAnimation: When Bart is fleeing from Skinner, two shots are re-used. One is of Bart running down a hill from "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E1KampKrusty Kamp Krusty]]" and the other one is of Bart running across a field to a wall, which was reused from "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E19DogOfDeath Dog of Death]]".
181	* RightForTheWrongReasons: Homer is the only juror to correctly declare Freddy not guilty. He doesn't do it because he honestly believes it, but just so he can deadlock the jury and enjoy a free night in a luxury hotel with HBO.
182	* RogueJuror: Homer deadlocks the jury for the sole purpose of staying sequestered and enjoying the free hotel room and amenities it entails. (Earlier, when he received a summon to jury duty, he was gunho about voting Freddy guilty).
183	* RopeBridge: Bart destroys one to stop Skinner from following him. It doesn't work.
184	* RuleOfFunny: The waiter's injuries are all shown in detail, save the broken limbs he has during the trial. Once he finally falls unconscious, the waiter's limbs spontaneously break without prompting.
185	* RunningGag: During the trial, Homer wears fake glasses to trick people into thinking he's paying attention. At the end of the episode, he tries the same trick when Marge decides to tell him about her day.
186	* SarcasmFailure: When Skinner [[{{Determinator}} walks straight through a raging river]] to get to Bart, a flabbergasted Bart's best stab at a OneLiner is to call him "some sort of NonGivingUpSchoolGuy."
187	* SavedByTheAwesome: Bart tries to invoke this, explaining that if he hadn't skipped school an innocent man would have gone to prison, and thus should not be punished for it. Skinner gives him three months detention anyway, stating that he's a "small, petty man." Then he adds an extra month after thinking it over for a few seconds.
188	* {{Scandalgate}}: During his report, Kent Brockman said he suggested that the name of the media event covering Freddy Quimby's trial should be "Waitergate" instead of "Beat-Up Waiter", but he was howled down at the press club.
189	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Mayor Quimby bribes witnesses to help his nephew's case. They're given money while on the stand.
190	* SeriesContinuityError: While rooming at the hotel, neither Homer nor Skinner seem to have any recollection that they've been in a [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E1HomersBarbershopQuartet barbershop quartet]], been in a [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E11HomerTheVigilante vigilante group]] and [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E19SweetSeymourSkinnersBaadasssssSong conspired to have Ned Flanders fired as principal]] together, all of which have happened ''this season''.
191	* ShamefulSourceOfKnowledge: Bart can't testify without revealing that he skipped school.
192	* ShoutOut:
193	** Skinner's NonGivingUpSchoolGuy moment is a ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Westworld}}'' where a robot does the same walking through a river trick.
194	** The similarities to ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'' are highlighted when Skinner channels Principal Rooney. ("Your ass is mine!")
195	** Bart hears Homer's thoughts, which at that moment happens to be the Meow Mix jingle.
196	** Skinner imitates part of the opening sequence from ''Series/{{The Odd Couple\|1970}}'', and even notes it, until Homer yells at him to shut up.
197	** Bart's daydream is of course a reference to ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn''.
198	** Otto suddenly snapped at Bart and Lisa, claiming he and the prison bus have "sort of a ''[[Film/TheShining Shining]]'' thing".
199	** When Bart testifies that the waiter's injuries were the result of his own clumsiness, the waiter denies being ''[[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Clouseauesque]]''.
200	** Jasper claims he needs to watch the dog from ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' ride the dolphin on ''Series/{{SeaQuestDSV}}''.
201	* ShowWithinAShow: Bart watches an episode of ''[=McGarnagle=]'' that [[CoincidentalBroadcast bears a striking similarity to his situation]].
202	* SkewedPriorities:
203	** When the injured waiter's body is found:
204	-->'''Chief Wiggum:''' Oh my god...somebody's taken a bite out of the giant Rice Krispies square! ...Oh, and the waiter's been brutally beaten. Heh...
205	** Skinner considered Bart's confession about skipping school slightly more important than the court case in which he was a juror.
206	** In the director's cut of ''Free Willy'', Billy's dad seems more concerned about the mess made by their son's death, rather than the fact his son has just ''been crushed''.
207	* SkippingSchool: Bart ditches school and is pursued by [[NonGivingUpSchoolGuy Principal Skinner]].
208	* SpannerInTheWorks: Bart would have likely evaded getting caught skipping school if not for the stubborn waiter's false allegations forcing him to confess what he witnessed. This itself was a Spanner In The Works to the waiter's lawsuit against Freddy Quimby.
209	** Also, Freddy would've been quickly convicted if Homer hadn't decided to play RogueJuror for a free hotel stay.
210	* SpecialGuest: Creator/PhilHartman as Lionel Hutz.
211	* StealingFromTheHotel: Homer takes "souvenirs" from the hotel room where he's being sequestered, including the table at one point, and one of Skinner's ties. At the end he has put ''all'' of the room's furnishings into his bedroom.
212	* StockMoneyBag: Moe receives bribe money in court. It's a large bag with a dollar sign on it.
213	* StopBeingStereotypical: The waiter objects to being seen as a "Clouseauesque waiter." He elaborately pratfalls and injures himself in a slapstick fashion twice over.
214	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Bart and Homer happen to be cutting school and work respectively on the same day and run into each other on the street, they both manage to fool each other with [[PaperThinDisguise paper thin disguises]].
215	-->'''Bart:''' I can't let Dad see me playing hooky.
216	-->'''Homer:''' I can't let the boy see me skipping work.
217	-->'''Bart:''' [messes up his hair and walks with a slumped posture] Good afternoon.
218	-->'''Homer:''' [donning a false moustache] How do you do, sir?
219	-->'''Both:''' Heheheh, sucker.
220	* SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion: After Skinner [[WalkDontSwim walks through the river]] to follow Bart, one might expect that his shocked observation will be that Skinner is an "invincible principal"... but what we actually get is "NonGivingUpSchoolGuy".
221	* TakeThat:
222	** Bart and Chief Wiggum criticize Rainer Wolfcastle for his latest movie, which is obviously meant to be ''Film/LastActionHero''. "Magic ticket, my ass."
223	** Creator/WaltDisney is one of the people mentioned as having the "evil gene".
224	* TemptingFate: After the waiter falls out of the window into the truck full of rat traps, he remarks "at least there were no big ones". There's then a very loud snapping sound, and another groan of pain from the man.
225	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: In the new director's cut of Film/FreeWilly, the expression on Jesse's face shows he knows Willy, who weighs between four and eight '''tons''', won't make the jump and is going to land on him.
226	* TryAndFollow: Bart shouts this to Skinner after destroying the RopeBridge.
227	* {{Tuckerization}}: Freddy Quimby was named after Fred Quimby, who produced the WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry cartoons.
228	* ViewersAreGoldfish: The ShowWithinAShow, ''[=McGarnagle=]'', has the title character's name stated four times, including once by him.
229	* WalkDontSwim: After Bart destroys the bridge across the river, Skinner walks through it completely unfazed.
230	* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Based on a comment by Kent Brockman in this episode, it's in a state where it's illegal to broadcast trials.
231	* WitlessProtectionProgram: [[ShowWithinAShow The episode of]] ''[=McGarnagle=]'' Bart watches has the titular cop promising a kid that he will protect him if he testifies against the Mafia, and instantly cuts to DaChief telling [=McGarnagle=] the kid was assassinated.
232	* WouldHurtAChild: The head of TheMafia, on the episode of ''[=McGarnagle=]'' Bart watches.
233	* YouSayTomato: Freddy Quimby calls out the French waiter on his PretentiousPronunciation of "chowder", insisting that it's pronounced "chowdah". It gets to the point where he ''threatens to kill everyone'', especially everyone on the jury.

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS5E20TheBoyWhoKnewTooMuch