Line #56 Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E5BartAfterDark


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bart_after_dark_promo_picture.jpg]]
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3	'''Original air date:''' 11/24/1996
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5	'''Production code:''' 4F06
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7	While Lisa and Marge spend the day cleaning rocks after Captain [=MacCallister=] runs his ship aground ''a la'' the ''Exxon Valdez'' incident in 1989, Bart gets in trouble for breaking the gargoyle of an old house, and the owner wants Bart to work for her to pay for it -- by making him her right-hand man for her {{burlesque}} house.
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9	----
10	!!Tropes:
11	* AesopAmnesia: Homer drooling over Princess Kashmir (the stripper/belly dancer from "Homer's Night Out") in front of Bart, seasons after Homer learned his lesson on not objectifying women, especially since it was that episode where he learnt the lesson and his interaction with Princess Kashmir was the first in a series of events that led to the lesson. Then again, Marge (who has a problem with those types of entertainment) initially forced him to.
12	* AllMenArePerverts: It might be easier to list who hasn't been going to the Maison Derrière.
13	-->"Oh, I'm afraid this problem goes far beyond Eugene and Rusty."
14	** During the vote to close the place:
15	--->'''Jasper:''' Are they talkin' about the bordello?\
16	'''Abe:''' No, the burlesque house! [[SayingTooMuch Now keep yer mouth shut]]!
17	* AmbiguouslyGay: Of the people Marge pictures leaving the burlesque house are Smithers (who sheepishly explains to Mr. Burns his parents "insisted" he go) and Patty.
18	* AmbiguousSyntax: During a town meeting, Marge announces that she's sharing her moral outrage over "a certain house in our town". The others assume the problem is with the house itself, not what's happening in it.
19	-->'''Moe:''' Yeah, well, what's wrong with this house? Is it the plumbing?\
20	'''Marge:''' No, it's a house of ill fame... a house of loose ethics.\
21	'''Kent Brockman:''' Is there a building code violation? A drainage issue? A surveying error?\
22	'''Marge:''' The house is perfectly fine!\
23	'''Chief Wiggum:''' Well, then quit bad-mouthing the house!\
24	'''Otto:''' Yeah, leave the house alone!
25	* ArrowsOnFire: Moleman's weapon of choice.
26	* BilingualBonus: Maison Derrière, whose name is never properly translated, means "Butt House".
27	* BittersweetEnding: Maison Derrière is ultimately saved, but, unfortunately, Marge lets her bulldozer on, which promptly marches towards the house and destroys a good chunk of it, forcing her to work as a ventriloquist to pay for the damage she caused.
28	* BlatantLies: Principal Skinner's attempts to claim he's not a customer at Maison Derrière. When he enters the place and asks Bart about a specific girl, he eventually realizes who he's talking to and tries to convince Bart that he expected to find a museum there. Later, when the Lovejoys and Flanderses tell Homer about Bart working at a burlesque house and that they learned it from Skinner, he shows up to claim that he only entered there to ask for directions to get ''out'' of there.
29	* {{Bouncer}}: Bart acts in this fashion; escorting Homer off the premises after he drunkenly demands Marge "take it off!" during her ventriloquist act.
30	* BrickJoke: When the townsfolk are tearing down the house, Moleman is seen with a [[ArrowsOnFire flaming arrow]] and begs them to "please hurry..." When Marge comes in with the bulldozer and demands she be allowed to sing a CrowdSong of her own, said flaming arrow is seen embedding itself in the tree.
31	* BrokenGlassPenalty: Or more specifically, Broken Gargoyle Penalty. Bart accidentally destroys one of Belle's gargoyles and is ordered to work for her to pay for the damages. In the end, Marge accidentally destroyed a part of the Maison Derrière when she left the bulldozer in gear. She’s forced to work for Belle as a stage comedian to pay for the damages. Considering how bad Marge’s ventriloquist act was, it will be a long time.
32	* TheCameo: Princess Kashmir appears, doing a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_dance Fan Dance]].
33	* ChirpingCrickets: At the assembly hall during the slide show revealing who was visiting the burlesque house. Dr. Hibbert, Chief Wiggum (''twice''), Principal Skinner, Cletus, Mayor Quimby, Patty, and Smithers all get called out on when their images come up. When Barney's image comes up, no one reacts, until Moe slowly reacts out of forced necessity.
34	** At the end of the episode, Marge is made to work as a warmup comedian to pay for the damages done to the burlesque house. When she does her ventriloquist act, no one laughs.
35	* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
36	** When the news reports a terrible oil spill. Lisa is clearly horrified at the environmental devastation, but Homer thinks her concerns lie elsewhere:
37	---> '''Homer''': Don't worry, honey, there's lots more oil where that came from.
38	** Marge goes to the effort of covering the eyes of everyone she's pictured walking out of the Maison Derriere, but that's the ''only'' bit she covers, allowing their friends and loved ones to recognise them instantly.
39	** Marge tries to enlist the town into shutting down Maison Derrière, but her euphemism-laden speech makes the audience think the problem lies with the house not meeting building codes, rather than the activity that goes inside. Indeed, when she is annoyed and says the house's construction is perfectly fine, their immediate reaction is to tell her to leave the house alone.
40	** Jasper and Abe vote to tear down Maison Derrière, apparently unaware that it is the same as "the bordello" they are fond of (barring AlternateCharacterInterpretation).
41	** Homer takes offense to the neighbors telling him that Bart shouldn't be working at a burlesque house, even though he had no idea it was a burlesque house when he sent him to work there, and doubles down by claiming that his son will work at a burlesque house if he wants to.
42	** Homer's plea to Springfield to not level Maison Derrière begins with a "We could take it down..." The audience agrees and they proceed to demolish it further without waiting for the obvious "but".
43	* ConformingOOCMoment: Even [[MoralGuardians Helen]] [[ThinkOfTheChildren Lovejoy]] and [[TheFundamentalist Maude Flanders]] of all people are swayed into sparing the Burlesque after the "We Put The Spring In Springfield" song.
44	* CouchGag: A parody of Music/TheBeatles' [[Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand Sgt. Pepper]] album. See SgtPeppersShoutOut below.
45	* CrowdSong: The Emmy® Award-winning "We Put the Spring in Springfield".
46	* DecoyProtagonist: The episode's first half makes it look like the episode is going to be about Bart working at the burlesque house, while Marge and Lisa will have the b-plot. However, in the second half, said b-plot ends, and the rest of the episode focuses on Marge's efforts in closing down said burlesque house.
47	* DelayedReaction:
48	** When Belle drags Bart back to the door, she immediately sets about informing Homer about what happened. It takes her a few seconds to realize Homer's answered the door in a grocery bag.
49	---> '''Belle''': Your son was trespassing on my property and destroyed a very valuable stone gargoyle a- ''({{Beat}})'' ...Are you wearing a grocery bag?\
50	'''Homer''': I have misplaced my pants.
51	** When Skinner enters the house, unaware of who the doorman is.
52	---> '''Skinner''': ''(enters)'' Oh I hope I didn’t miss the floor show!\
53	'''Bart''': Nope.\
54	'''Skinner''': Is Roxanne back?\
55	'''Bart''': Yep.\
56	'''Skinner''': Did she, uh, get my flowers?\
57	'''Bart''': She did.\
58	'''Skinner''': Tha- ''(Finally notices Bart)'' ... Hello, Bart.\
59	'''Bart''': Hello, Principal Skinner!\
60	'''Skinner''': ....... This is the National Air and Space Museum, isn’t it?
61	* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Marge's facts to make Belle reconsider getting rid of the burlesque house prove to be ineffective every time. At the end, [[SoreLoser she just demands Belle to go away]].
62	--> '''Marge''': Springfield doesn't want places like this!\
63	'''Belle''': I think I know what Springfield wants, Sugar.\
64	'''Marge''': Oh? I've lived in this town for 37 years!\
65	'''Belle''': I've lived here 52 years.\
66	'''Marge''': I'm third generation!\
67	'''Belle''': Sixth.\
68	'''Marge''': ''({{Beat}})'' Get out of my town!
69	* DistractedByTheSexy: Homer attempts to chastise Belle for having Bart work late at her establishment, but has difficulty doing so while watching Princess Kashmir.
70	* EarlyBirdCameo: One of the dancers looks like Cookie Kwan, who later would become a recurring character.
71	* EverythingHasRhythm: The musical number 'We Put The Spring in Springfield' includes such effects as Moe banging bin lids together, Belle 'boing'ing Bumblebee Man's antenna, Chief Wiggum and Comic Book Guy bumping bellies, and Willie smacking Lenny in the head (accidentally) with a sledgehammer.
72	* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: The moment Marge discovers the existence of Maison Derrière, she goes on the warpath, even strong-arming the rest of the town to take it down. Bear in mind, Bart is working there and she never says a single word that she's mad about that.
73	* GetOut: When Marge and Belle finally get to talk, every attempt by Marge to be the one with the moral high point is undermined by Belle's sensible answers. Marge ends the conversation by [[SuddenlyShouting yelling "get out of my town!"]]
74	* HarmfulToMinors: Downplayed. While Belle admits she wouldn't have let Bart work at the Maison Derrière if Homer hadn't been so insistent, nothing there is overly sexualized. The jobs he gets more or less keep him from being exposed to the dancers from cleaning toilets to working the door and even the performance he does is just him reciting relatively tame jokes off of cue cards. Of course, the town's moral guardians insist it's far worse than it actually is.
75	* {{Hypocrite}}: When Mayor Quimby declares his support of the Maison Derrière's service, his wife scolds him for it, only for him to point out she was working there at the time.
76	* HypocriticalHumor:
77	** Homer also tells Bart that working to repay the damage he caused is "responsibility". He then immediately drives into Belle's mailbox, screams, and flees.
78	** After being informed of what Bart did to Belle's house and not wanting Marge to find out, Homer knows he has to punish him. When he asks how Marge usually punishes him, Bart says she makes him taste beer.
79	--->'''Homer:''' Come on, boy. Give your old man a little credit.\
80	''[The grocery bag he was using as pants suddenly breaks and the food falls out]''\
81	'''Homer:''' Yeah, well, I still get to punish you.
82	** Belle chides Bart for insisting Homer should pay the entry fee for enter Maison Derrière, but once he's out of earshot explains they'll simply comp him for the night, then start a tab when he comes back.
83	* {{Irony}}:
84	** While Marge has the nerve to claim that the burlesque house is destroying morals, Homer's [[{{Unishment}} punishment]] works out just the way any parent would hope for in any other work setting: Bart learns to become more responsible and gains respect for his temporary employer.
85	** Other than Marge, Reverend Lovejoy is the biggest proponent of tearing down the burlesque house. It turns out his father is a regular patron there.
86	* ImprovisedClothes: When Belle comes to the Simpsons' house to inform Homer of what Bart has done, Homer comes to the door wearing a grocery bag as a pair of pants.
87	* InternalDeconstruction: This is yet another episode where Marge and Lisa go on some well-meaning crusade while Homer and Bart goof off and eventually get embroiled in some shady business. However, rather than the usual WomenAreWiser outcome, the boys' antics and the nature of their associate are treated as (mostly) harmless fun, while both of the girls' escapades end either in unproductive misery or the town devolving into another riot, with ''Homer'' ending up playing the mediator that saves the day.
88	* JerkassBall: Marge is at her worst pre-{{Flanderization}} here, acting more like Helen Lovejoy by forcing her views on the town of Springfield because she has a problem with the house existing, rather than her underage son working there.
89	* LaserGuidedKarma: Marge is forced to work at Maison Derrière to pay off the damages she unintentionally caused at the end of the episode by making a bulldozer destroy a part of the house.
90	* MamaBear: Averted. Marge is more concerned over the fact that Springfield has a burlesque house than the fact that Bart is working there, thanks to Homer's less-than-stellar fathering skills.
91	* MenCantKeepHouse: One day of Homer and Bart alone in the house leaves the floor covered completely in garbage. They proceed to make "garbage angels" in it.
92	* MoralGuardians: Marge, because she thinks that Springfield does not want a burlesque house, despite everyone else's views. It's not "Springfield doesn't want a burlesque house", it's [[ItsAllAboutMe "Marge Simpson]] [[JerkassBall doesn't want a burlesque house, and is forcing everyone to follow her view".]] She's joined in this by the show's most religious characters: the Flanders and Reverend Lovejoy and his wife.
93	* NeverMyFault: When Marge demands why Homer in his right mind would make their ten-year-old child work at a burlesque house, Homer counters that he was only following Marge's advice on how to discipline Bart if he misbehaved while she was away... which makes him rationalize that Marge is culpable for the current predicament due to giving him parenting advice in the first place and claims that this is her mess to clean up, not his.
94	* NeverTrustATrailer: A lot of TV and radio promos for this episode played up the sex angle of this episode. Commercials that aired during prime time claimed that Springfield would be rocked by a sex scandal, and showed Marge's incriminating pictures of people leaving the Maison Derrière (which was correct, only it didn't go that far)[[note]]Compare with the ads that aired during times when kids would be watching cartoons, where they just played up the fact that Homer and Bart are left to fend for themselves while Marge, Lisa, and Maggie go on a day trip to help clean up an oil spill[[/note]], while a radio station had Homer saying, "I have misplaced my pants," which, out of context, paints a rather risqué mental picture of Homer, when really that line was used in the scene of Belle taking Bart back home and Belle finding that Homer is using a grocery bag as a substitute for underwear.
95	* NiceGirl: Belle. Despite Marge's trying to force her out of town and then accidentally demolishing parts of the house, Belle is nothing but polite and friendly the whole time and tries to be understanding towards Homer when he's upset that Bart's working so late and then comps him for the night. She also manages to remain quite civilized though a bit of a DeadpanSnarker after Marge winds up destroying part of her house.
96	* NoodleIncident: During the "We Put the Spring in Springfield" musical number, Grampa and Jasper sing that the burlesque house has given them the most fun "since March of 1961".
97	* NotQuiteTheRightThing: So your son broke someone's statue? Having him work for her to pay the costs of the damages sounds like a stock punishment most sitcom parents would give out. Too bad that, in this case, the property owner runs a burlesque house.
98	* OhCrap:
99	** Bart, when Belle declares the only person who can fill in for their comedian is someone who fits his suit. Which just happens to be Bart's size (though Bart does enjoy the job once he's doing it).
100	** Homer when he openly admits to a crowd about letting his son work in a burlesque house with Marge in earshot.
101	--->'''Homer:''' If Homer Simpson wants his ten-year-old son to work in a burlesque house, then Homer Simpson's ten-year-old son is going to work in a burlesque house. That--''(sees Marge; laughs nervously)'' Hi, Marge. Now you're going to hear a lot of crazy talk about Bart working in a burlesque house.
102	* PainfulRhyme: One couplet of the song rhymes "idea" with "here", which only slides because of Mayor Quimby's JFK-esque accent.
103	* ParentalNeglect: While Marge was gone, Homer spent a good chunk of time being unaware of where Bart even was.
104	-->'''Announcer:''' It's 11 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?\
105	'''Homer:''' I told you last night no!
106	* PoliceAreUseless: Officer Eddie is seen taking part in the angry mob's demolition and looting of the house. Thus committing criminal damage... while in uniform. Also, Chief Wiggum twice visited the burlesque house while in uniform.
107	* PushedInFrontOfTheAudience: The Maison Derriere's standup comedian is injured, so Belle makes Bart fill in for him on stage. Belle chooses Bart because the original comedian was a little person and his tuxedo fits Bart perfectly. She doesn't send Bart out unprepared, since the comedian's jokes are in the suit pocket and there's a device to make the bow tie spin.
108	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Belle of all people is possibly the most reasonable person in this episode, especially highlighted when she dissuades Bart from his initial job request of sorting out bras by saying it's "too advanced" for him and he's actually happy as a clam rather than mouthy. It's very clear she doesn't want to expose a minor to anything that would be deemed too inappropriate since Homer reportedly insisted that Bart work there. When she's forced to put Bart onstage as a standup comedian because her regular comic got injured, she also makes sure he's well-prepared with all the comedian's jokes and a device to make Bart's bow tie spin.
109	* RememberTheNewGuy: While this isn't abnormal for guest characters and Belle has pretty good reason to keep her head down, it's still a bit disconcerting that this happens with the Maison Derrière--a lot of the third act depends on the idea that the house is iconic to the town and pretty much everyone is a regular, even though this is the first time it's ever been so much as mentioned.
110	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
111	** When Bart gets caught by Belle on her property, Milhouse, Nelson, Martin, and Ralph say they need to do something. A moment later, the boys just run off screaming.
112	** Grandpa's [[http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/leaving-now-grandpa-simpsons.gif reaction]] to Bart's presence in the Maison. Subverted in that he comes right back to ask if he's Bart and then to go enjoy the show when told Homer knows the boy is working there.
113	** After a few days scrubbing off rocks, Lisa declares it's unsatisfying. Marge agrees, but they made a commitment and should see it through. Then the organizer shows up to say they'll be serving kelp burgers and watching Johnny Arvik, the "Eskimo comedian". The next scene is Marge and Lisa fleeing as fast as they can.
114	* SgtPeppersShoutOut: The CouchGag is [[http://www.creativegames.org.uk/modules/Art_Technology/Pop/Sgt_%20Pepper_Album_files/simps.jpg a parody of the album cover.]] An alternate version is used as the cover of their music album, [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4c/The_Yellow_Album.PNG "The Yellow Album"]] (the name, of course, a takeoff of [[Music/TheWhiteAlbum another Beatles album]]). And like ''Sgt Pepper'', the early Simpsons are in suits and the current ones in fatigues.
115	* ShamingTheMob: Homer does this, with a lavish musical number.
116	* ShoutOut:
117	** Belle could possibly be named after Belle Watling, the owner of the burlesque house in ''Film/GoneWithTheWind''.
118	** The musical number instigated by Homer (accompanied by Belle and her backup dancers) convincing the town not to destroy the house is a parody of ''Film/TheBestLittleWhorehouseInTexas''. However, unlike the episode, the "chicken ranch" is forced out of business.
119	** Mayor Quimby and the Quimby family, throughout Simpsons history, have been made to resemble JFK and the Kennedy family. In this particular episode, Mayor Quimby's wife is seen wearing a dress similar to one of Jackie Kennedy's dresses.
120	** In her effort to reconvince the town that the burlesque house is bad, Marge begins singing an off-key parody of [[Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic "My Favorite Things"]] - although the bulldozer cuts her off before she can sing the title phrase.
121	* SkewedPriorities: Marge has a problem with Maison Derrière simply existing rather than the fact that her son is working there.
122	* SpontaneousChoreography: With those who are gathered to tear down the burlesque house and people sing "We Put the Spring in Springfield" ... except Marge who was out renting the bulldozer. She asks if they can sing it again but Ned Flanders tells her it really was one of those spur-of-the-moment type things.
123	* StylisticSuck: Marge's attempt at a counter-song after the "We Put the Spring in Springfield" sequence.
124	-->'''Marge:''' ''(singing off key)'' Morals and ethics and carnal forbearance...
125	** Also, Marge's ventriloquist act.
126	-->'''Marge:''' "So Twiggy, I hear you and your husband, Woody, just had a baby. What did you name him?" ''(as "Twiggy)'' "Chip!"
127	--> ''(no one laughs)''
128	* SuddenlyVoiced: Bernice Hibbert, when she calls her husband out.
129	* SustainedMisunderstanding: Because the Maison Derriere is a somewhat gothic-looking property and Belle is adamant about keeping children away, the kids assume she's a witch. Bart's reaction when he finally ends up inside and sees that it's actually a burlesque house in full swing?
130	-->'''Bart:''' Lady, I gotta tell ya, I have been ''grossly'' misinformed about witches.
131	* TactfulTranslation: Belle tells Bart that the Maison Derrière's name means "Back House", rather than the ''actual'' translation.
132	* TorchesAndPitchforks: and Sledgehammers, oh my! Seen when the town is forced by Marge to tear down the house; they also discuss what they plan to smash and/or loot.
133	* TrashOfTheTitans: The floor is so coated in garbage that Homer and Bart make garbage angels.
134	* {{Unishment}}: To give Homer ''some'' credit, he didn't know the house Bart vandalized was really a burlesque house. Of course, he doesn't mind Bart still working there after he finds out.
135	* VerbalBackspace: When Marge gives Homer some instructions before leaving with Lisa and Maggie. She was about to tell him that if anything happens, just use his better judgment, then realizes who she was talking to and instead says "Just do what I would do".
136	* WaxingLyrical: When the Springfieldians decide to keep their beloved burlesque house, the Maison Derrière, Reverend Lovejoy paraphrases the Music/CrosbyStillsAndNash song, "Our House":
137	-->"This house is a very, very, very fine house."
138	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Lisa and Maggie are absent when Marge arrives at the front door after cleaning rocks. They are also not in the family car in the background and are entirely absent for the second half of the episode.
139	* WorkOffTheDebt: Bart breaking the gargoyle kicks off the A-plot. In the end, Marge replaces the club's warm-up comedian after demolishing half the building.
140	* YouPutTheXInXY: "We put the 'Spring' in 'Springfield'."

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS8E5BartAfterDark