History Recap / TheSimpsonsS3E13RadioBart

* OperatorsAreStandingBy: The commercial Homer watches for the Superstar Celebrity Microphone, urging him to buy now since (*gasp*) "supplies are limited!" ("LIMITED???!!! AHHHH!!!") [[note]](Of course, supplies aren't exactly limited, nor are the toys exactly flying off the shelves.)[[/note]]

* OffModel: During Bart's birthday party, Sherri is depicted with dark skin and a beige dress (though her hair color is correct, oddly enough).

* WildChild: Marvin Monroe theorizes that this is what "Timmy O'Toole" is becoming after hearing growling at the bottom of the well (really just Bart fighting Santa's Little Helper over the microphone).

* WildChild: Marvin Monroe theorizes that this is what "Timmy O'Toole" is becoming after hearing growling at the bottom of the well (really just Bart fighting Santa's Little Helper over the microphone).

* WildChild: Marvin Monroe theorizes that this is what "Timmy O'Toole" is becoming after hearing growling at the bottom of the well (really just Bart fighting Santa's Little Helper over the microphone).

* WildChild: Marvin Monroe theorizes that this is what "Timmy O'Toole" is becoming after hearing growling at the bottom of the well (really just Bart fighting Santa's Little Helper over the microphone).

* WildChild: Marvin Monroe theorizes that this is what "Timmy O'Toole" is becoming after hearing growling at the bottom of the well (really just Bart fighting Santa's Little Helper over the microphone).

* WildChild: Marvin Monroe theorizes that this is what "Timmy O'Toole" is becoming after hearing growling at the bottom of the well (really just Bart fighting Santa's Little Helper over the microphone).

* WildChild: Marvin Monroe theorizes that this is what "Timmy O'Toole" is becoming after hearing growling at the bottom of the well (really just Bart fighting Santa's Little Helper over the microphone).

* WildChild: Marvin Monroe theorizes that this is what "Timmy O'Toole" is becoming after hearing growling at the bottom of the well (really just Bart fighting Santa's Little Helper over the microphone).

** Walter Cronkite: Kent Brockman's announcement about the Lincoln squirrel being assassinated is copied nearly frame for frame – including a shot with Brockman removing horn-rimmed glasses while reading the news flash – with the CBS News anchorman's announcement that President UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy had officially been pronounced dead.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: After Bart's ruse is discovered and he is trapped in the well for real, the town's goodwill dries up and they leave him to his fate. It's pretty telling that rescue efforts only begin after Bart has reached the DespairEventHorizon and truly comes to regret what he has done.

* InventedIndividual: Timmy O'Toole, the HeartwarmingOrphan trapped in the well. The drama Bart endures on the third act comes from the murderous hatred the rest of Springfield feels from discovering they were fooled.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: After Bart's ruse is discovered and he is trapped in the well for real the towns goodwill dries up and they leave him to his fate. It's pretty telling that rescue efforts only begin after Bart has reached the DespairEventHorizon and truly comes to regret what he has done.

* OhCrap: Bart when he realized he left a clue in the well linking him to the prank (the radio that has a "Property of Bart Simpson" label on it).

** "Music/WeAreTheWorld" by U.S.A. for Africa: "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" and its music video is a parody.

** And the biggest one of all: Timmy being stuck down a well/mine shaft/etc. is one of the cliches associated with the TV series ''Series/{{Lassie}}'' (though ironically a well was one thing [[BeamMeUpScotty Timmy didn't fall down in the series]]).

** The Funky See, Funky Do musical duo, whose song "I Do Believe We're Naked" knocked "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" from the number one spot, resemble a composite of members from Music/MilliVanilli and Kid n' Play.

* WholePlotReference: The concept of this episode evokes ''Film/AceInTheHole'', a Creator/BillyWilder-directed film in which an accident trapping a shopkeeper in a cave sparks a media frenzy. Both stories even involve someone making a pop song about the victim, and a carnival becoming formed at the site of the disaster. Although the reference was intentional, writer Jon Vitti never saw the film until after he wrote the episode, stating that Matt Groening, who had seen it, gave him the rundown.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The line "[[TerriblePickupLines Hey, good-looking, we'll be back to pick you up later!]]" in the ad for the radio microphone is taken word-for-word from a 70s-era Ronco Mr. Microphone commercial.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: We see an unhinged fisherman character who suggests fishing Timmy out of the well. While you might expect this role be filled by the Sea Captain, this episode was made before he was an actual character.

* EpicFail: The song "We're Sending Our Love Down The Well" gets a literally meteoric fall down the hit charts thanks to the discovery that Timmy O'Toole is a fake, all the way to rock bottom. An {{expy}} of Creator/CaseyKasem mentions that this is something he's never seen before.

* HilarityEnsues: In the real world, the police and fire crews ignoring Bart's real crisis after he actually does become trapped in the well would have left them open to huge lawsuits and criminal charges. Nobody seems to suffer any legal consequences here.

** Also Bart didn't think that people may try to rescue "Timmy" only to find Bart's radio, as Lisa pointed it out.

* LaserGuidedKarma: After List mentions the possibility of Bart leaving his name on his radio, Bart decides to end his prank before anyone spots it, only to fall down the same well he fooled the town into thinking "Timmy O'Toole" fell into, complete with a large rock falling on his leg so can't be pulled out, just like in the story he concocted. After learning about the prank, pretty much everyone in Springfield decides to leave him there until Homer decides to finally get him out, with everyone following suit.

* LaserGuidedKarma: After List mentions the possibility of Bart leaving his name on his radio, Bart decides to ends his prank before anyone spots it, only to fall down the same well he fooled the town into thinking "Timmy O'Toole" fell into, complete with a large rock falling on his leg so can't be pulled out, just like in the story he concocted. After learning about the prank, pretty much everyone in Springfield decides to leave him there until Homer decides to finally get him out, with everyone following suit.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Bart falls down the same well he fooled the town into thinking Timmy O'Toole fell into, complete with a large rock falling on his leg so can't be pulled out, just like in the story he concocted.

Episode - 8F11\\
First Aired - 1/9/1992

A little over four years later, in the fictional world of Springfield, Bart pulls a prank inspired by the [=McClure=] story, by fooling the town into believing a little boy had fallen down an uncapped abandoned well.

* AgelessBirthdayEpisode: ZigZagged. Bart--who has been portrayed as ten years old prior to this point--is cut off by the animatronics when he's about to state his age, but earlier in the episode we see Homer measuring him against a door frame and marking his 10th birthday, and he's referred to as a "ten-year-old hooligan" when the story of how he tricked Springfield ends up on the news.

* AgelessBirthdayEpisode: ZigZagged. Bart--who has been portrayed as 10 years old prior to this point--is cut off by the animatronics when he's about to state his age, but earlier in the episode we see Homer measuring him against a door frame and marking his 10th birthday, and he's referred to as a 10-year-old when the story of how he tricked Springfield ends up on the news.

* PoliceAreUseless: Bart's awareness of this ("[[LampshadeHanging The police couldn't catch a cold!]]") is the reason he feels comfortable pranking all of Springfield, though he's less confident when he remembers that he labeled his radio with his name, which might represent a SmokingGun even for them. Aside from that, they're not even able to figure out that there isn't a real kid in the well, let alone formulate a rescue plan--though in this they're joined by [[IncompetenceInc every last authority figure in Springfield]].

* PoliceAreUseless: Bart's awareness of this ("[[LampshadeHanging The police couldn't catch a cold!]]") is the reason he feels comfortable pranking all of Springfield, though he's less confident when he remembers that he labeled his radio with his name, which might represent a SmokingGun even for them. Aside from that, they're not even able to figure out that there isn't a real kid in the well, let alone formulate a rescue plan--though in this they're joined by [[AdultsAreUseless every last authority figure in Springfield]].

* PoliceAreUseless: Bart's awareness of this ("[[LampshadeHanging The police couldn't catch a cold!]]") is the reason he feels comfortable pranking all of Springfield, though he's less confident when he remembers that he labeled his radio with his name, which would probably be a SmokingGun even for them. Aside from that, they're not even able to figure out that there isn't a real kid in the well, let alone formulate a rescue plan--though in this they're joined by [[AdultsAreUseless every last authority figure in Springfield]].

-->'''Homer:''' We didn't want the boy; he was an accident.\\

'''Homer:''' Uh, can you edit that last part out, Kent?\\