History Recap / TheSimpsonsS8E5BartAfterDark

Episode - 4F06\\
First Aired - 11/24/1996

* 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 and Willie smacking Lenny in the head (accidentally) with a sledgehammer.

* 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 (!?), ''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.

* BilingualBonus: Maison Derrière, whose name is never properly translated, means "Butt House". Belle uses the more "sanitized" term of "back house" when she explains its meaning to Bart.

* 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.

* BilingualBonus: Maison Derrière, whose name is never properly translated, means "Butt House".

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Lisa and Maggie are the only characters that are missing 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.
** It could be possible that they were dropped off at Aunt Patty and Selma's place and remained there for the rest of the episode.

* CouchGag: A parody of Music/TheBeatles' [[Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand Sgt. Pepper]] album.

--> '''Homer''': Don't worry, honey, there's lots more oil where that came from.

* 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.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When the news reports a terrible oil spill in Alaska, Lisa is clearly horrified at the environmental devastation, but Homer thinks her concerns lie elsewhere:

* 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. At the end, Marge accidentally destroyed a part of the Maison Derriere 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.

* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: The moment Marge discovers the existence of Maison Derriere, 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.

* {{Hypocrite}}: When Mayor Quimby declares his support of the Maison Derriere's service, his wife scolds him for it, only for him to point out she was working there at the time.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Marge is forced to work at Maison Derriere to pay off the damages she unintentionally caused at the end of the episode by making a bulldozer destroy a part of the house.

* 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.
* 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 Derriere (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 risque 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.

* 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 visiting the burlesque house while in uniform.

* 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 Derriere--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.

* SkewedPriorities: Marge has a problem with Maison Derriere simply existing rather than the fact that her son is working there.

* WaxingLyrical: When the Springfieldians decide to keep their beloved burlesque house, the Maison Derriere, Reverend Lovejoy paraphrases the Music/CrosbyStillsAndNash song, "Our House":
-->This house is a very, very, very fine house.

--> '''Belle''': Your son was trespassing on my property and destroyed a very valuable stone gargoyle a- ''({{Beat}})'' ...Are you wearing a grocery bag?
--> '''Homer''': I have misplaced my pants.

--> '''Skinner''': ''(enters)'' Oh I hope I didn’t miss the floor show!
--> '''Bart''': Nope
--> '''Skinner''': Is Roxanne back?
--> '''Bart''': Yep.
--> '''Skinner''': Did she, uh, get my flowers?
--> '''Bart''': She did.
--> '''Skinner''': Tha- ''(Finally notices Bart)'' ... Hello, Bart.
--> '''Bart''': Hello, Principal Skinner!
--> '''Skinner''': ....... This is the National Air and Space Museum, isn’t it?

* MamaBear: Averted. Marge is more concerned over the fact that Springfield has a burlesque house (never mind the fact that past episodes, such as "Homer's Night Out" and "Last Exit to Springfield", show that Springfield has a red-light district and have worse sex entertainment than a burlesque house, such as mud-wrestling and foxy boxing. The worst the Maison Derriere has is risque stand-up that was shocking in the 1950s and early 1960s, but isn't in the 1990s and beyond and the kind of stripper stage shows[[note]]like showgirls in a kickline or Princess Kashmir's fan dancing[[/note]] that were also shocking back in the 1950s and early 1960s, but aren't so much in the 1990s and beyond) than the fact that Bart is working there, thanks to Homer's less-than-stellar fathering skills.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Belle of all people is possibly the most reasonable person in this episode, especially highlighted when she dissuades Bart away 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.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Belle of all people is possibly the most reasonable person in this episode, especially highlighted when she steers Bart away 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.

** Grandpa's [[http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/leaving-now-grandpa-simpsons.gif infamous 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.

* 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 [[JerkassBall "Marge Simpson doesn't want a burlesque house, and is forcing everyone to follow her view".]]

* 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 [[SkewedPriorities with the house existing, rather than her underage son working there]] (which would have caused Belle to get arrested and the entire place to get shut down, if the show followed reality).

* 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 the damage she caused.

* EverythingHasRhythm: The musical number 'We Keep The Spring in Springfield' includes such effects as Moe banging bin lids together, Belle 'boing'ing Bumblebee Man's antenna and Willie smacking Lenny in the head (accidentally) with a sledgehammer.

* {{Irony}}: 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 setting. Bart learns to become more responsible and gains respect for his temporary employer.

* Irony: Sending a ten year old to work at a burlesque house usually sounds like a bad idea at the face of it. However, not only does Belle makes sure that all of Bart's tasks are age appropriate, the [[{{Unishment}} punishment]] works out just the way a parent would hope for: Bart learns to become more responsible and gains respect for his neighbor. As the Springfieldians descend on the house to tear it down, Bart is the one urging Homer to think of something to do to stop them.

* CluelessAesop: {{Subverted}}. When Marge finds out Bart was forced to work as a door man at a burlesque club as Homer's way of punishing him for damaging its property, she joins with the local MoralGuardians and works the town into a fury over the club's presence. However, it's clear that Marge is overreacting, and the club's owner — an elegant older woman — actually confronts her; Belle argues that she's been in Springfield for over fifty years and that she and her dancers have every right to be there. If anything makes this episode wander into "CluelessAesop" territory, it's the heavy implication that the club is actually a ''brothel'', in which case Marge's anger would be much more justified.