Bart the Murderer

Plot

After a particularly bad day at school, Bart crashes down a flight of stairs on his skateboard, into the Legitimate Business Man Social club, a mobster's hangout. The Springfield Mafia are impressed with Bart's skills, so Fat Tony, the head of the mob, hires Bart as an errand boy and a bartender.

Marge does not like the idea however, and gets Homer to check out the people Bart is working for. Homer, however, is impressed with Fat Tony. Fat Tony finds out that Principle Skinner has plans to keep Bart after school, so the mob pay him a visit. The next day Skinner is gone, and Bart is the main suspect.

During the trial, Fat Tony rats out Bart as the murderer. The only one who can save Bart is Skinner himself, who appears during the trial and tells his story of how he got trapped in the basement after a stack of newspapers fell on him - the has nothing to do with his disappearance. Bart is cleared and the Simpsons watch a TV movie about Bart's story, which is largely exaggerated.

Memorable quotes

Bart: You ate my homework? I didn't know dogs really did that.

Mrs. Krabappel: Bart Simpson, you're late. Go fill out a tardy slip.
Bart: But I'm only five... (looks at clock) ten, twenty... forty minutes? That's pretty damn late!

Ralph: I'm going to each chocolate 'til I barf!

Skinner: Oh, licking envelopes can be fun! All you have to do is make a game of it.
Bart: What kind of game?
Skinner: Well, for example, you could see how many you could lick in an hour, then try to break that record.
Bart: Sounds like a pretty crappy game to me.
Skinner: Yes, well... Get started.

Fat Tony: Pick a horse, kid. We're putting two dollars on the third race. Make it a good one.
Bart: Eat my shorts!
Fat Tony: Eat My Shorts? Okay, let's see... wait a minute, you little punk! Eat My Shorts is in the fifth race! I said the third race!

Homer: How much does it pay?
Bart: Thirty bucks a week!
Homer: Pfft, I make more than that.

Wiggum: Fat Tony is a cancer on this fair city. He is the cancer, and I am the... uh, what cures cancer?

Suggest a quotation

Notes

• Joe Mantegna, the voice of Fat Tony, was also the actor in the TV movie playing Fat Tony.
• Principal Skinner has a picture of the school hanging in his office.
• Bart's cellmate is Sideshow Bob.
• Fat Tony's prison number was 8F03, the production code for this episode.
• There is a barrel of nuclear waste in the Simpsons' basement.
• Just as Homer complains about sleazy Hollywood producers, the credits appear, listing the executive producers of the Simpsons.

Contribute a note

References

• Several elements of the plot, such as a child working for the mafia, and the cigarette heist, are similar to the film ''Goodfellas''. However, this episode did not knowingly parody the movie - the episode was written before it was released, but aired after.

Contribute a reference