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The Simpsons: Season 1, Episode 2Bart the Genius (14 Jan. 1990) 7.8
Bart ends up at a school for gifted children after cheating on an IQ test. Director:David Silverman |
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Title: Bart the Genius (14 Jan 1990)
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Cast
| Episode cast overview: | |||
| Dan Castellaneta | ... |
Homer Simpson /
Conductor
(voice)
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| Julie Kavner | ... |
Marge Simpson
(voice)
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| Nancy Cartwright | ... |
Bart Simpson /
Skinner's secretary
(voice)
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| Yeardley Smith | ... |
Lisa Simpson /
Cecile Shapiro
(voice)
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| Harry Shearer | ... |
Principal Seymour Skinner /
Dr. J. Loren Pryor /
Mr. Prince
(voice)
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| Marcia Wallace | ... |
Edna Krabappel
(voice) (as Marsha Wallace)
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| Jo Ann Harris | ... |
Ms. Melon /
Richard /
Lewis
(voice)
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| Pamela Hayden | ... |
Milhouse Van Houten /
Ethan Foley /
Boy
(voice)
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| Russi Taylor | ... |
Martin Prince /
Sidney Swift /
Ian
(voice)
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Edit
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Bart is fearing that he will fail an intelligence test, Bart switches exams with Martin Prince. When school psychologist Dr. Pryor studies the results, he thinks that Bart is a genius, and Bart is enrolled into a new school for genius kids. Bart doesn't fit in very well though. Written by TnMovieFan2@aol.com
Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
14 January 1990 (USA) See more »Company Credits
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company contact information
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
Color
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Marge: Homer!
Homer: I'm just saying, why not have two geniuses in the family? Sort of a spare in case Bart's brain blows up.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The debut episode for the characters: Edna Krabappel, Martin Prince, Rainer Wolfcastle, and Dr. Loren J. Pryor. See more »Goofs
In the Scrabble game at the beginning, Marge plays HI and says that this scores two points. In fact, H is a four-point tile, so HI would score at least five points. See more »Quotes
Homer: Frosty Krusty Flakes are what got him where he is today. It could be one of these chemicals here that makes him so smart. Lisa, maybe you should try some of these.Marge: Homer!
Homer: I'm just saying, why not have two geniuses in the family? Sort of a spare in case Bart's brain blows up.
See more »
The animation is still the slightly rougher style of the first episode, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, but already, with this first regular episode, Bart the Genius, the humor is beginning to be more "layered", quicker and greater depth of characterization is already appearing.
This episode firmly establishes Bart's "slacker" personality, and more subtly, Lisa's intellectual superiority to the whole family. Although that's the main theme of the whole episode (there's also a nice secondary theme of Bart and Homer's father/son relationship), it's given to us first in a nutshell as the episode opens with the Simpsons playing Scrabble. Lisa comes up with "id" for her word--short, but something you have to be well educated to know. She has to read the definition to the rest of the family from the dictionary, which has been serving as a way to prop up the couch. Marge can only come up with "he". Homer has "oxidize" already sitting on his tray in order, but doesn't recognize that it's a word, so he presents "do" instead. Bart comes up with "kwyjibo", which he insists is a word. Similarly, in the main plot line of the episode, Bart cheats on his IQ test, which leads to his being put into a special school full of gifted kids. We know that's not likely to last long.
"The Simpsons" has always had a lot of fun playing with varying degrees of intellectual abilities among people through its characters, and more importantly, they way that people with vary degrees of intellectual abilities fit into (or not), are accepted (or not) and are perceived in society. Aside from beginning to present Bart, Lisa, Homer and Marge's place in this context, this episode already starts respectfully poking fun at nerds and geeks outside of the Simpsons family. Via some of the dialogue from the students at the special school, as well as some of the other references, including purely visual ones, this episode also shows that "The Simpsons" isn't going to pull any punches by means of writing or talking down to its audience. It may be just a cartoon, but it's a cartoon that intellectuals, geeks and nerds are going to understand more than anyone else. And that fact, aside from it just being a very funny show, is the key to the show's longevity.