Bart's Dog Gets an F 

After an uncontrollable Santa's Little Helper destroys several important Simpson possessions, Homer announces that he will be thrown out of the house unless he completes obedience training.

Directors:

Jim Reardon, David Silverman

Writers:

Matt Groening (created by), James L. Brooks (developed by)

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / Krusty the Clown / Troy McClure / Football Announcer (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / Martin Prince / Saleswoman (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Dr. Hibbert / Otto / Ned Flanders / Lenny / Kent Brockman / Father McGrath / Clerk #2 / Farmer (voice)
Hank Azaria	...	Apu Nahasapeemapetilon / Clerk #1 / Jack (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Jack's Girlfriend (voice)
Frank Welker	...	Santa's Little Helper / Snowball II (voice)
Tracey Ullman	...	Emily Winthrop / Mrs. Winfield (voice)

Storyline

After Santa's Little Helper has chewed Homer's new shoes and eaten his cookies, Homer decides to get rid of him unless he can behave. Bart takes him to an obedience class run by the formidable Emily Winthrop but he does not respond well. Fortunately Bart has the faith to persevere and to put his dog successfully through the test.

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Plot Keywords:

animal in episode title | dog in episode title | 1930s to 2020s | tv show theme song | cameo | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Homer pronounces and spells the word macadamia as if it were "macamademia", in keeping with his verbal tick of adding "ma" to the middle of a long word (e.g.: saxomaphone, pantomamime).

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Goofs

As Bart is attempting to train Santa's Little Helper near the end. He unwittingly tells the dog to sit, which he does. However, due to muscle flexibility, Greyhounds that have been raced at some point in their life cannot physically sit.

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Quotes

[Lisa, home with the mumps, watches a soap opera with Marge]
Lisa: Gee, is it always this good?
Actor Marge: Mmmmm, I don't know. I just dip in and out. I'm only watching today because Randi is coming out of a coma, and she knows the phony prince's body is hidden in the boathouse.

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Connections

Edited into The Simpsons: Lisa's Pony (1991)

User Reviews

Mainly Funny!

The sixteenth episode in the second season of the Simpsons is a solid and rather funny episode. There are some touching moments, but this episode focuses on what it's like to train pets and have them become the creatures that we love. The guest voice is Tracey Ullman and she is formidable as the head of the obedience school featured in this episode.

In this episode, "Bart's Dog Gets an F," Santa's Little Helper chews up the family's heirloom and eats Homer's cookies which angers both Homer and Marge. They threaten to give him away unless Bart takes him to obedience school to properly train the dog.

Overall, this is a funny episode but also touching on the way it depicts friendship of man vs. dog. It's not the greatest episode by any means, but still a rather good one in the second season. I rate this episode 9/10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 1991 (USA)

Filming Locations:

USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gracie Films, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

23 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1