To this point in the series, we are starting to get to understand the basics of Bart Simpson. He's a troublemaker, a hellion if you will, who isn't opposed to sticking it to authority. But, as we've already seen in certain cases, Bart isn't a completely terrible kid. Most of the time, his actions are those of a lot of bad kids, and that's due to the need for attention and recognition from his peers. Such is the case with The Telltale Head.
CHALKBOARD GAG: "I did not see Elvis."
COUCH GAG: Family piles into the couch and Bart flies out again.
We open the episode with the main deed of the episode already done. Homer and Bart with the head of Jebediah Springfield, hoping they can give the head back to the people of Springfield without being mauled to shreds.
That is definitely not the case as the people of Springfield are out for blood. Particularly the blood of the boy who defiled the statue of the town founder. They chase Bart to the town square, but before they can do the deed, Bart asks to at least be given a chance to explain how he got himself into this mess to begin with. Interesting note, this is only one of a few episodes to have the episode's title in the opening credits.
It all started on an average Simpson Sunday as the family prepare to go to church. Lisa and Maggie are perfect as usual, while Bart's attempted mischief is stopped, while Homer is more focused on football. This is continued a bit further as when Marge confiscates a portable radio from Bart, Homer uses it to listen to the game, embarrassing the family in church when his team wins. Nice reference to show writer Wallace Wolodarsky in this scene. This scene also shows how quickly the authoritative powers have gone in the family. Now it's Marge who's the one more focused on her family not embarrassing her.
After a post-church conversation in the car, Bart becomes focused on seeing the latest Space Mutants film. Marge says no, but eventually Homer just gives in and lets him. On his way to the movies he runs into local bullies Jimbo, Kearney and Dolph, who are impressed with Bart's attitude. He sees them sneak into a movie and joins in. They eventually get thrown out, and continue their anti-authoritative nature around Springfield, from stealing in the Kwik-E-Mart, to throwing rocks at the statue of the town founder, Jebediah Springfield. And thus leads to the crux of the plot. The bullies talk about how great it would be to cut the head off the statue to really annoy the townsfolk. When Bart gets mocked for trying to stand up for the statue, (and taking bad advice from Homer about being popular) he decides to take it on his own to prove he's cool by actually doing the deed.
After Bart cuts the head off, the effects are already felt throughout Springfield as the townspeople are mixed between grief, disgust, and pure unadulterated anger. Bart's guilt, which was beginning to build from when he cut the head off to begin with is so bad, he begins to hear the voice of Jebediah Springfield from the head itself. And even after committing the act, it proves to have been for nothing as Jimbo's gang also want to get the kid who cut the head off, claiming they were just joking to begin with.
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
"Just a statue? Is the statue of liberty just a statue? Is the leaning tower of pizza just a statue?" - Homer Simpson
Bart eventually can't live with the guilt and confesses to his family. Homer's about to kill him, until he realizes that this was partly his fault for his bad advice on dealing with peer pressure. So, he offers to help Bart put the head back, which takes us back to where we started the episode. Bart apologizes to the crowd, and they ultimately decide that they don't feel like killing him anymore. Bart puts the head back on, and all is well for now as Homer tells Bart that most lynch mobs aren't this nice.
"The Telltale Head" is a decent episode that gives us enough about Bart's hellion mentality. That, while he can be a troublemaker, he isn't necessarily a bad kid, and when he does do particularly damaging stuff like cutting the head off a town founder's statue, it's usually not out of his own intentions, but fears of not fitting in with other kids. The episode does a fine job at teaching the problems with peer pressure, especially for kids like Bart. Seeing the level of bloodthirsty rage the town gets into is definitely the highlight of the episode. The animation in this episode looks much better than prior episodes, as we're slowly starting to see the show find its set look. I can't really find much fault to this one in terms of negativity, other than I guess it isn't that hilarious, kinda petering out after the Sunday School scene with Bart's multiple questions about who goes into heaven. But that aside, it's still another quality season 1 episode.
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FIRST APPEARANCES:
REVEREND LOVEJOY
JIMBO JONES
KEARNEY
DOLPH
APU NAHASAPEEMAPETILON
SIDESHOW BOB
JEBEDIAH SPRINGFIELD
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NEXT TIME ON ROUND SPRINGFIELD:
LIFE ON THE FAST LANE