After the success of Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, it was smooth sailing for the official Series premiere of The Simpsons. It had been a bumpy ride making it to the premiere, as the season was bumped from a September 1989 debut to January 14th, 1990. While the official planned pilot Some Enchanted Evening was moved to the end of season 1, the episode that would officially set the series ship sailing was Bart the Genius. And since the majority of the Simpsons popularity at the time was focused on the "underachiever and proud of it", it was a smart decision. Does this episode hold up? Let's find out.
But before we do that, let's look at the original Simpsons opening. While similar to the established intro, the original version does have some differences. The look feels closer to that of the first season's animation, and there are a few different scenes later omitted to the static version from season 2 onward.
The first being Bart stealing a bus sign
The second featuring Lisa returning home on her bike.
The theme song is also slightly different, but somehow sounds a bit better in my opinion. The iconic work of Danny Elfman at its finest.
CHALKBOARD GAG: "I will not waste chalk."
COUCH GAG: Family squeezes into the couch, causing Bart to fly off.
We open the episode with the Simpson family playing scrabble, much to the boredom of Bart, who just wants out of it. After an argument on if "id" is a word, Bart throws in his word Kwyjibo. What's a Kwyjibo? A big dumb, balding North American ape with no chin (and a short temper). Said Kwyjibo Homer chases Bart off. Overall, this was a fun scene. It feels like something you'd get from the Ullman shorts showing just how dysfunctional the Simpsons are.
We then go to Springfield Elementary where we do see what Bart does find fun. That being causing mischief. Spray painting a crude portrait of Principal Skinner saying "I am a Weiner" (the misspelling being called out later in the episode). Bart and his friends get narced on by the school's know-it-all Martin Prince. Bart literally gets caught red handed.
As if his detention wasn't already a problem for him, Bart also has an I.Q test to take. This gives us the first guest star of the series, Marcia Wallace as Bart's Teacher Mrs. Krabappel. We also see that Bart isn't very good at tests. This gives us the first ever Bart dream sequence, as Bart's hopes for passing the test is literally looking like a train wreck. I guess that's the folly of being an underachiever (and proud of it).
When Martin finishes his test first, Bart decides to finally get back at him. And to do so, he switches his name with Martin's on their tests. When Homer and Marge come to the school, forced to pay for the damages of Bart, they get some interesting news from Dr. J. Loren Pryor., the school's psychiatrist. They learn that thank to this I.Q test, he has a 216 I.Q. Of course we know he doesn't since he switched the test, but now that he has the perks of going to a different school that has far less heavy work, he's more than ready to take on what's coming for him.
Line of the Episode:
"Now go on boy, and pay attention. Because if you do, one day you may achieve something that we Simpsons have dreamed about for generations. You may outsmart someone." - Homer Simpson
Bart heads to his new school. He meets his teacher Ms. Melon (voiced as well by Marcia Wallace). She suggests that he's free to do whatever he wants. He finds an issue of Radioactive Man, which she throws in the trash. Note from the commentary: This scene caused complaints from people saying it promoted censorship. Though, let's be honest, what doesn't cause complaints? Bart is easily outgeniused by his classmates who are all way smarter than him. However, he saves his butt with his legendary paradox "well, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you do.". Bart's experience is made worse because as it appears, genius kids are kind of jerks.
We then go see the Simpsons go to the opera as a way to nurture Bart's "genius". But it's mostly just Homer and Bart mocking the performance of Carmen and causing a scene. Much like the scrabble scene, this feels an awful lot like something you'd get from the old Ullman shorts. Back at the genius school, Bart's still hating being there. And when he tries to go back to his old school to hang with his old friends, they tell him to get lost since he's a genius. Essentially, Bart's lie has finally caught up to him. In fact the only good thing about this whole experience has been that he's been more closer to Homer.
The bottom finally drops out on Bart when he causes a meltdown at his school which causes him to turn green from a poor mixture of acids and bases. He goes back to J. Loren Pryor and asks to go back to his own school, first saying he'll pretend to be a regular kid to study them a la Jane Goodall and the chimps. But eventually Bart finally bites the bullet and writes his confession that he is a regular dumb kid (even misspelling confession). He finally admits it to Homer, believing that since the two have gotten along lately, that it'll all be good.
It goes as you'd expect.
Bart the Genius is a solid way to start season 1 proper. When I ranked the episodes earlier this year, this hit my lowest point, and I think I was unfair at the time. I do think the episode is particularly dry in a lot of areas, and its plot isn't the most compelling. But there are still some good bits within like the dream sequence and the opera scene. The biggest thing I noticed on this rewatch is how much this episode feels like it still retains the humor of the Ullman shorts with having the Simpsons in situations that feel like they were written more for the bumper era than a 22 minute episode. You could have easily seen a short where the Simpsons play scrabble or the family at the opera with similar results. And they are the strongest highlights for the episode. I'll also say the animation is very rough, with a lot of weird angles and shots in areas. But since this is still early, that can be expected. To make a long ramble short season 1 is off and running... while naked and green.
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FIRST APPEARANCES
MARTIN PRINCE
MRS. KRABAPPEL
RADIOACTIVE MAN
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Next time on 'Round Springfield:
"Homer's Odyssey"
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