Bart's Girlfriend
Encyclopedia
"Bart's Girlfriend" is the seventh television episode of The Simpsons
' sixth season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States
on November 6, 1994. The plot of the episode follows the secret romance of Bart
and Jessica Lovejoy, Reverend Lovejoy
's daughter. Bart tries to end the romance when he discovers that, behind her innocent facade, she is an even bigger troublemaker than he is. Jessica then steals the money from the collection plate, leaving Bart to take the blame and Lisa
to expose the truth.
The episode was written by Jonathan Collier
, and directed by Susie Dietter
. Former The Simpsons' show runner
David Mirkin
originally came up with the idea of Bart having a girlfriend that was more evil than he was. Meryl Streep
guest stars in the episode as Jessica Lovejoy. It features cultural references to films such as Planet of the Apes
and The Silence of the Lambs. Since airing, the episode has received many positive reviews from fans and television critics, and Entertainment Weekly
named Meryl Streep's role as one of the best guest appearances on The Simpsons.
to try to convince Jessica that he is a good person, but she still ignores him. Frustrated, Bart goes to the park to play a prank on Groundskeeper Willie
, and is punished with detention. Jessica approaches him to express sympathy and invites him to her house for dinner with her family.
During a formal dinner with the Lovejoys, Bart's crude mannerisms and language cause Reverend Lovejoy to forbid him from ever seeing Jessica again. However, Jessica realizes that Bart is a bad boy and tells Bart that she likes him. They begin secretly dating and causing mischief through the town. Bart quickly realizes that Jessica (an example of the preacher's kid
stereotype) is even more badly behaved than he, and at the next church service, he tries to make her see the error of her ways. Although she seems to agree, Jessica immediately steals from the church collection plate before forcing it back upon the hapless Bart. The congregation mistakenly believes that Bart took the money when they see him with the empty plate. Bart attempts to explain, but they refuse to listen. Although Homer
assumes Bart is guilty, Marge
is willing to hear him out, but Bart claims he does not know who did it. The following day, Bart visits Jessica at her house, and admits that he does not like her after Jessica refuses to own up to the crime.
Upon finding out the truth, Lisa
is determined not to allow her brother to take blame for something he did not do, and she tells the church congregation that Jessica is the guilty person. The townspeople then search Jessica's room, where the money is found under her bed. Rev. Lovejoy refuses to believe that his daughter is guilty until Jessica admits to him she did it to gain attention. She is punished by being forced to scrub the church steps, and Bart receives an apology from the congregation at Marge's insistence. Later, Bart approaches Jessica at church and tells her what he has learned, to which Jessica responds that she has learned that she can make boys do whatever she wants. Bart then agrees to finish Jessica's chores as she runs off with another boyfriend. However, as soon as she leaves, he snickers about how bad a job he is going to do on the steps to get back at her.
and directed by Susie Dietter
. David Mirkin
, who was show runner at the time, originally had the idea of Bart having a girlfriend that was more evil than he was. Mirkin gave the idea to Collier to write it with the help of the show's executive producer
, James L. Brooks
. Collier said later that he thought it was a case of Brooks coming up with good ideas and him "giggling insequentially". The idea for the ending of the episode was to have none of the characters learn anything from the experience.
Matt Groening
, the creator of The Simpsons, felt that Jessica Lovejoy was hard to draw in his own style but at the same time make her attractive. Julie Kavner
, who provides the voice of Marge Simpson on the show, was particularly impressed by the eyes. Jessica was made the Reverend's daughter to give the impression that she was good at first and then to show that she was rebelling against the righteousness of her family. In the scene where Bart talks to Jessica outside her house, her baton
playing was in the script but the exact choreography was not. Dietter liked its incorporation because it gave Jessica something else, other than Bart, to pay attention to. This was also done in the final scene when Jessica scrubs the church steps and plays with the scrub brush.
Academy Award winning actress Meryl Streep
was called in to do the voice of Jessica. Nancy Cartwright
, who provides the voice of Bart Simpson on the show, was a huge fan of Streep and she assumed that Streep would record her lines individually, but all of their recordings were done together. Streep showed up alone with no entourage at the Village Recorder in West Los Angeles
at 2:30 P.M., where she recorded her parts with Cartwright. Streep was continually doing many different versions of her lines. Mirkin felt she was easy to work with because she was versatile and keen to do a lot of different things, and as Mirkin expressed it, "easily evil". Cartwright said in an interview with The Pantagraph that she really wanted Streep's autograph, but was afraid to ask for it. After the recording session, Streep tapped Cartwright on the shoulder, and said her kids were big The Simpsons fans and that she would be in "big trouble" if she did not get Cartwright's autograph.
In a take off of John Travolta
in the 1983 film Staying Alive
, Bart struts down a street in Springfield
after he is invited to dinner at the Lovejoys, just as Travolta strutted through Times Square
to the same tune. That joke was written by Jace Richdale
, who was the co-executive producer of The Simpsons at the time. When Homer is musing over Bart's first date, he begins to sing "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof
, before moving on to "Cat's in the Cradle
", and then "Yes, We Have No Bananas
". He then begins to weep due to the people in the song having no bananas. The joke was reportedly very expensive for the writers to put in because they had to pay thousands of dollars for the rights to use the songs on the show.
"Bart's Girlfriend" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 6, 1994. The episode was selected for release in a 2001 video
collection of selected episodes titled: The Simpsons – Love, Springfield Style. Other episodes included in the collection set were "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge
", "The Two Mrs Nahasapeemapetilons", and "I'm with Cupid
". The episode was included in The Simpsons season 6 DVD set, which was released on August 16, 2005, as The Simpsons – The Complete Sixth Season.
, where the humans are rounded up by apes.
After Bart is accused of stealing from the church collection plate, he is forced to wear a straitjacket
in church, which is a reference to Hannibal Lecter
's straitjacket in The Silence of the Lambs.
"Misirlou
", the theme song of the 1994 film Pulp Fiction
, plays during Bart and Jessica's date. Bart calls Jessica "smart, beautiful and a liar..." and then claims she is "...so much better than that Sarah, plain and tall
". The scene then cuts to a shot of a plain and tall girl named Sarah that overhears Bart and begins to cry. The Lovejoy family has a replica of Leonardo Da Vinci
's painting The Last Supper
hanging on the wall in their dining room. The sign on the Springfield Church marquee reads: "Evil Women in History: From Jezebel
to Janet Reno
".
In its original American broadcast, "Bart's Girlfriend" finished 53rd in the ratings for the week of October 31 to November 6, 1994, with a Nielsen rating of 9.6. The episode was the third highest rated show on the Fox network that week, beaten only by Beverly Hills, 90210
, and Married... With Children
.
Since airing, the episode has received many positive reviews from fans and television critics. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, said: "Poor Bart gets picked on very cruelly by Jessica in a cleverly drawn study of pre-pubescent love. We're very fond of the scene in which Bart leaps out of the window at the church, after which Homer cries: He's heading for the window!" Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide said in a review of the sixth season DVD: "We don’t often see Bart in a sympathetic light, so shows like this one are fun. "Girlfriend" reminds me of Season Four
’s "New Kid on the Block
" since it also featured Bart in love, though the programs differ since here the girl reciprocates. Streep does nicely as the bad kid and we get many fine moments in this memorable program." TV Squad's Adam Finley said: "Homer and Marge remained in the background for most of this episode, with Bart and Lisa becoming the main focus. Earlier episodes seemed to focus more on the dynamics between the two siblings, and it's always a nice change of pace when the show examines their love for one another as opposed to constant rivalries. Lisa really wants to help Bart in this episode, and it's actually quite touching."
In a 2008 article, Entertainment Weekly named Meryl Streep's role as Jessica Lovejoy as one of the sixteen best guest appearances on The Simpsons. Total Film
s Nathan Ditum ranked Streep's performance as the fifth best guest appearance in the show's history, commenting that she is "the perfect mix of beguiling and devilish as Reverend Lovejoy’s rebellious daughter." David Mirkin told the Daily News of Los Angeles that "Bart's Girlfriend" and "Homer the Great
" are his favorite episodes of the season. Mirkin liked the scene where Bart is punched by Nelson
at the playground because Bart takes a while to recover, which made the scene more realistic. Nancy Cartwright told the Chicago Tribune
that this episode, and "Lisa's Substitute
" from season two
, are her two favorite The Simpsons episodes.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 6)
The Simpsons sixth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994 and May 21, 1995 and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on November 6, 1994. The plot of the episode follows the secret romance of Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Jessica Lovejoy, Reverend Lovejoy
Reverend Timothy Lovejoy
Reverend Timothy "Tim" Lovejoy is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Lovejoy is the minister at The First Church of Springfield—the Protestant church in Springfield which most of...
's daughter. Bart tries to end the romance when he discovers that, behind her innocent facade, she is an even bigger troublemaker than he is. Jessica then steals the money from the collection plate, leaving Bart to take the blame and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
to expose the truth.
The episode was written by Jonathan Collier
Jonathan Collier
Jonathan Collier is an American television writer, best known for his work on The Simpsons, Monk, and King of the Hill. He worked as an executive producer on Mike Reiss' DVD movie, "Queer Duck: The Movie". He attended and graduated from Harvard University.-Season Seven:*"Lisa the Iconoclast"*"22...
, and directed by Susie Dietter
Susie Dietter
Susan E. Dietter, usually credited as Susie Dietter, is an American director, known primarily for her work on television cartoons. She has directed episodes of the popular series Futurama, Baby Blues, The Simpsons, Recess and The Critic. She also worked as an animator for the modern-day Looney...
. Former The Simpsons
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
originally came up with the idea of Bart having a girlfriend that was more evil than he was. Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
guest stars in the episode as Jessica Lovejoy. It features cultural references to films such as Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
and The Silence of the Lambs. Since airing, the episode has received many positive reviews from fans and television critics, and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
named Meryl Streep's role as one of the best guest appearances on The Simpsons.
Plot
Bart falls in love with Reverend Lovejoy's daughter, Jessica. However, when he approaches her, she ignores him. The next Sunday, Bart decides to attend Sunday schoolSunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
to try to convince Jessica that he is a good person, but she still ignores him. Frustrated, Bart goes to the park to play a prank on Groundskeeper Willie
Groundskeeper Willie
William McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
, and is punished with detention. Jessica approaches him to express sympathy and invites him to her house for dinner with her family.
During a formal dinner with the Lovejoys, Bart's crude mannerisms and language cause Reverend Lovejoy to forbid him from ever seeing Jessica again. However, Jessica realizes that Bart is a bad boy and tells Bart that she likes him. They begin secretly dating and causing mischief through the town. Bart quickly realizes that Jessica (an example of the preacher's kid
Preacher's kid
Preacher's kid is a term to refer to a child of a preacher, pastor, deacon, vicar, lay leader, minister or other similar church leader...
stereotype) is even more badly behaved than he, and at the next church service, he tries to make her see the error of her ways. Although she seems to agree, Jessica immediately steals from the church collection plate before forcing it back upon the hapless Bart. The congregation mistakenly believes that Bart took the money when they see him with the empty plate. Bart attempts to explain, but they refuse to listen. Although Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
assumes Bart is guilty, Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is willing to hear him out, but Bart claims he does not know who did it. The following day, Bart visits Jessica at her house, and admits that he does not like her after Jessica refuses to own up to the crime.
Upon finding out the truth, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
is determined not to allow her brother to take blame for something he did not do, and she tells the church congregation that Jessica is the guilty person. The townspeople then search Jessica's room, where the money is found under her bed. Rev. Lovejoy refuses to believe that his daughter is guilty until Jessica admits to him she did it to gain attention. She is punished by being forced to scrub the church steps, and Bart receives an apology from the congregation at Marge's insistence. Later, Bart approaches Jessica at church and tells her what he has learned, to which Jessica responds that she has learned that she can make boys do whatever she wants. Bart then agrees to finish Jessica's chores as she runs off with another boyfriend. However, as soon as she leaves, he snickers about how bad a job he is going to do on the steps to get back at her.
Production
"Bart's Girlfriend" was written by Jonathan CollierJonathan Collier
Jonathan Collier is an American television writer, best known for his work on The Simpsons, Monk, and King of the Hill. He worked as an executive producer on Mike Reiss' DVD movie, "Queer Duck: The Movie". He attended and graduated from Harvard University.-Season Seven:*"Lisa the Iconoclast"*"22...
and directed by Susie Dietter
Susie Dietter
Susan E. Dietter, usually credited as Susie Dietter, is an American director, known primarily for her work on television cartoons. She has directed episodes of the popular series Futurama, Baby Blues, The Simpsons, Recess and The Critic. She also worked as an animator for the modern-day Looney...
. David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
, who was show runner at the time, originally had the idea of Bart having a girlfriend that was more evil than he was. Mirkin gave the idea to Collier to write it with the help of the show's executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
, James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
. Collier said later that he thought it was a case of Brooks coming up with good ideas and him "giggling insequentially". The idea for the ending of the episode was to have none of the characters learn anything from the experience.
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
, the creator of The Simpsons, felt that Jessica Lovejoy was hard to draw in his own style but at the same time make her attractive. Julie Kavner
Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.Born in Los...
, who provides the voice of Marge Simpson on the show, was particularly impressed by the eyes. Jessica was made the Reverend's daughter to give the impression that she was good at first and then to show that she was rebelling against the righteousness of her family. In the scene where Bart talks to Jessica outside her house, her baton
Baton (conducting)
A baton is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to exaggerate and enhance the manual and bodily movements associated with directing an ensemble of musicians. They are generally made of a light wood, fiberglass or carbon fiber which is tapered to a grip shaped like a pear, drop, cylinder...
playing was in the script but the exact choreography was not. Dietter liked its incorporation because it gave Jessica something else, other than Bart, to pay attention to. This was also done in the final scene when Jessica scrubs the church steps and plays with the scrub brush.
Academy Award winning actress Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
was called in to do the voice of Jessica. Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
, who provides the voice of Bart Simpson on the show, was a huge fan of Streep and she assumed that Streep would record her lines individually, but all of their recordings were done together. Streep showed up alone with no entourage at the Village Recorder in West Los Angeles
West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
West Los Angeles is a district in Los Angeles, California, within a larger region known as the "Westside."-Geography and transportation:...
at 2:30 P.M., where she recorded her parts with Cartwright. Streep was continually doing many different versions of her lines. Mirkin felt she was easy to work with because she was versatile and keen to do a lot of different things, and as Mirkin expressed it, "easily evil". Cartwright said in an interview with The Pantagraph that she really wanted Streep's autograph, but was afraid to ask for it. After the recording session, Streep tapped Cartwright on the shoulder, and said her kids were big The Simpsons fans and that she would be in "big trouble" if she did not get Cartwright's autograph.
In a take off of John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
in the 1983 film Staying Alive
Staying Alive
Staying Alive is the 1983 film sequel to Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta as dancer Tony Manero, with Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Joyce Hyser, Steve Inwood, Julie Bovasso, and dancers Viktor Manoel, Kate Ann Wright, Kevyn Morrow and Nanette Tarpey...
, Bart struts down a street in Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
after he is invited to dinner at the Lovejoys, just as Travolta strutted through Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
to the same tune. That joke was written by Jace Richdale
Jace Richdale
Jace Richdale is an American producer and writer. He served as co-executive producer for seasons 5 and 6 of The Simpsons and wrote the season five episode "Burns' Heir". He was a part of the Simpsons writing staff during seasons 5, 6, 9 and 10. Other writing credits include Family Ties, Get a Life...
, who was the co-executive producer of The Simpsons at the time. When Homer is musing over Bart's first date, he begins to sing "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
, before moving on to "Cat's in the Cradle
Cat's in the Cradle
"Cat's in the Cradle" is a 1974 folk rock song by Harry Chapin from the album Verities & Balderdash. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974...
", and then "Yes, We Have No Bananas
Yes, We Have No Bananas
"Yes! We Have No Bananas" is the title of a novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn from the 1922 Broadway revue Make It Snappy. Sung by Eddie Cantor in the revue, the song became a major hit in 1923 when it was recorded by Billy Jones, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman, and others...
". He then begins to weep due to the people in the song having no bananas. The joke was reportedly very expensive for the writers to put in because they had to pay thousands of dollars for the rights to use the songs on the show.
"Bart's Girlfriend" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 6, 1994. The episode was selected for release in a 2001 video
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
collection of selected episodes titled: The Simpsons – Love, Springfield Style. Other episodes included in the collection set were "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 14, 2000. After a failed marriage attempt with Otto, Becky stays with the Simpson family...
", "The Two Mrs Nahasapeemapetilons", and "I'm with Cupid
I'm with Cupid
"I'm With Cupid" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on Valentine's Day, 1999. The episode takes place on Valentine's Day, and the wives of Springfield are jealous of the attention Apu gives to his wife Manjula...
". The episode was included in The Simpsons season 6 DVD set, which was released on August 16, 2005, as The Simpsons – The Complete Sixth Season.
Cultural references
In the beginning of the episode, the parents chase the children in a cornfield to eventually round them up for church, which parodies a similar scene from the 1968 film Planet of the ApesPlanet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
, where the humans are rounded up by apes.
After Bart is accused of stealing from the church collection plate, he is forced to wear a straitjacket
Straitjacket
A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves and is typically used to restrain a person who may otherwise cause harm to themselves or others. Once the arms are inserted into the straitjacket's sleeves, they are then crossed across the chest...
in church, which is a reference to Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter M.D. is a fictional character in a series of horror novels by Thomas Harris and in the films adapted from them.Lecter was introduced in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon as a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer...
's straitjacket in The Silence of the Lambs.
"Misirlou
Misirlou
Misirlou , is a popular Greek song with popularity in five styles of music: Greek rebetiko, Middle-Eastern belly dancing, Jewish klezmer, American surf rock, and international orchestral easy listening .- History :...
", the theme song of the 1994 film Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
, plays during Bart and Jessica's date. Bart calls Jessica "smart, beautiful and a liar..." and then claims she is "...so much better than that Sarah, plain and tall
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Sarah, Plain and Tall is a children's book written by Patricia MacLachlan, and the winner of the 1986 Newbery Medal and the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. It explores themes of loneliness, abandonment, and coping with change....
". The scene then cuts to a shot of a plain and tall girl named Sarah that overhears Bart and begins to cry. The Lovejoy family has a replica of Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's painting The Last Supper
The Last Supper (Leonardo)
The Last Supper is a 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este...
hanging on the wall in their dining room. The sign on the Springfield Church marquee reads: "Evil Women in History: From Jezebel
Jezebel (Bible)
Jezebel was a princess, identified in the Hebrew Book of Kings as the daughter of Ethbaal, King of Tyre and the wife of Ahab, king of north Israel. According to genealogies given in Josephus and other classical sources, she was the great-aunt of Dido, Queen of Carthage.The Hebrew text portrays...
to Janet Reno
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno is a former Attorney General of the United States . She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11...
".
Reception
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
, and Married... With Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
.
Since airing, the episode has received many positive reviews from fans and television critics. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, said: "Poor Bart gets picked on very cruelly by Jessica in a cleverly drawn study of pre-pubescent love. We're very fond of the scene in which Bart leaps out of the window at the church, after which Homer cries: He's heading for the window!" Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide said in a review of the sixth season DVD: "We don’t often see Bart in a sympathetic light, so shows like this one are fun. "Girlfriend" reminds me of Season Four
The Simpsons (season 4)
The Simpsons fourth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992 and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty." The show runners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
’s "New Kid on the Block
New Kid on the Block
"New Kid on the Block" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on November 12, 1992. After meeting his new neighbor, Laura, Bart develops a crush on her, only to later discover that she has a boyfriend, Jimbo Jones, whom he attempts to scare off so that he can...
" since it also featured Bart in love, though the programs differ since here the girl reciprocates. Streep does nicely as the bad kid and we get many fine moments in this memorable program." TV Squad's Adam Finley said: "Homer and Marge remained in the background for most of this episode, with Bart and Lisa becoming the main focus. Earlier episodes seemed to focus more on the dynamics between the two siblings, and it's always a nice change of pace when the show examines their love for one another as opposed to constant rivalries. Lisa really wants to help Bart in this episode, and it's actually quite touching."
In a 2008 article, Entertainment Weekly named Meryl Streep's role as Jessica Lovejoy as one of the sixteen best guest appearances on The Simpsons. Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
s Nathan Ditum ranked Streep's performance as the fifth best guest appearance in the show's history, commenting that she is "the perfect mix of beguiling and devilish as Reverend Lovejoy’s rebellious daughter." David Mirkin told the Daily News of Los Angeles that "Bart's Girlfriend" and "Homer the Great
Homer the Great
"Homer the Great" is the twelfth television episode of The Simpsons sixth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 8, 1995. In the episode, Homer discovers that Lenny and Carl are members of the ancient secret society known as the Stonecutters...
" are his favorite episodes of the season. Mirkin liked the scene where Bart is punched by Nelson
Nelson Muntz
Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and bully from the animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as a bully but later turned into a friend of Bart Simpson, who is best identified by his signature laugh .-Role...
at the playground because Bart takes a while to recover, which made the scene more realistic. Nancy Cartwright told the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
that this episode, and "Lisa's Substitute
Lisa's Substitute
"Lisa's Substitute" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 25, 1991. In the episode, Lisa's teacher Miss Hoover takes medical leave due to what she thinks is Lyme disease, so substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom takes over the...
" from season two
The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 11, 1990 and May 9, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with "Bart Gets an F". Another episode, "Blood Feud" aired during the summer after the official season finale. The show runners for the second production season were Matt...
, are her two favorite The Simpsons episodes.
External links
- "Bart's Girlfriend" at The Simpsons.com
- "Bart's Girlfriend" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- "Bart's Girlfriend" at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...