(S19E13)"Young man, I'm going to be on you like a numerator on a denominator" -- Principal Skinner to Donny the informant

It's been a looong time since we had an episode of The Simpsons that focused on that young rapscallion Bart and his status of Prankmaster at Springfield Elementary. Frankly, I was starting to get a bit worried that we wouldn't see one at all this season and that all we would get is one episode after another focusing on Homer and his hi-jinks. Luckily, someone at FOX or the offices of The Simpsons realized this and gave us an installment that not only reignited the feud between Bart and Principal Skinner, but parodied the Martin Scorsese film The Departed. Plus, it was actually a good episode.

Actually, I don't know if there have been any Bart-centric episodes that were bad. I'm sure there have been some mediocre ones in the 400-plus episodes that have aired, but I just can't remember them. I think that's because Bart can be written as a more three-dimensional character than Homer or Marge can. Yes, Bart is known as the bad one and, yes, it's a thread that has run throughout the series; however, there is something else to Bart that makes his episodes different than others.

I think it's his loyalty. He's a pain-in-the-ass to many -- there's no debating that -- but, if you stick with him he will take care of you no matter what. Take this week's episode where he befriended new kid Donny (voiced by Topher Grace) after he took responsibility for a really nifty prank Bart pulled on Seymour involving magnets. After that, he took the boy under his wing and trusted him...until he found out that he was an informant for Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers. Yet, even then, he still had a soft spot for Donny.

This is what makes Bart the person he is, which actually makes him a role model of sorts for people: he is willing to forgive those who have done injustice to him. Heck, I'm surprised that the church hasn't picked up on that notion! Think of all of the people who have done him bad -- Nelson, Millhouse, Homer, Krusty. Even after all of the crap he took from them he still forgave them for what they did. Gosh, Nelson, who was the bane of Bart's existence way back when, is now one of his best friends. It goes to show you that, despite the devil that he shows outside, he is a good person inside.

Well, enough of getting into all of your heads. As I said, I enjoyed this episode more than the usual ones that have aired during this post-Simpsons Movie season. There were plenty of good moments and a few of them that I actually laughed at. One of them was the 'Kapish' scene, which probably made me laugh because it reminded me of the Alec Baldwin-Will Arnett soft voice argument during the first season of 30 Rock. There was also the scene where Skinner tells the students in the auditorium that he's going to throw out the public school guidelines for punishment and use the Catholic school guidelines instead. Ouch.

What I liked most were the two montages involving Bart that featured a really good song from The Departed ("I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys). The first one showed how Principal Skinner was getting the upper-hand on Bart now that Donny was part of his pack. The other montage involved Bart's attempts to find out who was the stoolie. Both had a much different quality to them then the rest of the episode. The other scene I enjoyed was at the very end, when Bart finally found out about Skinner and Chalmer's scheme. I didn't realize that combining boxed Diet Coke and Mentos would actually result in an explosion. But, after nineteen seasons I should realize that objects are much more explosive in the world of the Simpsons. Maybe there's more oxygen in the atmosphere. Who knows.

As for this week's guest voices...I was okay with Topher Grace as the voice of Donny. At least he was utilized much more than some other stars were during this season. I thought his voice was a bit too deep for someone Bart's age (Nelson's voice isn't really deep -- more gravelly), but it seemed to work well with his character design. The other guest voice, Terry Gross from NPR's talk-show Fresh Air, was nice to hear and probably brought a smile to those who are fans of the publically-funded radio network (I include myself in that mix). For those who have never heard of Terry Gross before you may have just been scratching your heads.

Let me touch briefly on the second storyline. As I've said in previous reviews, I really don't enjoy these secondary plot threads since they really don't add anything to the story whatsoever. They're good for a gag or two, but pretty much distract from the main focus. This week's was okay, but wasn't anything to get excited about: I could predict what special features Homer's rental car had even before they were shown. The only part I thought was funny was Homer's reaction at the body shop when he realized that he was getting the loaner car for free. Believe me, I don't call anyone an idiot when they give me something to use for free. So, I can't relate to Homer's hysteria.

Next week (yes, there's a new episode next week) -- More Bart (and Lisa), and the apparent death of a semi-regular character.