bartsimpson

(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.

(S19E08) Welcome to the Frasier reunion. Yes, not only did we have Kelsey Grammer reprising his role as Sideshow Bob Terwilliger in this episode of The Simpsons but we also had David Hyde Pierce return as Cecil Terwilliger and John Mahoney come in as the boys' father. While Pierce and Mahoney did have their moments it was all Grammer this episode as a Sideshow Bob coming apart at the seams.

And, that's appropriate, as it was the tenth time that Bob has appeared on the animated comedy. I fear there is a bit of a discrepancy, though, since Bob didn't attempt to murder Bart in each of those appearances. For instance, in the first season episode "Krusty Gets Busted" Bob attempted to frame Krusty rather than kill Bart (he barely even knew who the boy was). In "Brother From Another Series" it was Cecil, not Bob, who attempted to kill the young Simpson lad. So, technically, you could say that Sideshow Bob directly attempted to kill Bart in five episodes (including tonight's). This, I am sure, will bring debate to the board.

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(S19E06) After a month of Homer and Marge-centric episodes (I don't count 'Treehouse of Horror' stories because they take place outside of The Simpsons continuity. Don't laugh!) we finally get one focusing on the Simpson kids and their friends. In this case the spotlight is on one Milhouse Van Houten. This is not the first time Milhouse has been featured in an episode. In fact, he's probably the only other kid on The Simpsons that has had more than one show focus on him. Remember the 'Radioactive Man' episode waaayyyy back in the seventh season?

This is most likely due to his friendship with Bart. Because they have been so closely linked since the very first episodes of the series Milhouse has been given a richer backstory than, say, Martin.We know about his unrequited love for Lisa, his affair with Samantha Stanky, and the break-up (and subsequent get-together) of his parents.Actually, the pending nuptials of Kirk and Luann were part of the plot for this week's episode.

I've lived in Portland, Oregon for nearly five years and one of the first things I learned when I moved here was that this city claims The Simpsons. Creator Matt Groening is from Portland and many of his locations and characters have Portland roots (at least, that's what Portlanders like to say). The photograph in this story is of a 'Bart' that Groening drew in the cement near his alma mater, Lincoln High School, where he graduated in 1972. The drawing is not from his high school days, he just returned to town and drew it when The Simpsons became popular (it's on the corner of SW 18th and SW Salmon near the Goose Hollow MAX stop, in case you're in town).

References to Portland abound in The Simpsons. Here are a few: