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Bart's Dog Gets an F
The Simpsons Season 02 Episode 16
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Wait, Homer reads the paper?
For the first (and, I think, only) time in the series, we see the world as Santa's Little Helper sees it: everything's black-and-white, he hears gobbledygook instead of words, and all food appears to be his. God, that dog's dumb.
I love, love that the Hibberts are clearly the animated Cosbys, complete with the good doctor's bad sweaters, the kids with '80s hairdos, and the Cosby family kitchen.
It doesn't seem consistent with Flanders' customarily humble, cautious nature that he'd even consider wearing sneakers that a) are called Assassins and b) feature little vanity plates on the heels that read "Ned." Doesn't that seem awfully racy and/or vain for the über-churchy Flanders? This is a man who doesn't want his kids eating Red Hots because there's a cartoon devil on the box.
Homer pronounces and spells the nut "macamademia." Thought that was worth noting.
Poor Bart. This episode features one of the most caring things Bart's ever said: "I don't want to strangle my dog." Which reminds me—I loathe Emily Winthrop's emphasis on using the choke chain. I know it's supposed to be funny, but it makes me wince nonetheless.
I know there isn't a ton of continuity in the Simpsons, but Santa's Little Helper has never been this disobedient before or since this episode. He's consistently dumb as a brick, but it's not like he wrecks the house on a regular basis. That's usually Homer's job. Maybe we're supposed to believe that the obedience lessons really did take.
CONCLUSION
A solid meh. Even though Tracey Ullman lent her voice to Emily Winthrop, she's not a terribly compelling character. The jokes in this one aren't the strongest, and the plot is frankly overused, which isn't something you can usually say about this series.
THIS EPISODE'S RATINGS
  4/5 donuts from Statler
3/5 donuts from Mrs. Waldorf
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RATINGS LEGEND
= LAME
= BAD
= MEH
= GOOD
= CLASSIC
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PLOT SUMMARY FROM WIKIPEDIA
Lisa has the mumps and has to spend a few days home from school. While Marge teaches Lisa sewing, Homer goes to the mall to buy some magazines for her. There he sees and purchases some expensive shoes known as the Assassins, which he saw his neighbor Ned Flanders wear earlier. However, Santa's Little Helper promptly destroys the shoes, angering Homer. Marge shows Lisa a patchwork quilt, which is a family heirloom. Lisa makes her own contribution to it, but then Santa's Little Helper rips it up. When Homer discovers that the dog has also eaten his cookie, he wants to get rid of the dog, but Lisa convinces her parents to take him to an obedience school first.
Santa's Little Helper does not do well at the obedience school as Bart is unwilling to use a choke chain suggested by the school's instructor Emily Winthrop. The night before the final exam, Bart and Santa's Little Helper play, thinking it will be their last few hours together. This bonding breaks down the communication barrier, allowing Santa's Little Helper to understand Bart's commands, and consequently pass the obedience school. Lisa marks the occasions by starting a new quilt to replace the one destroyed.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Jim Reardon. Tracey Ullman guest starred as Emily Winthrop, the instructor at the obedience school. The Simpsons began as a series of one-minute shorts that aired on Ullman's variety show, The Tracey Ullman Show, for three seasons during 1987–89. Due to the success of the shorts, the characters spun off into their own half-hour prime-time show on the Fox network named The Simpsons. Matt Groening, the series' creator, wanted Ullman to make a guest appearance in one of the shorts, but was told that she was too busy with the rest of The Tracey Ullman Show. When her show was canceled in 1990, Ullman agreed to do a guest appearance on The Simpsons after being asked by Groening once again. The animal noises for the episode, including those by Santa's Little Helper, were performed by Frank Welker. It was the first The Simpsons episode Welker worked on and he became a recurring voice actor on the show, before leaving in 2002.
Accessed from Wikipedia on Mar. 13, 2010