The Model Student (The Simpsons)

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Episode of the series The Simpsons
title The model student
Original title Bart Gets to "F"
Country of production United States
original language English
length approx. 22 minutes
classification Season 2, episode 1
14th episode in total ( list )
First broadcast October 11, 1990 on FOX
German-language
first broadcast		 December 20, 1991 on ZDF
Rod
Director David Silverman
script David M. Stern
synchronization

 ►  Main article: Dubbing The Simpsons

chronology

←  Predecessor
The babysitter is out

Successor  → A smart
career

The model student ( English original title: Bart Gets an "F" , in German about "Bart gets a 6") is the first episode of the second season of the American animated series The Simpsons . It received mostly positive reviews and is ranked 31st on the list "The 100 Greatest Moments in Television" (in German: "The 100 best moments on television") of the newspaper Entertainment Weekly .

action

Since elementary school student Bart Simpson is not interested in class, his grades keep getting worse. While he has to give a presentation about the book Treasure Island , it becomes clear that he has not read the book. His teacher, Edna Krabappel , warns him about his bad grades and advises him of an upcoming exam. The afternoon before the exam, Bart tries to study too, but his father Homer incites him to dawdle. When he finally sat down at the books, he soon fell asleep from exhaustion. The next morning he simulates an illness in order to avoid the exam. Instead of preparing now, he calls his classmate and friend, Milhouse Van Houten , to find out the questions and answers for the test. When Bart repeats the test with these answers, it turns out that Milhouse himself did very badly in the test and therefore only gave him wrong answers; Bart falls through.

Mrs. Krabappel then made an appointment with Bart's parents at the school psychologist Dr. J. Loren Pryor . He suggests that Bart should repeat the school year, an idea that Bart does not like very much. He promises to improve his performance. The next day, he desperately asks top of the class Martin Prince for help. The two agree to help each other; Martin is supposed to teach Bart the right way to learn, while Bart is supposed to teach him how to become more popular so as not to be disgraced as a nerd. At first the plan is very successful, but as Martin becomes more and more popular with his classmates, he also becomes lazy and unreliable, so that he no longer feels like studying with Bart. He is now - one day before an important test that he must pass in order not to endanger his transfer - without help. In the evening, Bart prays to God to skip school the next morning so that he still has time to study.

When he was woken up by his mother Marge the next day, it had snowed during the night. He learns over the radio that the school is canceled because of this. He is about to storm outside with his sleigh with joy when his younger sister Lisa reminds him of his prayer. Since his prayer has been answered, he must also use the day gained to study. Bart realizes guiltily that he has committed himself to study and goes to his room. From there he can see through the window how many happy people on the street are enjoying the day in the snow. In order not to be distracted, he went to the basement, where, with great effort and despite the temptation, he finally immersed himself in the books. The test takes place the next day. Bart works on it for a long time and is the last to hand in his work. He fearfully asks his teacher to correct her immediately. She does him a favor, but it turns out he just missed the minimum score. Disappointed and dejected, Bart complains to the teacher that his efforts have been in vain. However, he uses comparisons that show that he has dealt extensively with the subject matter. Moved and impressed, his teacher evaluates this as an oral review and gives him a bonus point so that he still passes the test and can be transferred.

Allusions

Bart decided in this sequence to the novel Treasure Iceland (dt Title:. Treasure Island ) by Robert Louis Stevenson to read for his book launch, while Martin The Old Man and the Sea (dt Title:. The Old Man and the Sea ) reads by Ernest Hemingway . During the so-called "Snow Day" scene, the citizens of Springfield sing the song Winter Wonderland . This scene, in which the residents stand in a circle, is also a nod to the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas . When it starts to snow one evening after Bart's prayer, “ Hallelujah ”, the refrain from Georg Friedrich Handel's Messiah , can be heard several times .

production

The model student (original title: Bart Gets an "F" ) was the first episode of the series that David M. Stern wrote as the lead author. David Silverman directed its production .

During the summer of 1990, Bart Simpson's rebellious nature was viewed by some American parents and conservatives as a bad role model for children, while several American schools featured T-shirts with the character Bart next to text such as, “I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you? "(In German:" I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you? ") Is prohibited. Some critics have suggested this episode was an answer to this controversy. However, the show's executive producer James L. Brooks replied that it wasn't, but added, “We are aware of that. I think it is important to us that Bart is bad at school. There are also students who are like that. Also, I'm very careful with television, where everyone is supposed to be the role of a role model. It's not that there are many role models walking around in real life. Why should the television be full of them? "

This episode is the first of the series The Simpsons , which shows a new opening sequence (see The Simpsons # opening sequence ), which is different from that of the first season. This variant is about 15 seconds shorter than the original one. While the opening credits in the first season showed Bart stealing a "Bus Stop" sign, in a new sequence he now drives past several characters on his skateboard that were only introduced into the series during the first season.

In order to have a little more leeway for the creators of the series, there have been three opening sequences of different lengths since this season: a complete one, about 1:15 minutes long and two variants with a length of about 45 seconds and 25 seconds respectively. According to David Silverman, the writers began to “get their money's worth” by relaxing the production requirements and the exact length of the episodes.

Silverman wanted to cut the scene in which Bart said he was "stupid as a bean-straw" from many different angles in order to express his fear in it. Martin Prince's design was changed several times during the production of the episode; another design called for bigger eyes and wilder hair for the scene in which he betrays Bart and runs away for him. The "Snow Day" sequence towards the end of the episode describes Silverman as one of the most difficult he has ever animated. This scene has several long tracking shots that show many characters in very different activities at the same time, so he found it difficult to time everything right.

First broadcast

New slot

The first season of The Simpsons ended its first airing in fourth place on the weekly Nielsen Ratings and was the first series on the US broadcaster Fox , of which a season was among the 30 highest rated series. Additionally, Bart Simpson became one of the most popular characters on television in what was known as " Bartmania ". Due to the success of the first season, the broadcaster Fox decided to change the slot for the series in the hope that better ratings could be achieved, especially against the NBC series at the time . Thus, the slot was moved from Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. EST to Thursday evening at the same time, where it would compete with the series The Cosby Show , the most watched series at the time. Many of the producers of The Simpsons , including James L. Brooks , opposed the postponement. The series was in the top 10 most-watched series in its first season during its broadcast on Sunday, which is why some contributors believed that the program change would destroy the high ratings. Brooks commented, “All of a sudden, a show that was a huge hit is struggling to survive. [...] We're not fighting 'Cosby', we just want to get healthy reviews. There have been two weeks in my life when a show I was connected to was number one in the ratings, and on Sunday night we had a chance to be the number one show in the country. I don't think we have a chance on Thursday evening. "

Originally the episode Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish (German title:. Fresh fish with three eyes ) produced the first of the second season, but was Bart Gets an "F" (German title:. Apt Pupil ) then it aired first because the character Bart Simpson was very popular in the United States at the time and producers wanted to start an episode in which he was primarily involved. The first 13 episodes of The Simpsons were repeated regularly on Fox over the summer, and the first new episode was promoted in May. During this time, various media published news about an alleged "Bill vs. Bart "rivalry.

Audience ratings

During the summer break of the series, reruns of the episodes from the first season were broadcast several times and competed against new episodes of The Cosby Show . They ranked 73rd on the weekly Nielsen ratings, while The Cosby Show ranked third by comparison. Various critics then prophesied that Bart Gets on "F" (or The Model Student ) would achieve a significantly worse rating than Bill Cosby's series. Fox employee Peter Chernin said during the summer break that the station hopes to establish itself on Thursday, adding, "If we're lucky, we'll come in second."

Early nighttime premiere numbers of this episode projected from 24 cities that The Simpsons had a Nielsen rating of 19.9 and a share of 30 percent, while The Cosby Show had a rating of 19.3 and a share of 29 percent . However, Bart Gets' final rating of "F" was 18.4 and the share was 29 percent of the audience and came in just under second place behind The Cosby Show , which had a final rating of 18.5 and a share of also had 29 percent. The Simpsons eventually finished eighth on the weekly ratings; The Cosby Show came in at number seven. The Nielsen rating was based on the number of household televisions that turned on the show, but Nielsen Media Research estimates that 33.6 million viewers would have seen the episode, making it number one in terms of actual viewership that week ( The Cosby Show was seen by approximately 28.5 million television viewers and ended the week in seventh). This episode of The Simpsons became the highest rated and most watched show in Fox history. She stayed in this position until January 1, 1995, when a National Football League playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears achieved a Nielsen rating of 21.0. To date (March 2012) it is still the highest rated episode in the history of the series.

reception

This episode received mostly positive reviews from the media and was largely praised for its emotional scenes. The authors of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide , Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote, “A fantastic opening to season two - especially memorable for the scene where Bart prays for school fails the next day, only to be excluded from a winter wonderland. "

Virginia Mann of The Record newspaper said it was "not as wildly funny as the best episodes from last season, [but] well done, humorous and at times poignant." Tom Shales, editor of News & Record , wrote that she “is not only funny, she is touching”, praising the scenes in which Bart Simpson prays, adding, “There are few other entertainment shows on television that are so profound answer philosophical questions. ”Phil Kloer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote,“ The episode does a good job of emphasizing the importance of learning [...] ”Mark I. Pinsky wrote in his book The Gospel According to the Simpsons : " Bart Gets an" F " provides the most accurate representation of the dynamics of prayer in The Simpsons ." Steve L. Case later listed the episode in his Toons That Teach book in his list of the 75 Best Cartoons That Teach Biblical Lessons.

The episode was also ranked 31st on Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Moments on TV" list, adding that it stood for "classically disrespectful family television." In 2007, Larina Adamson, an executive producer of The Simpsons , made it her all-time favorite. In 2010, the BBC named it one of the show's ten most memorable episodes, describing it as "empathetic and poignant."

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bruce Fretts: The 100 Greatest Moments In Television / 1990s . In: Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved May 7, 2009. 
  2. ^ A b Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman: The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family . HarperCollins, New York City 1997, ISBN 0-00-638898-1 , p. 34.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Matt Groening , James L. Brooks , Al Jean , Mike Reiss , David Silverman . (2002). DVD commentary for the episode “Der Musterschüler”. In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Two [DVD]. 20th Century Fox .
  4. ^ A b Mark I. Pinsky, Tony Campolo: The Gospel According to the Simpsons . Westminster John Knox Press, 2001, ISBN 0664224199 , pp. 40-41.
  5. ↑ Martin Rosenbaum: Is The Simpsons still subversive? , BBC News. June 29, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2007. 
  6. ↑ Larry Rohter: Overacheiver - and Learning to Deal With It, Man . In: The New York Times , December 30, 1990. Retrieved September 18, 2008. 
  7. ↑ Ernest Tucker: New `Simpsons' episodes return - as smart as ever . In: Chicago Sun-Times , October 10, 1990. 
  8. ↑ a b Tom Shales: The Simpsons - they're scrapping again-but this time it's a ratings fight . In: The Washington Post , October 11, 1990. 
  9. ↑ TV Ratings: 1989–1990 . ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
  10. ^ John Cassidy: Cartoon leads a revolt against apple-pie family - Simpsons . In: The Sunday Times , July 8, 1990. 
  11. ^ Simpsons set for big screen . In: The Daily Telegraph , July 15, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2009. 
  12. ↑ NO Small Field: Cashing in on a Hot New Brand Name . In: The New York Times , April 29, 1990. Retrieved April 15, 2009. 
  13. ^ Daniel Cerone: 'The Simpsons' steals away from Cosby viewers . In: Los Angeles Times , May 9, 1991, p. 4. 
  14. ↑ Rick Marin: Tonight Bart Simpson gets an `` A '- Season debut is sort of classy . In: The Washington Times , October 11, 1990. 
  15. ^ Bart Simpson - Defiant, Saw-Topped and Cheeky - the Brat Terrible Gave Underachievers a Good Name . In: People . 34, No. 26, December 31, 1990. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
  16. ^ Greg Dawson: Barbs still pointed in new 'Simpsons' shows . In: Orlando Sentinel , October 11, 1990. 
  17. ^ Duane Dudek: The Simpsons' return to a fidgeting Fox . In: Milwaukee Sentinel , October 10, 1990. 
  18. ^ Greg Paeth: Fox puts its bets on Simpsons . In: The Cincinnati Post , October 10, 1990. 
  19. ↑ Mike Drew: Can Bart beat Bill on Thursdays? . In: The Milwaukee Journal , October 9, 1990. 
  20. ↑ Mark Dawidziak: Bart vs. Cosby: First real showdown is tonight . In: Lexington Herald-Leader , October 11, 1990. 
  21. ↑ Joe Stein: Bart beats Cos locally and in cities . In: The San Diego Union-Tribune , October 12, 1990. 
  22. ↑ The Associated Press: NBC yawns as 'Simpsons' whips 'Cosby' . In: San Jose Mercury News , October 12, 1990. 
  23. ↑ Susan Bickelhaupt: Cosby beats Bart, but just barely . In: The Boston Globe , October 12, 1990. 
  24. ↑ The Associated Press: Cheers' is No. 1 show again . In: Houston Chronicle , October 17, 1990. 
  25. ^ Scott D. Pierce: Don't have a cow, man! More viewers watch 'The Simpsons' than 'Cosby'! . In: Deseret News , October 18, 1990, p. C5. 
  26. ^ The Associated Press: Fox hits NFL playoff paydirt . In: Toronto Star , Jan. 7, 1995. 
  27. ↑ Kimberly Potts: 'The Simpsons' Best Episodes: No. 15-11 . AOL. 2006. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  28. ↑ Bart Gets an F. In: BBC.co.uk . Retrieved March 13, 2012 .
  29. ↑ Virginia Mann: Rueful Bart retains old 'Simpsons Bite' . In: The Record , October 11, 1990. 
  30. ↑ Tom Shales: Bart's back . In: News & Record , October 11, 1990. 
  31. ↑ Phil Kloer: review TV . In: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , October 11, 1990. 
  32. ↑ Steve L. Case: Toons That Teach: 75 Cartoon Moments to Get Teenagers Talking . Zondervan, 2005, ISBN 0310259924 , pp. 122-123.
  33. ↑ ' Simpsons' insiders pick their favorites . In: Idaho Statesman , May 29, 2007. 
  34. ↑ The Simpsons: 10 classic episodes . BBC News . January 14, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.