Cram it, ma’am
Bart the Mother
Couch gag: Two firemen are holding the couch and as each Simpson falls, they land on the couch. Except Homer, who falls through the floor.
Director: Steven Dean Moore
Guest voice:
Phil Hartman as Troy McClure
Synopsis: Bart accidentally kills a bird and, feeling guilty, becomes a mother to her eggs.
Discussion: We already know Bart has a conscience, it’s been demonstrated many times before. In this episode, we find Bart playing at Nelson’s house and using a BB gun, peer pressured into killing a bird. He doesn’t want to, but the sight is off and Bart accidentally kills the bird, then finds her eggs so he takes them home and cares for them.
It’s one of the sweetest episodes in the series. The laughs come at the expense of Homer, who falls down the basement stairs because Bart has taken the light globe to warm the eggs. Even after the “birds” are found to be vicious (and fictitious) Bolivian Tree Lizards, Bart is still protective of them.
It’s a nice episode, but not a favourite. Bart is the perfect mother for the episode: Lisa is too predictable, Homer would accidentally kill the eggs and Marge is already a mother.
This is also the very last voice appearance of Phil Hartman, who was killed by his wife a few months before this episode aired. Therefore, it’s also the last appearance by Troy McClure. Phil’s characters had much potential (as seen in A Fish Called Selma) and there are rumours that Hartman wanted to portray Troy in a live action film, which sadly, will never be made.