Bart the Mother

Bart the Mother is the third episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons, originally aired on September 27, 1998. The episode is the show’s version of the classic episode of The Andy Griffith Show, “Opie the Birdman.” It contains the final appearance of Troy McClure, and is dedicated to his voice actor, Phil Hartman.

Plot
When Marge takes the family to the Family Fun Center, she notices that Nelson is acting like a madman, especially when he knocks Milhouse off the track and wins a BB gun. Bart and Nelson attempt to be friends, but Marge insists that she does not want him to be with Nelson. Bart uses Nelson’s BB gun anyway, and when he does, he accidentally kills a bird, and leaves two eggs behind after the bird dies. Marge is mad that Bart killed an animal, but instead of punishing him, she refuses to have anything to do with his destructive ways. Bart secretly keeps the eggs warm, and the act is praised by Marge. With her help the eggs eventually hatch into lizards, which he names “Chirpy Boy” and “Bart Jr.”

Bart and Marge take the lizards to the Springfield Birdwatching Society, and when they are there, Principal Skinner, a member of the Society, explains they are Bolivian tree lizards, a type of lizard that steals a bird’s eggs and leaves their own eggs to be watched after by the mother bird. Skinner wants the lizards killed by law, because they have killed many bird species including the dodo, the cuckoo, and the ne-ne. Bart escapes and runs away with the lizards, which later decimate the entire pigeon population of Springfield. Much to Marge’s surprise, the rest of the town considered the pigeons to be a nuisance, so they are in fact delighted. As a result, Bart was thanked for this and was honored with a loganberry candle by Mayor Quimby. Lisa is worried that the town will be infested when Skinner reinforces they will send in Chinese snakes, then gorillas and then winter will take care of the rest. In the end, while the Simpsons head to their car, a pigeon gets trapped and mauled by several lizards on the sidewalk.

Trivia

 * The “Bolivian tree lizard” is a fictional species. However, its behavior mirrors the habits of birds which are brood parasitic, such as the cuckoo and cowbirds.
 * When frying a carrot, Nelson hums the Simpsons theme.
 * This episode is rated TV-G.
 * This is the final speaking appearance of Troy McClure, due to the fact Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife in May 1998.

Cultural references

 * When Homer says “Who am I? Kreskin?”. He is referring to the mentalist 'The Amazing Kreskin'.
 * The episode’s title and basic plot–Bart killing a mother bird with his BB gun–are taken from the classic The Andy Griffith Show episode “Opie the Birdman” (wherein Opie adopts three baby birds after he kills their mother with a slingshot).
 * Inside the arcade of the Family Fun Center, there is a game called Pack-Rat Returns; a reference to the arcade game Peter Packrat.

Trivia

 * This is Phil Hartman's last appearance as Troy McClure and in the series.