Barting Over

After made an heart shaped indian burn on Lisa's forearm : "If I did it right, it's permanent!"

-Bart

"Barting Over" is the eleventh episode of the fourteenth season. It first aired on February 16, 2003. This episode features Bart moving out and living on his own after an argument with Homer over an advertisement he starred in as a child. Tony Hawk guest stars as himself.

This is the 300th episode in broadcasting order. It was written by Andrew Kreisberg and directed by Matthew Nastuk.

Synopsis
When Bart discovers he was the star of an ad when he was a baby and Homer took all the money, Bart is enraged and orders an emancipation. He stays in a loft where he meets skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.

Full Story
During spring cleaning Bart finds a box of old VHS tapes, one of which was titled "Marge and Homer get dirty". Thinking it to be a sex tape of their parents, Bart and Lisa watch it just to find that it was just them carving pumpkins for Halloween. Lisa reaches into the box and pulls out a tape that says "Bart sad". She puts it in the VHS and hits play. To their surprise it was a video of an old TV ad where Bart acts as "Baby Stink Breath" in a baby mouthwash commercial. They both gasp and Lisa fills in on the title where an apostrophe used to be making it "Bart's Ad" not Bart Sad. Furious, Bart demands to know how they could make him baby stink breath and never tell him. Homer responds, "I was going to tell you on my deathbed." Marge tries to lighten his spirit by saying that he had a lot of fun making the commercials, but mistakenly mentions that he made a lot of money from it. Bart asks where the money went and Marge tries to convince him that Homer put it away in a trust fund, but is irritates with his rude interruptions. Homer finally reveals there is nothing left from the money he made. Bart demands an answer to why he spent his money. Homer explains he needed it to buy back incriminating photos of Homer dropping Bart from a balcony(ala Michael Jackson with the same incident in Germany). Bart tries to strangle Homer and Marge jumps in surprise. Homer laughs and obnoxiously says that his hands can't even fit around his neck just before Bart pulls out Homer’s belt and strangles him with that. Marge pulls him off and scolds him for attacking Homer. Bart angrily tells Marge that he's sick of Homer's treatment of him, to which Homer brutally responds that he can do whatever he wants to Bart until he's 18 and that when he's 17 he plans to work him like a dog.

Angry, Bart tells Milhouse about what happened and says he wished that there was a way to get back at Homer for mistreating him. Milhouse suggests that he uses a good lawyer to get back at Homer, when he mentions his mother, Luann, making Kirk cry each time she sends her lawyer after him. So Bart goes to see the Blue-haired lawyer at the Luvum and Burnham Family Law Firm to fill out his testimony. The next day, the lawyer serves Homer with a subpoena and includes a side of bacon in order to get Homer to open the door. Marge is surprised that Bart was suing them. He told her that she had done nothing wrong but he was done dealing with Homer and his abusive ways. Homer claims that his father was abusive to him while he was growing up and instead of suing him, he just dropped Abe off at a cheap nursing home. The scene cuts briefly to the Springfield Retirement Castle, where Abe being ignored by his caretakers.

At the trial, Bart's lawyer makes a case clear with a doll version of Bart used commonly in Child Molestation cases and which Bart pulls out the pockets to show where Homer swindled money from him over the years. Homer becomes nervous as he takes the stand. When Bart's lawyer claims that he has clear anger management issues, which is proven when Homer shakes his fist at everyone in the courtroom. He tries to deny the fact that he has clear anger management problems claims that he's much calmer than that. However, Judge Harm doesn't believe him and she asks the stenographer taking notes to repeat everything he had said. She does and Homer is furious, while Bart is amused and Harm continues drawing Homer hanging from a tree with a roped tied as a noose. At the verdict Homer tries to be nice to Bart, but Judge Harm isn't fooled by it. She announces that while she is aware that Bart is too young for emancipation, she rules in his favor and declares him legally emancipated. She cites that Homer's abuse, short temperament and sociopathic behavior are the main reasons why Bart shouldn't live with him. This was evident earlier when Homer threatened the lives of everyone else after he made the mistake in assuming he'd win. To add further punishment, Judge Harm orders Homer to surrender half of his paycheck to Bart until he is paid back all the money Homer stole. Marge and the Simpsons' lawyer, Gil, warns him not to make the matter worse for them. Furious with the loss, Homer ignores them by rushing to the bench to attack Harm for her actions and gets knocked out by a bailiff. He is dragged away with a Contempt of Court charge, which embarrasses his family and their lawyer more more.

The next day, Bart has packed up and says tearful goodbyes to Marge, Lisa and Maggie, except for Homer. Marge begs him to stay him, promising to let him curse more in the house. Bart refuses, claiming his main issues are with Homer and not with her, Lisa and Maggie. Since he was a negligent father and Bart is now emancipated, he doesn't have to put up with his abuse anymore. Homer chases after Bart's cab demanding him to come back with claims he won't survive for long. However, Homer ends up spending the night in the middle of the road crying with cones surrounding him and sign saying "Man Sobbing".

Bart's first night in his new apartment is scary, but he soon finds that Tony Hawk is living in the building and throwing a party with Blink-182. He and Hawk become friends, and Bart is content with his new life. Back at the Simpson house, Marge convinces Homer to apologize to Bart, and the family goes to meet him at his loft. Homer apologizes and requests Bart come home. Bart accepts the apology, but refuses to come home for the trouble Homer's caused him. He then tells them that he is going on Tony Hawk's Skewed Tour.

At the event, Homer meets up with Hawk and pleads with him to pretend to lose to him so that he can make Bart proud of him again. Tony reluctantly agrees and gives Homer a modified skateboard, which does all the stunt work (Homer has Tony lift him onto the board, the only thing Homer would have to have done himself). Later, Homer challenges Tony to a skateboard match and does a good job, thanks to the skateboard. Tony, unhappy about being showed up by Homer, decides to "take out the thrash". They duel with their skateboards in mid-air, and Tony falls to the ground. Homer speaks to Bart and asks him to come home. Bart says that Homer still doesn't understand that this wasn't about him seeing his father as uncool; he left because he was tired of Homer not caring how he felt. Homer still doesn't get it but after a few words of wisdom in skater lingo from Tony, Homer finally understands; he promises Bart that he will never ill-treat him again. Lindsey Naegle approaches Homer and asks him to star in a commercial. Homer accepts so that he can get Bart fully repaid. At home, Homer is embarrassed when he watched the final product, an ad for an impotence drug, but Bart told him that nobody will remember after fifty years. Fifty years later, Homer is dead, his tombstone has the phrase "impotency spokesman" on it, and an elderly Nelson Muntz laughs at his grave. He soon passes out from the attempt to laugh at Homer's grave.

Production
This is the 300th episode produced.