Barting Over

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Barting Over

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Barting Over
Episode Number	302 (Often mistaken for 300 because it was advertised as the 300th)
Production Code	EABF05
Original Airdate	February 16, 2003
Chalkboard Gag	"I will not" (Bart destroys the board with an axe instead of finishing the sentence)
Couch Gag	Gingerbread couch gag
Special Guest Voices	Jane Kaczmarek as Judge Constance Harm Tony Hawk as Himself Blink-182 as themselves
Written By	Andrew Kreisberg
Directed By	Matthew Nastuk

“I can't count how many times your father's done something crazy like this”

―Marge

“It's 300, Mom”

―Lisa

“I could have sworn it was 302”

―Marge

"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. Jane Kaczmarek, Blink-182, and Tony Hawk guest starred in this episode.

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 is 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". They play the video, and to their surprise it was a video of an old TV ad where Bart acts as "Baby Stink Breath" in a baby mouthwash commercial. Realizing this, Lisa correctly adds an apostrophe that makes it "Bart's Ad" and makes fun of him. That night, Bart furiously confronts his parents demanding to know how they could have not told him about the commercials. Homer responds by telling Bart he was intending to tell Bart on his deathbed. Marge tries to cheer Bart up by telling him that he had a lot of fun making the commercials, but mistakenly mentions that he made a lot of money from them. Bart asks them where all the money he made went and Marge tries to convince him that Homer put it away in a trust fund. She becomes annoyed by Homer who interrupts her in the midst of a sentence and still continues her attempt to convince Bart. Until Homer interrupts her again and finally reveals that he spent all the money Bart made and there's nothing left. Bart is furious with him and demands to know why Homer spent the money he made from the commercial. He explains he needed it to buy back incriminating photos of him dropping Bart from a hotel balcony (ala Michael Jackson with the same incident in Germany) that was being used in a blackmail scheme to avoid scandal.

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, tension in the house had not died down which was shown by Bart constructing his dinner into a look-a-like of Homer's face and then viciously stabbing it to pieces with his fork. Marge and Homer then try once again to to cheer him up: Marge by saying "Forgive and forget" and Homer with his "What Would Jesus Do" bracelet which he angrily tosses off because he thought "Jesus" was "Geppetto". They get a knock on the door and it's Bart's lawyer who serves Homer with a subpoena (with a side of bacon in order to get Homer to open the door). Marge is surprised and depressed that Bart is suing them. Bart tells Marge that she, Lisa and Maggie had done nothing wrong, but he was done dealing with Homer and his abusive ways. Homer defends himself by claiming his father was abusive to him while he was growing up. Instead of suing Abe for emancipation, however, Homer got revenge on his father by dropping him off at a cheap retirement home.

At the trial, Bart's case is made clear in a variety of ways (such as using a doll that is commonly used in child molestation cases and Homer's anger issues). Despite acknowledging that he is too young for emancipation, Judge Constance Harm rules in Bart's favor and he is able to legally move out of the Simpsons' house (she implied that the reason she made an exception for this case was because even she felt disgusted by Homer's treatment of Bart, as she said this when Homer, overconfident with the ruling being in his own favor, viciously proceeded to gloat to Bart before she says in a harsh and sickened tone "EXCEPT in this case."). As a result, he will receive half of Homer's paycheck to pay back the stolen money. Furious by this loss, Homer tries to attack Judge Harm, but the bailiff stops him and drags him away for contempt of court.

The next day, Bart has packed up and says tearful goodbyes to everyone except Homer. Marge begs Bart to stay, and even go so far as to allow him to use swear words in the house (Everything but the big there) however Bart refuses, as he's mad at Homer. 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 has 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 (although he was more concerned over the fact that he'll lose his scalp as a side effect), but Bart told him that nobody will remember after fifty years.

Fifty years later, Homer is dead and his tombstone has the phrase "impotency spokesman" on it. An elderly Nelson Muntz visit his grave and laughs at him. He soon passes out from the attempt to laugh at Homer's grave.

Behind the Laughter

Promo Cards

Production

This is the 300th episode produced.