The Simpsons/Bart the General

Bart the General
Season 1, Episode 5
Airdate	February 4, 1990
Production Number	7G05
Written by	John Swartzwelder
Directed by	David Silverman
← 1x04 There's No Disgrace Like Home	1x06 → Moaning Lisa
The Simpsons — Season One

Bart the General is the fifth episode of the first season of The Simpsons, and the fifth episode overall.

The episode introduces viewers to Nelson Muntz, the feared bully at Springfield Elementary School. When Bart accidentally breaks Nelson's nose trying to defend Lisa at school, Nelson challenges Bart to a fight, threatening him with severe harm when they do meet. Bart, trying to get over his anxiety of their eventual confrontation, enlists Grampa and local war hero Herman Hermann to rally Nelson's previous victims and come up with a plan to defeat him.

Guest Stars:

Plot Overview

Lisa bakes her teacher a batch of cupcakes. When she gets to school one of Nelson's friends tries to take the cupcakes. Bart tackles the kid, but Nelson pulls Bart off. In the struggle Bart hits Nelson in the nose, and causes him to bleed. Nelson challenges Bart to a fight after school. Principal Skinner does nothing to stop the potential fight.

Bart is hailed as a hero by his best friend, Millhouse, and several other previous victims of Nelson, but Bart is very scared of Nelson. In class, he has a daydream episode where he tries running from Nelson, trying to ward him off with knives and a machine gun but Nelson is not only unfazed but grows into a very angry giant ... who swallows Bart whole after growling "Lunchtime!" Later, Bart envisions his funeral, where Nelson repeatedly punches his corpse.

During the after-school fight, Bart is beaten horribly.

Homer gives Bart a few fighting hints, such as throwing mud in Nelsons eye, and then hitting him while he’s staggering around. Homer also includes conventional wisdom such as hit him while his back is turned, or kick him in the family jewels, the Simpson trademark. This advice is also ineffective, as Nelson easily gets the upper hand in their second fight.

Lisa gives Bart the idea of going to Grandpa Simpson for advice on how to fight. Grandpa takes Bart to Herman Hermann, a one-armed Vietnam veteran and owner of a war surplus store. They decide the best strategy is in numbers, and realizing that Nelson has bullied most of his classmates into submission, they need to unite to get their revenge and even the score.

Bart, with assistance from Grampa and Herman, go through a boot camp and plan an all-out offensive strategy. Once the battle plan is finalized and everyone knows what they're doing, Bart finds Nelson and his friends and (this time) confidently challenges him to a fight. Nelson is about to give him another beating when all of a sudden, he sees all of his previous victims ... armed with water balloons. Before Nelson can figure out what's going on, they begin launching the water balloons at Nelson and his buddies, and they all strike their targets.

Nelson tries to run, but he only runs into more of his past victims, who also are on target with their water balloons. After trying a couple more times to run, he finally realizes there is no escape. And when he and his buddies have enough of being pelted by water balloons, Nelson surrenders.

A shamed Nelson, after bluffing that he will get his revenge one day on Bart, is persuaded to sign an armistice. In the end, Marge offers cupcakes for both Bart and Nelson, and Nelson gains a grudging respect for Bart.

Notes

Title Sequence

• Shortened title sequence not showing the family on the couch.
• Blackboard:
• Couch Gag: None

Arc Advancement

Characters

• Nelson Muntz: The school bully at Springfield Elementary School, with his signature "Haw-haw!" laugh when mocking someone for their misfortune. While later episodes would portray him as a complex pre-teen who has a lot of burdens, this introductory episode for Nelson simply has him as a remorseless bully who terrorizes other students at will, severely beating them if desired. Bart fears Nelson in this episode but would later become on-again, off-again friends with him.
• The Weasel twins: The Weasels were identical twin brothers who were Nelson's sidekicks in a few Season 1 episodes before disappearing. A Season 25 episode noted the Weasel family moved to Shelbyville and were rarely heard from since moving.

Trivia

Allusions and References

• Bart standing there with his shades on, chewing on a piece of wheat, is a reference to General George S. Patton.
• The kid in the sailor hat kissing Lisa is famous image from a WWII victory parade in Times Square.

Quotes

• Nelson: You made me bleed my own blood!
• Herman: Elm Street is the key to Springfield, the Greeks knew it, the Carthigenians knew it, and now you know it.

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