Bart to the Future

Infobox Simpsons episode
episode_name = Bart to the Future


image_caption= Lisa as the first straight female President of the United States
episode_no = 243
prod_code = BABF13
airdate = March 19, 2000
show runner = Mike Scully
writer = Dan Greaney
director = Michael Mercantel
blackboard = "Non-flammable is not a challenge."
couch_gag = The living room is set up like a trendy night club (complete with a disco ball, a velvet rope, several club hoppers, and a bouncer). The bouncer lets Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie in, but sends Homer away.
season = 11

"Bart to the Future" is the seventeenth episode of the eleventh season of "The Simpsons". The title of the episode is a reference to "Back to the Future". It is the second of three future-themed Simpsons episodes (along with "Lisa's Wedding" and "Future-Drama"). The episode is listed as the worst Simpsons episode of all time by the February 7, 2003 issue of "Entertainment Weekly".

Plot

The Simpsons are going to a park, but when they arrive, they find that mosquitos have gone crazy and have taken over. While driving back, they find an Indian casino and stop by. Bart tries to sneak in, but is caught by the casino's manager. To teach Bart a lesson, he gives Bart a glimpse of himself thirty years in the future.

In the year 2030, Bart is apparently going through an awkward period of his life. Having dropped out of DeVry University and with no stable job he is very much adrift. He becomes good friends with Ralph Wiggum and they have an unsuccessful band, the Tequila Mockingbirds. The two stick together through much tension. They ponder the success of Nelson Muntz who has declared the term "smell 'ya later" to replace all the other terms used to say good-bye.

The United States is completely bankrupt and relies on foreign aid from Europe and China. To help, America sold the "purple mountain majesties and amber waves of grain", among other properties that they do not even own. Lisa Simpson has the honor of being the first "straight" female president of the United States. Milhouse is a secretary for Lisa and still in love with her. Kearney works for the Secret Service, and is Lisa's bodyguard. Alan Greenspan is in Lisa's cabinet and Helen Thomas is still in the presidential press corps. Bart meets Billy Carter's ghost at Camp David.

It is revealed that Donald Trump was one of Lisa's predecessors as president. His administration made the catastrophic choice to invest in the nation's children. Thanks to him, America is in the midst of a massive crime wave. Well-balanced breakfast programs for children has created a generation of ultra-strong super-criminals; midnight basketball taught them how to function without sleep.

Because of America's massive debt, Lisa meets with the countries to whom money is owed. This does not go well, until Bart shows up and uses his skills at stalling debt collectors to save the day.

After the vision is over Bart apparently learns nothing from it. He is pleased by the fact that he has his own band and describes Lisa's position as "some government job."

(Maggie does not appear in this episode's future, though we see her baby daughter, also named Maggie. The DVD commentary mentions a deleted scene where we learn that she's an astronaut; however, it is not included among the episode's deleted scenes.)

Reception

In a 2003 article, "Bart to the Future" was listed as the worst episode of all time by Entertainment Weekly, stating that, "while Bart to the Future was likely better than anything else on TV the week it first aired, even Mojo the monkey could've banged out a more inventive script," and that, "We didn't know it was physically possible for something to both suck AND blow."cite web | title =The Family Dynamic | publisher = Entertainment Weekly | url = http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417748_5,00.html| accessdate=2008-01-21]

Cultural references

*The name of Bart's band is a reference to "To Kill a Mockingbird".
*The part where Bart and Ralph perform while the audience attempts to throw bottles at them is a reference to the 1980 film "The Blues Brothers".
*The bar scene at Camp David is a reference to the film "The Shining"; the scene is an exact replica of the Jack Torrance/Lloyd the Bartender scene.
*When Homer is looking for Lincoln's gold, he counts fourscore seven paces, a reference to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which begins with the words "Fourscore and seven years ago...".
*The name of the casino is Caesar's Pow-Wow, a reference to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
* Arthur Crandall and Gabbo make their second appearance in this episode, Crandall references Eric von Stroheims The Great Gabbo by repeatedly calling his dummy 'the great gabbo', he also references Pinocchio when Bart appears out of the dummy case he exclaims, "gabbo, you're a real boy".

cience fiction references

*The title is a pun on Back to the Future, Nelson's look is an homage and reference to the Alternate 1985 version of Biff Tannen from "Back to the Future Part II" and outside of Simpson's future house Marge's car has a "hover conversion" like the De Lorean.
*When Bart visits his parents' house, Homer offers him some Soylent Green. Ralph then asks Homer if it is made of people. Homer rolls his eyes and says "Oh, here we go." This is a clear reference to the 1973 science fiction movie "Soylent Green".
*After the forcefield goes up in front of the stage in Nelson's club to shield Bart and Ralph from various projectiles, Groundskeeper Willie is shown fiddling with some controls, remarking: "We need more power! The shield won't hold much longer!". This is an obvious reference to Scotty, the Chief Engineer aboard the "Enterprise" in the original Star Trek series.

References

External links

*snpp capsule|BABF13
*imdb episode|id=0767439|episode=Bart to the Future