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The Stop
Originally broadcast on Fox on 5 February 1995, ‘Bart’s Comet’ (Season 6, Episode 2) was inspired by a Time magazine cover article about the threat of comets hitting the Earth.1 Written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Bob Anderson, the episode is from the golden era of The Simpsons. Filled with memorable characters, set pieces, jokes and one-liners, the well-plotted story is an excellent example of the show writers’ ability to develop and deliver a complex, satisfying narrative in a mere 23 minutes.2
Synopsis:
After being caught vandalising Principal Skinner’s new weather balloon unveiled at the end of an ‘explosion-free’ Science Week, Bart’s punishment is to wake at 4:00 am to assist Skinner with his amateur astronomy.3 Desperate to discover something that could be named after him, Skinner searches the night sky and finds nothing - until he notices the free-floating weather balloon and decides to attempt to take it down. Against his better judgement he leaves Bart, telling him not to touch the telescope as ‘even the slightest touch could ruin a whole night’s work.’ While Skinner is gone, Bart spins the telescope on its tripod and, once it stops, casually looks through it and discovers a previously unknown comet outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
Bart’s discovery makes the papers and the school nerds - the Superfriends4 - invite him to join their group for lunch.5 When discussing when they could possibly see it, Bart points out the window and says they can see it right now - and they realise the comet is heading straight towards them. The Superfriends head to the Springfield Observatory to confirm their findings and fear spreads throughout the town.
At a town meeting, the Springfield officials explain their plan to launch a rocket at the comet to destroy it before it reaches the ground. The demonstration (via a model designed by ‘Carter-era military types’) creates a sense of relief amongst the townspeople who leave the meeting and arrogantly laugh in the face of the approaching comet. In the family car on the way home from the meeting, Lisa questions whether this will work. From the backseat, she starts to ask Homer if he thinks the same, but before she can finish her question he interrupts her, saying she doesn’t need to use ‘that word’ because the ‘whole reason we have elected officials is so we don’t have to think all the time.’ Following this logic, the entire town stays to watch the rocket’s launch which, of course, fails and ends up destroying the only bridge out of town.6
In response to the loss of the bridge and the impending destruction of Springfield, the US Congress springs into action. They are just about to pass a bill to evacuate the city’s citizens when a Congressman intervenes and tacks a rider onto the bill to devote ‘$30 million of taxpayer money to support the perverted arts.’ This, of course, doesn’t go down well and the evacuation bill is defeated. Delivering the news, Channel 6 anchorman Kent Brockman decides to take advantage of the fact they’re all going to die soon to reveal things he’s learned over the years as a reporter and begins listing everyone in Springfield that he knows to be secretly gay. Disgusted, Marge tells Homer to turn off the television and the family starts to worry. However, Homer is nonchalant. Nothing’s going to happen, he says, because the comet is going to break up in the atmosphere and harmlessly fall to Earth in a size no larger than the head of a chihuahua.
Homer takes his family to Ned Flanders’s bomb shelter. Soon after they arrive, a knock on the door reveals the entire population of Springfield outside asking to come in. Too polite to refuse them Ned allows everyone inside, but the shelter becomes too cramped by one person and the door is unable to close. After arguing over who would be unnecessary in the new world, the townspeople decide to evict Ned from his own shelter because the future will have no need for the left-handed gadgets he sells at the Leftorium. Ned agrees, leaves the shelter and begins singing ‘Que sera sera.’ To pass the time (and drown out Ned’s singing), the townspeople play a barnyard sounds guessing game, but eventually Homer’s guilt at sending Ned outside to die overwhelms him and he leaves the shelter to join his neighbour. The rest of the townspeople also abandon the shelter and surround Ned, joining him in song and waiting for the comet to strike.
As the comet enters Springfield’s polluted air, it starts to break apart. It quickly deteriorates to the size of a chihuahua’s head, pops Skinner’s weather balloon and strikes Ned’s shelter, causing it to collapse - which would have killed them all had the townspeople remained inside. The remnant bounces across the ground, coming to rest next to a chihuahua before Bart picks it up and places it into his pocket. Relieved, the townspeople decide to burn down the Observatory to prevent this from ever happening again. As the mob storms off, the Simpsons remain behind unnerved and astonished because - despite all evidence to the contrary - Homer’s prediction about the demise of the comet had actually come true.
‘Bart’s Comet’ streams on Disney+, but can also be found via luck through syndication.
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to a short (4:05) animated film from Philosophy Feuds. In this episode, the feud between once-best-friends Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung is investigated. Sex, religion and envy were the causes, and it’s interesting throughout.
Philosophy Feuds: Freud vs Jung
The Recommendation
Today’s Recommendation is David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green (2006). Mitchell’s fourth novel is told in thirteen chapters, each representing one month - from January 1982 through January 1983 - in the life of 13-year-old Jason Taylor. Though each chapter is a short story in its own right, together they create an intricately observed world filled with historical and pop cultural references to England at that time. Semi-autobiographical (Mitchell is a stammerer and deliberately ‘outed’ himself through this book), it’s a fun, meditative novel that recaptures a lost world, lost time and lost innocence.
From the inside flap: It’s a dank January in the Worcestershire village of Black Swan Green and thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor - covert stammerer and reluctant poet - anticipates a stultifying year in the deadest village on Earth. But Jason hasn’t reckoned with a junta of bullies, simmering family discord, the Falklands War, an exotic Belgian emigré, a threatened gypsy invasion and the caprices of those mysterious entities known as girls.
David Mitchell’s bewitching new novel charts thirteen months in the black hole between childhood and adolescence, set against the sunset of an agrarian England still overshadowed by the Cold War. Wry, painful, funny and vibrant with the stuff of life, Black Swan Green is his subtlest and most captivating achievement to date.7
Remember, you can buy Black Swan Green from Amazon, but you can also get it from your local new or used bookstore - or check it out from the library. And those options are better for everyone.
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is composed of five tracks I was listening to in February 1995 when ‘Bart’s Comet’ first aired. I was deep into my Masters thesis8 on paradox, and these artists were an intricate part of the soundtrack: ‘Hits from the Bong’ (Cypress Hill, 1993), ‘Voodoo Lady’ (Ween, 1994), ‘Roof With A Hole’ (Meat Puppets, 1994), ‘Boys Peel Out’ (Mercury Rev, 1993) and ‘Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam’ (Nirvana, 1994).
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from Kent Brockman. As anchorman for Springfield’s Channel 6 News, Brockman delivers many great lines over the history of the show, but this is probably my favourite.
Congress is just about to pass the evacuation bill when a Member suddenly interrupts and introduces the rider which causes them to vote it down. Cutting away from the live feed at the Capitol and knowing his city is doomed, Brockman faces the camera and - in his best Ted Koppel delivery -9 says:
‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: democracy simply doesn’t work.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this Stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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Until the next Stop …
This is the second Bus to feature a Simpsons episode as its Stop. The first was ‘You Only Move Twice’ (Vol. 1; Issue 23) on 22 June 2022.
In the mid-/late-90s, I used this episode to teach a number of literary devices to my high school English students - atmosphere, parody, satire, theme, symbolism, irony and foreshadowing just drip from it. It’s also very funny. Sources for today’s Stop include a very enjoyable rewatch of the episode for the first time in probably two decades, Bart's Comet (Simpsons Fandom), Simpsons Origins (Huffington Post) and Bart's Comet (Simpsons Wiki).
In typical Simpsons fashion, from the start the episode is filled with fleeting references - Skinner’s comment that the balloon will take weeks to come down and cursing Pierre Jules César Janssen for discovering helium, the wheel-powered generator Bart uses to power the light on his bicycle and Skinner’s dark reference to his revenge on that ‘Principal Kohoutek’ being only three to occur within the first few minutes. It’s these knowing references that make The Simpsons one of my favourite shows of all time.
A lovely homage to one of my favourite 1970s Saturday morning cartoons, the Springfield Superfriends are composed of Ham (because he likes ham radio), Email (which, considering this was 1995, was a rather niche reference), Co-Sine, Report Card, Database and Lisa. They also sing ‘We are the Superfriends!’ as they cycle up the long hill to the Observatory - a great Simpsons moment.
Ham names Bart ‘Cosmos.’
Conveniently signposted ‘The Only Bridge Out of Town,’ when the rocket destroys it the words remaining on the sign are ‘Bridge Out.’
This is from my copy of the novel purchased in 2006. As Mitchell has written five since then, it’s no longer his ‘new’ novel. I’d also recommend Cloud Atlas (2004) and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (2010).
It’s about employing paradox to refocus society’s emphasis on the primacy of the individual to that of the broader community - a shift from virtú back to virtue, in other words - if anyone’s remotely interested.
Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles, created Brockman for ‘Krusty Gets Busted’ (Season 1, Episode 12), basing the character on Koppel. Other influences include LA anchormen Hal Fishman and Jerry Dunphy.