{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Good article}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = Bart Gets Famous promocard.png | caption = The episode's promotional image featuring [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] and [[Conan O'Brien]]. Bart is chatting to Conan during ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. | season = 5 | episode = 12 | director = [[Susie Dietter]] | writer = [[John Swartzwelder]] | production = 1F11 | airdate = {{Start date|1994|2|3}} | guests = * [[Conan O'Brien]] as himself | blackboard = "My homework was not stolen by [[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|a one-armed man]]"{{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997|p=133}} | couch_gag = The family collides when running and lands into the couch as one big mass of amorphous glop.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season5/page19.shtml |title=Bart Gets Famous |access-date=2009-05-27 |last1=Martyn |first1=Warren |author-link1=Gary Russell |last2 = Wood |first2=Adrian |author-link2=Gareth Roberts (writer) |year=2000 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> | commentary = [[Matt Groening]]<br>[[James L. Brooks]]<br>[[David Mirkin]]<br>[[Conan O'Brien]]<br>[[Susie Dietter]]<br>[[David Silverman (animator)|David Silverman]] | prev = [[Homer the Vigilante]] | next = [[Homer and Apu]] }} "'''Bart Gets Famous'''" is the twelfth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 5|fifth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the United States on February 3, 1994. In this episode, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] gets a job as [[Krusty the Clown]]'s production assistant. He replaces [[Sideshow Mel]] in one of Krusty's skits and accidentally destroys the stage props. When Bart says "I didn't do it," he instantly becomes famous for his [[catchphrase]].
This episode was written by [[John Swartzwelder]] and directed by [[Susie Dietter]], which was the first episode of the series to be directed by her. Many characters from the show have catchphrases, and the episode mocks the use of catchphrase-based humor. The writers chose the phrase "I didn't do it" because they wanted a "lousy" phrase "to point out how really crummy things can become really popular".<ref name="Mirkin"/> [[Conan O'Brien]], a writer for ''The Simpsons'' during the fourth and early part of the fifth season, guest-stars as himself. The writers decided to include him in the episode after he received an audition from [[NBC]] to replace [[David Letterman]] as the host of ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien|Late Night]]''.
In its original broadcast, "Bart Gets Famous" finished 40th in ratings with a [[Nielsen rating]] of 11.7; it was viewed in 10.74 million households.
==Plot== Bored on a class trip to a box factory, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] escapes to the nearby Channel 6 TV studio, where he encounters [[Krusty the Clown]]. Bart swipes a [[Danish pastry|Danish]] intended for Krusty, who fires his assistant over the missing pastry. Bart steals a Danish from [[Kent Brockman]] and gives it to Krusty, who is so grateful that he makes Bart his new assistant.
The cast members treat Bart badly, and he receives no meaningful credit for his work. When they use him as a [[Production assistant|gofer]] to deliver their lunches, a [[Lactose intolerance|lactose-intolerant]] [[Sideshow Mel]] becomes sick. Bart is given an opportunity to be on the show and replaces Mel in a skit, but he accidentally knocks over several stage props. Dumbstruck by the cameras and onlookers, he says, "I didn't do it." The audience erupts with laughter. As Bart and Krusty are leaving the studio, they both realize Bart has instantly become famous. He is now known as "The 'I didn't do it' kid". Krusty claims the rights to Bart and has him appear in more sketches, and his catchphrase is used as a marketing gimmick and a line of [[Merchandising|merchandise]].
Bart at first enjoys the fame, but soon he gets tired of being a one-trick pony and people asking him to "just say the line". During an interview on ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]'', he tries to expand his repertoire, but O'Brien grows impatient and makes him repeat the catchphrase. Bart wants to quit show business, but [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] persuades him to continue performing because he makes people happy. After Bart delivers his catchphrase in another of Krusty's skits, the audience reacts with boredom, so Krusty ditches him.
Marge gives Bart a box of memorabilia to help him remember his brief fame. When [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] is relieved he is again just her brother instead of "a one-dimensional character with a silly catchphrase", the Simpson family—joined by [[Barney Gumble|Barney]], [[Mr. Burns]], [[Ned Flanders|Ned]] and [[Nelson Muntz|Nelson]]—recite their respective catchphrases. They all expectantly look at Lisa; however, she does not have a catchphrase. Unamused, Lisa says, "If anyone wants me, I'll be in my room." Homer replies, "What kind of a catchphrase is that?"
==Production== [[Image:Conan O'Brien - Simpsons (cropped).jpg|right|240px|thumb|Former writer [[Conan O'Brien]] returned to the show to guest-star as himself.]] "Bart Gets Famous" was written by [[John Swartzwelder]]. The episode satirizes catchphrase-based humor.{{sfn|Turner|2004|pp=60-61}} Many characters from ''The Simpsons'' have catchphrases, including [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] ("[[D'oh!]]"), Bart ("Eat My Shorts", "''[[¡Ay, caramba!]]''" and "Don't have a cow, man!"), Marge (her worried or annoyed "hmmmm") and Maggie (her pacifier suck).{{sfn|Turner|2004|pp=60-61}} The writers chose the phrase "I didn't do it" because they wanted a "lousy" phrase "to point out how really crummy things can become really popular".<ref name="Mirkin"/> It was also an intentional callback to the first-season episode "[[Krusty Gets Busted]]" in which it was a catchphrase of [[Krusty the Clown]].<ref name="Silverman">Silverman, David. (2004). Commentary for "Bart Gets Famous", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> The episode ends with a self-referential scene in which several characters say their catchphrases, including the Simpsons, [[Ned Flanders]], [[Nelson Muntz]], [[Mr. Burns]] and [[Barney Gumble]]. All the characters gather around Lisa and stare at her with an anticipating look, and Lisa, displeased, finishes the episode by muttering "If anyone wants me I'll be in my room", to which Homer says "What kind of a catchphrase is that?"
In the episode, Bart appears on the talk show ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]''. [[Conan O'Brien]] was a writer for ''The Simpsons'' during the fourth and early part of the fifth seasons. During the production of the episode, he received an audition to replace [[David Letterman]] as the host of ''Late Night'' on NBC, after Letterman defected to [[CBS]]. The writers decided that since the episode featured Bart getting famous, it would give them an opportunity to work in O'Brien's show. The part was written just after O'Brien's audition for ''Late Night'', but before he knew he was going to be the host.<ref name="Mirkin">Mirkin, David. (2004). Commentary for "Bart Gets Famous", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> O'Brien recorded his part shortly after ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' premiered, but he believed NBC would have fired him before the episode aired.<ref name="O'Brien">O'Brien, Conan. (2004). Commentary for "Bart Gets Famous", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> He described being a guest star on the show as "really delightful", adding that "it's like being frozen in [[amber]]. I know people will be watching ''The Simpsons'' long after I'm dead."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shister |first=Gail |date=1994-02-03 |title=Conan O'Brien is returning to 'The Simpsons' |work=[[The Buffalo News]]}}</ref>
"Bart Gets Famous" was the first episode of the series to be directed by [[Susie Dietter]].<ref name="Dietter">Dietter, Susie. (2004). Commentary for "Bart Gets Famous", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> The design of the insides of the box factory featured in this episode was discussed at great length by Dietter and executive creative consultant [[Brad Bird]]. Bird wanted the design to be more lively, but Dietter wanted it to be more boring to go with the story. Dietter's design was used in the finished episode.<ref name="Dietter"/> The box factory manager's voice, performed by [[Dan Castellaneta]], was based on Wally Ballou, a character portrayed by [[Bob Elliott (comedian)|Bob Elliott]] of the comedy duo [[Bob and Ray]].<ref name="Silverman"/> [[Mayor Quimby]]'s wife [[List of recurring The Simpsons characters#Martha Quimby|Martha]] makes her first appearance in this episode. Her outfit (a pink dress and a pillbox hat) is similar to the clothing worn by [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]] on the day of the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy assassination]].{{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997|p=133}}
==Cultural references== The episode contains a number of [[self-referential]] jokes. Bart whistles ''The Simpsons'' [[The Simpsons Theme|theme]] and Marge tells him "not to whistle that annoying tune".<ref name="Groening">Groening, Matt. (2004). Commentary for "Bart Gets Famous", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> Bart tells Krusty [[Krusty Gets Busted|"I saved you from jail]], [[Like Father, Like Clown|I reunited you with your estranged father]], [[Krusty Gets Kancelled|I saved your career]], man!" After fearing that he has become a one-trick pony, Marge reassures him he is making people happy. Bart reflects that "I'm in television now. It's my job to be repetitive. My job. My job. Repetitiveness is my job. I am going to go out there tonight and give the best performance of my life!" "The best performance of your life?" Marge asks. "The best performance of my life!"
Krusty yells "hey kid" and throws Bart his towel in an homage to the 1979 Coca-Cola commercial "[[Hey Kid, Catch!]]". Bart records an "I Didn't Do It" rap with the backing track from [[MC Hammer]]'s "[[U Can't Touch This]]", while MC Hammer himself is in the recording studio calling Bart "propa". This song, in turn, sampled the bass riff from "[[Super Freak]]" by [[Rick James]].<ref name="BBC"/> When Lisa says that Bart got famous due to an 'obnoxious fad', Homer defends him by saying that 'they said the same thing about [[Urkel]]'. Bart imagines himself appearing on ''[[Match Game]]'' in 2034 alongside [[Billy Crystal]], [[Farrah Fawcett]], [[Loni Anderson]], [[Spike Lee]] and [[Kitty Carlisle]]'s head in a jar.<ref name="BBC"/> Matt Groening would later reuse the idea of heads from dead celebrities living in jars in a future society in ''[[Futurama]]''. Lisa notes that the hastily published Bart biography "is mostly about [[Ross Perot]], and the last two chapters are excerpts from the [[Oliver North]] trial."<ref>{{cite news| last=Rabin| first=Nathan| title=The Simpsons (Classic): "Bart Gets Famous"| work=[[The A.V. Club]]| url=https://www.avclub.com/the-simpsons-classic-bart-gets-famous-1798175846}}</ref>
==Reception== In its original broadcast, "Bart Gets Famous" aired during the week of January 31 to February 6, 1994, the first week of February sweeps.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1994-02-10 |title=CBS takes lead in sweeps with 4 of top 10 shows |work=[[Rocky Mountain News]] |agency=The Associated Press}}</ref> It finished 40th in ratings with a [[Nielsen rating]] of 11.7, and was viewed in 10.74 million households.<ref name="NR"/> It was the highest-rated show on Fox that week.<ref name="NR">{{cite news |date=1994-02-09 |title=Nielsen Ratings /January 31-February 6 |work=Long Beach Press-Telegram |agency=The Associated Press}}</ref>
The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', [[Gary Russell]] and [[Gareth Roberts (writer)|Gareth Roberts]],<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv51/garyrussell.html|title=Gary Russell: From Peladon to Placebos|author=Preddle, Jon|date=June 1997|magazine=Time Space Visualiser|issue=51|access-date=20 August 2020|publisher=The New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club|quote=I've just done my first non-fiction book, Oh No It's A Completely Unofficial Simpsons Guide for Virgin, co-authored with Gareth Roberts which has, to be frank, been more of a nightmare than it needed to be [the book was published as I Can't Believe It's An Unofficial Simpsons Guide, with Gary and Gareth writing under the pseudonyms Warren Martyn & Adrian Wood].}}</ref> wrote: "even without that final sequence, this would still be one of the best episodes, with Bart at his very best. The scenes in the box factory are superb, as is [[Martin Prince|Martin]] and [[Principal Skinner|Skinner]]'s joyful singing and, once again, [[Edna Krabappel|Edna]] and Bart's enforced team-up."<ref name="BBC"/>
DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote, "lots of great moments pop up in this excellent program. Bart's rise to fame sparkles via its deft parody of instant—and fleeting—fame, and many wacky bits show up along the way such as Homer's fear that Bart got turned into a box. [...] This might be Season Five's best show."<ref>{{cite web |last=Jacobson |first=Colin |date=2004-12-21 |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season (1993) |url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfive.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420194900/http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfive.shtml |archive-date=20 April 2009 |access-date=2009-05-27 |publisher=DVD Movie Guide}}</ref>
Patrick Bromley of DVD Verdict gave the episode a grade of A−,<ref>{{cite web |last=Bromley |first=Patrick |date=2005-02-23 |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season |url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason5.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420212632/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason5.php |archive-date=20 April 2009 |access-date=2009-05-27 |publisher=DVD Verdict}}</ref> while Bill Gibron of [[DVD Talk]] gave the episode a score of 4 out of 5.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/13784/simpsons-the-complete-fifth-season-the/ |title=The Simpsons — The Complete Fifth Season |last=Gibron |first=Bill |date=2004-12-23 |publisher=[[DVD Talk]] |access-date=2009-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527054305/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/13784/simpsons-the-complete-fifth-season-the/ |archive-date=27 May 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|2}} ;Bibliography {{refbegin}} *{{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Groening |editor1-first=Ray |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-link=Ray Richmond |editor2-first=Antonia |editor2-last=Coffman |title=[[The Simpsons episode guides#The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family|The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family]] |edition=1st |year=1997 |location=New York |publisher=[[HarperPerennial]] |lccn=98141857 |ol=433519M |oclc=37796735 |isbn=978-0-06-095252-5 |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}}}} *{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Turner (author) |title=[[Planet Simpson|Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation]] |others=Foreword by [[Douglas Coupland]] |edition=1st |year=2004 |location=Toronto |publisher=[[Random House Canada]] |oclc=55682258 |isbn=978-0-679-31318-2}} {{refend}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_5#Bart_Gets_Famous|"Bart Gets Famous"}} {{portal|The Simpsons}} *{{snpp capsule|1F11}} *{{IMDb episode|0701055|Bart Gets Famous}} *[https://www.avclub.com/the-simpsons-classic-bart-gets-famous-1798175846 The Simpsons (Classic): "Bart Gets Famous"] review at ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
{{The Simpsons episodes|5}}
[[Category:The Simpsons season 5 episodes]] [[Category:1994 American television episodes]] [[Category:Television episodes written by John Swartzwelder]] [[Category:Television episodes about television]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Susie Dietter]]