# Beware My Cheating Bart > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Beware_My_Cheating_Bart > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Beware_My_Cheating_Bart.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beware_My_Cheating_Bart > Source revision: 1343047697 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 18th episode of the 23rd season of The Simpsons "Beware My Cheating Bart" The Simpsons episode Episode no. Season 23 Episode 18 Directed by Mark Kirkland Written by Ben Joseph Production code PABF11 Original air date April 15, 2012 (2012-04-15) Guest appearance Kevin Michael Richardson as the Mall Cop Episode features Chalkboard gag "The true location of Springfield is in any state but yours" Couch gag In Bill Plympton's first couch gag for the show, Homer falls in love with the couch, then leaves it when he falls for Marge, followed by the couch's descent into stripping and prostitution in order to support itself and its baby couch. When the couch tries to commit suicide by throwing itself into a garbage truck, Homer saves it and takes it home to the family; the baby couch becomes Maggie's play chair. Episode chronology ← Previous "Them, Robot" Next → "A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again" The Simpsons season 23 List of episodes "**Beware My Cheating Bart**" is the eighteenth episode of the [twenty-third season](/source/The_Simpsons_season_23) of the American animated television series *[The Simpsons](/source/The_Simpsons)*. The episode was directed by [Mark Kirkland](/source/Mark_Kirkland) and written by Ben Joseph. It originally aired on the [Fox network](/source/Fox_Broadcasting_Company) in the United States on April 15, 2012. The title refers to the song "[Be Still My Beating Heart](/source/Be_Still_My_Beating_Heart)" by [Sting](/source/Sting_(musician)). In this episode, Bart starts a secret relationship with Shauna Chalmers while Homer starts developing theories while watching an old mystery television series. The episode received mixed reviews. ## Plot During a day out in the mall, [Homer](/source/Homer_Simpson) chooses to drop [Milhouse](/source/Milhouse_Van_Houten) and [Bart](/source/Bart_Simpson) at a children's movie so he can eat at the [food court](/source/Food_court). The boys run into the bullies (who are there to see a gory Hong Kong horror film remake called "Crawlspace") and Bart is forced to [chaperone](/source/Chaperone_(social)) [Jimbo Jones](/source/Jimbo_Jones)' girlfriend Shauna while she sees a [Jennifer Aniston](/source/Jennifer_Aniston) movie. Both of them leave shortly after seeing the only part of the movie that appeals to Shauna (the man's ass) and they hang out in the mall. Bart covers for Shauna when she shoplifts and when they escape from an incompetent mall cop, Shauna says that Bart is pretty cool and shows her appreciation by [flashing her breasts](/source/Exhibitionism) in front of him, leaving him both [traumatized](/source/Psychological_trauma) and [smitten](/source/Love) with her. Both decide to enter a romantic relationship behind Jimbo's back, but he figures out what's going on soon afterwards. Both attempt to hide from a vengeful Jimbo at [Comic Book Guy](/source/Comic_Book_Guy)'s store, while the bully decides to stake out Bart's home with help from an oblivious Marge, leaving Bart to come home and face Jimbo's wrath. Shauna breaks up with both of them after some good advice from [Lisa](/source/Lisa_Simpson), and Bart receives his punishment (being held upside down from his treehouse to have the "fear of God put into him") from Jimbo. Meanwhile, Homer is persuaded to buy a state-of-the-art [treadmill](/source/Treadmill) from a crafty salesman. When Lisa shows Homer that he can access television shows wirelessly, he takes advantage of the machine and develops an obsession with watching an old television show called *[Stranded](/source/Lost_(2004_TV_series))*, instead of working out. Eventually Marge, in a fit of rage, returns the treadmill leading Homer to catch up on the latest episodes physically, gives away all the spoilers of the episodes Homer has not watched yet. He is initially furious at Marge and hints at their marriage failing, but a romantic evening planned by her resolves matters. ## Production The original U.S. broadcast version contained a title card with "Now Entering Oregon" under the title followed by the chalkboard gag saying "The true location of Springfield is in any state but yours." It was a response to reactions to a [Matt Groening](/source/Matt_Groening) interview in which he revealed that the name of [Springfield](/source/Springfield_(The_Simpsons)) was inspired by [Springfield, Oregon](/source/Springfield%2C_Oregon), which was widely misinterpreted as Groening revealing that *The Simpsons*' [Springfield](/source/Springfield_(The_Simpsons)) was located in Oregon.[1] Executive producer [Al Jean](/source/Al_Jean) stated that it was misinterpretation of something Groening had said for decades in that parts of the show were inspired by his childhood in Oregon. Prior to the episode's airing, he also joked that they would address it in this episode.[2] The couch gag was created by animator [Bill Plympton](/source/Bill_Plympton).[3][4] Jean described the gag as "sweet" where it shows Homer having a previous romantic relationship with the couch.[2] Bill was the third person to guest-direct a couch gag for the show, after [Banksy](/source/Banksy)'s opening for Season 22's [MoneyBart](/source/MoneyBart) and [John Kricfalusi](/source/John_Kricfalusi)'s first opening for Season 23's [Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts](/source/Bart_Stops_to_Smell_the_Roosevelts). ## Cultural references The television show *Stranded* that Homer watches is a parody of the television series *[Lost](/source/Lost_(2004_TV_series))*.[4] Bart and Shauna's dating montage has scenes that parody the films *[The Graduate](/source/The_Graduate)* and *[Midnight Cowboy](/source/Midnight_Cowboy)*.[5] ## Reception ### Viewing figures The episode originally aired on the [Fox network](/source/Fox_Broadcasting_Company) in the United States on April 15, 2012. It was watched by approximately 4.864 million people during this broadcast.[6] ### Critical response Rowan Kaiser of *[The A.V. Club](/source/The_A.V._Club)* gave the episode a C+, praising the couch gag "in an episode that was anything but memorable otherwise."[4] Teresa Lopez of *TV Fanatic* gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars. She found the idea of Shauna showing her breast to Bart to be disturbing and that the courtship was not believable. She highlighted the subplot of Homer watching a parody of *Lost*.[5] ### Awards and nominations The couch gag was nominated for Best Animated Short Subject at the [40th Annie Awards](/source/40th_Annie_Awards).[7] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Busis, Hillary (April 16, 2012). ["Forget Oregon: 'The Simpsons' reveals where Springfield REALLY is"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120419165416/http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/04/16/simpsons-oregon-chalkboard/). *[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)*. Archived from [the original](http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/04/16/simpsons-oregon-chalkboard/) on April 19, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Schneider_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Schneider_2-1) Schneider, Michael (April 12, 2012). ["Exclusive: Nope, Springfield is Not in Oregon, Clarifies The Simpsons' Matt Groening"](https://www.tvguide.com/news/exclusive-simpsons-springfield-not-in-oregon-1045968/). *[TV Guide](/source/TV_Guide)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240203184942/https://www.tvguide.com/news/exclusive-simpsons-springfield-not-in-oregon-1045968/) from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** O'Neill, Phelim (October 27, 2015). ["The Simpsons: are the couch gags the only things left worth watching?"](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/27/the-simpsons-couch-gags-only-things-left-worth-watching). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*. Retrieved August 5, 2023. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-av_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-av_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-av_4-2) Kaiser, Rowan (April 16, 2012). ["'Beware My Cheating Bart'"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120418101422/http://www.avclub.com/articles/beware-my-cheating-bart,71973/). *[The A.V. Club](/source/The_A.V._Club)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.avclub.com/articles/beware-my-cheating-bart,71973/) on April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Lopez_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Lopez_5-1) Lopez, Teresa (April 16, 2012). ["The Simpsons Review: Stranded in Pre-Adolescence"](https://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/04/the-simpsons-review-stranded-in-pre-adolescence/). *TV Fanatic*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240203190809/https://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/04/the-simpsons-review-stranded-in-pre-adolescence/) from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-ratings_6-0)** Gorman, Bill (April 16, 2012). ["TV Ratings Sunday: 'NYC 22' Starts Low, 'Titanic' Pulls 'GCB' To Series Low"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120419230315/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/04/16/tv-ratings-sunday-nyc-22-starts-low-titanic-pulls-gcb-under/129171/). *[TV by the Numbers](/source/TV_by_the_Numbers)*. Archived from [the original](http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/04/16/tv-ratings-sunday-nyc-22-starts-low-titanic-pulls-gcb-under/129171/) on April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Taylor, Drew (December 4, 2012). ["'Brave,' 'Rise Of The Guardians,' 'Wreck-It Ralph' Lead Annie Awards Nominations"](https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/brave-rise-of-the-guardians-wreck-it-ralph-lead-annie-awards-nominations-103335/). *[IndieWire](/source/IndieWire)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230806043259/https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/brave-rise-of-the-guardians-wreck-it-ralph-lead-annie-awards-nominations-103335/) from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023. ## External links Wikiquote has quotations related to ***["Beware My Cheating Bart"](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Simpsons/Season_23#Beware_My_Cheating_Bart)***. - [The Simpsons portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:The_Simpsons) - ["Beware My Cheating Bart"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2328399/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - ["Beware My Cheating Bart"](http://www.simpsonsworld.com/video/311189571768) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161220081011/http://www.simpsonsworld.com/video/311189571768) December 20, 2016, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) at theSimpsons.com v t e The Simpsons episodes Seasons 1–20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Season 21–present 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Season 23 "The Falcon and the D'ohman" "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts" "Treehouse of Horror XXII" "Replaceable You" "The Food Wife" "The Book Job" "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" "Holidays of Future Passed" "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson" "The D'oh-cial Network" "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches" "The Daughter Also Rises" "At Long Last Leave" "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" "How I Wet Your Mother" "Them, Robot" "Beware My Cheating Bart" "A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again" "The Spy Who Learned Me" "Ned 'n' Edna's Blend Agenda" "Lisa Goes Gaga" See also Treehouse of Horror list The Simpsons episode guides "The Simpsons Guy" Category --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Beware My Cheating Bart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beware_My_Cheating_Bart) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beware_My_Cheating_Bart?action=history)). 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