[1F19] The Boy Who Knew Too Much
The Boy Who Knew Too Much Written by John Swartzwelder
Directed by Jeffrey Lynch
===============================================================================
Production code: 1F19 Original airdate in N.A.: 5-May-94
Capsule revision G, 21-Jul-96
Title sequence
Blackboard :- There are plenty of businesses like show business.
There are plenty of businesses like show busines/ at
cutoff.
Lisa's Solo:- In C major. Recycled.
Couch :- The family runs in and sit down, but then they notice the
living room looks different. The camera pans slightly
right, and we see David Letterman sitting at his desk with
his back to us. He turns around and smiles. Recycled
from 1F07.
Did you notice...
Dave Hall:
... Milhouse's left eye and eyebrow are drooping when he stated he
lost feeling on that side of his body?
... Bart catches a fish with his toe?
... Homer has a comb?
... Bart cuts the rope when he could simply have slipped the rope
over the stake?
... the city skyline, including the SNPP cooling towers, when
Skinner crosses the stream?
... Skinner and Bart climb up a sheer cliff?
... Freddy pays for his female companion?
... Quimby and his friend toast Freddy with pinkie extended?
... McBain's dinner guest is named "Maria" and looks like Arnold
Schwarzenegger's wife?
... the little boy is more interested in Kent and the camera than he
is attending the trial?
... Homer's off-colored drool?
... in Bart's fantasy he sees himself smoking?
... Maggie peeking over the divider in court?
... Rev. Lovejoy's wife is quick in judging people?
... Homer stores all his stolen goodies in the bedroom?
Tony Hill:
... the music in the opening is close to Grieg's "Morning"?
... Sherri or Terri is as pale as Wendell?
... Bart possesses a "Li'l Bastard Clock Tampering Kit"?
... Bart wins the bid on a $200,000 advance?
... the Rice Krispie square is actually a cube?
... Matt Groening moonlights as a courtroom sketch artist? (Perhaps
the growing trend toward cameras in the courts forced him to
create OFF?)
... Bart is able to make use of the skills he learned as a Junior
Camper?
Matthew Kurth:
... the "spinner knob" on the prison bus steering wheel?
... Bart spells our 16th President's name "L-I-N-C-O-N"?
... the car chases off a deer and fawn as it approaches the school?
... Bart's trademark gum is Wrigley's Doublemint?
... Bart gets his ice-cream cone at Phineas Q. Butterfat's Ice Cream
Parlor?
... those with the "evil" gene include Hitler, Walt Disney, and
Freddy Quimby?
... the police chief from "McGonigle" is the same chief from the
original "McBain" in "The Way We Was"?
Vaughn Jett:
... the exclamation points on the diplomas on Skinner's office?
Ricardo Lafaurie:
... the female judge is the one who revoked Homer's license in
"Duffless"?
... Bart's lipsynch was off saying "Claus von Bulow"?
Jussi Pakkanen:
... Skinner can read punched cards?
... the bonsai tree on a shelf during Lisa's "third degree
interrogation"?
... the music is suspended while Skinner is underwater?
... McBain has a hummvee?
... Marge hums while cleaning?
Voice credits
- Starring
- Dan Castellaneta (Willy, Freddy Quimby, Homer, Joe Quimby, Scott
Christian, Barney)
- Julie Kavner (Marge, Patty)
- Nancy Cartwright (Bart, Billy)
- Yeardley Smith (Lisa)
- Hank Azaria (Huck, waiter, homeless man, box office boy,
auctioneer, Wiggum, Mr. LaCoste, Lawyer, Moe, Apu, McGonigle,
police chief, Willy boy's father)
- Harry Shearer (Otto, Lincoln, Skinner, McBain, Kent Brockman, Dr.
Hibbert, Jasper, Flanders, TV announcer)
- Special Guest Voice
- Phil Hartman (Lionel Hutz)
- Marcia Wallace (Mrs. Krabappel)
- Also Starring
- Pamela Hayden (Milhouse, judge, Jimbo Jr.)
- Maggie Roswell (Blonde, Mrs. Lovejoy, Willy's mother)
- Russi Taylor (Martin)
Movie (and other) references
+ "The Man Who Knew Too Much"
- episode title
+ the Kennedy family
- see "Comments" section
+ Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn"
- scene on raft in Bart's fantasy, plus episode plot
+ "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"
- Bart cutting rope bridge with similar knife to Indy's
+ "Westworld" {gb}
- Skinner looked like Yul Bryner as he entered the river
+ "Back to the Future II" {mk}
- Bart hiding under a green blanket in the backseat of a convertible
to escape detection by an adversary.
+ TV Commercial for "Meow Mix"
- Homer meowing
+ "Bob Newhart Show" {th}
- "This is your fantasy" segment (see "Comments" section)
+ "Bob and Ray" {aw}
- camera going to Kent just finishing saying his name same as camera
going to Wally Baloo
+ "Free Willy"/"Tiny Toons Spring Break Special" {mk}
- "Will U B Hare" musical parody of "Free Willy": the whale appears
to be able to clear the rocks, but then crushes Elmyra when he
falls.
+ "The Odd Couple" {zg}
- Skinner picks up cigar butt with his umbrella just like Tony
Randall does to Jack Klugman in the opening credits of the TV show
+ "Pink Panther" {jp}
- LaCoste is indeed quite similar to Inspector Clouseau, despite his
claims to the contrary
+ "The Little Mermaid" {rl}
- LaCoste trips over stuff and burns himself on a stove
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" {mk}
- waiter's accident similar to "Somethin's Cookin'" cartoon
Previous episode references
- [7F03] Bart plays hooky {rl}
- [7F11], [7F23], [8F23] Man from restaurant is on jury in 1F19 {rl}
- [7F12] Police chief from McBain appears
- [8F12] "The original Odd Couple" is said
- [9F14] The female judge is the one who revoked Homer's license {rl}
- [1F06] Bart uses a knife
- [1F13] Homer's "Shut up!" {vj}
Freeze frame fun
- Things in Bart's desk: {mk}
- 3 books: 1 red, 1 olive green, 1 forest green
- Li'l Bastard (R)(tm) Clock-Tampering Kit
- 2 pencils
- 1 eraser
- 5 marbles
- jar with poked holes in lid, with unidentified object inside
- Springfield Shopper headline: {mk}
SPRINGFIELD SHOPPER
----------------------
Daily News Free
----------------------
QUIMBY NEPHEW
CHARGED IN BEATING
----------------------
Chowder Said Wrong
- Truck outside courtroom: {mk}
- Sign #1: "Open Roof"
- Sign #2: "Rat Trap Delivery"
- Sign #3: "Caution: Open Roof"
- Sign #4: "Since 1989"
- Front of the courthouse: {mk}
- The clock reads 10:08.
- Engraved on the capital: "Liberty and Justice For All"
- Sign on left: "Springfield County Court House"
- Sign on right: "No Parking", with "El Barto" graffiti
- Waiter mishaps: {dh}
- slips on what looks like Rice Krispies
- hits head on four frying pans
- hand stuck in blender
- hand stuck in toaster
- head in over
- boiling water on back
- covered in rat traps
Animation, continuity, and other goofs
The lettering on the front door mat disappears. {dh}
Lisa's shadow doesn't appear on the front door. {dh}
Bart's classroom is depicted differently from most other episodes.
Pictures of Presidents usually hang on the wall with the windows. {dh}
How could Bart hear Freddy all the way inside the school? {th}
When Bart looks out the window of the classroom, we see a rainbow and
the sun off to one side. The center of a rainbow, the sun, and the
observer's head always lie on one straight line, so if we're looking at
the center of the rainbow's arc, we should be looking either directly
toward or directly away from the sun. {tkc}
Bart doesn't pay for his ticket to "Boobarama". {jp}
It wasn't raining yet Bart sees a rainbow with the sun shining overhead.
{dh}
The road depiction changes when Bart watches Freddy's car. {dh}
Students seating changes several times. {dh}
The Springfield Natural History Museum was slated to close down in 7F19.
Homer's eaten donut disappears. {dh}
Bart's spoon disappears. {dh}
I guess Homer didn't follow his own advice on getting out of jury duty.
(cf. 9F03) {dh}
The person sitting next to Skinner in the jury box changes from Hans
Moleman to Apu. {jd}
Court Bailiff appears next to Homer. {dh}
Voting slips vanish from table. {dh}
Phones in hotel rooms are between the beds, not on the far side of one
of them. {th}
The hotel telephone has four columns and three rows of dialing buttons
instead of three columns and four rows. {jp}
Homer's hotel bed gains a lot more garbage. {dh}
Skinner's duster turns into an umbrella. {dh}
The blender has no power cord. {dh}
The waiter falls several stories, yet the court house is on the ground
floor. {dh}
Skinner's hair part seems to change sides a lot. {dh}
Reviews
Tony Hill: In my opinion, this was a superb episode. It had just the
right combination of comedy and drama. The mix of Bart and Homer
was just right too. The gag with the waiter was superlative. Homer
really shined in the hotel. My only complaint is that we've seen
too much of Skinner lately. I give it an A.
Robert Briggs: Great episode! I give it second best episode of the
season (after "Deep Space Homer") The gags worked, the story
worked...I loved the story about the Uncle, and "Meow meow meow
meow" had me ROFL. I give it an A-.
John J. Wood: I have to agree with Steve Portugal: the funniest moment
to me was Homer's "meow meow meow meow" (if it wasn't for that
moment, the grade would have been D+)", but most of the episode
appeared to be in cruise control for me (same case as last week's
disappointment). Grade: C-.
Joey Berner: Yes! This is the Simpsons episode I've been waiting for
for quite a while. The story was great, some very funny gags and
great pacing. [...] I give this one an "A". Sure haven't seen much
of Burns lately though.... :(
Matthew Kurth: Anivision does some poor work, but the script was able to
rise far above it with impressive wit and dialog. The longer
opening titles was nice, and the ending held up for a change! Lisa
was an absolute treat. I really liked this one. Wish it had been
#100 instead. Definitely a keeper. 8/10
Dave Hall: I thought it was average. I didn't see anything that nagged
me, but I did find the first half of Skinner's Bart hunt to be
lackluster. Though, I did smile at Skinner's chewing gum analysis;
makes me wonder what else he'll put in his mouth (cf. a certain John
Waters film ;). Freddy's character was interesting enough for me to
say I like this episode. 3 out of 5 stars.
Yours Truly: Yep, I _definitely_ like episodes written by John
Swartzwelder better. They feel more...unified than some of the
others. I've seen quite a few "court" movies lately and enjoyed the
parody of the legal system. Good mockery of McBain/"Last Action
Hero". I give it a B.
Comments and other observations
"This is your fantasy"
Tony Hill writes, "This is almost a copy of a scene from the 1970s `Bob
Newhart Show.' Bob fantasized about a date with Emily, in which
Emily said `there will be no sunrises together until we're married.'
Bob asked, `isn't that a little conservative, Emily.' She said,
`whatever you say, Bob. This is *your* fantasy.'"
Kennedy references
Tony Hill lists the following similarities between the Quimby family and
the Kennedy family.
- the compound, which is near water
- nephew in trouble
- "Bart-Bart" (cf. John-John)
- McBain is married to Maria
- football
- Boston accent
- young silent JFK-like figure standing next to Quimby
- Irish name
Chris Noren adds, "This episode has a nice inside joke for animation
fans: Freddie Quimby, the spoiled richboy William Kennedy Smith-
equivalent, is named after the producer of the Tex Avery MGM
cartoons."
Jury members
The jury members that can be identified are: Homer, Principal Skinner,
Hans Moleman, Ned Flanders, Mrs. Lovejoy, Jasper, Patty, Apu, and
the man from the Japanese restaurant.
Quotes and Scene Summary
[Syndication cuts are marked in curly braces "{}" and are courtesy of
Ricardo Lafaurie and Frederic Briere.]
It's another bright, sunny school day in Springfield. Bart and Lisa
wait at the door of their house for the bus.
Bart: Oh, how can they imprison kids in school on a beautiful day like
this?
Lisa: They're not imprisoning us, Bart, they're --
[a grey bus labeled "Springfield Prison" pulls up]
Bart: [getting on] Prison bus, Otto?
Otto: The regular school bus broke down, so take a seat before I blow
your heads off!
Lisa: Otto...!
Otto: Oh, sorry. This bus and I have sort of a "Shining" thing going
on.
-- Incomprehensible justifications, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
One of the convicted plays the blues on a harmonica while another bangs
a metal cup against the bars on the window. Bart groans and looks
longingly out the window at a nearby stream, imagining he's lying on a
raft floating down it with a dark-skinned boy. "Ah," he sighs, "this is
what being a kid is all about." Looking up, he notices a strange figure
on the raft with them, and asks, "Hey Huck, what's L-I-N-C-O-N doing
here?" to which Huck responds, "I dunno; it's your fantasy." Bart and
Abe great each other.
The bus skids to a stop at the school, awakening Bart from his reverie.
In the grade four class, everyone groans and moans about the new chairs.
Edna: Well, children, our new ultra-hard PostCherfect chairs have
arrived. They've been designed by eminent posturologists to
eliminate slouching by the year 3000.
Martin: Mrs. Krabappel? [groans] I'm having back spasms...
Edna: [chuckles] I know they seem a little uncomfortable right now,
but eventually your bones will change shape.
Milhouse: I've lost all feeling in the left side of my body. [lifts his
limp left arm with his right arm]
Edna: Yeah, yeah.
-- Recognizing the signs of danger, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
"Now unfortunately, our school clocks have been running fast all
semester," she continues, "so today we all have to stay two extra hours
to make up for the time we lost. Hah!" Everyone moans, and Bart looks
at the clock tampering kit in his desk and regrets using it. He turns
to look out the window at the rainbow and sunshine, a squirrel gamboling
on a nearby branch, when he sees a red sports car approach. Seated next
to a delectable blond, its Quimby-esque driver laughs, "And to think I
got all this after dropping out of the fourth grade!"
Bart: [to himself] That does it, I'm outta here.
[scribbles something on paper]
Mrs. Krabappel, I have to go to the dentist. I have a carroway
seed caught under my bridgework. [hands her the note] My Mom's
number's on there if you want to check up on me.
Edna: That's OK, Bart. I trust you.
[in Skinner's office, Skinner holds a magnifying glass]
Skinner: [reading] "Please excuse my handwriting, I busted whichever
hand it is I write with. Signed, Mrs. Simpson." You were
right to be suspicious, Edna. To the crime lab!
-- High-tech elementary schools, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
The results appear on a punch-card, but they're inconclusive. Skinner
rues that more students other than Martin didn't agree to have an
electronic tracking device implanted in their skull.
{Skinner decides to interrogate Lisa.}
Willy: {Spill it! Where's your brother?}
Skinner: {You'd better answer him, Lisa. He's a bad man.
[Lisa giggles]
What are you laughing about?}
Lisa: {You started off as the bad cop, but now you're the good one!
You and Willy got mixed up about ten minutes ago.}
Skinner: {We did not! Now where's Bart? You better tell me!}
Willy: {Oh, you better tell him, lassie. I cannot control him when he
gets like this!}
Lisa: {[laughs] Now _you're_ the good cop!}
Willy: {What?!}
-- Not getting their act together, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart lies next to the river, a string with a fishing bobble tied to his
toe, and he sighs, "Ah, the joys of mortgaging your future." In the
mist he sees a raft approaching with two men standing on it. He assumes
his fantasy has come true, but it's just two homeless men. "Hey kid!
You wanna see a dead body?" one asks, and Bart runs off screaming.
Principal Skinner has decided to walk around town to see if he can find
our delinquent young friend.
Skinner: If I were a truant boy out for a good time, I'd be right
here: the Springfield Natural History Museum. [chuckles]
You're mine, Simpson.
[Bart argues at a triple-R rated movie box office]
Bart: Look, if I was under seventeen, I'd be in school, right?
Ticket boy: Yeah, I guess you're right. Enjoy "Boobarama", sir.
[Skinner has left the museum, meanwhile]
Skinner: Why, there are no children here at the four-H club, either!
Am I so out of touch...? No, it's the children who are
wrong.
-- Firm in his conviction, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart has decided to bid on some priceless works of art at an auction
house. The auctioneer announces, "Sold to the small man with the runny
nose for 2.3 million." When Bart giggles and takes off, the auctioneer
goes back to the man who made the next highest bid of 2.1 million, but
he reacts the same way Bart does. It transpires that no one made a
serious bid on the lot.
[Bart and Homer spot each other suddenly. They gasp]
Bart: I can't let Dad see me playing hooky!
Homer: I can't let the boy see me skipping work!
[Bart brushes his hair forward; Homer uses a comb as a
mustache]
Bart: [walking past] Good afternoon.
Homer: [walking past] How do you do, sir?
Together: [chuckle] Sucker...
-- Masters of disguise, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Skinner walks along the sidewalk elsewhere and sees a piece of chewed
gum on the ground.
Skinner: A spoor!
[reaches down, picks up the gum, licks it]
His brand of gum, Doublemint. Trying to double your fun, eh,
Bart? Well, I'll double your detention. {Heh. I wish someone
was around to hear that.}
And so we enter...endgame.
-- Skinner, hot on Bart's trail, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart walks out of an ice cream parlor with a giant cone, only to drop it
when he sees Skinner approaching in the distance. "Ay caramba!" he
cries, and runs off, down the street, down a grassy hill, and to a rope
bridge across a raging river. He pauses, then runs across it, pulling a
jagged knife from his pocket and cutting its from its moorings. "Let's
see him track me now," he giggles.
But Skinner is relentless. He walks straight into the quickly flowing
stream, disappearing briefly underwater, but reemerging from it soon
enough. Bart watched from behind a tree.
Bart: Oh my God, he is like some sort of...non...giving up...school guy!
-- Bart is chased by Principal Skinner, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart climbs a sheer cliff in an attempt to get away, but Skinner is not
to be outdone. Bart seem him making his way inexorably up its face, and
he hides behind a rock. Upon reaching the top, Skinner stands up and
walks towards the rock: "Oh, he's close! I can taste his fear." He
pounces on the rock.
But Bart is nowhere to be found. Luckily, Freddy Quimby sped by in his
sports car at just the right moment for Bart to jump in and hide under a
blanket.
Blonde: Freddy honey? I think something just dropped into the back
seat.
Freddy: I'm not paying you to talk.
-- Bart escapes in Freddy Quimby's car, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
The car speeds into the Quimby compound as the gates slam behind it.
There seems to be a party on the lawn; Freddy crashes through the bushes
in his car and speeds towards everyone, swerving and skidding to a halt
just in time.
[Freddy approaches two people tossing a football]
Freddy: Gimme the ball!
[runs to the punch bowl, throws it in hard]
The punch has been spiked! Ha ha!
Quimby: That's my nephew, displaying the Quimby wit that's won the
public heart. Happy birthday, Freddy! And may all your
disgraces be private.
-- Witty indeed, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart hops out of the car and looks around. He walks towards a patio but
is stopped by Diamond Joe.
Quimby: And who are you, little boy?
Bart: I'm one of your nephews you don't see very often. Um, Bart-
Bart.
-- Bart tries to crash Freddy Quimby's party, "The Boy Who Knew Too
Much"
Bart spies McBain with his wife and goes over to chat.
Bart: Hey, McBain, I'm a big fan, but your last movie really sucked.
McBain: I know. There were script problems from day one.
Wiggum: Yeah, I'll say. Magic ticket, my ass, McBain.
McBain: [to his wife] Maria, my mighty heart is breaking. I'll be in
the Humvee.
-- Not-so-adoring fans, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Inside, at lunch, Freddy is served something in a bowl by a waiter.
Freddy: Hey! What the hell is this?
Waiter: [French accent] It's a bowl of chowder, sir. ["shaudere"]
Freddy: Wait a minute, come here. What did you call it? Say it loud
enough so everyone can hear. Cone on, say it...
Waiter: Ahem. Chowder. ["shaudere"]
Freddy: [raucous laughter] Shau-dere? Shau-dere? It's "chowder".
["chowdah"] Say it right!
Waiter: [pause] Chowder. ["shaudear"]
Freddy: [laugher] Come back here! I'm not through demeaning you.
-- Gotta love those Quimbys, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart, who was probably not invited to the table, stands in front of a
giant Rice Krispie[tm] square (more of a cube) admiring its size. He
takes a bite from it -- "Boy, the rich sure know how to live!" But
Freddy and the waiter enter and Bart hides under the table, peeking out.
Freddy tries to get the waiter to say "chowder" again, but the waiter
refuses adamantly. "Never!" So Freddy responds, "OK, you asked for it.
I'm gonna enjoy this!" As Bart watches, we hear loud crashing and
snapping. followed by breaking glass. The waiter falls in front of
Bart, breaking something in the process. "Oy, that's gotta hurt!" he
winces.
Wiggum and a couple of others burst in. "Oh my God," says the chief of
police, "someone's taken a bite out of the big Rice Krispie square!" As
an afterthought: "Oh yeah, and the waiter's been brutally beaten. Heh
heh."
[End of Act One. Time: 8:47]
Marge reads the paper at the kitchen table with Lisa while Bart eats
some cereal.
Marge: [reading the paper] Mmm. It says Freddy Quimby beat a waiter
half to death! Those Quimby children are so wild and rich, I
hope he finally gets what's coming to him.
Bart: But Freddy Quimby's innocent!
Lisa: How do you know? There weren't any witnesses.
Bart: Heh, oh yeah, right.
Lisa: You'd think someone would have seen something at a crowded party
like that.
Bart: Well they didn't, OK? They didn't. It says right here in black
and white, "No witnesses." Case closed. [grabs paper] Now let's
all read the funnies. [reads] Oh look: Charlie Brown said "good
grief". Hah. I didn't see _that_ coming. [forced laughter]
-- 37 years of "Good Grief", "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart's conscience gets to him on the school bus.
Bart: Lisa, I gotta tell somebody. I was at the Quimby compound
yesterday when that frog waiter got whacked. I _know_ that
Freddy Quimby is innocent.
Lisa: You're a witness? Bart, you have to tell the police!
Bart: [groans] I can't.
Lisa: Why?
Skinner: Bart Simpson, I know you cut school yesterday, and as soon as I
can prove it, I'm sending you off to the Christian Military
Reform School.
Bart: What he said.
Lisa: Oh, I see.
-- "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Lisa: If you testify, Skinner will know you skipped school. Well, if
Freddy Quimby didn't do it, I'm sure he'll be found innocent by a
fair and impartial jury.
[after school]
Homer: Aw, jury duty? I'll see that Quimby kid hanged for this!
Bart: Oh...
Lisa: {I _knew_ it was a bad idea to watch him open the mail.}
-- Fair and impartial both, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Channel six covers the trial.
Scott: Let's go over to the County Courthouse, live to Kent Brockman.
Kent: -- ockman, just outside the County Courtroom where an argument
about chowder has spilled over into the biggest trial in
Springfield history. Behind these doors, a federal judge will
ladle out steaming bowls of rich, creamy justice in a case the
media have dubbed "Beat-Up Waiter." This reporter suggested
"Waitergate", but was howled down at the press club.
Now, it's illegal to televise court proceedings in this state, so
[whispers] we'll have to be quiet.
[walks towards courtroom doors only to have them slammed in his
face]
-- A sneaky ruse, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart sits in the front row looking at the members of the jury.
[Skinner scowls at Bart from the jury box]
Skinner: [thinking] I know you can read my thoughts, Bart. Just a
little reminder: if I found out you cut class, your ass is
mine. Yes, you head me. I _think_ words I would never say.
Homer: [thinking] I know you can read _my_ thoughts, boy. [singing]
Meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow
meow meow meow meow...
-- Not the Meow Mix commercial!, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
The trial begins. Freddy's lawyer makes his opening statement.
Lawyer: I intend to prove that Freddy Quimby is totally innocent! First
of all, his accuser is a very shady character. That waiter, Mr.
LaCoste, not only wasn't born in Springfield, he wasn't even
born in this country!
[jury gasps, reporters run to phones and dial rapidly]
Hutz: [to LaCoste] From now on, you tell me _everything_!
-- The key to the defense, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Moe is the first to testify for Freddy.
Moe: Freddy Quimby was with me the entire...night in question. We
were collecting canned goods for the starving people in...er, you
know, one of them loser countries.
Woman: He's clearly innocent.
[Chief Wiggum hands him a big bag with "$" on it]
Moe: Oh good! My laundry is done.
Bart: You see, Lisa? They don't need my testimony.
Lisa: Only because Mayor Quimby's _buying_ his nephew's freedom.
Bart: Ah. The system works. Just ask Claus von Bulow.
-- No insulin in _this_ trial, however, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Lionel Hutz makes a statement for the jury.
Hutz: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to prove to you not only that
Freddy Quimby is guilty, but that he is also innocent of _not_
being guilty. I refer you to my expert witness, Dr. Hibbert.
Hibbert: Well, only one in two million people has what we call the "evil
gene". [holds up a card showing DNA] Hitler had it, Walt
Disney had it, and Freddy Quimby has it. [chuckles]
Hutz: Thank you, Dr. Hibbert. I rest my case.
Judge: You rest your case?
Hutz: What? Oh no, I thought that was just a figure of speech. Case
closed. [sits down]
-- Proper legal terms, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Apu notices something amiss on the jury.
Apu: Excuse me, Your Honor? I'd like to bring something to the
court's attention.
[removes "open eye" glasses from snoring, drooling Homer]
[judge bangs her gavel]
Homer: [waking up] Hmm? Huh? What?!
Judge: Give those glasses to the bailiff.
Homer: [crafty] All right.
[does so, dons a "half-open eyes" pair]
Judge: And those.
Homer: [moaning] Oh.
-- He should have waited a bit, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Lawyer: Your Honor, even though I've proven my client's innocence, I'd
still like to call Freddy Quimby to the stand. So that we can
all bask in his gentle decency.
[Freddy stands up, grins winningly at audience, takes stand]
Mr. Quimby, did you assault Mr. LaCoste?
Freddy: Of course not. I love each and every thing on God's green
earth.
Lawyer: Therefore, you would _never_ lose your temper over something as
trivial as the pronunciation of "chowder".
Freddy: That's "chowdah"! Chowdah! I'll kill you! I'll kill all of
you, especially those of you in the jury!
[man on jury mutters, "He's clearly guilty"]
Lawyer: Wow, that didn't go well. The defense rests.
-- Making the best of a bad situation, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
The lawyers have called all their witnesses.
Judge: Will the jury retire and come to its decision?
Mrs. Lovejoy: Heh, this won't take long. He's clearly guilty. We'll
probably be home by dinner time.
Jasper: Good. I hear the dog from "Frasier" is going to ride the
dolphin on "Sea Quest".
-- Gotta rush home, then, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Lisa castigates Bart as the jury leaves.
Lisa: Well, Bart, because of you, a horrible yet innocent person is
going to jail.
Bart: Hmm. Maybe I should come forward.
Skinner: I can't wait for the sentencing part! That's where I really
shine.
[Bart imagines standing in front of Skinner at the bench]
Skinner: Bart, for the heinous crime of "hooky", I sentence you to a
lifetime of hard labor in the cafeteria.
[in the cafeteria]
Bart: [smoking] More cream corn, Jimbo Junior?
Jimbo Jr.: This cream corn tastes like cream crap!
Bart: Watch the potty-mouth, honey.
[back to the present]
Judge: Your sister says you have something to tell me?
Bart: What? Uh, um, yeah, uh, I just, I just wanted to say how
great it is to finally see some chicks on the bench.
Judge: Hmm.
Bart: Keep up the good work, toots. [forced laughter] [runs out]
Judge: Hmm.
Lisa: [sheepish] Heh heh, "chicks on the bench". [forced laughter]
-- A blow for women's lib, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
[End of Act Two. Time: 16:37]
The jury discuss the case in their private room.
Jasper: Why bother voting? He's guilty.
Flanders: Well, we might as well make it official.
Homer: What does "sequestered" mean?
Skinner: If the jury is deadlocked they're put up in a hotel together
so they can't communicate with the outside world.
Homer: What does "deadlocked" mean?
Skinner: It's when the jury can't agree on a verdict.
Homer: Uh huh. And "if"?
Skinner: A conjunction meaning "in the event that" or "on condition
that".
Homer: So _if_ we don't all vote the same way, we'll be _deadlocked_
and have to be _sequestered_ in the Springfield Palace Hotel
--
Patty: That's not going to happen, Homer.
Jasper: Let's vote. My liver is failing.
Homer: -- where we'll get a free room, free food, free swimming pool,
free HBO -- Ooh! "Free Willy"!
Skinner: Justice is not a frivolous thing, Simpson. It has little if
anything to do with a disobedient whale. Now let's vote!
Homer: Uh, how are the rest of you voting?
Everyone: Guilty.
Homer: OK, fine. How many S's in "innocent"?
Everyone: Aw.
Homer: I'm only doing what I think is right. I believe Freddy Quimby
should walk out of here a free hotel.
-- You forgot "free shower curtain", "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
So it's off to the hotel they go. Homer talks to Marge on the phone,
mounds of food and garbage surrounding him.
Homer: [on phone] Aw, I miss you too, Marge. But the law needs me!
I'll be home as soon as I can.
[hangs up, presses a button]
Room service? Send up two more pot roasts and three more
pillows with mints on them.
Skinner: {You know...we're kind of like the original "Odd Couple".
You're the messy one and I'm the --}
Homer: {Shut up!}
Skinner: {Oh, yes, very well.}
-- Handle with Kare, indeed, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
At home, Bart watches the end of an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon when Lisa
walks in.
Lisa: So, Bart, have your insides been gnawed away by guilt yet?
Bart: Sell it to Hallmark, Sis. You're looking at Cucumber boy, as
in "Cool as a".
Announcer: [on TV] Next, on "McGonigle", McGonigle is framed for a crime
he didn't commit. And only one person can clear his name: a
little sissy boy who's too scared to come forward.
McGonigle: You gotta tell 'em what you saw, Billy.
Billy: But I'm so _scared_, McGonigle.
McGonigle: You gotta do this one for me, Billy: McGonigle.
Billy: Well, OK. For you, McGonigle.
Chief: Well, McGonigle, Billy is dead. They slit is throat from ear
to ear.
McGonigle: Hey! I'm trying to eat lunch here.
-- Negative reinforcement, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Homer watches "Free Willy" at the hotel.
Homer: Jump, Free Willy. Jump! Jump with all your might!
[on the TV, Willy jumps over a rock barrier as a little boy
smiles, but a shadow looms on his face and the smile turns to
fear]
Woman: Oh, no. Willy didn't make it. And he crushed our boy!
Man: Ew. What a mess.
Homer: Ohh, I don't like this new director's cut.
-- Bemoaning those who control things, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
{Later, Homer uses sheets tied together to lower a table out the
window.}
Homer: {[lowering a table out the window] Got it, Barn?}
Barney: {[below] Got what? [crash] Ow!}
Skinner: {You're stealing a table?}
Homer: {I'm not stealing it. Hotels expect you to take a few things.
It's a souvenir!}
Skinner: {Ah. Is that my necktie you're wearing?}
Homer: {Souvenir.}
-- "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart is thinking things over at home, and he asks Marge about it as she
dusts the living room.
Bart: Mom, what if there's a really bad crummy guy who's going to jail
but I know he's innocent?
Marge: Well, Bart, your uncle Arthur used to have a saying: "Shoot 'em
all and let God sort 'em out." Unfortunately, one day put his
theory into practice. It took 75 federal marshalls to bring him
down. Now let's never speak of him again.
[hums as she dusts]
Bart: Mom. ...Mom. ...Mom!
Marge: Huh?
Bart: What if I can get this guy off the hook? Should -- should I do
it?
Marge: Honey, you should listen to your heart, and not the voices in
your head like a certain uncle did one grey December morn.
[hums some more]
-- Simpson family skeletons, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Bart must have said something because the judge decides to reopen the
trial.
Judge: Even though reopening a trial at this point is illegal and
grossly unconstitutional, I just can't say no to kids.
Lawyer: So, young man, if Freddy Quimby _didn't_ inflict these injuries
on Mr. LaCoste, just who did?
Bart: Well, I was hiding in the kitchen when it all happened.
[flashback]
Freddy: Say it, Frenchy! Say "chowder"!
Waiter: Never!
Freddy: OK, you asked for it. I'm going to enjoy this!
[grunts, pops the cork off some champagne, chugs it]
Waiter: Hah. [slips on floor, bangs head on four frying pans, breaks
glass, hand lands in blender, then in toaster, then head falls
in oven, boiling water is spilled on his back, then into broom
closet where rat traps snap closed all over him, then beaks more
glass and falls over]
[back to reality]
Bart: And that's what really happened.
Waiter: This is an outrage! I am not a clumsy Clouseau-esque waiter. I
will --
[trips on chair, falls out window into truck containing rat
traps]
Waiter: At least, there were no big ones -- [snap] -- aie.
-- Only one big one, it seems, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
Hutz: How could you have seen all this, Bart? Weren't you supposed
to be in school?
Bart: [slowly] I sort of skipped school.
Skinner: I knew it! I knew you'd slip up sooner or later, Simpson!
Apu: What slip up? What are you talking about? He confessed it!
Skinner: Quiet, I need this.
-- Apu, accidental lawyer, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
The judge finds Freddy innocent and dismisses the case. Quimby shakes
his nephew's hand.
Skinner: Bart, I'm impressed with what you did in there. You testified
for the Quimby boy even though it was putting your own head in
a noose. On the other hand, you skipped school.
Bart: I guess the two things cancel each other out, huh?
Skinner: [sighs] I'm a small man in some ways, Bart. A small, petty
man. Three months' detention.
Bart: [groans, {walks away}]
Skinner: {Wait a minute, Bart. Make that...four months' detention.}
-- "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
In their bedroom that night, Homer and Marge lie surrounded by a horde
of souvenirs from the Springfield Palace Hotel.
Homer: Well, Marge, it was horrible. Everyone was against me in that
jury room. But I stood by the courage of my convictions and I
prevailed. And that's why we had chinese food for lunch.
Marge: Good for you, Homey! You know, a lot of things happened around
here while you were gone.
Homer: Right, Marge, I wanna hear all about it. [puts on "open eye"
glasses] Heh heh --
Marge: Gimme those!
Homer: Aw...[snap]
Marge: And those...
Homer: Aw...[snap]
Marge: And those...
Homer: Aw...
-- A new third pair?, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"
[End of Act Three. Time: 20:56]
Contributors
{gb} Greg Bogdan
{tkc} Tim Callahan
{jd} Joshua Davidson
{zg} Zvi Gilbert
{dh} Dave Hall
{th} Tony Hill
{vj} Vaughn Jett
{mk} Matthew Kurth
{rl} Ricardo Lafaurie
{jp} Jussi Pakkanen
{aw} Aaron Weber
===============================================================================
This episode summary is Copyright 1996 by James A. Cherry. Not to be
redistributed in a public forum without permission. (The quotes
themselves, of course, remain the property of The Simpsons, and the
reproduced articles remain the property of the original authors. I'm
just taking credit for the compilation.)