Bart Gets Famous
| "Bart Gets Famous" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
The episode's promotional image featuring Bart and Conan O'Brien
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| Episode no. | 93 |
| Directed by | Susie Dietter |
| Written by | John Swartzwelder |
| Showrunner(s) | David Mirkin |
| Production code | 1F11 |
| Original air date | February 3, 1994 |
| Chalkboard gag | "My homework was not stolen by a one-armed man" |
| Couch gag | The family collides when running and lands into the couch as one big mass of amorphous glop. |
| Commentary |
Matt Groening James L. Brooks David Mirkin Conan O'Brien Susie Dietter David Silverman |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Conan O'Brien as himself |
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Season 5 episodes
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| Seasons | |
Conan O'Brien as himself
"Bart Gets Famous" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons' fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 3, 1994. In the episode, Bart gets a job as Krusty the Clown's production assistant. However, he soon becomes sick of the job and comes close to quitting. During one of his shows, Krusty says he needs to use Bart in a sketch. Bart becomes an accidental star when he says, "I didn't do it" during the botched sketch. He becomes famous for his catchphrase but soon becomes tired of being known for one line.
The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and was the first episode of the series to be directed by Susie Dietter. 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".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. In its original broadcast, "Bart Gets Famous" finished 40th in ratings with a Nielsen rating of 11.7, and was viewed in 10.74 million households.
Bart goes on a class field trip to a box factory. He gets bored with the tour and escapes from the class to go to the Channel 6 TV studio nearby, where he encounters Krusty the Clown. Krusty is angry that his assistant has failed to get him a Danish, as Bart had eaten it, and fires his assistant on the spot. Bart steals a Danish from Kent Brockman and gives it to Krusty, who becomes grateful and asks him to become his new assistant. Bart soon gets disillusioned with being Krusty's assistant because the cast members do not treat him well and he does not receive any credit for his work. However, before Bart decides to quit, Krusty offers to let him say one line in a sketch when Sideshow Mel is unavailable thanks to Bart giving him a sandwich with cheese which triggers his lactose intolerance. Bart messes up his lines and stumbles, accidentally destroying all of the props on the stage. With the crowd and cameras focused on him, he exclaims "I didn't do it", which causes the audience to erupt with laughter. Seeing Bart's popularity, Krusty uses him and his "I didn't do it" catchphrase in later sketches, and eventually creates a franchise out of it.
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