Brother's Little Helper
| "Brother's Little Helper" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
Bart, under the effects of Focusyn, becomes an insane conspiracy theorist convinced that Major League Baseball is spying on the town using satellites. The staff debated on whether Bart's pupils would be bigger or smaller than normal while on the drug.
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| Episode no. | 228 |
| Directed by | Mark Kirkland |
| Written by | George Meyer |
| Showrunner(s) | Mike Scully |
| Production code | AABF22 |
| Original air date | October 3, 1999 |
| Chalkboard gag | "Pork is not a verb" |
| Couch gag | The Simpsons are blank paint-by-numbers figures; Asian animators come in and color the family, but do not detail their eyes. |
| Commentary |
Mike Scully George Meyer Mark Kirkland Ian Maxtone-Graham Matt Selman Tim Long |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Mark McGwire as himself |
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Season 11 episodes
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| Seasons | |
Mark McGwire as himself
"Brother's Little Helper" is the second episode of The Simpsons' 11th season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1999. In the episode, Bart floods the school gymnasium and the schoolyard, which prompts the school's principal Seymour Skinner to diagnose Bart with ADHD. Bart is prescribed a psychostimulant drug called Focusyn (a parody of Ritalin), and initially starts paying more attention to his studies. After a while however, Bart starts turning psychotic and is convinced that Major League Baseball is watching over the people of Springfield.
The episode was directed by director Mark Kirkland and was the first episode staff writer George Meyer received a sole writing credit for since the season 5 episode "Bart's Inner Child". Meyer, who was facing some psychological difficulties while writing the episode, felt so dissatisfied with the episode's first draft that he turned it in with a pseudonym. The episode satirizes the perceived misdiagnosis of behavioral disorders in children, which was a controversial topic at the time the episode was written. The episode's title is a parody of The Rolling Stones song "Mother's Little Helper", which was also written on the topic of psychological medication.
The episode features former Major League Baseball player Mark McGwire as himself. Finishing in 51st place, ratings for "Brother's Little Helper" were considered disappointing by Deseret News, although the episode became the most watched program on the network that night. Following its broadcast, the episode was positively received by critics. In response to the episode, five months after the episode originally aired, United States president Bill Clinton held the first ever White House conference on Mental Health.
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