John Swartzwelder, prolific Simpsons writer and notable recluse, penned this 1991 episode. It opens with Bart skateboarding through town in animation with a similar feel to the opening, until he skates across an intersection and is accidentally hit by a car driven by Mr. Burns.

It is something of a strange moment to stop and think about. Smithers is in the car with Burns, yet Burns is driving. Looking at the accident through a realism lens for a moment, Mr. Burns is absolutely at fault for hitting Bart who is clearly inside of a crosswalk. The layout is pretty strange for being a four way downtown intersection with crosswalks but without any lights or stop signs. Not even a yeld or watch out for pedestrians sign. The real villain here is bad urban planning.

The episode goes on with Bart’s soul briefly going to hell and meeting Satan. It is a weird early version that looks sort of like Herman the surplus store owner and is voiced by Harry Shearer who also voices Herman. It is strangely distracting to me and it isn’t something ever hinted at being an intentional connection.

Bart regains consciousness in the hospital, surrounded by his family and a new face- Lionel Hutz, Attorney At Law. This episode may be most notable for introducing both Hutz, and later Dr. Nick.

Hutz gives Homer his card, which expands into a sponge with water.

Homer initially declines Hutz’s offer to sue Mr. Burns, but after getting a laughably small $100 payout offer he goes back to Hutz to get a Big Cash Settlement.

Dr. Nick enters the picture as the medical professional to confirm many exaggerated injuries. His walls have some great signage.

The two sides take it to trial. Hutz is interestingly scummy but more competent than his later appearances, here is a slick shady lawyer rather than a burnout drinking in court and forgetting his own job title. In a scene at the Simpson house before the trial he has a moment of being uncomfortably pushy in making sure Bart plays up his injuries.

In court Bart retells his tale of being an innocent child who was hunted down by the maniacal and blood thirsty Mr. Burns.

Bart retold of running for his life in a sequence with some amazing Burns faces.

Eventually Mr. Burns runs him down.

The jury eats it up. Mr. Burns then takes the stand and gives a story about going on a happy casual drive and being hounded by a young Bart intent on colliding with his car.

For really no reason, in his retelling Mr. Burns paints Smithers as being uncaring about Bart’s injuries. Meanwhile Mr. Burns cradled Bart and screamed to the heavens to take him instead.

This didn’t go over well with the jury or Smithers.

Seeing that he was on the ropes, Mr. Burns invites Homer and Marge over to his house and presents an offer much more sizable than his original one. He offers $500,000 which is half of what the Simpsons are asking for in court. Burns and Smithers leave the room for the Simpsons to talk over the offer, and then spy on them in a great visual gag.

Talking with Homer, Marge blurts out how Dr. Nick is a phony doctor, which prompts Mr. Burns to strut back in, take back his offer, and release the hounds.

The next day in court, Marge is called to the stand and she torpedoes the case by airing out all of her concerns about Dr. Nick and the inflated medical claims.

In a final beat, Homer is despondent at home and goes to Moe’s. Marge realizes he is really out of sorts and goes to the bar where she finds Homer who confesses he doesn’t want to see Marge as the women who cost him his big payday before looking her in the eye and making up to the cheers of all in the bar, including a rare Herman sighting.

Its not a bad episode, but judged against other golden era Simpsons episodes I find it just okay. Even when I originally watched it I didn’t like how Bart’s real injuries were glossed over- for all the hyperbole that went into the medical presentation Bart did actually get a broken toe as confirmed by Dr. Hibbert and, if the hell scene isn’t a delusion, briefly died. I never liked that Burns caught onto the exaggerations by Marge blurting so much out while at his house, even if he was supposedly in the other room it felt pretty dumb. In an alternate version of the episode all Burns’ lawyers would have had to do was call Dr. Nick to the stand and watch him discredit himself. While that alternate ending doesn’t give the finale of Homer and Marge reconciling, it felt like one too many beats to me anyway. The story was, if I were to put a theme on it, about not overreaching and lying to try and get everything which ends up getting you nothing, it didn’t need Homer and Marge splitting up and making up again in back to back scenes at the end.

---

Next Wednesday: S09E19 ‘Simpson Tide’. Watch it early and then come and discuss!