"Bart's Not Dead" is the thirtieth season premiere and 640th episode of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

''. In this episode,

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...

fakes a miracle and is approached by a Christian filmmaker who wants to make an adaptation of the event, but is wracked with guilt at having lied. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by

Stephanie Gillis Stephanie Gillis is an American television writer. She writes for ''The Simpsons'' and has written 11 episodes. Gillis lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, fellow ''The Simpsons'' writer Al Jean. She is a graduate of Barnard Col ...

. This episode won the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the 71st Writers Guild of America Awards.

Plot

Lisa is playing the saxophone at a school assembly when

is dared by

Jimbo Jimbo is a diminutive form of the given name James. It is also a Japanese surname, and it means state or province in Swahili. It may refer to: Given name or nickname * Jimbo (drag queen), Canadian drag queen * Jimbo Aquino (born 1985), Filipi ...

Dolph Dolph may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Dolph Briscoe (1923–2010), Governor of Texas from 1973 to 1979 * Dolph Camilli (1907–1997), American Major League Baseball player * Dolph Eckstein (1902–1963), American football player ...

and Kearney to pull the fire alarm, but he declines, not wanting to ruin Lisa's performance. The following day,

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret. Notable Marges include: People * Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist * Marge Anderson (1932–2013), Ojibwe ...

is proud of him, but

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

and Grampa tell him to take a dare like a man. At Echo Canyon,

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney all dare him to jump off the dam. He accepts and does the dare but ends up landing face first on a concrete ledge. At Springfield General Hospital, Bart wakes up and in order to not disappoint Marge, lies that he saw Heaven. Despite Lisa's warnings, Bart keeps lying about what Heaven is like and becomes popular. A trio of Christian movie producers come to the house, wishing to make a movie about his experience and Bart forces Homer and

Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...

to work together on the movie, including holding hands and conditions that Homer will not enjoy. To cast the movie, they interview

Emily Deschanel Emily Erin Deschanel (; born October 11, 1976) is an American actress. She portrayed Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan in the Fox crime procedural series '' Bones'' (2005–2017). Early life Deschanel was born in Los Angeles, California, to c ...

to play Marge, and

Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter she ...

for the role of Lisa. The movie starts filming, but Bart's guilt mounts and he starts having nightmares. He ends up in

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

in a nightmare, where Grandpa Bouvier scolds him and

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

beats him up. The movie, ''Bart's Not Dead'', finally premieres, including a group song, "One More Chance". At home, Bart confesses about lying, to which Homer feigns surprise. Just as Marge is absorbing the news, Lisa announces the movie is a hit, having made over $100 million at the box office. Marge insists they have to confess, and at a press conference, Homer and Ned give the profits to charity and all is forgiven following a passionate speech by Homer. At night, Lisa consoles Bart by joining him on the house roof. Some shingles come loose, and they both fall to the ground, but land in a pile of leaves swept by Homer, which they attribute as the true miracle. Several years later, Bart arrives in Heaven and meets

, who encourages him to meet with Jesus before, due to finding Heaven incredibly boring, he flees to Hindu Heaven to ask

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

to send him back to Earth. Homer is offered the choice of being reincarnated as a turtle or a pharmaceutical CEO and promptly chooses the turtle.

Production

On her Twitter account, Israeli actress

, who guest starred as herself on this episode, described ''The Simpsons'' as "a huge part of my childhood” and also stated that "it's so cool that I get to be a part of the Simpsons." Gadot, who was announced as a guest star in February 2018, did a hamburger handout in this episode which was similar to one she did at the 2018 Academy Awards. There is a brief reference to former President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

in the scene taking place outside the hospital where there is a sign that says "

OBAMACARE The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...

IS ALIVE".

Reception

Viewing figures

"Bart's Not Dead" scored a 1.4 rating with a 5 share and was watched by 3.24 million people, making it Fox's highest rated show of the night.

Critical response

Dennis Perkins of '' The A.V. Club'' gave the episode a B− ranking, stating " 'Bart’s Not Dead', (credited to Stephanie Gillis) aims for a more character-driven return. Sure, Bart, Homer, and Flanders wind up making a Christian-themed movie that winds up making $100 million, but the heart of the episode is, well, heart.” Jesse Schedeen of '' IGN'' gave the episode a 7.2 out of 10 points ranking, stating " 'Bart's Not Dead' stands as one of the better season premieres for ''The Simpsons'' in recent years, mostly because it settles for telling a clever, amusing story rather than relying on gimmicks. It doesn't take full advantage of its premise, but this episode still delivers some scathing satire of for-profit religious movies and a strong take on Bart's relationships with Homer and Lisa. Hopefully this episode is a sign of things to come for Season 30."

Tony Sokol Tony Sokol (born March 23, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York, United States) is an American playwright, writer and composer, best known for writing the theatrical horror series La Commedia Del Sangue: Vampyr Theatre in New York City. As a musician, Sok ...

of ''

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...

'' gave the episode a 3 out of 5 points ranking, stating " 'Bart's Not Dead' isn't quite a classic episode, but it has all the classical elements. At the center of the piece is a fight over Bart's soul. He may worship the devil in public, but when no one is looking, or in this case when everyone is looking, Bart will always side with his mother and sister. And the Fox network brass because they couldn't have him going entirely over to the dark side. That's Homer territory. The film-within-the-episode skewers the righteous tinkering of facts, while raising the suspense on why Bart and Homer shouldn't get away with this. Bart, played by Jonathan Groff in the Christian film, doth protest too much, and far too specifically. It sounds like the movie is already a whitewashed version of something in need of fresh paint. The episode bodes fairly well for season 30 because, even though ''The Simpsons'' has covered this subject a few times, they show they are not going to ease up on casual blasphemy. After thirty years, the series has become the authority. Newer shows are taking on new ground, but ''The Simpsons'' are still shooting for something less than redemption. Bart begins the episode as the boy who refused to take a dare and ends it by taking it one step too far, but sadly takes a step backward."

Awards and nominations

won the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the 71st Writers Guild of America Awards for her script to this episode.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Christianity, The Simpsons 2018 American television episodes The Simpsons (season 30) episodes Television episodes set in hospitals Television episodes about death Television episodes set in heaven