Episode no. 101 Written by John Swartzwelder Production code 1F19 | Directed by Jeffrey Lynch Showrunner(s) David Mirkin Original air date May 5, 1994 | |
"The Boy Who Knew Too Much" is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons' fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 5, 1994. In the episode, Bart runs away from a pursuing Principal Skinner after attempting to skip school. During part of his escape, he witnesses an event in which Freddy Quimby, the spoiled nephew of Mayor Quimby, is accused of beating up a French waiter. Though the entire town believes that Freddy is guilty, Bart witnessed something else. At the trial, Bart testifies for Freddy, claiming that the waiter simply hurt himself because he was clumsy. Though attempting to deny the allegations, the waiter proves the truth in Bart's words by falling out the window.
Contents
The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Jeffrey Lynch. The new character Freddy, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, was given the same type of cheekbones and nose as Quimby to make them resemble each other. The episode features cultural references to films such as Westworld, Last Action Hero, and Free Willy, and the fictional characters Huckleberry Finn, Eddie, and Darwin. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver are also referenced in the episode. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 10.1, and was the fifth-highest rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
Plot
On a sunny day in Springfield, Bart is not excited about going to school, in part because he has to travel there on a prison bus. When arriving at school, Bart forges a note claiming a dentist appointment so that he can skip school, but Principal Skinner is not convinced. Skinner chases Bart through Springfield, and as he finally corners him, Bart jumps into a passing car. The car is driven by Freddy Quimby, nephew of Mayor Quimby, who is going to his birthday party. At lunch, Freddy is served chowder, but he ridicules the waiter for saying it with a French accent. He then follows the waiter into the kitchen, and apparently beats him up. Bart, hiding under a table, secretly witnesses the true turn of events. Freddy is charged with the crime, presumably assault and battery, and is put on trial.
The whole town seems to believe that Freddy is guilty, though only Bart knows otherwise, and he confesses to Lisa that he is the only one who can prove Freddy's innocence. He does not want to testify, however, because he would have to admit that he skipped school, and face punishment from Skinner. At the trial, the jury consists of Homer, Skinner, Hans Moleman, Ned Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Jasper, Patty, Apu and Akira. Homer votes against the others, resulting in a deadlock so that the jury is sequestered at a hotel with free room service and cable television. In court, Lisa convinces Bart to testify, and Bart tells everyone that Freddy did not assault the waiter, but that the waiter injured himself in a series of clumsy actions. The waiter attempts to deny that he is clumsy, but in the process, he falls out of the window into an open-roof truck filled with rat traps. Freddy is cleared of all charges, and Skinner gives Bart four months detention, but he praises him for being honest and coming forward.
Production
"The Boy Who Knew Too Much" was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Jeffrey Lynch. Executive producer David Mirkin "loved" that the whole situation of Bart seeing the waiter injure himself and not telling the truth ties together with the Homer plot in that it causes Homer to get jury duty and then only caring about going to the hotel. Mirkin thought it "worked really well". The new character Freddy was voiced by The Simpsons cast member Dan Castellaneta, who also provides the voice of Mayor Quimby. Freddy was given the same type of cheekbones and nose as Quimby to make them resemble each other. When Bart is fleeing from Skinner, a shot of Bart running down a hill from the season four episode "Kamp Krusty" was re-used. At the release of season five on DVD, a review described the image as possibly the "best the series has ever looked on DVD". However, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" was one of the few episodes in which technical issues still remained; for example, Bart and Lisa's image was fuzzy toward the beginning, and the episode featured for the last time "some of the hand drawn dimensions that would be eliminated once the show switched over to digital compositing and desktop cartoon creation".
Reception
In its original broadcast, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" finished fiftieth in the ratings for the week of May 2–8, 1994, with a Nielsen rating of 10.1, equivalent to approximately 9.5 million viewing households. It was the fifth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following Married... with Children, Living Single, Melrose Place and Beverly Hills, 90210.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, praised the episode for containing "a memorable guest character in the French waiter Monsieur Lacosse, two great slapstick sequences involving the same, and displays Principal Skinner — pursuing Bart across the mountains like 'a non-giving-up school guy', and confessing that in some ways he's "a small man; a petty, small man" — in particularly fine form." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson thought Freddy Quimby "may well be the most unpleasant character to grace the series — in an amusing way, though Freddy’s edginess makes him less amusing than his uncle. It’s rather startling to see Skinner so rapidly resume his dislike of Bart after the last episode, though. It’s fun to see his superhuman powers in the pursuit of Bart, and the mystery aspects of the show help make it a very good one. Add to that Homer on jury duty for even more entertainment." Patrick Bromley of DVD Verdict gave the episode a grade of A for its "excellent bits thrown together to make this one, joke for joke, one of the season's funniest". In 2007, Patrick Enright of MSNBC called it his tenth favorite episode of the show. He said it was a perfect example of the show's "hilarious randomness" because of jokes such as Homer singing the Meow Mix cat food jingle, and the scene in which Homer discovers that if the jury’s deadlocked, they will be sequestered in a luxury hotel. Homer justifies his decision to be the lone dissenting voice by saying, "I’m only doing what I think is right. I believe Freddy Quimby should walk out of here a free hotel (when he should have said a 'free man')."