Difference between revisions of "Bart's Comet"

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{{Quote|'Hurrah for science, woo?' I can't say I approve of the 'woo,' but the 'hurrah' was quite heartening.|[[Principal Skinner]]}}
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{{quote|What's everyone so worked up about? So there's a comet. Big deal. It'll burn up in our atmosphere, and what's ever left will be no bigger than a chihuahua's head.|[[Homer Simpson]]}}
 
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== Synopsis ==
 
== Synopsis ==
{{Synopsis|The townspeople think that [[Springfield]]'s days are numbered when [[Bart]] discovers a [[comet]] is heading straight for them. They must then decide who will brave the comet's arrival and who can stay in the [[Ned Flanders|Flanders]]' bomb shelter.}}
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{{Synopsis|The townspeople think that [[Springfield]]'s days are numbered when [[Bart]] discovers a [[Bart Simpson Comet|comet]] is heading straight for them. They must then decide who will brave the comet's arrival and who can stay in the [[Ned Flanders|Flanders]]' [[Flanders family bomb shelter|bomb shelter]].}}
  
 
== Plot ==
 
== Plot ==
After vandalizing the [[Springfield Elementary School|school's]] new weather balloon, [[Bart]], as usual, is considered the chief suspect. Bart's guilt is proven when he carelessly left plans lying around of how to embarrass [[Principal Skinner]]. As a result, Bart is punished by being made to awaken at the early hours and having to help Skinner while he goes sky watching. Skinner hopes to find something which he could have named after himself. However, he spots the balloon and leaves briefly to try and catch it, telling Bart not to touch the telescope. Bart messes with the telescope, but swirls it in the direction of a comet and reports it, much to Skinner's dismay.
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It is [[Science Week]] at [[Springfield Elementary School]] and [[Principal Skinner]] is getting ready to launch his weather balloon, which even [[Bart Simpson]] is cheering for. Skinner launches the balloon and Bart pulls on a string, which causes parts of it to unfurl and reveal that Bart has vandalized it to make "[[Big Butt Skinner]]", horrifying Skinner. Skinner tells the students that whoever knocks the balloon down won't have to learn fractions, so they all start throwing rocks at it. However, the balloon gets away from the students and Skinner gives Bart detention helping him take astronomical readings at 4:30 in the morning.
  
His discovery makes the papers and he becomes famous among the nerds at school. However, Lisa is the first to realize that the comet is heading for Earth, and is going to decimate the town. Homer comforts his family by saying that the comet will just burn up in the atmosphere and become a rock the size of a Chihuahua's head.
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Bart arrives at school in the early morning to help Skinner. Skinner tells Bart that he's always wanted to discover an astronomical object and have it named after him and that he came close to doing so one time, but someone else beat him to it. So he started bringing a cell phone with him to call the [[Springfield Observatory]] quicker. After an uneventful few hours, Skinner spots something and phones the observatory, only to realize that it's the weather balloon. Skinner realizes the balloon is close to the ground, so he goes to try and catch it, telling Bart not to play with the telescope. Bart ignores him and immediately starts messing with the telescope, only to discover a [[Bart Simpson Comet|comet]] in the sky. Bart calls the observatory and has the comet named the "Bart Simpson Comet", upsetting Skinner when he returns with the weather balloon, causing the balloon to escape again.
  
Springfield officials plan to launch a rocket at the comet, leading to relief and arrogance among the townspeople . Instead of leaving town like they should, the townspeople stay to watch the rocket, but it misses and blows up the only bridge out of town, leaving them doomed.
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After Bart's discovery, [[the Superfriends]] invite Bart to join them, calling him "Cosmos". When [[Database]] asks if Bart could show them the comet one night, Bart tells them to look out the window. The nerds are shocked to see the comet so close to them as this means it's on a collision course with [[Springfield]]. The Superfriends and Bart head to the Springfield Observatory to report it to them and soon an emergency siren is going off in town. A meeting is called at the [[Springfield Town Hall]] where [[Mayor Quimby]] and [[Professor Frink]] reveal a plan to launch a rocket at the comet to break it apart and save the town. This alleviates the fears of the townspeople who all watch the rocket launch. However, the rocket misses the comet and destroys the [[Only Bridge Out of Town]] instead, trapping everyone in Springfield.
  
They all decide to go to a bomb shelter, however the only one in town belongs to [[Ned Flanders]], who is too nice to refuse them. The bomb shelter is too cramped and the door being unable to shut, so the inhabitants decide to evict Ned from his own shelter after discussing who would be unnecessary in the new world. To pass the time, they play a guessing game which instead makes them argue. Feeling guilty about sending Ned to die Homer leaves the shelter, the whole group of people abandon the shelter and join Ned Flanders outside, waiting for the comet to strike and joining him in song. The comet burns up in Springfield's toxic atmosphere and shrinks to the size of a Chihuahua's head, where it first pops Skinner's weather balloon and then it hits the shelter causing it to collapse. Bart puts the remains of his comet into his pocket.
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As the people of Springfield have only six hours to live, the [[House of Representatives]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] has a vote on a bill to evacuate the people of Springfield. However, because congressman [[Bob Arnold]] tacks on a rider for $30 million of taxpayer money to support the perverted arts, the bill is denied. Homer isn't worried as he believes that the comet will burn up in the atmosphere and end up no bigger than a chihuahua's head. Since the rest of the family aren't so convinced, Homer takes them to the [[Flanders family bomb shelter]], which [[Ned]] had built big enough to support both families. As they settle in for the end, more people turn up at the shelter wanting in because they don't have shelters of their own. Ned lets them in and the shelter becomes so full the door can't close. The people try to work out who to kick out of the shelter so they can close the door and eventually settle on Ned.
  
The episode ends with the sick and tired townspeople burning down the observatory to prevent this type of incident from happening again, while Bart and Lisa being astonished, because what Homer said regarding the comet finally came true.
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After Ned is kicked out, he heads to the top of a nearby hill and begins singing "[[Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)]]". Meanwhile, the people in the shelter try to pass the time by playing a barnyard animal guessing game, which leads to arguments. Homer decides to leave the shelter and face the end with Ned, and soon everybody else follows him. As they gather on the hill, the comet begins breaking up in the atmosphere and ends up no bigger than a chihuahua's head, just as Homer predicted. As the townspeople leave to burn down the observatory so this never happens again, Bart pockets the remains of the comet and the Simpsons are worried about Homer's prediction being correct.
  
 
== In other languages ==
 
== In other languages ==

Revision as of 10:34, August 29, 2026

Season 6 Episode
116 "And Maggie Makes Three"
117
"Bart's Comet"
"Homie the Clown" 118
"What's everyone so worked up about? So there's a comet. Big deal. It'll burn up in our atmosphere, and what's ever left will be no bigger than a chihuahua's head."
Homer Simpson


"Bart's Comet"
Bart's Comet.png
Episode Information
Episode number: 117
Season number: S6 E14
Production code: 2F11
Original airdate: February 5, 1995
Chalkboard gag: "Cursive writing does not mean what I think it does"
Couch gag: The family and the room are in the style of a scratchy ol-timey cartoon film.
Showrunner: David Mirkin
Written by: John Swartzwelder
Directed by: Bob Anderson
DVD features

"Bart's Comet" is the fourteenth episode of broadcast season 6 of The Simpsons and the one hundred seventeenth episode overall. It originally aired on February 5, 1995. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Bob Anderson.

Synopsis

The townspeople think that Springfield's days are numbered when Bart discovers a comet is heading straight for them. They must then decide who will brave the comet's arrival and who can stay in the Flanders' bomb shelter.

Plot

It is Science Week at Springfield Elementary School and Principal Skinner is getting ready to launch his weather balloon, which even Bart Simpson is cheering for. Skinner launches the balloon and Bart pulls on a string, which causes parts of it to unfurl and reveal that Bart has vandalized it to make "Big Butt Skinner", horrifying Skinner. Skinner tells the students that whoever knocks the balloon down won't have to learn fractions, so they all start throwing rocks at it. However, the balloon gets away from the students and Skinner gives Bart detention helping him take astronomical readings at 4:30 in the morning.

Bart arrives at school in the early morning to help Skinner. Skinner tells Bart that he's always wanted to discover an astronomical object and have it named after him and that he came close to doing so one time, but someone else beat him to it. So he started bringing a cell phone with him to call the Springfield Observatory quicker. After an uneventful few hours, Skinner spots something and phones the observatory, only to realize that it's the weather balloon. Skinner realizes the balloon is close to the ground, so he goes to try and catch it, telling Bart not to play with the telescope. Bart ignores him and immediately starts messing with the telescope, only to discover a comet in the sky. Bart calls the observatory and has the comet named the "Bart Simpson Comet", upsetting Skinner when he returns with the weather balloon, causing the balloon to escape again.

After Bart's discovery, the Superfriends invite Bart to join them, calling him "Cosmos". When Database asks if Bart could show them the comet one night, Bart tells them to look out the window. The nerds are shocked to see the comet so close to them as this means it's on a collision course with Springfield. The Superfriends and Bart head to the Springfield Observatory to report it to them and soon an emergency siren is going off in town. A meeting is called at the Springfield Town Hall where Mayor Quimby and Professor Frink reveal a plan to launch a rocket at the comet to break it apart and save the town. This alleviates the fears of the townspeople who all watch the rocket launch. However, the rocket misses the comet and destroys the Only Bridge Out of Town instead, trapping everyone in Springfield.

As the people of Springfield have only six hours to live, the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. has a vote on a bill to evacuate the people of Springfield. However, because congressman Bob Arnold tacks on a rider for $30 million of taxpayer money to support the perverted arts, the bill is denied. Homer isn't worried as he believes that the comet will burn up in the atmosphere and end up no bigger than a chihuahua's head. Since the rest of the family aren't so convinced, Homer takes them to the Flanders family bomb shelter, which Ned had built big enough to support both families. As they settle in for the end, more people turn up at the shelter wanting in because they don't have shelters of their own. Ned lets them in and the shelter becomes so full the door can't close. The people try to work out who to kick out of the shelter so they can close the door and eventually settle on Ned.

After Ned is kicked out, he heads to the top of a nearby hill and begins singing "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)". Meanwhile, the people in the shelter try to pass the time by playing a barnyard animal guessing game, which leads to arguments. Homer decides to leave the shelter and face the end with Ned, and soon everybody else follows him. As they gather on the hill, the comet begins breaking up in the atmosphere and ends up no bigger than a chihuahua's head, just as Homer predicted. As the townspeople leave to burn down the observatory so this never happens again, Bart pockets the remains of the comet and the Simpsons are worried about Homer's prediction being correct.

In other languages

Language Name Translation
Germany.png Deutsch "Barts Komet" Bart's Comet
Spain flag.png Español "El cometa de Bart" Bart's Comet
Hispanic America.gif Español "El cometa de Bart" Bart's Comet
France.png Français "La Comète de Bart" Bart's Comet
Flag of Quebec.svg.png Français "La Comète Bart" Bart's Comet
Italy Flag.png Italiano "La cometa di Bart" Bart's comet
Brasil Flag.png Português "O cometa Bart" Bart's Comet
Flag of Japan.png 日本語 "スプリングフィールド最期の日" Springfield's last day


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has 38 images related to "Bart's Comet".
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Production season 2F Episodes
Itchy & Scratchy Land Sideshow Bob Roberts Treehouse of Horror V Bart's Girlfriend Lisa on Ice Homer Badman Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy Fear of Flying Homer the Great And Maggie Makes Three Bart's Comet Homie the Clown Bart vs. Australia Homer vs. Patty and Selma Lisa's Wedding Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One) Radioactive Man Two Dozen and One Greyhounds The PTA Disbands Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two) The Springfield Connection Lemon of Troy A Star Is Burns 'Round Springfield Another Simpsons Clip Show