"The Telltale Head"
The Simpsons episode
A guilty Bart watches as Springfield residents discover the beheaded Jebediah Springfield statue
Episode no.	8
Prod. code	7G07
Orig. airdate	February 25, 1990[1]
Written by	Al Jean Mike Reiss Sam Simon Matt Groening
Directed by	Rich Moore
Chalkboard	"I did not see Elvis"[2]
Couch gag	Bart is squeezed off the couch, flies out of frame, and lands in front of the TV.
DVD commentary	Rich Moore Al Jean Mike Reiss
Season 1 December 17, 1989 – May 13, 1990 "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" "Bart the Genius" "Homer's Odyssey" "There's No Disgrace Like Home" "Bart the General" "Moaning Lisa" "The Call of the Simpsons" "The Telltale Head" "Life on the Fast Lane" "Homer's Night Out" "The Crepes of Wrath" "Krusty Gets Busted" "Some Enchanted Evening" List of all The Simpsons episodes
Seasons 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21

"The Telltale Head" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons' first season, and it originally aired February 25, 1990.^[1] It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon, Matt Groening, and directed by Rich Moore.^[2] In the episode, Bart cuts the head off of the statue in the center of town to impress Jimbo Jones, Kearney Zzyzwicz, and Dolphin "Dolph" Starbeam, three children Bart admires. When the children tell Bart that they would "break every bone in the body of the person who cut the head off the statue" (unaware Bart stole the head), Bart sees the error of his ways. After telling his family, Homer and Bart head to the center of town, where they are met by a mob. After Bart tells the mob he has made a mistake, the townspeople forgive Bart.^[1] The episode's title is a reference to the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe.^[3]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Reception 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Plot

Homer and Bart are chased through the streets of Springfield by an angry mob while carrying the head of the statue of their town founder, Jebediah Springfield. Surrounded by the surly crowd, Bart pleads for understanding and relates the events of the previous day. The tale begins when Bart sneaks a radio into church which is quickly caught by Marge. Homer who is still in the car listening to the football game decides to sneak the radio himself and manages to embarrass Marge when he loudly celebrates his team winning in the middle of the sermon. Afterwards, Bart borrows $5 from Homer and sneaks away to see Space Mutants IV at the local movie theater. On his way to the movie he runs into a gang of troublemakers. One of them, Jimbo, invites Bart to sneak into the movies with him and his buddies.

Later, as the boys throw rocks at Jebediah's statue and watch clouds, Jimbo wishes someone would cut off the statue's head. When Bart tries to defend the town's hero, Jimbo and the boys laugh at him and say "I thought you were cool." Later during the night Bart sneaks out of the house and saws the statue's head off.

The next day, all of Springfield grieves the horrible deed done on the town founder. Bart finds Jimbo and his pals and discovers they are as distraught as everyone else. Jimbo tells Bart that the decapitating was just cloud talk and they hope to meet the one who did this, so they can break every bone in his body. Feeling scared, Bart decides not to tell. Feeling remorse, Bart returns home and confesses to his family. As Homer, who also feels more than a little responsible for this incident, takes Bart to place the head back on the statue, they are confronted by the angry mob. Bart tells the crowd that his act has united the town and taught people to appreciate their heritage. The townspeople agree, the head is placed back onto the statue, and Bart is forgiven.^[1][2]

[edit] Production

The idea to have the episode in flashbacks was originally thought up in the color screening stage of production.^[4] This is the first episode directed by Rich Moore.^[5] This is the first time Jebediah Springfield is mentioned, as well as the first time the Simpsons went to church. The announcer of the football game Homer is listening to at church is based on Keith Jackson.^[6] Bart awakening and finding the head of Jebediah Springfield in bed next to him is a reference to the famous scene in The Godfather where Jack Woltz, a Jewish movie producer, finds the head of his prize racehorse next to him one morning.^[3]

This is the first episode of the series in which Sideshow Bob, Reverend Timothy Lovejoy, Krusty the Clown (But did appear in shorts.), Jimbo Jones, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Dolphin "Dolph" Starbeam, Ms. Albright, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon appear.^[2]

[edit] Reception

Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, said they enjoyed: "the Simpsons [being] grossly dysfunctional in church, Homer dispensing terrible advice, and a real moral dilemma for Bart."^[2] In a DVD review of the first season, David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 3/5 and added that "This is a strange episode, touching on many bizarre aspects of the show to come".^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Telltale Head

• "The Telltale Head" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
• "The Telltale Head" at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Telltale Head" at The Simpsons.com
• "The Telltale Head" at TV.com