Bart

Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Bart was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name was an anagram of the word brat. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family received their own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989.

At ten years old, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer and Marge, and the brother of Lisa and Maggie. Bart's most prominent character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness and disrespect for authority. He has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons; including video games, The Simpsons Movie, The Simpsons Ride, commercials, and comic books; and inspired an entire line of merchandise.

In casting, Nancy Cartwright originally planned to audition for the role of Lisa, while Yeardley Smith tried out for Bart. Smith's voice was too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. Cartwright found that Lisa was not interesting at the time, so instead auditioned for Bart, which she thought was a better role. Hallmarks of the character include his chalkboard gags in the opening sequence; his prank calls to Moe the bartender; and his catchphrases "Eat my shorts", "¡Ay, caramba!", and "Don't have a cow, man!"

During the first two seasons of The Simpsons (1989–1991), Bart was the show's breakout character and "Bartmania" ensued. Bart Simpson T-shirts sporting various slogans and catchphrases became popular, selling at a rate of a million per day at their peak. The song "Do the Bartman" became a number one charting single and the seventh best-selling song of 1991 in the United Kingdom. Bart's rebellious attitude and pride at underachieving caused many parents and educators to cast him as a bad role model for children. A T-shirt reading "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" was banned in several public schools. Around the third season, the series started to focus more on the family as a group, although Bart remains one of the most prominent characters on the series. Time named Bart one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century, and he was named "entertainer of the year" in 1990 by Entertainment Weekly. Nancy Cartwright has won several awards for voicing Bart, including a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992 and an Annie Award in 1995. In 2000, Bart, along with the rest of his family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents
[hide]*1 Role in The Simpsons
 * 2 Character
 * 2.1 Creation
 * 2.2 Design
 * 2.3 Voice
 * 2.4 Hallmarks
 * 2.5 Personality
 * 3 Reception and culturalinfluence
 * 3.1 Bartmania
 * 3.2 Bart as a role model
 * 3.3 Commendations
 * 3.4 Merchandising
 * 4 Notes
 * 5 References
 * 6 Further reading
 * 7 External links
 * }

[edit] Role in The Simpsons
The Simpsons uses a floating timeline in which the characters do not age, and as such the show is always assumed to be set in the current year. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific times, though sometimes this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. Bart's year of birth was stated in "I Married Marge" (season three, 1991) as being in the early 1980s.[1] He lived with his parents in the Lower East of Springfield until the Simpsons bought their first house. When Lisa was born, Bart was at first jealous of the attention she received, but he soon warmed to her when he discovered that "Bart" was her first word.[2] Bart's first day of school was in the early 1990s. His initial enthusiasm was crushed by an uncaring teacher and Marge became worried that something was truly wrong with him. One day during recess, Bart met Milhouse and started entertaining him and other students with various gestures and rude words. Principal Skinner told him "you've just started school, and the path you choose now may be the one you follow for the rest of your life! Now, what do you say?" In his moment of truth, Bart responded, "eat my shorts".[3] The episode "That 90's Show" (season nineteen, 2008) contradicted much of the backstory's time frame; for example, it was revealed that Homer and Marge were childless in the early 1990s.[4]

Bart's various hobbies include skateboarding, watching television (especially The Krusty the Clown Show which includes the The Itchy & Scratchy Show), reading comic books (especially Radioactive Man), playing video games and generally causing mischief.[5] For the duration of the series, Bart has attended Springfield Elementary School and has been in Edna Krabappel's fourth grade class. While he is too young to hold a full-time job, he has had occasional part time jobs. He works as a bartender at Fat Tony's social club in "Bart the Murderer" (season three, 1991);[6] as Krusty the Clown's assistant in "Bart Gets Famous" (season five, 1994);[7] as a doorman in Springfield's burlesque house, the Maison Derrière in "Bart After Dark" (season eight, 1996);[8] and briefly owns his own factory in "Homer's Enemy". (season eight, 1997)[9]

[edit] Creation
Matt Groening created Bart while waiting in James L. Brooks' office.Matt Groening first conceived of Bart and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986, while waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show, and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction.[10] He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, naming the characters after members of his own family. For the rebellious son, he substituted "Bart", an anagram of the word brat, for his own name,[10] as he decided it would have been too obvious for him to have named the character Matt.[11]

Bart had originally been envisioned as "a much milder, troubled youth given to existential angst who talks to himself", but the character was changed based on Cartwright's voice acting.[12] Groening has credited several different figures with providing inspiration for Bart: Matt Groening's older brother Mark provided much of the motivation for Bart's attitude.[13] [14] [15] Bart was conceived as an extreme version of the typical misbehaving child character, merging all of the extreme traits of characters such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn into one person.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-sundvd_10-1">[11] Groening describes Bart as "what would happen if Eddie Haskell [from Leave it to Beaver] got his own show".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15">[16] Groening has also said that he found the premise of Dennis the Menace disappointing and was inspired to create a character who was actually a menace.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16">[17] Bart's middle initial J is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, who received their middle initial from Jay Ward.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17">[18] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[19] According to the book Bart Simpson's Guide to Life, Bart's full middle name is JoJo.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19">[20]

Bart made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987 in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[21] In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Bart and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">[22]

[edit] Design
Bart in his first televised appearance in "Good Night".The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[23] The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-americasfirstfamily_9-2">[10] Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. The number was later limited to nine spikes, all of the same size.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[24] At the time Groening was primarily drawing in black and "not thinking that [Bart] would eventually be drawn in color" gave him spikes which appear to be an extension of his head.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[25] The features of Bart's character design are generally not used in other characters; for example, no other characters in current episodes have Bart's spiky hairline, although several background characters in the first few seasons shared the trait.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[26]

The basic rectangular shape of Bart's head is described by director Mark Kirkland as a coffee can. Homer's head is also rectangular (with a dome on top), while spheres are used for Marge, Lisa, and Maggie.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">[27] Different animators have different methods of drawing Bart. Former director Jeffrey Lynch starts off with a box, then adds the eyes, then the mouth, then the hair spikes, ear, and then the rest of the body. Matt Groening normally starts with the eyes, then the nose, and the rest of the outline of Bart's head. Many of the animators have trouble drawing Bart's spikes evenly; one trick they use is to draw one on the right, one on the left, one in the middle, then continue to add one in the middle of the blank space until there are nine. Originally, whenever Bart was to be drawn from an angle looking down so the top of his head was seen, Groening wanted there to be spikes along the outline of his head, and in the middle as well. Instead, Wes Archer and David Silverman drew him so that there was an outline of the spikes, then just a smooth patch in the middle because "it worked graphically."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[28]

In the season seven (1995) episode "Treehouse of Horror VI", Bart (along with Homer) was computer animated into a three dimensional character for the first time for the "Homer3" segment of the episode. The computer animation directors was provided by Pacific Data Images.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3D_28-0">[29] While designing the 3D model of the character, the animators did not know how they would show Bart's hair. They realized that there were vinyl Bart dolls in production and purchased one to use as a model.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3D_28-1">[29]

[edit] Voice
Nancy Cartwright is the voice of Bart Simpson.Bart's voice is provided by Nancy Cartwright, who voices several other child characters on The Simpsons, including Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and Kearney.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29">[30] While the roles of Homer and Marge were given to Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner because they were already a part of The Tracey Ullman Show cast,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Age_30-0">[31] the producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. Yeardley Smith had initially been asked to audition for the role of Bart, but casting director Bonita Pietila believed her voice was too high. Smith later recalled, "I always sounded too much like a girl. I read two lines as Bart and they said, 'Thanks for coming!'"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Smith_31-0">[32] Smith was given the role of Lisa instead.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">[33] On March 13, 1987, Nancy Cartwright went in to audition for the role of Lisa. After arriving at the audition, she found that Lisa was simply described as the "middle child" and at the time did not have much personality. Cartwright became more interested in the role of Bart, who was described as "devious, underachieving, school-hating, irreverent, [and] clever".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33">[34] Matt Groening let her try out for the part instead, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-BBC_News_34-0">[35] Cartwright is the only one of the six main Simpsons cast members who had been professionally trained in voice acting prior to working on the show.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35">[36]

Cartwright's normal speaking voice is said to have "no obvious traces of Bart".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-My_Boy_36-0">[37] The voice came naturally to Cartwright; prior to The Tracey Ullman Show, she had used elements of it in shows such as My Little Pony, Snorks, and Pound Puppies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-My_Boy_36-1">[37] Cartwright describes Bart's voice as easy to perform, saying, "Some characters take a little bit more effort, upper respiratory control, whatever it is technically. But Bart is easy to do. I can just slip into that without difficulty."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-My_Boy_36-2">[37] She traditionally does five or six readings of every line in order to give the producers more to work with.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-BBC_News_34-1">[35] In flashforward episodes, Cartwright still provides the voice of Bart. For "Lisa's Wedding", (season six, 1995) Bart's voice was electronically lowered.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37">[38]

Despite Bart's fame, Cartwright is rarely recognized in public. On occasions when she is recognized on the street and asked to perform Bart's voice in front of children, Cartwright will refuse because it "freaks [them] out".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-My_Boy_36-3">[37] During the first season of The Simpsons, the Fox Network did not allow Cartwright to give interviews because they did not want to publicize that Bart was voiced by a woman.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-38">[39]

Until 1998, Cartwright was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Glaister_39-0">[40] The dispute was resolved and Cartwright received $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Glaister_39-1">[40] The dispute was resolved a month later,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40">[41] and Cartwright's pay rose to $250,000 per episode.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41">[42] After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42">[43]

[edit] Hallmarks
In the opening sequence of many Simpsons episodes, the camera zooms in on Springfield Elementary School, where Bart can be seen writing a message on the chalkboard. This message, which changes from episode to episode, has become known as the "chalkboard gag".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-p71_43-0">[44] Chalkboard messages may involve political humor such as "The First Amendment does not cover burping",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44">[45] pop culture references such as "I can't see dead people",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45">[46] and meta-references such as "I am not a 32 year old woman" and "Nobody reads these anymore".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-p71_43-1">[44] The animators are able to produce the chalkboard gags quickly and in some cases have changed them to fit current events. For example, the chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic" (season four, 1992) read, "I will not defame New Orleans." The gag had been written as an apology to the city for a controversial song in the previous week's episode, which called the city a "home of pirates, drunks and whores".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Martin_46-0">[47] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47">[48] Many episodes do not feature a chalkboard gag because a shorter opening title sequence, where the chalkboard gags are cut, is used to make more room for story and plot development.

One of Bart's early hallmarks were his prank calls to Moe's Tavern owner Moe Szyslak in which Bart calls Moe and asks for a gag name. Moe tries to find that person in the bar, but rapidly realizes it is a prank call and angrily threatens Bart. These calls were based on a series of prank calls known as the Tube Bar recordings. Moe was based partly on Tube Bar owner Louis "Red" Deutsch, whose often profane responses inspired Moe's violent side.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-48">[49] The prank calls debuted in "Homer's Odyssey", (season one, 1990) the third episode to air, but were included in "Some Enchanted Evening", the first episode of the series that was produced.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Some_49-0">[50] As the series progressed, it became more difficult for the writers to come up with a fake name and to write Moe's angry response, so the pranks were dropped as a regular joke during the fourth season.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Some_49-1">[50] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-50">[51] They have occasionally resurfaced on the show, the most recent being the season 20 episode "Lost Verizon" (2008), although in that case Bart called various bartenders around the world and not Moe.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51">[52] Bart's nude scene in The Simpsons Movie.The catchphrase "Eat My Shorts" was an ad-lib by Cartwright in one of the original table readings, harking back to an incident when she was in high school. Cartwright was in the marching band at Fairmont High School, and one day while performing, the band chanted "Eat my shorts" rather than the usual "Fairmont West! Fairmont West!"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Smith_31-1">[32] Bart's other catchphrases, "¡Ay, caramba!" and "Don't have a cow, man!", were featured on t-shirts manufactured during the production of the early seasons of The Simpsons.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52">[53] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Time_53-0">[54] "Cowabunga" is also commonly associated with Bart, although it was only used in the show after it was used as a slogan on the T-shirts.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-BGFCom_54-0">[55] The use of catchphrase-based humor was mocked in the episode "Bart Gets Famous" (season five, 1994) in which Bart lands a popular role on Krusty the Clown's show for saying the line "I didn't do it."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-55">[56] The writers chose the phrase "I didn't do it" because they wanted a "lousy" phrase "to point out how really crummy things can become really popular".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56">[57]

Bart commonly appears nude in the show, although in every case only his buttocks are visible.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-57">[58] In The Simpsons Movie (2007), Bart appears in a sequence where he is skateboarding while fully nude; several different items cover his genitalia, but for a brief moment his penis can be seen. The scene was one of the first worked on for the film, but the producers were very nervous about the segment because they thought it would earn the movie an R rating.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-com_58-0">[59] The film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America and PG by the British Board of Film Classification.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bbfc_59-0">[60] The scene was later included by Entertainment Weekly in their list of "30 Unforgettable Nude Scenes."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60">[61]

[edit] Personality
Like any good punk rocker, Bart had the nihilism thing down from the very beginning. Though not so much pissed off as extremely undisciplined, the Bart Simpson of the Ullman shorts is either fighting with his sister, inciting his father into murderous levels of rage, executing dangerous stunts that end in cartoonish levels of disaster, or simply spitting snarky one-liners at whatever authority figures cross his path. This appetite for destruction continued to be the defining feature of the smart-assed kid who dominated many episodes of the first few seasons of The Simpsons–the version that spawned Bart-mania–though his methods and motivations show considerably more nuance than the white-trash Bart of the Ullman era. —Chris Turner, Planet Simpson<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-p124_61-0">[62] Bart's character traits of rebelliousness and disrespect for authority have been compared to that of America's founding fathers, and he has been described as an updated version of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, rolled into one.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62">[63] In his book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner describes Bart as a nihilist, a philosophical position that argues that existence is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-p124_61-1">[62]

Bart's rebellious attitude has made him a disruptive student at Springfield Elementary School, where Bart is an underachiever and proud of it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Gets_an_F_63-0">[64] He is constantly at odds with his teacher Ms. Krabappel, Principal Skinner, and occasionally Groundskeeper Willie.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64">[65] Bart does poorly in school and is well aware of it, having once declared, "I am dumb, okay? Dumb as a post! Think I'm happy about it?"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Gets_an_F_63-1">[64] On one occasion, Lisa successfully proves that Bart is dumber than a hamster.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Duffless_65-0">[66] In "Separate Vocations" (season three, 1992) Bart becomes hall monitor and his grades go up, suggesting that he struggles mainly because he does not pay attention, not because he is stupid.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vocations_66-0">[67] This idea is reinforced in "Brother's Little Helper", (season eleven, 1999) in which it is revealed that Bart suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67">[68] His lack of smarts can also be attributed to the hereditary "Simpson Gene", which affects the intelligence of most male members of the Simpson family.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68">[69] Although he gets into endless trouble and can be sadistic, shallow and selfish, Bart also exhibits many qualities of high integrity. He has, on a few occasions, helped Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel:<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Confidential_69-0">[70] In "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" (season five, 1994), Bart accidentally got Skinner fired and befriended him outside of the school environment. Bart missed having Skinner as an adversary and got him rehired, knowing that this would mean that the two could no longer be friends.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70">[71]

Due to Bart's mischievousness and Homer's often uncaring and incompetent behavior, the two have a turbulent relationship. Bart will often address Homer by his given name instead of "Dad", while Homer in turn often refers to him as "the boy".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-First_Word_71-0">[72] Homer has a short temper and when enraged by Bart will choke him on impulse in a cartoonish manner.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-72">[73] One of the original ideas for the show was that Homer would be "very angry" and oppressive toward Bart, but these characteristics were toned down somewhat as their characters were explored.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-73">[74] Marge is a much more caring, understanding and nurturing parent than Homer, but she also refers to Bart as "a handful" and is often embarrassed by his antics.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Defined_74-0">[75] In "Marge Be Not Proud", (season seven, 1995) she felt she was mothering Bart too much and began acting more distant towards him after he was caught shoplifting. At the beginning of the episode, Bart protested at her over-mothering but as her attitude changed, he felt bad and made it up to her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-75">[76] Despite his attitude, Bart is sometimes willing to experience humiliation if it means pleasing his mom.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-76">[77] Marge has expressed an understanding for her "special little guy" and has defended him on many occasions. She once said "I know Bart can be a handful, but I also know what he's like inside. He's got a spark. It's not a bad thing... Of course, it makes him do bad things."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Defined_74-1">[75] Bart is a really good kid. He's just mischievous. He's not bad, like characters who followed him such as [Eric Cartman] (South Park) or Beavis and Butthead. Bart can do some nasty things, but they seem so tame, by today's standards. What was shocking 19 years ago, when the show started, isn't the least bit shocking today. Bart hasn't changed. —Nancy Cartwright<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sentinel_77-0">[78] Bart shares a sibling rivalry with his younger sister, Lisa, but has a buddy-like relationship with his youngest sister Maggie, due to her infant state. While Bart has often hurt Lisa, and even fought her physically, the two are often very close.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Duffless_65-1">[66] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-First_Word_71-1">[72] Bart cares for Lisa as deeply and has always apologized for going too far.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Thanksgiving_78-0">[79] He also believes Lisa to be his superior when it comes to solving problems and frequently goes to her for advice.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vocations_66-1">[67] Bart is also highly protective of Lisa: When a bully destroys her box of cupcakes in "Bart the General", (season one, 1990), Bart immediately stands up for her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-General_79-0">[80]

Bart is best friends with Milhouse Van Houten, although Bart has at times shown embarrassment about their friendship.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Summer_80-0">[81] Bart is a bad influence on Milhouse, and the two have been involved in a lot of mischief together. Because of this behavior, Milhouse's mother forbids Milhouse from playing with Bart in "Homer Defined" (season three, 1991). While at first he pretended that he did not care, Bart eventually realizes that he needs Milhouse, and Marge manages to convince Mrs. Van Houten to reconsider.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Defined_74-2">[75] While Bart is portrayed as a popular cool kid,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Summer_80-1">[81] he and Milhouse are frequent targets for bullies, including Dolph, Jimbo, Kearney, and Nelson Muntz. Milhouse describes their social standing as "Three and a half. We get beat up, but we get an explanation."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Confidential_69-1">[70] While Bart and Nelson have been adversaries in the past, with Bart once declaring war on him,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-General_79-1">[80] they have also been close friends at times.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-81">[82]

Bart is one of the biggest fans of children's television host Krusty the Clown. He once declared, "I've based my whole life on Krusty's teachings," and sleeps in a room filled with Krusty merchandise. He has helped the clown on many occasions, for example, foiling Sideshow Bob's attempt to frame Krusty for armed robbery in "Krusty Gets Busted" (season one, 1990), reuniting Krusty with his estranged father in "Like Father, Like Clown".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-LFLC_82-0">[83] and helping Krusty return to the air with a comeback special and reignite his career in "Krusty Gets Kancelled".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KGK_83-0">[84] For his part, Krusty has remained largely ignorant of Bart's help and treats Bart with disinterest.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-LFLC_82-1">[83] One summer, Bart enthusiastically attended Kamp Krusty, which turned out to be a disaster, with Krusty nowhere to be seen. Bart keeps his hopes up by believing that Krusty would show up, but is soon pushed over the edge, and finally decides that he is sick of Krusty's shoddy merchandise and takes over the camp. Krusty immediately visits the camp in hopes of ending the conflict and manages to appease Bart.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KK_84-0">[85] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-85">[86] One of the original ideas for the series was that Bart worshiped a television clown but had no respect for his father, although this was never directly explored.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-NPR_86-0">[87] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-87">[88] Because of this original plan, Krusty's design is basically Homer in clown make-up.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Smith_31-2">[32] When Bart foiled Sideshow Bob's plans in "Krusty Gets Busted", it sparked a long-standing feud between the two. The writers decided to have Bob repeatedly return to get revenge on Bart. They took the idea of the Coyote chasing the Road Runner and depicted Bob an intelligent person obsessed with catching a bratty kid.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-JeanBW_88-0">[89] Bob has appeared in eleven episodes, generally plotting various evil schemes, but is always foiled in the end.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-89">[90]