Bart the Fink
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"Bart the Fink" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons
Synopsis
When Great Aunt Hortense dies, each member of the family receives $100 to do with as they like. Though the kids have other ideas, Marge has them open bank accounts. Bart is excited by his new checking account and begins writing checks for his friends and even bully Jimbo Jones.Bart goes to ask Krusty the Clown for his autograph, but the clown is having a new burger named after him and has to leave. Just before he does, Bart slips a check for 25 cents into Krusty's pocket, figuring that he'll receive a copy of it--endorsed by Krusty--with his monthly bank statement.
Instead, however, the check is endorsed with a stamp--"Cayman Islands Off-Shore Holding Corporation". Angry, Bart takes it back to the bank so that they can make Krusty sign it. Suspicious, a bank teller investigates, and within minutes Krusty is arrested for tax fraud.
He discovers that though he will not be going to prison ("Krusty," an IRS agent assures him, "This is America. We don't send our celebrities to jail!") his salary will be garnished by as much as 95% for 40 years. Ruined, unable to maintain his "swanky lifestyle", and living on the streets, Krusty mans his private airplane one night and appears to fly directly into a mountain.
Everyone assumes that Krusty is dead, but Bart believes otherwise when he begins to see a very Krusty-like man all over town. He and Lisa discover that he has gone into hiding as Rory B. Bellows, a grizzled old longshore worker. They finally convince him to return to his former life but wonder aloud what he will do about his tax problem. "Don't sweat it," says Krusty. "The life of Rory B. Bellows is insured for a surprisingly large amount." Behind them, Rory's houseboat explodes.
The title of the episode is a play on the film Barton Fink. The film was also mentioned in the earlier episode "Brother from the Same Planet".
One of the episode's gags was described by Matt Groening in a DVD Commentary as "one of the most frightening things" he has ever seen. The gag is Bart flipping 25 cents into Handsome Pete's can, with Captain McCallister replying "Not a quarter, he'll be dancing for hours!"
Quotes
- Milhouse: A million dollars? Gee, thanks Bart, I owe you one.
Bart: Now remember that's a postdated check. Don't cash it 'til the year 10,000.
Milhouse: Okay. [checks his watch] - Cayman Islands guy: [on phone] I'm sorry, but I cannot divulge information about that customer's secret, illegal account! [hangs up] Oh, crap. I shouldn't have said he was a customer! Oh, crap. I shouldn't have said it was a secret! Oh, crap! I certainly shouldn't have said it was illegal! [sighs] It's too hot today.
- Chief Wiggum: OK, folks, show's over. Nothing to see here, shows... Oh, my God! A horrible plane crash! Hey, everybody, get a load of this flaming wreckage! Come on, crowd around, crowd around! Don't be shy, crowd around!
- Homer: Don't worry boy Krusty's in heaven with all the other celebrities: John Dillinger, Ty Cobb, Josef Stalin, sigh, I wish I were dead.
- Captain McCallister: Not a quarter! Yar, he'll be dancing for hours.
External links
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