"Bull-E" is the twenty-first episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'', and the 573rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on the

Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

in the United States on May 10, 2015. The title is a reference to the

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

movie ''

WALL-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...

''.

Plot

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...

is not excited about going to his first school dance, but after he accidentally destroys the orange drink machine that

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

's mom's fiancé brought over, a 5th grade girl is impressed and asks him to dance. Bart then wins the "Best Dancer" trophy and his date asks him to meet her outside, but the bullies are waiting for him and they break his trophy and mock him, leading his date to desert him. After a humiliated Bart tells

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932� ...

about the incident, she goes to a

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

meeting and says it is time to make bullies feel scared instead of their victims, and a bill giving the police wide powers to crack down on bullying is passed unanimously.

Chief Wiggum Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sarah ...

starts out by legitimately arresting bullies like

Jimbo Jimbo is a diminutive form of the given name James. It is also a Japanese surname, and it means state or province in Swahili. It may refer to: Given name or nickname * Jimbo (drag queen), Canadian drag queen * Jimbo Aquino (born 1985), Filipin ...

, Kearney, and Dolph after they try to steal Bart and

Milhouse Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class ...

's sleds. However due to how vaguely the law defines a bully, Wiggum soon begins to arrest anyone he wants to even if they are wrongly accused.

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, who has abused the new law on anyone who even mildly inconveniences him, gets a taste of his own medicine when Rod and

Todd Flanders The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

, fed up with how Homer treats their father Ned, have him arrested and sentenced to 90 days of treatment. While in the center, Homer has an epiphany that he is cruel to Ned because his neighbor is better than him in every way. A distraught Homer begs for forgiveness which an angry Ned refuses several times for how he treated him. But after Homer penitently kneels on Ned's lawn for a long stretch, Ned reluctantly forgives him. The Simpsons and the Flanders then join together and have brunch.

Reception

The episode received a 1.2 rating and was watched by a total of 2.77 million people, making it the most watched show on Fox that night. Dennis Perkins of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' gave the episode a B, saying "since the Homer-Flanders dynamic can only stretch so far—Flanders has to stay Flanders, Homer Homer—an episode that sets out to seek an emotionally satisfying rapprochement between the two has to earn its eventual big moment, and "Bull-E" comes up just short." Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode 4.5/5.

References

External links

*
"Bull-E"
at theSimpsons.com {{The Simpsons episodes, 26 2015 American television episodes The Simpsons (season 26) episodes Television episodes about bullying