"The Good, the Sad and the Drugly" is the seventeenth episode of the
twentieth 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 437th episode overall. 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 April 19, 2009. In the episode,
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 ...
sets up
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 ...
to take the fall for a prank the two of them pulled, and the duo's friendship becomes strained when Bart falls for a charitable girl named Jenny. He starts making her think he is actually good and not bad. Meanwhile,
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
becomes depressed when she finds articles on the Internet predicting that
Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
will suffer from catastrophic events in fifty years.
The episode was written by
Marc Wilmore
Marc Edward Wilmore (May 4, 1963 – January 30, 2021) was an American television writer, producer, actor, and comedian. He wrote and performed for shows such as ''In Living Color'', ''The PJs'', ''The Simpsons'', and ''F Is for Family''. Wilmore ...
and directed by
Rob Oliver
Rob Oliver (born 1977) is a director for ''The Simpsons''. He has also been a character layout artist, storyboard artist, assistant director, second unit director, and technical director over the course of his long career on the show. He graduat ...
. It features actress
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...
as Jenny.
"The Good, the Sad and the Drugly" received generally mixed reviews from critics for its similarities with other episodes. According to the
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, the episode was watched by 6.50 million households in its original airing.
Plot
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 ...
and
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 ...
loosen every bolt and screw in Springfield Elementary, leading to mass chaos when the building and its contents fall apart. Milhouse is apprehended by
Principal Skinner
Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, an ...
, and suspended from school for a week to be subsequently grounded. Bart, whose involvement with the prank was not discovered, promises to visit Milhouse every day.
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 ...
drops Bart off at Springfield Retirement Castle to visit
Grampa. There, Bart is immediately smitten with a kind and charitable girl named Jenny. Bart makes a concerted effort to appear "good" to Jenny, demonstrating his newfound good nature by defending ducklings and eventually inviting Jenny over for dinner. However, Milhouse shows up on Bart and Jenny's dates, threatening to reveal Bart's true, dark nature because Bart forgot to visit him during his suspension. Eventually, Bart confesses to Jenny that he was actually bad before he met her and only pretended to be good to start a relationship. He continues to say that he is changed completely because of being with her. Shocked by this revelation, Jenny, though momentarily pleased by Bart's honesty, cannot forgive him, and angrily dumps him, leaving him heartbroken.
Meanwhile,
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
is assigned to write a report on what
Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
will look like in the year 2059. When she discovers online reports about war, poverty and environmental disasters, she is filled with anxiety and depression and terrifies her classmates with her dark, morbid visions of the future. Homer and
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 ...
take her to a psychiatrist, who prescribes Lisa "happy pills". Lisa is initially skeptical, but after taking her first pill she loses touch with her problems and sees everything as smiley faces. In her love-induced stupor, she nearly kisses a running fan held by
Maggie
Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret.
Maggie may refer to:
People
Women
* Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician
* Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist
* Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aust ...
, until a horrified Marge finally intervenes by taking Lisa off the medication.
Bart drowns his sorrows on a couple of
Shrek
''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenso ...
Squishees at the
Kwik-E-Mart
The Kwik-E-Mart (spelled "Quick-E-Mart" in " Bart the General") is a convenience store in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''.
It is a parody of American convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven and Cumberland Farms, and depicts many of t ...
where a recovering Lisa tells him that they cannot be in despair about certain issues and should just move on. Bart decides to take Lisa's advice, and leaves after buying a bouquet of roses, and apologizes to Jenny off-screen for lying to her about his true character and Milhouse for his neglect to visit him. In the end, Bart gives the roses to Milhouse, and the two friends reconcile and play a prank together, repeatedly driving an ice resurfacer over the floor of the school to turn it into an indoor ice rink for the school kids.
Production
![Anne Hathaway at MIFF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Anne_Hathaway_at_MIFF.jpg)
"The Good, the Sad and the Drugly" was written by
Marc Wilmore
Marc Edward Wilmore (May 4, 1963 – January 30, 2021) was an American television writer, producer, actor, and comedian. He wrote and performed for shows such as ''In Living Color'', ''The PJs'', ''The Simpsons'', and ''F Is for Family''. Wilmore ...
and directed by
Rob Oliver
Rob Oliver (born 1977) is a director for ''The Simpsons''. He has also been a character layout artist, storyboard artist, assistant director, second unit director, and technical director over the course of his long career on the show. He graduat ...
. In September 2008, it was announced that
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...
would guest star as Bart's girlfriend in a future episode.
Hathaway, who has been a ''Simpsons'' fan since
the shorts on ''
The Tracey Ullman Show
''The Tracey Ullman Show'' is an American television variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, the network's second original primetime series to air following '' Married... with Children'', and ran until May 26, ...
'', said that she grew up watching ''The Simpsons'' with her brothers, and said that "it stuck with me...high school, college, post, everything. I always stop whenever it's on." She said that she "flipped out" when she was offered a guest role and that it "might be the most
..exciting thing" that has ever happened to her. The episode marked the first time she did a voice-over to an animation that was not animated beforehand. Hathaway described her character Jenny as a "good girl" but "not necessarily bland" and "a little complicated,
nda little judgemental".
Reception
According to the
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, "The Good, the Sad and the Drugly" was watched by 6.50 million households in its original in the United States on April 19, 2009.
It received a 3.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic, and was the second most-watched series in the ''Animation Domination'' block.
Erich Asperschlager of ''TV Verdict'' said that it "isn't a bad episode
..It's just not very original", as he thought it "borrows heavily" from past episodes, stating: "I'll gladly defend the show against those who say it's no longer funny, but episodes like this make it hard to defend against those who say that 20 seasons on it's just more of the same."
Robert Canning of ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' gave the episode 7.5/10, and said that "a lot of the basic ideas found in ‘The Good, the Sad and the Drugly’ have been mined before in episodes of ''The Simpsons'', but said that the episode "was using the classic episodes as an inspiration and not simply ripping them off."
Canning said that Hathaway "did a fine job", but said that "there was nothing extreme in the part that she was called upon to perform, so in essence Jenny could have been performed by anybody."
Genevieve Koski 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 ...
'' face the episode a B+, stating that the episode "’Good, Sad and Drugly’ benefited from a pretty straightforward A story—no weird digressions or preludes that go nowhere—and a minimum of Homer-centric buffoonery. Keeping the action focused on Bart kept things simple and damn near heartwarming at times, particularly the nice capper where he goes to apologize to Milhouse instead of trying to win back Jenny. It was a nice reminder of the humanity that used to pulse beneath The Simpsons, before it transitioned to the more manic, sometimes cynical show we see today."
References
General
*
Specific
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Good The Sad And The Drugly, The
The Simpsons (season 20) episodes
2009 American television episodes