"Stealing First Base" is the fifteenth episode of the twenty-first 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 Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

''. 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 a ...

in the United States on March 21, 2010. In this episode, Bart falls in love with a girl named Nikki from a second fourth-grade class, but when he kisses her, Nikki begins treating Bart like dirt. Meanwhile, First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

teaches Lisa that there is no shame in being an overachiever, and

Nelson Muntz Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and the lead school bully from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', where he is best known for his signature mocking laugh "Ha-ha!". He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was first int ...

teaches a blind boy how to be a schoolyard bully. The episode was written by

John Frink John Frink (born May 5, 1959) is an American television writer and producer. He has written several episodes of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', many of which he co-wrote with his former writing partner Don Payne. Frink and Payne ...

and directed by

Steven Dean Moore Steven Dean Moore is an American animation director. His credits include 65 episodes of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and several episodes of the Nickelodeon series ''Rugrats'' (1991–2004). Moore was also one of four sequence ...

. The episode was also watched by 5.69 million households and received a 2.8/8 in the 18-49

Nielsen Rating 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 rati ...

. The episode received mixed reviews from critics. The episode guest stars

Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Silverman was a writer and performer on '' Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced '' The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 t ...

as Nikki and

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic '' What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

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 ''Barth ...

's fourth-grade class is merged with another fourth-grade class when teacher

Mrs. Krabappel Edna Krabappel-Flanders ( Krabappel; ) is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Marcia Wallace from 1990 until her death in October 2013. She was a 4th-grade teacher, who taught Bart Simpson's class a ...

is absent. In the crowded classroom, Bart is forced to sit by a new student named Nikki. At first, they dislike each other, until Nikki admires Bart's artistic skills. Bart seeks romance advice from

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 ...

, who passes him off to Grandpa Abe. After Grandpa advises Bart to kiss Nikki, however, when Bart does so after the two

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboar ...

together, she recoils in disgust. Nikki's attorney's parents threaten to sue the school unless it is declared an "affection-free environment". Superintendent Chalmers causes a play in which Willie plays Nikki and Skinner plays Bart who was strangled by Homer after calling him a “Fatso”, meaning they are forced to kiss. Bart is confused at the outcome of this seemingly innocent action, and his confusion is later amplified when Nikki hides in his locker and kisses him again. Meanwhile, Lisa becomes popular when she receives an F on a test, but becomes unpopular again when it is revealed that her test was mistakenly given to

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

, as both tests were mixed up as the F grade was supposed to be given to Ralph who had written Lisa's name on his test. Angry about being ostracized for being an

overachiever Overachievers are individuals who "perform better or achieve more success than expected." The implicit presumption is that the "overachiever" is achieving superior results through excessive effort. In a teaching context, an "overachiever" is an edu ...

once again, Lisa blogs about it, and her post is noted by a mysterious blogger known as

Flotus The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

1 who turns out to be First Lady

. Obama drops by Springfield Elementary to give a speech about the importance of academics and recommends that the students should be nice to Lisa and other overachievers like her friends,

Martin Prince 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 writ ...

and

Allison Taylor Allison Taylor is a fictional character portrayed by Cherry Jones on the TV series '' 24''. The first female President of the United States within the ''24'' universe and a Republican, she took office in the TV movie, '' 24: Redemption'' and se ...

. Bart and Nikki have been watching this speech from the roof, and Bart confesses to Nikki he does not understand her ever-changing moods. They argue and Bart stumbles, falling off the roof. Nikki says "I love you," but seeing that Bart is breathing treats him badly again. Bart stops breathing again, but the school's "no-touch" policy prevents anyone from performing

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

. Nikki defies the policy and revives Bart via mouth-to-mouth, thus setting off a montage of kiss scenes from various movies, some of which (such as

Alien 3 ''Alien 3'' (stylized as ''A''LIEN³) is a 1992 American science fiction horror film directed by David Fincher and written by David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, from a story by Vincent Ward. It stars Sigourney Weaver, reprising h ...

) never even had kiss scenes in them. When Bart awakes, Nikki's mood changes yet again and Bart remains in a state of complete confusion over female behavior. He tells her he does not care what happens between her and him, but then changes his mind and yells out "I love you!" after she kisses him once again. Throughout the episode, Nelson Muntz has befriended a

blind Blind may refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop * ''Blind' ...

boy and teaches him how to laugh at the misfortunes of others. In the end, the blind boy tricks Nelson into believing that a punch he sustained after insulting Nelson restored his sight. When he reveals to Nelson that this was a prank and laughs at Nelson's signature "haw haw", Nelson is as impressed as he is touched by the achievement.

Production

The episode is written by

and directed by

, his second director credit for the season after "

O Brother, Where Bart Thou? "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" is the eighth episode of the twenty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Being the last episode to air in the 2000s, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States o ...

". The episode features guest star

as Nikki (Bart's crush) and

. In September 2016, executive producer

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...

told '' Variety'' that the crew had been "aggressive" in trying to get Obama to voice herself, and received a rejection note saying "good try".

Cultural references

In the classroom, Nikki shows Bart a book about vampires which looks like the ''Twilight'' series book ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclip ...

'', which reads ''Red Moon''. In the scene where Nikki performs

on Bart, recreations of kissing scenes from a variety of films and television shows are shown. These scenes are (in order); ''

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three U.S. ...

'' (1953), ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' (1939), ''

The Quiet Man ''The Quiet Man'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen. The screenplay by Frank S. Nugent was based on a 1933 ''Saturday Eveni ...

'' (1952), ''

Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Ha ...

'' (1955), ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'' (1968), '' On Golden Pond'' (1981), ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul (spirit), soul or spirit of a dead Human, person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visibl ...

'' (1990), '' Spider-Man'' (2002), ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...

'' (2009), ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...

'' (1987–1990), ''

The Public Enemy ''The Public Enemy'' (''Enemies of the Public'' in the UK) is a 1931 American talkie, all-talking Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code gangster film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film was directed by William A. Wellman and stars James Ca ...

'' (1931), ''

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

'' (2008), ''

'' (1992), '' The Godfather: Part II'' (1974), and an ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' (1971–1979) episode in which

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

guest starred. The sequence, and the accompanying musical score, are a nod to ''

Cinema Paradiso ''Cinema Paradiso'' ( it, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, , literally "New Paradise Cinema") is a 1988 coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Set in a small Sicilian town, the film centers on the friendship between a young bo ...

'' (1988), directed by

Giuseppe Tornatore Giuseppe Tornatore (born 27 May 1956) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the directors who brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema.Katz, Ephraim, "Italy," ''The Film Encyclopedia'' (New York: HarperR ...

, with score by Ennio and

Andrea Morricone Andrea Morricone (born 10 October 1964) is an Italian composer and conductor, known for his film scores. He is the third child, and second son, of late composer and Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards f ...

. The ''Itchy & Scratchy'' cartoon is a parody of the 1982 film '' Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance'', here titled ''Koyaanis-Scratchy: Death Out of Balance''.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "Stealing First Base" was watched by 5.69 million households getting a 2.8/8 in the 18-49

. The episode came in second in its time slot and was the second most-watched show on Fox that night, after a new episode of ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ...

''. Emily VanDerWerff 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 cr ...

'' criticized the episode, giving it a C+, calling the harassment storyline "pointless and stupid" although praised the Nelson subplot. However, Jason Hughes of HuffPostTV praised the storyline, writing "I applaud the series for facing such an issue with such intensity, and handling it with humor and compassion". 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 dist ...

gave the episode an 8 out of 10, saying that "Nikki turned out to be a fun and memorable character." Overall he stated that "Although ‘Stealing First Base’ fed us some old ideas, it did so with a lot of great bits...and some very strong guest voices."

Soundtrack

The scene where Bart and Nikki were performing a skateboard

parkour Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing ...

contains the song "

Chase Chase or CHASE may refer to: Businesses * Chase Bank, a national bank based in New York City, New York * Chase Aircraft (1943–1954), a defunct American aircraft manufacturing company * Chase Coaches, a defunct bus operator in England * Chase Co ...

" by

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the " Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had ...

on the original FOX broadcast. When the episode is shown in syndication, "Chase" is replaced by a musically similar composition. The classical music that is heard during the montage of movie kiss scenes is from ''

'' - "Love Theme", composed by

References

External links

* {{The Simpsons episodes, 21 The Simpsons (season 21) episodes 2010 American television episodes