In "Bart the Genius" can be seen the seeds that would go onto define the greatness of The Simpsons. While the animation is still rough and lacks the beautiful smoothness of the majority of the show's golden age, and while some of the voice work is not what would go onto become a staple of the series (namely Homer's very deep voice in these episodes), the episode manages to bring forth the heart that has made the series a timeless staple of media.
The single greatest aspect of the episode is Bart and the episode perfectly nails everything that has made the character so endearing and enduring. He's a troublemaker, he's lazy, he craves a relationship with his father, he tries to be better and ultimately admits to his own mistakes. In this episode, Bart swaps an IQ test with class genius Martin and due to 'his' remarkable results is given the chance to attend an intellectual school for gifted kids. He accepts when he realizes the freelance nature of studying and very soon comes to realize his place there.
The part of the episode in which Homer begins to dote on his son and the two share a healthy and touching relationship is a story that the show would come to time and time again, always to great success. Here it works but perhaps not as well as when the show REALLY finds its footing.
While the episode can be a little dry on humour, there's some amusing moments with Homer such as the joke about his atrociously childish handwriting or the doctor casually insulting Homer's intelligence by suggesting that Bart's genius bears no resemblance on his heredity. More importantly, there's great heart behind this episode and while the episode isn't quite part of the show's Golden Age, it's still pretty impressive.
The single greatest aspect of the episode is Bart and the episode perfectly nails everything that has made the character so endearing and enduring. He's a troublemaker, he's lazy, he craves a relationship with his father, he tries to be better and ultimately admits to his own mistakes. In this episode, Bart swaps an IQ test with class genius Martin and due to 'his' remarkable results is given the chance to attend an intellectual school for gifted kids. He accepts when he realizes the freelance nature of studying and very soon comes to realize his place there.
The part of the episode in which Homer begins to dote on his son and the two share a healthy and touching relationship is a story that the show would come to time and time again, always to great success. Here it works but perhaps not as well as when the show REALLY finds its footing.
While the episode can be a little dry on humour, there's some amusing moments with Homer such as the joke about his atrociously childish handwriting or the doctor casually insulting Homer's intelligence by suggesting that Bart's genius bears no resemblance on his heredity. More importantly, there's great heart behind this episode and while the episode isn't quite part of the show's Golden Age, it's still pretty impressive.