The Telltale Head

The Telltale Head is the eighth episode of Season 1. It was planned to be the seventh episode of the season. This is the first episode of the series in which Sideshow Bob, Reverend Timothy Lovejoy, Jimbo Jones, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Dolph Starbeam, Ms. Albright, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon appear for the first time. This was also the first appearance of Krusty the Clown (if not counting the Ullman short The Krusty the Clown Show).
==Synopsis==
While cornered by the entire town, Bart tells the story of how he cut off the head of the Jebediah Springfield statue to impress local thugs, Dolph, Jimbo Jones, and Kearney.
== Full Story ==
The episode begins with Homer and Bart walking on a sidewalk in downtown Springfield at nighttime. Bart has the head of a statue in his arms. As the pair turn the corner a furious mob advances on them. Homer and Bart are forced to turn and flee. Then the mob corners Homer and Bart in the town square next to the headless Jebediah Springfield statue. As the mob slowly advances, Bart climbs onto the statue and begs everyone to listen to his story.
===Act One===
While the rest of the family prepare to go to church, Homer is preoccupied with a football game. On the way into church, Marge confiscates Bart's portable radio with earphones and gives them to Homer. During Sunday school, the teacher and students discuss the topic of who is allowed in Heaven. Back in the church, the sermon is about sports gambling; Homer is oblivious because he is using Bart's headphones to listen to the game. On the way home from church Marge expresses her disapproval of Homer's headphones and Bart sees that the movie theater is playing “Space Mutants 4”. As Bart wants to see it, Homer doesn't care but Marge refuses. Homer gives Bart $5 and he heads to the theater on his skateboard. Upon arrival, he encounters Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney. When Bart makes a good impression on Jimbo, the trio invite him to sneak into Space Mutants 4 with them.
===Act Two===
After the manager finds and kicks the four out of the movie theater for not paying, they go to Kwik-E-Mart, where Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney shoplift several goods as Bart buys Squishees to distract Apu. Bart meets with them in the parking lot and realizes he was used as a distraction to help them steal from the store, and in an effort to stay cool with the group he doesn't say anything. They wander over to the town square to throw rocks at the statue of the town's founder, Jebediah Springfield. Once again Bart goes along with the group so they will like him. After throwing the rock, Mr. Dandy tells them off and the four are scared away. Later while the group lays at the Grassy Hilled Area, while watching clouds one of the kids says it would be cool if somebody cut the head off of the statue. When Bart hears this he defends Jebediah, and then the other three ridicule and tease him for it. Bart walks away embarrassed. When Bart walks home by himself he passes by the statue again, and after thinking about what the kids said earlier he gets an idea. Bart arrives home and talks to Homer in the kitchen about the importance of being popular. Homer tells Bart that no matter what it takes popularity is the most important thing in life. While the Simpsons are asleep, Bart, disguised in a ninja outfit, heads to the town square and climbs to the top of the statue then decapitates Jebediah using a hack saw. When he pushes the head down, Bart guiltily asks himself what he has done. 
===Act Three===
The next morning Bart wakes up in bed next to the head of Jebediah (an homage to “The Godfather”). Bart heads downstairs to the kitchen with the head in his backpack where everyone is eating breakfast when a report comes over the radio announcing the decapitation of the town statue. Bart starts to get nervous when he sees how everyone in the family becomes angry after hearing the report. Scenes from Moe's bar and the Springfield retirement home reveal that everyone else is upset about the statue as well. In town Bart meets up with Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney and is about to show them the head when he hears them say they were just kidding about decapitating the statue and would like to pound whoever stole Jebediah's head. When Jimbo asks Bart what's in his backpack, a voice in Bart's head responds to him, which turns out to be Bart's guilty conscience. Bart quickly picks up his backpack and hurries away toward home, passing through a growing angry crowd downtown. Back at home Bart quickly goes to the backyard and tries to bury the head, but his guilty conscience, acting as Jebediah's head, talks him out of it. As the rest of the family watches television, Bart walks in with the head and confesses, much to the shock of the family. When Bart tells Homer he stole the head to become popular, Homer realizes he is at fault as well, as he misleadingly told Bart that fame was the most important thing in the world. Homer and Bart head back into town with the head.
The story ends where the episode began, with Homer and Bart trying to return the head and being chased by the mob. Bart is ready to face whatever punishment that citizens have in store for him, but points out that it wasn't until the head was gone that everyone realized that they had taken the town's heritage for granted and also tells everyone that his guilt outweighs any punishment they might have in store for him. Moved by his words, the townspeople chose to allow Homer and Bart to return the head. As he does, Bart asks the head for forgiveness, and he hears Jebidiah's voice granting it.
==Production==
7G07_Script.jpg
==Video==
thumb|center|340 px
== Transcript ==
* The Telltale Head/Transcript
== Citations ==
de:Bart köpft Oberhaupt
fr:Bart a perdu la tête
it:La testa parlante
ja:忘れられた英雄
pl:The Telltale Head
pt:Conversa fiada
Category:U-rated episodes
Category:Bart episodes
Category:Crime-themed Episodes
Category:Homer episodes
Category:Marge episodes
Category:Reverend Lovejoy Episodes
Category:Krusty the Clown Episodes
Category:Episodes Set in The Past
Category:Flashback episodes
Category:Simpson Family Are Pariahs episodes
Category:Episodes on DVD
Category:Directed by Rich Moore
Category:Jebediah Springfield episodes
Category:Episodes with a title card
Category:Unusual episodes
Category:Apu episodes
Category:Sad episodes
Category:Dramatic episodes
Category:Episodes with mixed reviews
Category:Jimbo episodes
Category:Kearney episodes
Category:Dolph episodes
Category:Episodes where Moe Szyslak cries