Barting Over

"Barting Over" is the eleventh episode of Season 14.
This is the 302nd episode in production and broadcasting order but advertised as the 300th episode.
==Synopsis==
Bart discovers that he was once a child star in a string of embarrassing commercials, but when Homer reveals that all of Bart's money went to buying back incriminating photos, Bart petitions the court to have himself emancipated and moves to a loft apartment next to professional skateboarder Tony Hawk and pop-punk band blink-182.
== Full Story ==
During spring cleaning, Bart finds a box of old VHS tapes, one of which is titled "Marge and Homer get dirty". Thinking it to be a sex tape of their parents, Bart and Lisa watch it just to find that it was just them carving pumpkins for Halloween. Lisa reaches into the box and pulls out a tape that says "Bart sad". They play the video, and to their surprise, the video is an ad during the commercial break of the TV show Perfect Strangers and in the ad Bart acts as "Baby Stink Breath" in a baby mouthwash commercial. Realizing this, Lisa correctly adds an apostrophe that makes it "Bart's Ad" and Bart remarks that he doesn't remember ever being in a commercial (before taking a bite of a Butterfinger). They continue to watch the commercial and in it, Bart is completely degraded and undignified. Lisa, unsurprisingly, bursts out laughing at how foolish he looked and makes fun of him along with Maggie.
That evening, Bart confronts Marge and Homer demanding to know how they could have not told him about the commercials. Homer responds by claiming that he was intending to tell the truth on his deathbed. Marge tries to cheer Bart up by saying that he had a lot of fun making the commercials, but mistakenly mentions that he made a lot of money from them. Bart asks them where all the money he made went and Marge tries to convince him that Homer put it away in a trust fund. However, she is repeatedly interrupted by a guilt-ridden Homer, who eventually reveals that he spent all the money Bart made and there is nothing left. Bart is outraged with him and demands to know why Homer spent the money he made from the commercial. Homer explains that he needed it to buy back incriminating photos of him dropping Bart from a hotel balcony and into an alleyway (a la Michael Jackson with the same incident in Germany) that were being used in a blackmail scheme to avoid scandal. Homer then tries to make Bart a little less annoyed by reversing the pictures and making it look like he stopped Bart from falling. Bart, unsurprisingly, is still furious and lunges at Homer, strangling him with his own belt. Marge pulls him off of Homer, and Bart says that he is sick of having to put up with and seemingly accept Homer's constant disrespect towards him. Homer responds by telling Bart, that he can do whatever he wants with him until he is 18 and plans to "work him like a dog" when he is 17.
The next day, Bart tells Milhouse about what happened and says he wished that there was a way to get back at Homer for mistreating him. Milhouse suggests that he uses a good lawyer to get back at Homer, when he mentions his mother, Luann, making Kirk sob each time she sends her lawyer after him. So Bart goes to see the Blue-haired lawyer at the Luvum and Burnham: Family Law Firm to fill out his testimony.
The following night, tension in the house still hasn't simmered down as Bart constructs his dinner into a look-a-like of Homer's face and then viciously stabs it to pieces with his fork. Marge and Homer then try once again to cheer him up: Marge by saying "Forgive and forget" and Homer with his "What Would Jesus Do" bracelet which he angrily tosses off because he thought "Jesus" was "Geppetto." They get a knock on the door and it's Bart's lawyer who serves Homer with a subpoena (with a side of bacon in order to get Homer to open the door). Marge is upset that Bart is suing them. Bart assures Marge that she had done nothing wrong, nor had any other members of his family. Further explaining that Homer's the only reason he's suing for emancipation, declaring that he's done dealing with his abusive ways and greedy nature. An offended Homer defends himself by claiming his father was abusive to him while he was growing up. Instead of suing Abe for emancipation, however, Homer got revenge on his father by dropping him off at a cheap retirement home (the lousiness of which is shown in a cut-a-way where Abe is complaining that his IV was empty and his catheter was full, only for the staffer to lazily swap the two).
At the trial, Bart's case is made clear in a variety of ways such as using a doll that is commonly used in child molestation cases and of which it's pockets were used to show the court where Homer swindled him. The latter's anger issues is also made clear when he threatened Bart's lawyer with his signature, "Why you little..". Upon realizing his mistake, he tries to convince Judge Constance Harm that it was merely a rare laugh. Unfortunately, Judge harm consults the stenographer who reads back Homer's statement, causing Homer to threaten her, Bart and Judge Harm. At the verdict, she acknowledges that Bart may be too young for emancipation and is sickened when Homer rudely interrupts her verdict by overconfidently claiming his son is still living under his house rules and will be an even worse father than before. Judge Harm calls Homer out for rudely interrupting her and that she will make an exception for this rule. She continues explaining that his mistreatment of Bart along with his own sociopathic tendencies makes living at home dangerous("That boy is as safe living with you as crawdad in a gumbo shack"). She rules in Bart's favor, making him legally able to move out of the Simpson home. As a further result, Bart will receive half of Homer's paycheck until he is fully repaid for all of the stolen money. Furious by the loss, Homer tries to remind Harm that his Vegas wife, Amber, is already receiving alimony from him and that forcing him to give up half of his salary to Bart is making things worse for him, leaving him with almost nothing for Moe's Tavern. Marge tries to warn Homer not to make things worse for them. Of course, he ignores her and tries to attack Judge Harm resulting the bailiff clubbing him and then dragging him away for contempt of court.
The next day, Bart has packed up and says tearful goodbyes to everyone except Homer. He gives Lisa an Indian burn in the shape of a heart, which he says if done right, is permanent. Marge begs Bart to stay, and even go so far as to allow him to use swear words in the house (everything but the big three). However Bart refuses, as he won't enable Homer's abusive behavior any longer. As Bart's cab drives away Homer chases after him claiming that he'll come crawling back soon enough, before the reality that his son has truly disowned him finally sets in and he is left crying in the middle of the street with cones surrounding him and a sign that says "Man Sobbing". Bart settles into his new apartment and starts enjoying the thrills of doing whatever he wants. Homer meanwhile cannot accept that Bart is gone and plays baseball with a Bart dummy. Marge comments that he should have done that with the real Bart when had the chance. Bart's first night in his new apartment is scary, but he soon finds that Tony Hawk is living in the building and throwing a party with Blink-182. He and Hawk become friends, and Bart is content with his new life. Back at the Simpson house, Marge convinces Homer to apologize to Bart, and the family goes to meet him at his loft. Homer apologizes and requests Bart to come home. Bart accepts the apology, but refuses to come home for the trouble Homer has caused him. He then tells them that he is going on Tony Hawk's Skewed Tour (and terrifies Marge by revealing the several nipple piercings he had gotten).
 At the event, Homer meets up with Hawk and pleads with him to pretend to lose to him so that he can make Bart proud of him again. Being a father himself, Tony reluctantly agrees and gives Homer a modified skateboard, which does all the stunt work (Homer has Tony lift him onto the board, the only thing Homer would have to have done himself). Later, Homer challenges Tony to a skateboard match and does a good job, thanks to the skateboard. Tony, unhappy about being showed up by Homer, decides to "take out the thrash". They duel with their Clashing skateboards in mid-air, and Homer Kicks Tony Hawk's Skateboard. Tony falls to the Bowl-Riding ground and gets injured. Homer won a Sumos Sports and Homer speaks to Bart and asks him to come home. Bart says that Homer still doesn't understand; this wasn't about him seeing his father as uncool; he left because he was tired of Homer not caring how he felt. Homer still doesn't get it but after a few words of wisdom in skater lingo from Tony, Homer finally understands; he promises Bart that he will never ill-treat him again. Lindsey Naegle approaches Homer and asks him to star in a commercial. Homer accepts so that he can get Bart fully repaid. At home, Homer is embarrassed when he watched the final product, an ad for an impotence drug (although he was more concerned over the fact that he will lose his scalp as a side effect), but Bart told him that nobody will remember after fifty years.
Fifty years later, Homer is dead and his tombstone has an epitaph that says "impotency spokesman" on it. An elderly Nelson Muntz visit his grave and laughs at it. He soon passes out from the attempt to laugh at Homer's burial site.
==Broadcast History==
===United States===
Broadcast date(s)	Channel aired
*February 16, 2003
*April 27, 2003
*November 2, 2003	
*December 29, 2020	
==Behind the Laughter==
===Promo Cards===
Barting Over (Promo Picture).jpg
Barting Over (Promo Picture) 2.jpg
Barting Over (Promo Picture) 3.jpg
===Production===
This was advertised as the 300th episode, although in broadcast order, it is the 302nd episode ("The Strong Arms of the Ma" is the 300th episode in broadcast order), as noted in the episode proper.
fr:Homer va le payer
pl:Barting Over
pt:O novo Bart
Category:Bart episodes
Category:Homer episodes
Category:Episodes featuring guest stars
Category:Episodes named after a character
Category:Episodes named after Bart
Category:Episodes featuring musical guest stars
Category:Episodes on DVD
Category:Milestones
Category:Directed by Matthew Nastuk
Category:Episodes where Homer chokes Bart
Category:Episodes named after a film or TV Show
Category:Episodes Where Homer cries
Category:Hundredth Episodes