The Parent Rap (The Simpsons)

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"The Parent Rap"
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"What did she say about cupcakes?" - Homer
Series: The Simpsons
Part of Season: 13
Episode Number: 2
Air Date: November 11, 2001
Writer: George Meyer

Mike Scully

Director: Mark Kirkland
Previous episode: Treehouse of Horror XI
Next episode: Homer the Moe


The Parent Rap is the second episode in the thirteenth season of The Simpsons.

Plot

Bart gets in trouble for joyriding in a police car, but feels confident he will be let off by Judge Snyder. However, Snyder goes on vacation before ruling his verdict and is replaced with a coldhearted judge named Constance Harm. She accuses Homer of being a negligent father and sentences him to be tethered to Bart. The two are against it at first, but later start to bond. Marge, however, is unable to take any more of it and slices the tether off of them both.

Bad Qualities

  1. Homer is very unlikable and negligent at the start here, as he kicks Bart and Milhouse out of the car when seeing the van that will give him $40 as he has the right KBBL penguin. Why couldn't he just take Bart and Milhouse with him?
  2. Bart and Milhouse are also not too likable at the start for going into the police car without permission and messing around with the buttons to the point where Bart impersonates a police officer (which is a very serious crime). Bart then doesn't even bother to help Marge and Homer when they get put in mini cells.
  3. Introduces Constance Harm, the unfunniest and most unlikable character in the series. She is known for giving out cruel and unusual punishments and uses her title as a judge to become a karma Houdini. Constance is never punished for her treatment of the Simpson family in this episode.
  4. Constance Harm doesn't believe in Bart and Homer telling the truth and even puts them together in shackles (which caused a lot of problems). As if that wasn't bad enough, she puts Homer and Marge in mini cells, which cause even more problems for the two to the point where they become embarrassed and get spanked.
  5. Plot Holes:
    • How could Snyder take a vacation in the middle of his shift at the courthouse, unless his shift was finished?
    • How could Constance Harm appear on one side of the shackles Bart and Homer were tied together with?
  6. As the punishment los Constance gave out were unconstitutional, the Simpsons has the opportunity to sue her for steamrolling over their rights but they do not do that. Why didn’t they think about suing Constance?
  7. Even if Homer somewhat deserved the punishment, it's still cruel as Homer and Bart being tied together makes doing their regular things hard for them, with Homer disrupting the class by saying that no-one is going to use the stuff Ms Krabappel teaches, Bart dragging Homer on the ground to grab his first home run, Bart and Homer bumping into each other when eating their ice cream, Homer having a beer while Bart was outside due to the "no kids allowed" policy and Homer expressing love with Marge distracting Bart.
    • The punishments Homer, Marge, and Bart receive are not only cruel but completely unconstitutional as the U.S constitution and Bill of Rights have a ban on cruel and unusual punishment, which Constance Harm completely disregards and this show is supposed to take place in America. The punishments which are being tethered together for Homer and Bart and the portable stockades for Homer and Marge are both cruel and unusual since they are not only not practiced in America but subject all three of the family members to humiliation.
  8. The scene where Bart drags a battered and bloodied Homer across the baseball field while Homer moans at Bart to hug him is incredibly disturbing and quite saddening. Even Bart was completely disturbed by him.
  9. Misleading Title: Despite the episode's name, there is no rapping in this episode whatsoever.

Good Qualities

  1. Marge and Lisa are still likeable characters, and Bart and Homer do improve when being forced to wear the shackles.
  2. Some funny moments here, such as Homer's quote "What did she say about cupcakes?", Marge's quote "She's such a butthole.", the "Big Meanie" banner bit, Bart pranking Ned, and Homer thinking about dressing up as a milkman.
  3. Good Ending: Judge Snyder returns from his vacation and interrupts Constance Harm as she's about to sentence Bart to 5 years in juvie before dismissing the case, which makes the family happy. Marge tells everyone to promise not to break the law for an entire year, and it ends with Homer playing a catchy tune on the radio.
  4. While Judge Harm did become a karma houdini, her house getting destroyed could be considered a comeuppance.
  5. Judge Harm's house has a neat, cool, and nice design.
  6. While Judge Harm was cruel about the punishment, she did had point about Homer's parenting skills.

Reception

The episode currently has a user rating of 7.1 on IMDb. On NoHomers.net, it was ranked 43rd worst episode on their 2006 list, then it was dropped to the 50th worst episode on their 2011 list.

Gallery

References

  1. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701255/
  2. https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/NoHomers.net%27s_50_Worst_episodes
  3. https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/NoHomers.net%27s_50_Worst_episodes#2011_List%5B2%5D

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