"Not the sky! That's where clouds are born!" Print

Bart: Hey, Mom. Thanks for coming out. Marge: Oh, thank you for stopping the tank. Bart: It ran out of gas. Marge: Oh. So, Bart- Question. How about getting out of the tank, huh? Maybe stopping your rampage, huh? We could go to Krusty Burger. Bart: Okay, sure. Marge: Whew! Bart: Right after I blow up one thing. [ Groans ] [ Gasps ] Skinner: Good Lord! He's going to fire! Jimbo: All right! Scud the school, dude! Krabappel: [ Sarcastically ] No, stop. Think of the children. [ All Gasping ] Lovejoy: Not the church! Jesus lives there! Homer: The frame store? You monster! Sideshow Mel: Not the sky! That's where clouds are born! from ‘The Simpsons’ (S11E2) Created by Matt Groening "Brother's Little Helper" is the second episode of The Simpsons' eleventh season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1999. In the episode, Bart floods the school gymnasium and the schoolyard, which prompts the school's principal Seymour Skinner to diagnose Bart with ADHD. Bart is prescribed a psychostimulant drug called Focusyn (a parody of Ritalin), and initially starts paying more attention to his studies. After a while however, Bart starts turning psychotic and is convinced that Major League Baseball is watching over the people of Springfield. The episode was directed by director Mark Kirkland and was the first episode staff writer George Meyer received a sole writing credit for since the season 5 episode "Bart's Inner Child". Meyer, who was facing some psychological difficulties while writing the episode, felt so dissatisfied with the episode's first draft that he turned it in with a pseudonym. The episode satirizes the perceived misdiagnosis of behavioral disorders in children, which was a controversial topic at the time the episode was written. The episode's title is a parody of The Rolling Stones song "Mother's Little Helper", which was also written on the topic of psychological medication. The episode features former Major League Baseball player Mark McGwire as himself. Following its broadcast, the episode was positively received by critics. "Brother's Little Helper", which was originally called "Bart a Go Go", was written by staff writer George Meyer and directed by director Mark Kirkland. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1999. After the season 5 episode "Bart's Inner Child", Meyer got "a little burned out on writing scripts", so he wrote "Brother's Little Helper" in order to "try [his] hand again". While writing the episode, Meyer was going through "some psychological problems" and found the episode very difficult to write. He was initially so dissatisfied with the first draft that he turned it in with a pseudonym; Vance Jericho. Co-producer Tim Long jokingly commented that the script was "literally moist with contempt" but went on to say that it was in fact "an amazing draft". The writers discussed what sort of rampage Bart would go on during the second act, and writer Matt Selman suggested that Bart obtain a tank. In the DVD audio commentary for the episode, Selman stated that he got the idea from watching a news report about "a guy" who had died while "[going] nuts with a tank". To show the side effects Focusyn had on Bart, the animators made slight changes to his face as the episode progressed. It is first seen in the scene where Bart is reading "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Pre-teens": a cheek line is added just under his eyes to suggest that he is starting to change. In another scene, Bart can be seen speed reading and later on, the animators drew him with "mini-pupils". The staff discussed whether Bart's pupils would be bigger or smaller than normal while he is on the drug. The writers settled on smaller pupils and, according to Kirkland, "several model sheets were going back and forth over the fax machines" until the staff were satisfied with the size of Bart's pupils while influenced by the drug. In fact, psychostimulants used to treat ADHD are more likely to cause pupils to become bigger (dilated). In the scene where he escapes the laboratory, Bart can be seen swallowing a handful of pills on his way out. Originally, Bart was supposed to "upend" an entire jar of Focusyn, but, according to Meyer, the censors wouldn't allow it. The scientists who prescribe Focusyn to Bart are based on one of The Simpsons' staff members and his wife. They were voiced by Hank Azaria and Tress MacNeille, respectively. Azaria also voiced Sir Widebottom, one of the clowns in Krusty's car, as well as one of the marine soldiers. Former Major League Baseball player Mark McGwire guest starred as himself in the episode. Mike Scully, an executive producer and the show runner for the episode, commented that McGwire was "probably the biggest man [he'd] ever seen" and that he "did a great job for [them]”. According to Genevieve Koski, Josh Modell, Noel Murray, Sean O'Neal, Kyle Ryan, and Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club, the '90s saw a "dramatic increase" in diagnoses of behavioral disorders, such as ADHD, in children, and debates over whether or not to medicate children with concentration difficulties were heated. Meyer, inspired by the debates, decided to write the episode to be about the subject. The episode criticizes how children with school issues are being misdiagnosed as having ADHD, as well as the prescription of psychostimulants to children in general. This in particular is shown in a scene in the Springfield Elementary schoolyard. In the scene, it is revealed that the general populace of the school is medicated for various misdiagnosed behavior disorders. Meyer himself was not entirely sure about his stance on the issue, however. He stated that "for all I know, the drugs help [the children] and help the world." However, he went on to say that "I just have a feeling they're gonna be a disaster. Down the line." Focusyn, the fictional psychoactive drug that is prominently featured throughout the episode, is based on the real-life medicine Ritalin, which is used to treat disorders such as ADHD. Hosey the Bear, which can be seen in the beginning of the episode, is a reference to the United States Forest Service's mascot Smokey Bear. After Bart has flooded the school gym, Skinner can be seen wiping mud off his eyes in an homage to American actor Oliver Hardy. The sequence of Bart stealing an army tank and destroying half of Springfield under the influence of mind-altering substances is likely a reference to Shawn Nelson, a man infamous for a similar, albeit serious, incident. A scene in the episode shows Marge standing in front of the tank Bart has stolen. The scene is a reference to Tank Man, the anonymous man who stood in the way of a column of tanks the morning after the Chinese military forcibly removed pro-democracy protesters from Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Other things referenced include the film Showgirls (1995), which Homer and Marge go to see. Homer says that, since taking Focusyn, Bart has gone "from Goofus to Gallant", a reference to the characters Goofus and Gallant from the children's magazine Highlights. When Lou sketches Bart based on Homer and Marge's description he ends up drawing Dennis from the comic strip Dennis the Menace. A shirt at the military base Fort Fragg reads "I Went to the Persian Gulf and All I Got Was This Lousy Syndrome", a reference to Gulf War syndrome. During Bart's rampage through the town in a tank, he sings the chorus of "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac. 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, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture and society, television, and the human condition. The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to "simpleton". The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990). Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 699 episodes of The Simpsons have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in terms of seasons and number of episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million, with a sequel in development as of 2018. The series has also spawned numerous comic book series, video games, books, and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The Simpsons was renewed on February 6, 2019 for a thirty-first and thirty-second season. Season 31 premiered September 29, 2019 and concluded on May 17, 2020; season 32 premiered September 27, 2020 and includes the show's 700th episode. The Simpsons is a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television. The series has been renewed for seasons 33 and 34, taking the series up to 2023 and 750 episodes. The Simpsons received acclaim throughout its first seasons in the 1990s, which are generally considered its "golden age". Since then, it has been criticized for a perceived decline in quality. Time named it the 20th century's best television series, and Erik Adams of The A.V. Club named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". On January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 34 Primetime Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards, and 2 Peabody Awards. Homer's exclamatory catchphrase "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, while The Simpsons has influenced many other later adult-oriented animated sitcoms. Source: Wikipedia Focusyn was an experimental drug created for the purpose of causing Attention Deficit Disorder-inflicted students to cope in class. It was given to Bart Simpson when it became apparent that he had ADD. Bart was completely reluctant to take the medicine, and it wasn't until Marge guilted him into doing so that he eventually conceded. It had a bit of a delay, as he seemed to still exhibit his usual behavior (such as stuffing oranges in his pants to make it seem as though the medicine caused his testicles to swell), but by the time he got to Mrs. Krabappel's class, the medicine came into effect, shocking the rest of the class about his recent behavior. It also heightened his interest in learning and even his etiquette. However, while it did grant him to use his intellectual potential to the maximum, it also became somewhat apparent that it also affected his sanity somewhat: He became paranoid that the Major League Baseball association was spying on people and doing odd and disturbing behavior. When faced with the possibility of losing Focuslyn, Bart went berserk and, after ingesting several handfuls of Focusyn pills, ran off from the Pharmacist, infiltrated Fort Fragg, and hijacked a Tank with the intention of blowing up the satellite. Because of the incident, Bart was weaned off of Focusyn (although not before ultimately proving to everyone that his paranoia was perfectly justified). When trying to convince Bart to try some Focusyn, Homer placed some in Taffy in an attempt to trick Bart into ingesting the medicine, and tried ingesting it himself to try and "convince" Bart that it wasn't laced, which caused Homer to wig out, causing their next door neighbors to think that Homer may have been possessed by a demon, and later did it again after Bart took the Focusyn. Whether this was due to a chemical reaction from the combination of Taffy and Focusyn or due to not being legible for the prescription is never specified. Source: Simpsons Wiki