Grade School Confidential

"Grade School Confidential" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons' eighth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 6, 1997.[2] It was written by Rachel Pulido and directed by Susie Dietter.[2] The episode establishes the long-term relationship between Seymour Skinner and Edna Krabappel.[1] Bart witnesses a romantic moment between Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel and acts as a snitch for them. However, they later embarrass him and he exposes their romance to the public.

"Grade School Confidential"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 19
Directed bySusie Dietter
Written byRachel Pulido
Production code4F09
Original air dateApril 6, 1997 (1997-04-06)
Episode features
Couch gagThe Simpsons are clear blue bubbles that float to the couch and pop one by one.[1]
CommentaryMatt Groening
Bill Oakley
Josh Weinstein
Rachel Pulido
Susie Dietter

Plot

Martin Prince invites his classmates to his birthday party, but it ends badly after most of the partygoers get food poisoning from eating improperly cooked oysters and leave by ambulance. After the party, Bart sees Principal Seymour Skinner and Edna Krabappel kissing in Martin's pink playhouse. Bart plans to reveal what he saw, but Edna and Seymour fear they will be fired if anyone discovers their romance. They swear him to secrecy in exchange for putting Milhouse's name on his permanent record.

Edna and Seymour use Bart as their gofer so they can exchange romantic messages. Bart is humiliated in front of his classmates after Seymour forces him to say "I love you, Edna Krabappel" aloud as if the message were his own. Fed up, Bart gathers the entire school in front of a janitor's closet and opens the door to reveal that Seymour and Edna are making out.

Word quickly spreads throughout Springfield, with the story the students tell growing more illicit and exaggerated. After hearing his son Ralph's risqué version involving the two "making babies", Chief Wiggum reports it to Superintendent Chalmers. Chalmers gives Seymour an ultimatum: either he ends his relationship with Edna or they both will be fired. Seymour decides that love trumps his professional goals, so Chalmers fires them and demands they leave the building by day's end.

Bart feels guilty when he learns that Edna and Seymour have lost their jobs. After Seymour apologizes to Bart for embarrassing him, Bart encourages him to stand up for himself. With Bart's help, Seymour and Edna barricade themselves inside the school, contact the media and make their demands: they want their jobs back and the townspeople to stop interfering with their relationship. When several parents protest that their children saw them having sexual intercourse in the janitor's closet, Seymour insists that is untrue because he is a 44-year-old virgin. Everyone is speechless, but they think it must be true because it is so embarrassing for anyone to admit. Realizing that they have overreacted, the residents leave peacefully.

Chalmers agrees to reinstate Seymour and Edna, but asks them to "keep the lewdness at a minimum" during school hours. They thank Bart for helping them but tell him they are breaking up, fearing the entire town judging their relationship publicly. When a disappointed Bart leaves, they observe grade-school children will believe anything they are told before entering the janitor's closet for another tryst.

Production

The idea of Skinner and Krabappel becoming a couple had been around since the days when Mike Reiss and Al Jean were show runners.[3] The episode's writer Rachel Pulido took some of the inspiration for this episode from "Bart the Lover", specifically Mrs. Krabappel's line to Bart about refusing to date Principal Skinner because, "his mommy won't let him out to play".[4] The Mathmagician is based on Bill Gates.[5] The cakes in Agnes Skinner's cake book were designed to accurately resemble the real life versions of them.[6] Homer using his megaphone to talk to Marge and Lisa, who were standing next to him, was ad-libbed by Dan Castellaneta.[5] A deleted scene featured an awkward moment at Martin's party, between Bart, Milhouse and Martin, when the latter introduces the two to his parents.[5]

Cultural references

Mrs. Krabappel has a candle which resembles Charlie Brown, a character from Peanuts.[2] At the Aztec theater, a movie by Tom Berenger was played. It is implied by Superintendent Chalmers' comment "You think they actually filmed this in Atlanta?" and from the commentary that the movie is The Big Chill.[3] In trying to force Edna and Seymour out of the school, the Springfield police attempts to flood the area with music. This is similar to a tactic that the US troops used during Operation Just Cause in an attempt to force Manuel Noriega out of the Vatican embassy in Panama City.[5] However, in this case, romance-themed music was played, which was "Embraceable You" by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin.[3] Edna and Seymour's dance poses were taken from Orlando Baeza, who was the assistant director for this episode.[6]

Reception

In its original broadcast, "Grade School Confidential" finished 57th in ratings for the week of March 31 - April 6, 1997, with a Nielsen rating of 7.7, equivalent to approximately 7.5 million viewing households. It was the fifth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files, Party of Five, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place.[7]

The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called it "A delightful episode that finally brings to fruition one of the series' longest running gags: Edna and Seymour's mutual attraction. What is doubly refreshing is that it remains a constant in the subsequent episodes."[1] The scene in which Agnes Skinner shows Bart her cake book is one of Matt Groening's all-time favorite scenes.[8]

References
  1. Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Grade School Confidential". BBC. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
  2. Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M..
  3. Oakley, Bill (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Grade School Confidential" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  4. Pulido, Rachel (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Grade School Confidential" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  5. Weinstein, Josh (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Grade School Confidential" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  6. Dietter, Susie (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Grade School Confidential" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  7. "CBS scores with NCAA basketball". Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. April 11, 1997. p. 4E.
  8. Groening, Matt (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Grade School Confidential" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.

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