[MG26] Bart's Hiccups

Bart's Hiccups                                         Written by Matt Groening
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[$Id: mg26 1.1 92/03/25 08:24:52 raymond Exp Locker: raymond $]
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> Didja notice...
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    Voice credits:
        NANCY CARTWRIGHT as Bart
        YEARDLEY SMITH as Lisa

    Animation producer was Margot Pipkin.
    Animators were Wesley Archer and David Silverman.

    The credits list the casting director as BONNIE PIETILA rather
    than BONITA PIETILA.

    ... Maggie falls twice?  As side-effects of spinning the chair.

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> Freeze Frame Fun
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>> The living room
   mouse hole
   large black-and-white picture of the family
        Obviously one of Homer's homemade pictures, as the family members
        are a complete mess.
   a dead potted tree

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> Assorted comments and observations
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Brian Howard {bh} gives the timing for this short as 1:13, whereas the
syndication package contains only 1:06 of animation.

The pacing in this short is breakneck.  Too fast, I think.  Maybe the
absurd speed is due to the cuts for syndication.

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> Quotes and scene summary
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% B = Bart, L = Lisa
%
% Lisa and Maggie sit at the kitchen table.  (There is a one-eared rabbit
% doll on the table in front of Lisa, and a smaller two-eared variety in
% front of Maggie.)  Bart walks in, hiccuping.

L: Look, Nurse Maggie, our new patient.
B: [moans]  [in pain] I've got the hiccups, and I've got 'em bad... [moans]

% Lisa produces a blender.

L: Nurse Maggie, begin preparation of the secret hiccup elixir.

% As Lisa calls out each ingredient, Maggie slides it down the table,
% and Lisa empties the bottle/jar/can into the blender.  Bart can only
% watch, fearing the worst.  (Hiccuping occasionally.)

L: Milk... Ice cream... Maple syrup... Cream of broccoli [splort]...
   Hot sauce.

% Lisa puts the top on the blender and turns it on.

B: No way, man!

% Maggie comes up behind Bart and yanks his head backwards, forcing
% his mouth wide open.  Lisa empties the entire brownish-purple contents
% of the blender into Bart's mouth.  Maggie lets go, and Bart's head
% snaps back into place.

B: [moan]  [burp]

% Bart collapses on his back.  (*hiccup*)

L: I knew it.  Not enough hot sauce.

% (*hiccup*)
%
% [End of Act One.  Time: 0:23]

L: Climb into the treatment apparatus, please.

% Lisa stands by a swivel chair in the living room.  Bart stands (*hiccup*)
% in front of the chair, and Maggie shoves him into the seat.  The girls
% grab a hold of the chair and give it a huge spin.  (Maggie falls in the
% process.)

L: [whispers]  Confidentially, Nurse Maggie, this treatment has occasional
   side-effects.

% The girls stop the chair from spinning.  Bart, clearly disoriented, moans
% and hiccups out of the chair and staggers all around the room.

L: [whispers]  The side effects are somewhat entertaining, are they not,
   Nurse Maggie?

% Bart collapses.  (*hiccup*)
%
% [End of Act Two.  Time: 0:40]
%
% Bart leans against the wall, still hiccuping.  Lisa and Maggie stand
% nearby, each touching their cheek with their right hand, and holding
% their right elbow in their left hand.  (Maggie is obviously mimicking
% her older sister.)  Throughout, Bart hiccups, moans, hiccups again,
% moans again, etc.

L: I'm stumped, Nurse Maggie.  This is the worst case of the hiccups
   we've ever treated.

% Maggie mimes her suggestion:  She pulls her head back and pushes
% up her hair into a likeness of Bart, and mimes being force-fed.
% Then she takes her pacifier in her hand and spins it.  Then she
% pulls her hair back and contorts her face into a likeness of Homer.

L: That's it!  A combination of our previous techniques, followed by
   the scare treatment.  It can't miss.

% In the kitchen, Maggie pulls Bart's head back as Lisa pours the
% elixir down his throat.
%
% Back in the living room, the girls spin Bart (Maggie falls again),
% and while Bart is spinning, Maggie produces a photo of Homer.  Lisa
% stops the chair, and Bart screams in fright when he sees the picture.

L: I pronounce this patient... cured!

% Bart oozes to the floor and hiccups.
%
% [End of Act Three.  Time: 1:06]
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Shorts summaries Copyright 1992 by Raymond Chen.  Not to be redistributed
in a public forum without permission.  (The quotes themselves, of course,
remain the property of The Tracey Ullman Show, and the reproduced articles
remain the property of the original authors.  I'm just taking credit for the
compilation.)