Bart Gets Hit by a Car

"Bart Gets Hit by a Car" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons.

Prompted by ambulance-chasing lawyer Lionel Hutz and quack doctor Nick Riviera, the Simpsons sue Burns, seeking extensive damages for Bart's injuries.

Marge wants Homer to accept Burns' proposed settlement instead of asking Bart to lie on the witness stand.

In its original broadcast, "Bart Gets Hit by a Car" received a Nielsen rating of 14.5, finishing the week ranked 32nd.

Angered, Marge admits that she and Lisa are concerned over his recent behavior and the "shifty lawyers" and "phony doctors" he hired.

At the trial, Marge is called to the stand and denounces Dr. Nick as a quack with no medical qualifications that Hutz hired to discredit Dr. Hibbert.

The episode's plot was based on Billy Wilder's 1966 film The Fortune Cookie, in which Walter Matthau plays a dishonest lawyer who convinces Jack Lemmon's character to fake an injury for a large cash settlement.

[4] While working on the court room scenes, director Mark Kirkland watched To Kill a Mockingbird and The Verdict to get ideas for different angles he could use.

[4] The animators modeled Dr. Nick after then-supervising director Gábor Csupó, because they mistakenly believed that Azaria was impersonating him.

[13] The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, praised "Bart Gets Hit by a Car" as "an interesting episode in that we begin to see the very dark side of Burns that will develop later, although Smithers is still just a toady.

[3] Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone contributor, concurred, stating that the episode led to "inspired looks at Heaven, Hell, and ambulance-chasing lawyers".

[14] DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson lauded the episode for "provid[ing] a lot of great moments, especially in court when we heard the differing viewpoints of the accident offered by Bart and Mr. Burns.

"[15] Dawn Taylor of The DVD Journal thought the best line was Bart's testimony: "It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon.