Bart on the Road

In the episode, Bart makes his own fake driver's license and takes Milhouse, Martin, and Nelson on a road trip that goes awry, and Lisa has to help them get back home after they become stranded far away from Springfield.

Lisa goes to the nuclear power plant with Homer, while Bart, after finding out he isn't allowed to just stay at home and watch Marge do housework, instead goes with Patty and Selma to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Nelson's frustration boils over and he winds up accidentally toppling the Sunsphere, which in turn crushes the boys' rental car and leaves them stranded in Knoxville.

Bart places a collect call to Lisa, who has so far spent her entire spring break at the power plant with Homer, and asks her to help him return home while concealing the ordeal from their parents.

On her advice, Bart becomes a courier, but he fails to earn enough money to get home and none of his assignments get him anywhere near Springfield (his first involving flying organ transplants to Hong Kong), so he again asks Lisa for help.

Homer then deliberately destroys his workstation so that he can order a replacement unit from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and have it shipped via nearby Knoxville, with Bart as the courier and the other boys stowing away inside the shipment crate.

The boys also see an Andy Williams concert in Branson, Missouri, and the marquee advertising it outside reads "Wow, he's still got it – Look magazine", with Look having been out of business for 25 years when the episode first aired.

[8] The episode was the fifth-highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files, Cops, Party of Five, Martin, and Melrose Place.

He thought the story was "partly believable, though the opportunity when Bart hits the road is largely wasted with only a few well-constructed jokes to speak of."

"[9] DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson enjoyed the episode and said that he "loves" the children's experiences at their parents' jobs, adding, "and when they head out of town, the fun continues.

"[10] Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict considered the best part of the episode to be when Patty and Selma explain their job at the DMV: "Somedays we don't let the line move at all.

[12] Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a score of 9.5 out of 10, calling it "outstanding" and summarizing his review with: "'Bart on the Road' is a fun trip and very funny, but it's the way everything comes together that really makes it memorable.