[1] It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon and Matt Groening, and directed by Rich Moore.
[2] In the episode, Bart cuts the head off the statue of Jebediah Springfield in the center of town to impress Jimbo, Kearney and Dolph, three older kids he admires.
Later on, he ran into three of Springfield's bullies: Jimbo Jones, Kearney Zzyzwicz, and Dolph Starbeam, who invited Bart to sneak into the movie theater to watch Space Mutants 4.
After being thrown out of the theater by the manager, the gang shoplifted from the Kwik-E-Mart, owned by store clerk Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, threw rocks at the Jebediah Springfield statue and watch clouds.
The act also did not make him popular with Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney, who told Bart they did not actually mean what they said about cutting off the head, and that they would attack the culprit if he were with them.
This is the first episode of the series in which Sideshow Bob, Reverend Lovejoy, Krusty the Clown, Jimbo Jones, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Dolph Starbeam, Ms. Albright, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon appear.
[7] Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood said they enjoyed: "the Simpsons [being] grossly dysfunctional in church, Homer dispensing terrible advice, and a real moral dilemma for Bart.
"[8] Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said, "Good little moments abounded, and this was a generally solid episode.