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The Simpsons episode
"The Telltale Head"
A guilty Bart watches on as Springfield residents discover the beheaded Jebediah Springfield statue
Episode no.	8
Prod. code	7G07
Orig. Airdate	February 25, 1990
Writer(s)	Al Jean Mike Reiss Sam Simon Matt Groening
Director(s)	Rich Moore
Chalkboard	"I did not see Elvis"; one line reads "I did see Elvis"
Couch gag	Bart is squeezed off the couch, flies out of frame, and lands in front of the TV.
DVD commentary by	Rich Moore Al Jean Mike Reiss
SNPP capsule
Season 1 December 17, 1989 – May 13, 1990
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire Bart the Genius Homer's Odyssey There's No Disgrace Like Home Bart the General Moaning Lisa The Call of the Simpsons The Telltale Head Life on the Fast Lane Homer's Night Out The Crepes of Wrath Krusty Gets Busted Some Enchanted Evening
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"The Telltale Head" was the eighth episode of The Simpsons. The episode deals with Bart pulling a questionable stunt that shocks the entire town. The title is a play on Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart.

Homer and Bart are chased through the streets of Springfield by an angry mob. Someone has sawn off the head of the statue of town founder Jebediah Springfield. Surrounded by the surly crowd, Bart pleads for understanding and relates the events of the previous day. As the story unfolds, Bart borrows $5.00 from Homer and sneaks away to see Space Mutants IV at the local movie theater. On his way, he runs into a gang of troublemakers. One of them, Jimbo, invites Bart to sneak into the movies with him and his buddies.

Later, as the boys throw rocks at Jebediah's statue, Jimbo wishes someone would cut off the statue's head. When Bart tries to defend the town's hero, Jimbo and the boys laugh at him. To be cool, Bart sneaks out of the house that night and saws the statue's head off.

The next day, all of Springfield grieves the decapitation of the town founder. Bart finds Jimbo and his pals and discovers they are as distraught as everyone else. Jimbo tells Bart that the decapitating was just cloud talk and they decided to meet the 'one' who done this, so they can break every bone on his body. Feeling scared, Bart decides not to tell. Feeling remorse, Bart returns home and confesses to his family. As Homer (who also feels a little responsible for this incident) escorts Bart to the authorities, they are confronted by the angry mob. Bart tells the crowd that his act has united the town and taught people to appreciate their heritage. The townspeople agree, and Bart is forgiven.

• The episode title is a reference to the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. In addition, Bart actually hears the head talking when he is overcome with guilt. The story also very similar to Paul Jennings' "....Headley Hopkins...".
• The Bridge over the River Kwai - the line "What have I done?"
• When Bart awakes to a find the head of Jebediah Springfield in bed next to him, it is reminiscent of the scene from "The Godfather" where Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) "persuades" Woltz to cast Fontane in the movie by leaving the head of the producer's prize racehorse in his bed.
• Homer reads about a bowling ball called "The Hammer of Thor" that will "send your pins to Valhalla."
• When Bart wakes up, he says "Top of the world, ma!", referring to the final scene of White Heat.

• Im The Simpsons Hit and Run level 02,a Buzz Cola of Jebediah Head is on the statue.
• Marge pulls a Radioactive Man comic book from inside Bart's jacket before leaving the house for church.
• Homer has an 8-track tape deck in his car.
• A member of the angry mob carries a sign with the likeness of Jebediah Springfield's head and the words, "Have You Seen Me?"
• The football announcer on Homer's car radio says, "This could be the most remarkable comeback since Lazarus rose from the dead."
• Announcer: "Wolodarsky takes it at the 5... oh my, he fumbles," reference to show writer-producer Wallace Wolodarsky.
• A sign inside church where Rev. Lovejoy has just given a sermon on the evils of gambling reads, "Bingo---Tuesday Night. Monte Carlo Night---Wednesday. Reno Retreat Saturday."
• This is The first Episode were Tress MacNeille Takes part in
• The movie marquee reads, "Space Mutants IV: The Trilogy Continues."
• Among the items Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney steal from the Kwik-E-Mart is a copy of Playdude magazine.
• Kearney stands on the lawn and leans on a sign that reads "Keep off the Grass."
• Sideshow Bob's hair evolves from a huge red afro.
• This is one of five Simpsons episodes to display the title on the screen, excluding the Treehouse of Horror episodes. The others are "Bart Gets Hit by a Car", "22 Short Films About Springfield", "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" and "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular".
• Bart pronounces "wrath" incorrectly.
• The Season 1 DVD boxset is missing two scenes from the episode: one where Bart told the crowd that, after decapitating the town statue, he realized he was taking his heritage for granted (an issue that would later resurface in Season 7's "Lisa the Iconoclast"), and another with church bells ringing. It is rumoured that these scenes, which add up to 28 seconds, were added to comply with an FCC regulation that all cartoons must include this length of educational content.
• The DVD does, however, contain two scenes that were not in the original broadcast; an extended remark from Otto ("It's beautiful, man!"; "man" was not in the original broadcast), and Homer telling Bart that "most lynch mobs aren't this nice". These scenes add to five seconds; note, however, that the run time for this episode on the Season 1 DVD set is 22:42, and the run time for its original broadcast is 23:05. Bart mentions earlier in the episode that the story takes "about 23 minutes and five seconds" to tell; the story itself is only 17 minutes and 10 seconds, though this more likely refers to the length of the full episode.

• The episode marks the first appearance of:
  • Reverend Timothy Lovejoy
  • Jimbo, Kearney and Dolph
  • Sideshow Bob
  • Apu
  • Ms. Albright (Sunday School Teacher)

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Telltale Head

The Simpsons Portal

• "The Telltale Head" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
• "The Telltale Head" at the Internet Movie Database