Bart the General

I had thought this episode was in season 2 given that it is an really funny and engaging episode; I was surprised it this early in the show's run. It has all the hallmarks of the early Simpson-i.e. A loving satire of a suburban foible, in this case the neighborhood bully, buttressed by cultural allusions and in-jokes, in this case the mild parody of Patton (the film) among others.

This was one of the first "Simpsons" episodes, in which Bart decides to take a stand against school bullies and transforms himself into a type of modern-day Patton, armed with an artillery of angry, vengeful elementary schoolers and a scarred Vietnam War enthusiast (who suspiciously sounds very much like Ned Flanders).

Humor-wise, this is one of the few early episodes to display some of the cunning wit of later episodes (mainly 4th/5th season stuff). The whole riff on Patton is fantastic if you're a movie buff.

Homer isn't given much to do, but it's Bart's show, and one of the first episodes to really display the character's attitude.

Herman: "The key to Springfield has always been Elm Street, the Greeks knew it, the Carthaginians knew it, now you know it."

Bart fights back against the school bully.

This is one of my favourite early episodes.

I remember loving 'Bart The General' as a child and even now I think it has some very strong moments. The story is pretty good, with some strong references to military history and great war movies like 'Patton' and 'Full Metal Jacket'.

I love the characterisations of Nelson, Herman and Grampa who all made brilliant first impressions on me with some very quotable lines of dialogue.

I am probably rating it higher than I should due to my childhood appreciation for it, but I don't care.

For me it's a 8.5/10 but I round upwards.

If you think of this like Nancy Cartwright vs Nancy Cartwright, then the feud shown in this episode wouldn't seem so bad. I know I thought of it like that and as such I managed to suppress my worries about Bart.

This only applies to this episode though!!!