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.

The best episode I have seen thus far, the introductory episode of Nelson was a classic filled with cunning wit and a pretty good storyline. Grandpa and Herman also being properly introduced was good too.

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.

This is the episode that introduces us to Nelson Muntz, one of my favourite Simpsons characters. Bart is getting constantly beaten up by the school bully Nelson, so he decides to get him back. The one thing we don't get in this episode is the classic Nelson catch phase, Haw Haw. It's a good episode but not my favourite from Season 1

While the first few episodes of season one don't seem to have quite reached the show's potential, this is the first episode that does. Succeeding the episode There's No Disgrace Like Home (another highlight of season 1, but it feels somewhat experimental), this episode introduces classic Simpsons characters that are still active decades later. The plot is good as well, just a simple revenge mission against the school bully, yet it is very entertaining.

While some of the characters are a bit different from their final product, this episode is still very enjoyable.