Brother's Little Helper

Plot

Bart behaves recklessly, teasing Principal Skinner and flooding the gymnasium and schoolyard, inadvertently saving Ned Flanders from a fire. Skinner informs Homer and Marge that Bart has attention deficit disorder and recommends the untested drug Focusyn to prevent expulsion. On Focusyn, Bart becomes a diligent student, but when his parents return from an evening out, they find him paranoid, wrapped in aluminum foil, and claiming Major League Baseball is spying via satellite.

Doctors advise weaning Bart off the addictive, hallucinogenic drug, but he swallows handfuls of pills and flees. He steals a tank from a U.S. Army base, destroys parts of town, and stops at the school. Persuaded not to destroy buildings, he shoots down a Major League Baseball satellite containing surveillance documents. Mark McGwire distracts the crowd with a home run and hides the evidence under his cap.

Marge switches Bart to Ritalin, which seems to cure him, though a hidden camera in McGwire's autographed bat reveals ongoing surveillance.

Production

Originally titled Bart a Go Go, the episode was written by George Meyer and directed by Mark Kirkland. Meyer, who had felt burned out after writing Bart's Inner Child, wrote this episode to try his hand again while experiencing psychological difficulties. He was so dissatisfied with the first draft that he submitted it under the pseudonym Vance Jericho. Co-producer Tim Long joked the script was literally moist with contempt but called it an amazing draft.

The writers debated Bart's second-act rampage; Matt Selman suggested a tank after seeing a news report about a man who died while going nuts with a tank. Animators showed Focusyn's side effects by adding a cheek line under Bart's eyes, drawing him speed reading, and giving him mini-pupils. The staff debated pupil size, settling on smaller pupils despite psychostimulants typically causing dilation. Several model sheets were exchanged over fax machines until the staff were satisfied.

Themes and cultural references

The episode addresses the dramatic increase in ADHD diagnoses and heated debates over medicating children in the 1990s. Meyer, inspired by these debates, wrote the episode to criticize the misdiagnosis of school issues as ADHD and the prescription of psychostimulants to children. A schoolyard scene reveals the general populace medicated for various misdiagnosed disorders.

Meyer was unsure of his stance, stating the drugs might help children but expressing a feeling they would be a disaster down the line. Focusyn parodies Ritalin. Hosey the Bear references Smokey Bear.

Skinner wiping mud off his eyes homages Oliver Hardy. Bart stealing a tank references Shawn Nelson's similar incident. Marge standing before the tank references Tank Man from Tiananmen Square.

Reception

In its original broadcast, the episode finished at no. The episode received positive reviews from critics. Robert Canning of IGN, in a flashback review nine years later, called it funny and a standout episode, particularly praising the opening but finding the third act lackluster and Mark McGwire's role a silly cop out. He disliked the writers' perceived message, though he loved the tag back to the volunteer fire department.