Dark Knight Court

"Dark Knight Court" is the sixteenth episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 524th episode overall. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by Billy Kimball and Ian Maxtone-Graham. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 17, 2013.[2]

"Dark Knight Court"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 24
Episode 16
Directed byMark Kirkland
Written byBilly Kimball
Ian Maxtone-Graham
Production codeRABF10
Original air dateMarch 17, 2013 (2013-03-17)
Guest appearances
Episode features
Chalkboard gag"Jesus's last words were not 'TGIF' (Thank God It's Friday)"
Couch gagMarge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are Easter eggs placed on a grass nest on the couch. Homer comes in and sits on them.

The episode is dedicated to the recently deceased Robert Reno, whose sisters Maggy Reno Hurchalla and Janet Reno appear in the episode.[3][4]

Plot

While performing at an Easter celebration, the Springfield Elementary band members inadvertently launch hundreds of eggs from their instruments, ruining the townspeople's clothes and splattering the streets. Suspicion quickly falls on Bart who they think it was him, but he denies committing the prank and didn't do it because he's innocent and he would never ruined another holiday since he only ruined two holidays such as the Thanksgiving incident of 1990, and the Christmas incident of 1997. Lisa eventually decides that the best way to determine his guilt is to hold a trial, which is presided over by Janet Reno. The odds do not look good in Bart's favor, and he is close to being found guilty. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns rediscovers his love of superheroes after visiting Comic Book Guy's store, and he decides to become a superhero named Fruitbat Man. Smithers, fearful of Burns's safety, stages numerous crimes for his boss to thwart, using Homer, Lenny, Carl, the Crazy Cat Lady, and other citizens as patsies for supervillain identities. Desperate to find someone to solve Bart's dilemma, Lisa tries to hire Burns, but he refuses. Smithers admits to Burns all his previous exploits were faked, and this was Burns' one chance to really help someone.

As Marge washes the town's clothes, she and Lisa notice that Groundskeeper Willie's kilt is stained with only one egg, which appears to have been crushed into it by hand. Realizing that Willie is the culprit, Lisa confronts him; he confesses to committing the prank due to his hatred of the Easter holiday (as he is a Scottish Old Believer Presbyterian) and shreds the kilt to destroy the evidence. As he tries to escape on his tractor, Burns intervenes and captures him, having had a change of heart. Burns turns Willie over to the court just before Reno can deliver a guilty verdict against Bart. Lisa thanks Burns and suggests that he might take advantage of his heroics to become a better person; meanwhile, Moe breaks down sobbing after he gets a phone call informing him of Bart's acquittal.

Before the end credits, there is a trailer for the "Dependables," a spoof that casts several of Springfield's elderly residents as a superhero team.

Production

The producers offered former United States Attorney General Janet Reno to appear as herself in August 2012. Because Reno's Parkinson's disease prevented her from speaking the script's long lines, Reno's sister Maggy Hurchalla called the producers to decline. Upon hearing her voice and noting the similarity with Reno's voice, the producers asked if they could share the role. Reno spoke the one-liners while Hurchalla spoke the longer lines.[1]

The episode was given a In memoriam dedication at the end for Janet and Maggy's brother Robert Reno, who died eight months earlier along with a prologue stating that Janet and Maggy's proceeds from their voice over roles donated to The Innocence Project.[3]

Reception

Ratings

The episode received a 2.2 in the 18-49 demographic and was watched by a total of 4.89 million viewers. This made it the second most watched show on Fox's Animation Domination line up that night.[5]

Critical reception

Robert David Sullivan of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, saying "Earlier this season, I wrote that Mr. Burns was getting tiresome as a character. So though 'Dark Knight Court' isn't necessarily the funniest episode of the season, it is one of the most pleasantly surprising."[6]

Teresa Lopez of TV Fanatic gave the episode 3 out of 5 stars. She felt the appearance by Janet Reno to be dated but liked the references to early Simpsons jokes.[7]

Rob H. Dawson of TV Equals said "The Simpsons is at its best when it doesn't stray too far from its roots as a take on the family sitcom, and the Batman parody in 'Dark Knight Court' just didn't hit that mark for me."[8]

See also

References
  1. Gordon, Sade M. (March 18, 2013). "Voice of former Martin County commissioner on The Simpsons episode". Treasure Coast Newspapers. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  2. "(SI-2410) "Dark Knight Court"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  3. "Innocence Blog: Tune In: Innocence Project Board of Directors' Director Emeritus Janet Reno on "The Simpsons"". Innocence Project. March 15, 2013. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  4. Brecher, Elinor J. (July 7, 2012). "Robert Reno, brother of former U.S. Attorney General, dies - Breaking News". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  5. Bibel, Sara (March 19, 2013). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon a Time', 'The Amazing Race', 'Family Guy', 'The Cleveland Show', 'The Simpsons', 'Bob's Burgers' & 'The Mentalist' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  6. Sullivan, Robert David (March 18, 2013). "The Simpsons: "Dark Knight Court"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  7. Lopez, Teresa (March 17, 2013). "The Simpsons Review: Fruity Batman". TV Fanatic. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  8. Dawson, Rob H. (March 18, 2013). "The Simpsons Season 24 Review "Dark Knight Court"". TV Equals. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
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