"Bart's Friend Falls in Love" is the twenty-third episode of The Simpsons' third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 7, 1992. In the episode, Bart's best friend Milhouse falls in love with the new girl in school, Samantha Stankey. Milhouse and Samantha spend all their free time together, leaving Bart feeling jealous and excluded. In order to ruin their relationship, Bart tells Samantha's strict father about it. As a punishment, Samantha is sent to an all-girls Catholic school, while Milhouse is left behind heartbroken. Meanwhile, Homer orders a subliminal cassette tape to help him lose weight, but is accidentally sent one that helps him increase his vocabulary after the weight-loss tapes sell out.
The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Jim Reardon. American actress Kimmy Robertson guest starred in the episode as Samantha. The opening sequence of "Bart's Friend Falls in Love" is a parody of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, while the closing sequence parodies the film Casablanca. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 12.4 and was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
Read more about Bart's Friend Falls In Love: Plot, Production and Allusions, Reception
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