"Bart's Inner Child" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons' fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 11, 1993. In the episode, Marge realizes that she is no fun because of her constant nagging and seeks help from self-help guru Brad Goodman, who then uses Bart's irreverent attitude as a new example of how people should behave. The entire town of Springfield begins to act like Bart, who at first enjoys things but begins to feel that his role as a troublemaker is usurped. During the inaugural "Do What You Feel" festival, several things go wrong and the town decides to stop acting like Bart.
The episode was written by George Meyer and was the first episode of the show to be directed by Bob Anderson. Actor Albert Brooks guest stars in the episode as Brad Goodman, a self-help guru modelled after John Bradshaw. It was Brooks' third of five appearances on the show. Singer James Brown guest stars as himself and he sings his 1965 song "I Got You (I Feel Good)". In 2006, Brooks was named the best Simpsons guest star by IGN, while Brown's appearance has been described as "hilariously over-the-top."
The episode features cultural references to several films, television shows, and songs, including the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, Scott Joplin's piano rag "The Entertainer" and the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons. In its original broadcast, "Bart's Inner Child" finished 40th in the weekly ratings with a Nielsen rating of 11.8, and was viewed in 11.12 million households.
Read more about Bart's Inner Child: Plot, Production, Cultural References, Reception
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