[The long of it]
It was when they were high up on the prison wall, as the searchlight probed the night sky, that Gina first kissed Bart. It was a few moments later when she gave him a solid punch to the gut. She was a mercurial girl, that Gina.
"The Wandering Juvie" revolves around Gina Vendetti (nicely voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar) who, with Bart in tow, makes a daring escape from the Springfield Juvenile Hall. Even though there is nothing mysterious about her background, her personality is still tough to puzzle out. When she first meets Bart, she yanks a shiv out of her hair threatens to "make [his] puberty a lot less interesting." She spends most of the rest of the show finding creative ways to abuse Bart. Yet there's that kiss, and a cute moment later that night where Gina at least semi-playfully tries to "pinch the courage" out of Bart. Usually, such an inconsistent personality means the character hasn't quite come together in the writers' minds, but I think the effect was deliberate this time. Gina has many of the same traits that real-life juvenile criminals do. She doesn't control her impulses or anger very well, and is given to sometimes violent behavior. (She earned her place in prison by pushing Snow White off the castle at Disney World.) She is, as a country blacksmith understates, "trouble." Even by the show's end, I couldn't quite decide whether or not I liked her, but she certainly was interesting.
Bart, as you might have guessed, got his opportunity to meet Gina as an inmate of the same juvenile prison. He's sent there (by Judge Harm, who finally got to her chance after being interrupted in "The Parent Rap (CABF22)") after the police bust him for a wedding-registry prank. A satisfying realism underlies the humor of this part of the story. I don't know how many times social critics have said that any boy who acted like Bart would wind up in the big house sooner or later; so when Harm actually sentences Bart, it makes perfect sense. The other inmates are truly hard cases; many of them make Jimbo and his gang seem friendly by comparison. I was afraid this realism would slip away into a silly subplot when Homer becomes a guard at the prison to watch over Bart. But here again, the outcome is funny yet plausible, as Homer's attempts to ease Bart's sentence backfire. Furthermore, the writers were sharp enough to drop this story thread before all the humor was drained out of it.
The only real faux pas is the ending, which relied too much on Gina having a last-minute change of heart. Yes, she is volatile, but she's not schizophrenic. Everything she did up to this point had at least some criminal logic behind it so, other than to allow things to return to normal by next week, there's no reason to abandon that now. The final scene also veered uncomfortably close to schmaltz, but the warden's last line saved it.
Good jokes were spread throughout the entire show, actually. The Simpsons' trip through Costington's was excellent. I particularly liked Marge's and Lisa's scenes. I liked poky union man the warden called in to close the window on Bart and Gina's escape. "I can do it right or I can do it fast," he says, as the warden urges him to move faster. (By the way, that's Charles Napier reprising his role as a prison warden, a nice touch.) Cletus's whittling in the third act was great, and it gets referenced again nicely later on.
Between its volatile main character, and the seriousness of Bart's predicament, "The Wandering Juvie" turns out to be a surprising dark (yet funny!) show. It may have some problems finishing its journey, but at least it's an arresting trip.
[The short of it]
Well, it finally happened: Bart's mischief has finally landed him in juvenile hall. Despite the many good jokes -- spread throughout the show -- this is an unexpectedly dark episode, with Bart at the mercy of some hard-edged inmates. The toughest nut of all is Gina Vendetta, whose unpredictable personality makes her interesting, if hard to fathom at times. The ending comes out of nowhere, and the final scene is close to being too schmaltzy, but the consistently good humor and Gina's character just about make up for it. (B+)
[DYNs]
... the Frank Nelson-like clerk doesn't say "Yesss"? ... the writers seem to be foreshadowing Edna and Skinner's romantic troubles in next week's episode? ... even people who knew Bart well (and thus should know he couldn't possibly be getting married) showed up for his "wedding"? ... Legs -- or is that Louie; it's the dark-haired one -- observes Bart's trial? ... the comforting way Maggie pats Marge after Bart goes to jail?
[References]
the Wandering Jew (legendary character) Juvie (slang for a juvenile prisoner) - combine to give us the title of this episode
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (album) - Bart compares his wedding prank to this album, considered the Beatles' masterpiece [Ooh, and I was listening to this album the afternoon before this episode aired]
the battle of Waterloo - I&S cartoon entitled, "The Battle of Slaughter-Loo"
"The Defiant Ones" (movie) - two hostile prisoners try to escape while handcuffed to one another
"Do the Bartman" (song) - Bart thought Gina wanted to "Do the Bartman" [this is also a meta-reference, since in Bart's universe there is no such song as "Do the Bartman"]
"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (book) - Snake's version of this self-help book is, "The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Criminals"
"It's a Small World" (song) - Gina carries a clipping with the headline, "It's a Fall World"
Pillsbury (baked goods products) - Cletus whittles the Pillsbury Doughboy caught in a bear trap
Laurel and Hardy (comedy team) - they're at the head of the line at the blacksmith's
"Family Guy" (TV series) - to insult him, Gina calls Bart, "Family Guy"
Punch & Judy (puppet characters) - Wiggum calls Bart and Gina, "Punch and Juvie"
[Previous Episode References]
[CABF22] Judge Harm's first attempt to sentence Bart to Juvenile Hall [CABF05] The warden from the prison appears (and is voiced by Charles Napier) [8F12] Marge tells Bart anyone who beats him is not his friend
[FFF]
Costington's sign, before:
Costington's
DOWNTOWN'S
LAST GASP
OF CLASSCostington's sign, after:
Costington's
DOWNTOWN'S
LAST GAS
OF ASST-shirt in the "Little Hooker" line:
SASSY
B*TCHItems in Bart's "shopping" spree:
- Coffeemaker - Waffle iron - Tea service - Fondue Pot - Dish [something -- Bart was blocking it] towels - Silverware - Cheese Grater - Mellon Baller - China Figurine - Andirons - [Curtain?] Valance - and one other item that Bart's body was blocking
Sham wedding invitation:
The Parents
of
Lotta Cooties
and
Bart Simpson
Invite You to
Celebrate Their
Sacred UnionLottie and Bart are registered at Costington's
Sign outside tent:
JOB
FAIR
4 P.M.... and Bart's replacement:
SIMPSON-
COOTIE
WEDDING
LEAVE PRESENTS HERESlogan on Wiggum's badge:
CASH BRIBES
ONLYSpringfield Juvie Jail:
SPRINGFIELD JUVENILE
CORRECTIONAL FACILITYNOW ACCEPTING CRIMINAL MIDGETS
Exciting post-prison careers:
BURGER FRENCH-FRY LATE NIGHT
FLIPPER SALTER CLEAN-UP DRIVE-THRU BATHROOM BUN PACKAGE
SPECIALIST MOPPER OPENER"Help wanted" sign:
GUARDS
WANTED
IF YOU CAN READ THIS,
YOU'RE OVERQUALIFIEDSign in warden's office:
HIS JUDGEMENT
COMETH AND THAT
RIGHT SOONBart and Gina's mug shot signs:
SIMPSON, BART VENDETTI, GINA
SPRINGFIELD SPRINGFIELD
158734 139813[The numbers were a little hard to make out]
Snake's book:
The
Ten Habits
of
+----------+
| Highly |
|Successful|
|Criminals |
+----------+
by SnakeGina's headline clipping:
IT'S A FALL WORLD
[Oops!]
The images on the skin magnifier are each meant to show stronger magnification than the one before, but the readout goes from 5000x to 1000x (i.e., from stronger to weaker) for the last step.
[Personal Comments & Observations]
Billy Idol's "White Wedding" plays as Bart flies through the store, registering gifts.
Homer's accident with the escalator left him in need of new pants. Although they look fairly harmless, nasty accidents can happen on escalators. If riders wearing sneakers or other rubber-soled shoes drag their feet on the side of the escalator, the shoe can get caught between the treads and the escalator's sidewall. The cheerful industry euphemism for this is "ingestion." So, remember what happened to Homer and be careful out there, folks!
When Homer leaves at the end of his shift, he tells Bart he won't be in to see him on "Martin Luther King Day." This is a United States holiday set aside to honor the famed civil rights activist. As is the case with other minor Federal holidays, like Washington's Birthday or Columbus Day, government workers (like, say, prison guards), bankers, and (sometimes) schoolchildren get the day off, but few other people do.
Conan O'Brien -- Host of the eponymous "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" talk show. (He was also a former "Simpsons" writer, which explains why Snake's appearing on this as opposed to Craig Kilborn's or Jon Stewart's show.)
Heather Locklear -- Actress who had high-profile roles in "Dynasty," "T. J. Hooker," "Melrose Place," and "Spin City."
3rd Eye Blind -- A modern-rock band. Conan's show seems to have a lot of alternative rockers on it, so this is fitting.
To free Bart and Gina, the country blacksmith forges a small key to unlock their handcuffs. This is possible, according to "Biggest Secrets" author William Poundstone, because the keys to handcuffs are often interchangeable. This may sound dangerously insecure, but handcuffs are designed to restrain a prisoner while he or she is in the custody of a cop. Presumably, if a criminal tried to escape by using a hidden handcuff key, the officer would see this and just club him into submission (or whatever the usual response is).
Today's Amazing Animation Achievement (AAA) is ... it's a tie! The winners are (a) the camera follows the rope around the prison "dance hall," and (2) the blacksmith forges a handcuff key.