Changes: Chalkboard gag

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A chalkboard gag, sometimes called a blackboard gag, is a running visual joke that occurs during the Opening sequence of many episodes of The Simpsons . In this gag, Bart Simpson is writing a unique phrase on the chalkboard repeatedly; when the school bell rings, he immediately stops writing and runs out of the classroom. The phrase is usually in the form of an admonishment, implying that Bart has been assigned this task as punishment in detention for some misbehavior left partly to the viewer's imagination. The chalkboard gags are usually written in upper case.

Some of the gags have been shown to reference crimes in the United States.

In the early days of the series, a chalkboard gag was used in almost every episode, but, as commercial time has increased, they have gradually disappeared. They are now shown as rarely as twice per season. The show's producers have said that they may soon disappear altogether. However, they seem to be making a comeback as there were eight chalkboard gags during season 17 including three in a row during the last three episodes of the season. The fourth season, the 11th season and the 12th season are the only seasons to use chalkboard gags in each episode (excluding the Treehouse of Horror series).

A chalkboard gag was also used in The Simpsons Movie . Bart can be seen writing "I will not illegally download this movie" on the chalkboard at school. As a follow-up, the chalkboard gag on the Season 19 premiere episode which immediately follows the Simpsons Movie, shows Bart writing, "I will not wait 20 years to make another movie."

References in The Simpsons

In "Skinner's Sense of Snow", Bart says that he had written on the chalkboard so many times that his hands sound like a cement mixer.
In "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays", Bart asks for a detention but Ms. Krabappel said they all got tired of that years ago, referencing the reduced number of gags in the openings.
In "Bart the Murderer", Bart is inspired by Fat Tony and attempts to bribe Principal Skinner. In the next scene, Bart is seen writing "I will not bribe Mr. Skinner" on the chalkboard, monitored by the principal himself.
In "Adventures in Baby-Getting", Bart mentions the gag when Lisa asks what he does on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Bart then asks if she has any ideas because he is running out.
In "Lisa's Date with Density", Lisa writes on the chalkboard as punishment and questions, "How does Bart do this every week?" She does this again second time was in "Grift of the Magi." When Bart finds out, he says "The ironing is delicious"

References in other media

Since the chalkboard gag was one of the highlights of The Simpsons, the chalkboard gag has even been featured in other television shows. They include:

The chalkboard gag appears in the South Park episode, Cartoon Wars Part II. Bart writes in the alleyway "I hate Family Guy" repeatedly with a chalk.
In the first episode of ChalkZone, Rudy writes repeatedly on the chalkboard, "These cartoons are not at all funny."
In the Pilot for Invader ZIM, Dib repeatedly writes, "Zim is not an alien" on the chalkboard a lot. Phrases like "My hand hurts" and "Zim dissects farm animals" were also on the chalkboard.
In The Fairly OddParents! episode Channel Chasers, one of the shows Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, and Timmy's adult doppelganger end up in. Timmy parodies Bart and starts out by writing on the chalkboard: "This is the sincerest form of flattery" and then exits Wintergreen Elementary School (parody of Springfield Elementary School).
In the UK, when Channel 4 promoted it will first show the Simpsons, there was a chalkboard that the Simpsons are coming next and at 10:00PM 'The World According to The Simpsons'. See [1]
In Kid vs. Kat, episode, "Coop D'Etat", when Miss Brannigan put in detention to Coop Burtonburger for a month due to Science Center's catastrophe (which actually was caused by Kat), she forces him to Coop to write on the chalkboard: "I will not make space artifacts", 10,000 times.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Cleanup}}
+{{Realworld}}
-[[File:OrigianlChalkboardS1E06.png|thumb|Original First Season Version of the Chalkboard gag]]
-[[File:Simpsons-Chalkboard2.jpg|thumb|Season 2 remake of the original first season chalkboard gag]]
-[[File:Simpsons_chalkboard_gag.jpg|thumb|New Chalkboard gag from Season 20, starting with "[[Take My Life, Please]]"]]
-The '''chalkboard gag''' is a running visual joke that occurs during the [[The Simpsons Opening Sequence|opening credits]] of many episodes of ''[[The Simpsons]]''. In this gag, [[Bart Simpson]] is writing a unique phrase on the chalkboard repeatedly; when the school bell rings, he immediately stops writing and runs out of the classroom. The phrase is usually in the form of an admonishment, implying that Bart has been assigned this task as punishment in detention for some misbehavior left partly to the viewer's imagination.
+A '''chalkboard gag''', sometimes called a '''blackboard gag''', is a running visual joke that occurs during the Opening sequence of many episodes of ''[[The Simpsons]] .'' In this gag, [[Bart Simpson]]  is writing a unique phrase on the chalkboard repeatedly; when the school bell rings, he immediately stops writing and runs out of the classroom. The phrase is usually in the form of an admonishment, implying that Bart has been assigned this task as punishment in detention for some misbehavior left partly to the viewer's imagination. The chalkboard gags are usually written in upper case.
-Several of the gags have been show to be crimes in the U.S. (e.g. ""Bart Bucks" are not legal tender" (counterfeiting which is a class C felony))
+Some of the gags have been shown to reference crimes in the United States.
-The chalkboard gags are usually written in upper case (with the exception of the words "eBay," in which Bart wrote a lower case "e" and "ay", and "iPODDY," where the "i" is lower case.)
+In the early days of the series, a chalkboard gag was used in almost every episode, but, as commercial time has increased, they have gradually disappeared. They are now shown as rarely as twice per season. The show's producers have said that they may soon disappear altogether. However, they seem to be making a comeback as there were eight chalkboard gags during season 17 including three in a row during the last three episodes of the season. The fourth season, the 11th season and the 12th season are the only seasons to use chalkboard gags in each episode (excluding the ''Treehouse of Horror'' series).
-While running visual jokes in ''The Simpsons'' are rarely referred to by the content of the show itself, in the episode "[[Skinner's Sense of Snow]]", Bart says that he had written on the chalkboard so many times that his hands sound like a cement mixer. In another episode ("[[Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays]]"), Bart asks for a detention but [[Ms. Krabappel]] said they all got tired of that years ago, referencing the reduced number of gags in the openings. In the episode "[[Bart the Murderer]]", Bart is inspired by Fat Tony and attempts to bribe his principal, Mr. Skinner. In the next scene, Bart is seen writing "I will not bribe [[Seymour Skinner|Mr. Skinner]]" on the chalkboard, monitored by the principal himself.
+A chalkboard gag was also used in [[The Simpsons Movie]] . Bart can be seen writing "I will not illegally download this movie" on the chalkboard at school. As a follow-up, the chalkboard gag on the Season 19 premiere episode which immediately follows the Simpsons Movie, shows Bart writing, "I will not wait 20 years to make another movie."
-Lisa has been punished with the chalkboard twice, once in the episode "[[Lisa's Date with Density]]". As she writes, she complains, "How does Bart do this every week?" The second time was in "[[Grift of the Magi]]." When Bart finds out, he malapropism, "The ironing is delicious."
+== References in ''The Simpsons'' ==
-In the early days of the series, a chalkboard gag was used in almost every episode, but, as commercial time has increased, they have gradually disappeared. They are now shown as rarely as twice per season. The show's producers have said that they may soon disappear altogether. However, they seem to be making a comeback as there were eight chalkboard gags during season 17 including three in a row during the last three episodes of the season. The 4th season, the 11th season and the 12th season are the only seasons to use chalkboard gags in each episode (excluding the Treehouse of Horrors).
+*In "[[Skinner's Sense of Snow]]", Bart says that he had written on the chalkboard so many times that his hands sound like a cement mixer.
+*In "[[Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays]]", Bart asks for a detention but [[Ms. Krabappel]] said they all got tired of that years ago, referencing the reduced number of gags in the openings.
+*In "[[Bart the Murderer]]", Bart is inspired by Fat Tony and attempts to bribe Principal Skinner. In the next scene, Bart is seen writing "I will not bribe [[Seymour Skinner|Mr. Skinner]]" on the chalkboard, monitored by the principal himself.
+*In "[[Adventures in Baby-Getting]]", Bart mentions the gag when Lisa asks what he does on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Bart then asks if she has any ideas because he is running out.
+*In "[[Lisa's Date with Density]]", Lisa writes on the chalkboard as punishment and questions, ''"How does Bart do this every week?"'' She does this again second time was in "[[Grift of the Magi]]." When Bart finds out, he says ''"The ironing is delicious"''
+== References in other media ==
-A chalkboard gag was also used in ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]''. Bart can be seen writing "I will not illegally download this movie." on the chalkboard at school. As a follow-up, the chalkboard gag on the Season 19 premiere episode, [[He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs]], which immediately follows the Simpsons Movie, shows Bart writing, "I will not wait 20 years to make another movie."
+Since the chalkboard gag was one of the highlights of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', the chalkboard gag has even been featured in other television shows. They include:
+* The chalkboard gag appears in the ''[[w:c:southpark:South Park|South Park]]'' episode, ''[[w:c:southpark:Cartoon Wars Part II|Cartoon Wars Part II]]''. Bart writes in the alleyway "I hate Family Guy" repeatedly with a chalk.
-== Chalkboard gags outside ''The Simpsons'' ==
+* In the first episode of ''[[wikipedia:ChalkZone|ChalkZone]]'', Rudy writes repeatedly on the chalkboard, "These cartoons are not at all funny."
-* A chalkboard gag appeared in the ''South Park'' episode "Cartoon Wars Part II", writing ''I Hate Family Guy.''
+* In the [[w:c:zim:Pilot|Pilot]] for ''[[w:c:zim:Invader Zim (series)|Invader ZIM]]'', [[w:c:zim:Dib|Dib]] repeatedly writes, "Zim is not an alien" on the chalkboard a lot. Phrases like "My hand hurts" and "Zim dissects farm animals" were also on the chalkboard.
-* In the American children's books ''Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets'', Mr. Krupp punishes George and Harold and makes them fill chalkboards with "I will never do anything which angers my handsome and charming principal, Mr. Krupp, ever, ever again." George and Harold get revenge when they are made Principals for a Day, and they punish the teachers (and tattletale Melvin Sneedly) to write the following sentences on chalkboards:
+* In ''[[w:c:fairlyoddparents:The Fairly OddParents!|The Fairly OddParents!]]'' episode ''[[w:c:fairyoddparents:Channel Chasers|Channel Chasers]]'', one of the shows Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, and Timmy's adult doppelganger end up in. Timmy parodies Bart and starts out by writing on the chalkboard: "This is the sincerest form of flattery" and then exits Wintergreen Elementary School (parody of Springfield Elementary School).
-** Ms. Ribble: ''I will stop being such a crab.''
+* In the UK, when [[Channel 4]] promoted it will first show the Simpsons, there was a chalkboard that the Simpsons are coming next and at 10:00PM 'The World According to The Simpsons'. See [http://thetvroom.com/ch-4/ch-4-03-75.html]
-** Mr. Meaner: ''I will chill out.''
+*In ''[[w:c:kidvskat:Kid vs. Kat|Kid vs. Kat]]'', episode, "[[w:c:kidvskat:Coop D'Etat|Coop D'Etat]]", when [[w:c:kidvskat:Miss Brannigan|Miss Brannigan]] put in detention to [[w:c:kidvskat:Coop Burtonburger|Coop Burtonburger]] for a month due to Science Center's catastrophe (which actually was caused by [[w:c:kidvskat:Kat|Kat]]), she forces him to Coop to write on the chalkboard: "I will not make space artifacts", 10,000 times.
-** Ms. Anthrope: ''I will get a life.''
-** Melvin: ''I will not be a tattle-tale.''
+== Gallery ==
-** Mr. Krupp: ''I will be very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very nice to "George the Great" and "The Amazing Harold".''
+<gallery>
-*In a different book, Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plight of the Purple Potty People, when George and Harold are making sure they are in the right universe, three kids are being seen writing various things about their childhood, such as
+File:OrigianlChalkboardS1E06.png|The chalkboard gag from the [[Season 1|first season]] ("[[Moaning Lisa]]").
-** Crying Girl: ''My parents only pretend to love me.''
+File:Simpsons-Chalkboard2.jpg|The chalkboard gag style from the second season until the twentieth season.
-** Miserable Boy: ''I apologize for being born.''
+File:Simpsons chalkboard gag.jpg|The modern chalkboard gag that started in the [[Season 20|twentieth season]].
-** Glasses Girl: ''I'm so ugly, when I was born, the doctor slapped my mom.''
+</gallery>
-* In the comic strip series ''FoxTrot'', Jason Fox gets punished with the chalkboard several times:
-** In a 1994 Sunday strip, Jason uses the school's computer to print the phrase "I will not shoot paper clips in class", which he then tapes to the chalkboard (to which his teacher replies, "Jason, I meant write it by hand").
-** In a 2003 strip, Jason saves time by writing a program in the C programming language to repeat the required phrase 500 times.
-** In a 2005 strip, Jason writes a preemptive blank phrase on the chalkboard.
-** In another strip, Jason is told to write "I will not say Eileen Jacobson is a space spore", which he emphasises to "I will not say '''EILEEN JACOBSON IS A SPACE SPORE'''" since the teacher never specified the font size.
-* In a parody of the ''Simpsons'' intro featured in two episodes of ''[[wikipedia:Histeria!|Histeria!]]'', Loud Kiddington is shown writing "I do not need a megaphone!"
-* In the first episode of ''ChalkZone'', Rudy Tabootie has to write "Cartoons are not funny".
-* Around The Horn panelist Woody Paige features a chalkboard with a humorous saying, though it usually isn't a phrase repeated over and over, nor does it usually mention things the writer won't do anymore.
 == See also ==
-* [[List of The Simpsons chalkboard gags]]
+* [[List of chalkboard gags]]
 * [[Couch gag]]
 [[Category:Culture]]
-[[Category:Opening sequence gags]]
+[[Category:Running gags]]
+[[Category:Bart Simpson]]