The writers of The Simpsons are lauded for many things, including terrific series callbacks, which is surprising when they miss an obvious payoff like they did with the "Bort" setup from season 6's "Itchy & Scratchy Land" episode. One of the longest-running television shows in history, The Simpsons has introduced viewers to countless characters within the fictional town of Springfield, including the main fixtures of the series, the Simpson family. The adventures of Homer, Marge, Maggie, Lisa, and Bart Simpson have entertained for 33 seasons, and their antics never seem to get old.
One great aspect of The Simpsons is now the team of writers never ceases to come up with jokes that pay off elsewhere in later seasons. One such example of this is the dishwasher soap from Japan with a logo that resembles Homer called Mr. Sparkle. The concept first appeared in season 8, episode 22, "In Marge We Trust," where Homer discovers detergent with what looks a lot like a picture of him on the box. The same box appears in several instances of the series in later seasons, including in the opening credit sequence of the more modern episodes. This example has helped The Simpsons stay fresh and consistent with jokes that recur throughout the run of the series.
Unfortunately for the writers, they didn't seem to catch one big payoff that would have been great for Bart's character. In season 6, episode 4, "Itchy & Scratchy Land," Bart is searching for a personalized license plate souvenir with his name on it, but he discovers that there is only a "Bort" section and no "Bart" to be found. In the episode, there seem to be more Borts in The Simpsons universe while he may be the only Bart. However, the writers missed a great opportunity in the following season where they could have named an alternative character Bort rather than the name they came up with: Lester.
In what is without a doubt one of the more entertaining and short-lived The Simpsons gags at the time, in season 7, episode 18, "The Day the Violence Died," Lisa and Bart are met with bizarro versions of themselves in Eliza and Lester. The replacement siblings are drawn similar to how Lisa and Bart first appeared at the beginning of the series, but with slightly different names. Eliza's name is a nod to Lisa, but Lester and Bart have contrasting names. It's here that the writers could have used the name of Bort instead of Lester, which would have been a fantastic payoff for the souvenir gag from the previous season.
It isn't clear if the writing appears lazy for this one episode or if the idea of naming Lester as Bort is not peculiar enough. Often, The Simpsons is regarded for predicting the future and revisiting old jokes to make them new again. It seems this pay-off could have been stronger had the writers revisited a hilarious joke they set up in the prior season. Even though The Simpsons can often be counted on for repeating jokes and keeping a consistent tone throughout the series, it's with this mishap that viewers could easily see a blind spot occur in the writers' room.
New episodes of The Simpsons start September 25, 2022.