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'{{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = | caption = | season = 29 | episode = 15 | director = [[Mark Kirkland]] | writer = [[Jeff Westbrook]] | production = XABF07 | airdate = {{Start date|2018|4|8}} | guests = {{Plainlist| * [[Daniel Radcliffe]] as himself * [[Jimmy O. Yang]] as [[Sun Tzu]] }} | blackboard = "April showers did not date the [[Donald Trump|President]]" | couch_gag = A hand does a [[connect the dots]] of the family, but Homer is drawn with three eyes and he says "D'oh!" | commentary = | prev = [[Fears of a Clown]] | next = [[King Leer]] }} "'''No Good Read Goes Unpunished'''" is the fifteenth episode of the [[The Simpsons (season 29)|twenty-ninth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]'', and the 633rd episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] on April 8, 2018. ==Plot== The entire city of Springfield is ready to watch a nonstop marathon of [[The Itchy & Scratchy Show]] that moves through every episode of the show's history. After hours of watching the marathon, a frustrated [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] forces everyone in the family to give up their electronics for the day. After failed trips to the library and a modern book store, Marge takes the family to an old time book store. While at the book store, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] tries to purchase tickets to a Tunnelcraft - the show's version of [[Minecraft]] - convention, but [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] refuses to allow Bart to purchase the tickets. This leads him to purchase ''[[The Art of War]]'' so that he can use the book to manipulate Homer into allowing him to go to the convention. At school, Bart tests the book's advice by stopping [[Nelson Muntz|Nelson]] from beating him up for reading the book by irritating and distracting him. He takes his knowledge further by bribing Homer's friends to help him carry out his plan, which includes keeping Homer distracted and making him paranoid with items such as gongs and banners. After one incident where he nearly drowns in a lake of mud after eating a series of milk balls in a trap set by Bart, Homer relents and takes Bart and [[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]] to the video game convention. At the convention, Homer runs into [[Daniel Radcliffe]], and then blackmails Milhouse into revealing the reason behind Bart's manipulative behavior. He then reads the book to manipulate Bart by acting like and hanging out with [[Ned Flanders]], including wearing a fake moustache to look like him. This climaxes with Homer, Bart and Ned going to see an old silent movie based on [[Silent Night]]. Bart pleads with his father to become normal again, which Homer agrees to on the condition that Bart provide him with the remainder of his Halloween candy. The two then reconcile after admitting they both read the book, and proceed to watch another silent movie in the theater with Ned, only for the entire theatre to burn in flames due to the old film reels being played on a new-generation projector. Meanwhile, Marge purchases an old book called ''The Princess's Pond'' - a combination of [[The Secret Garden]] and [[A Little Princess]] - that was her favorite when she was [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa's]] age. When Lisa reads it to her friends the following night at a [[slumber party]], she discovers it is actually culturally offensive in many different ways. In a dream sequence, Lisa befriends the story's protagonist, Clara Cutler - whose personality mirrors that of Sara Crewe from [[A Little Princess]], but also [[Rudyard Kipling]], who tells her that it is okay to be racist. Also in the dream, she meets The Princess in the Garden's author, Heloise Hodgeson Burwell - the show's version of [[Frances Hodgson Burnett]] - who gives her permission to rewrite the story and remove the offensive bits. Lisa does so, but after Becky borrows it for her book report, she receives an F. Lisa apolgizes to her upon hearing this, admitting that the story has lost meaning along with its "spirit and character." Marge decides to bring the girls to Springfield University, where they are told by modern scholars that the book is a subversive satire of conformity. However, Lisa is not entirely convinced, and the scholars admit that they do not completely believe it either, but they are drinking heavily, and are therefore somewhat more inclined to ignore their feelings of skepticism. ==Reception== Although the episode received positive reception, Dennis Perkins of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' gave this episode a D+, stating, "Irritating on several simultaneous levels, 'No Good Read Goes Unpunished' would be more bothersome if it were more memorable."<ref>{{cite web|last=Perkins|first=Dennis|url=https://tv.avclub.com/the-simpsons-gets-into-books-and-forgets-how-to-tell-a-1825094409|title=The Simpsons gets into books and forgets how to tell a story|publisher=Avclub.com|date=April 8, 2018|accessdate=April 9, 2018}}</ref> "No Good Read Goes Unpunished" scored a 0.9 rating with a 4 share and was watched by 2.15 million people, making it Fox's highest rated show of the night.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/sunday-final-ratings-april-8-2018/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410201832/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/sunday-final-ratings-april-8-2018/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 10, 2018|title='America's Funniest Home Videos' rerun adjusts up: Sunday final ratings|last=Porter|first=Rick|work=[[TV by the Numbers]]|date=April 10, 2018|accessdate=April 10, 2018}}</ref> ==Allusion to ''The Problem with Apu''== The episode alludes to the 2017 documentary ''[[The Problem with Apu]]'' written by and starring [[Hari Kondabolu]], which addressed the issues surrounding racial stereotypes seen in ''Simpsons'' character [[Apu Nahasapeemapetilon]]. While a framed photo of [[Apu Nahasapeemapetilon|Apu]] sits in the foreground, Lisa says, "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?" Marge replies, "Some things will be addressed at a later date." Lisa adds, "If at all."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://kotaku.com/the-simpsons-pokes-fun-at-documentary-that-criticized-a-1825105222|title=The Simpsons Pokes Fun At Documentary That Criticized Apu|last=Jackson|first=Gita|work=Kotaku|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en-US}}</ref> Kondabolu was disappointed that the show reduced the film's "larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups" into a specific complaint, vocalized by Lisa, that the character is "politically incorrect".<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/simpsons-addresses-apu-stereotype-controversy-1100853 | title = 'The Simpsons' Addresses Apu Stereotype Controversy | first = Abid | last = Rahman | date = April 9, 2018 | accessdate = April 9, 2018 | work = [[The Hollywood Reporter]] }}</ref> Later that week, [[Al Jean]] stated that he would attempt "to try to find an answer that is popular [and] more important right."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/simpsons-showrunner-addresses-apu-controversy-vows-find-right-answer-1102561|title='The Simpsons' Showrunner Vows to Find "Right" Answer to Apu Controversy|first=Ryan|last=Parker|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 13, 2018|accessdate=April 13, 2018}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb episode|7953984}} {{The Simpsons episodes|29}} [[Category:2018 American television episodes]] [[Category:The Simpsons (season 29) episodes]] [[Category:Rudyard Kipling]]'