"Bart the Genius" is the second episode of The Simpsons ' first season, which originally aired on the Fox network on January 14, 1990. It was the first episode written by Jon Vitti and the first directed by David Silverman. It was also the first ever episode to use an intro. The episodes features Bart Simpson's experiences of life as a genius after he cheats on an intelligence test. It marks the first use of Bart's catchphrase "Eat my shorts." As the second episode produced, directly after the disastrous animation of "Some Enchanted Evening," the future of the series depended on how the animation turned out on this episode. The animation proved to be more acceptable, and the show went forward.