High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! "Bart of Darkness" is the first episode of The Simpsons` sixth season, which originally aired September 4, 1994. It was written by Dan McGrath, and directed by Jim Reardon. In the episode, Bart breaks his leg; his resultant isolation causes him to believe that Ned Flanders has committed murder. The episode was produced during the 1994 Northridge earthquake which held up production by a month, and is largely a parody of the film Rear Window.