him popular with Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney, who tell Bart they did not actually mean what they said about cutting off the head, and that they would attack the culprit if he were with them. Bart begins to fear the consequences were his actions revealed, and his conscience manifests itself as the statue's severed head, which begins speaking to him. Unable to go on, Bart finally confesses to his family, explaining that he thought being popular was the most important thing in the world. Homer realizes it was his advice that had caused Bart to commit the crime in the first place, and takes responsibility by accompanying Bart as he takes the head back to the statue, returning the story to the beginning. Bart realizes his act has actually brought the town of Springfield closer together, and the mob agrees. The head is then returned to the statue and everyone forgives Homer and Bart. Production The idea to have the episode in flashbacks was originally thought up in the color screening stage of production. This is the first episode directed by Rich Moore. This is the first time Jebediah Springfield is mentioned, as well as the first time the Simpsons go to church. The announcer of the football game Homer is listening to at church is based on Keith Jackson. Two of the football players' names in the game are Kogen and Wolodarsky, in reference to The Simpsons writers Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky. This is the first episode of the series in which Sideshow Bob, Reverend Lovejoy, Krusty the Clown, Jimbo Jones, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Dolph Starbeam, Ms. Albright, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon appear. Bart awakening and finding the head of Jebediah Springfield in bed next to him is a reference to the scene in The Godfather where Jack Woltz finds the bloody decapitated head of his prize racehorse next to him one morning. This is one of only three episodes to actually show the title on screen (season two's "Bart Gets Hit by a Car" and season seven's "22 Short Films About Springfield" being the others). Reception In its original broadcast, "The Telltale Head" finished twenty-sixth in ratings for the week of February 19–25, 1990, with a Nielsen rating of 15.2, equivalent to approximately 14.0 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on Fox that week, following Married... with Children. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood said they enjoyed: