The Parent Rap

Jane Kaczmarek as Judge Constance Harm
Jess Harnell as Charlton Heston

"The Parent Rap" is the second episode and official premiere of the thirteenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 11, 2001. In the episode, Bart and his father, Homer, are sentenced by the cruel judge Constance Harm to be tethered to each other as a result of Bart stealing Police Chief Wiggum's car. Eventually, Homer's wife, Marge, is fed up with the punishment and cuts the rope, which instead leads to Judge Harm sentencing them to have their heads and hands locked up in wooden stocks.

The episode was written by George Meyer and Mike Scully, who also served as the show runner for the episode, and Mark Kirkland worked as the director. The writers based the story on “a couple of incidents” in real life in which troublesome children, through alternative sentencing, were tethered to their parents. The episode marks the first appearance of the infamous and notoriously cruel Judge Constance Harm, who is played by actress Jane Kaczmarek. When it was first broadcast, “The Parent Rap” was watched by 14.4 million viewers, making it the second most watched show of its timeslot that night. After its release on DVD and Blu-ray, however, the episode garnered mixed reviews from critics.

When Homer makes Bart and Milhouse walk to school, the boys get into trouble and are arrested for stealing Chief Wiggum's squad car. Milhouse gets off but when Bart comes to the bench, judge Constance Harm takes over while judge Schneider is on his fishing trip and lays down the law. She holds Homer responsible for Bart's deeds and sentences he and Bart to be tethered together.