The Old Man and the Lisa
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"The Old Man and the Lisa" is the twenty-first episode in the eighth season of The Simpsons.
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[edit] Synopsis
A discussion with Lisa makes Mr. Burns question just how much money he really has. When he decides his fortune is unsatisfactory and attempts to grow it, he makes numerous bad decisions and goes bankrupt. Waylon Smithers takes him in, and Mr. Burns attempts to do Smithers' shopping. Unfamiliar with the store's atmosphere and posed with the problem of ketchup vs. catsup, Mr. Burns acts rather strangely and is moved to the Springfield Retirement Castle.
There, Mr. Burns meets Lisa again, and begs her to help re-build his fortune. She agrees, on the condition that he drop his evil ways, and the two begin earning money through recycling. Eventually Mr. Burns is able to own a recycling business, but Lisa discovers the business kills sea life and turns it into slurry, in what Mr. Burns defends as using "100% recycled animals." Lisa sees this as a violation of their agreement to refrain from evil, and she severs her ties with him. Nevertheless, Mr. Burns, having regained the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, is willing to pay Lisa a sum of $12 million as her 10% share. Lisa decides she cannot accept what she sees as dirty money and tears up the check, giving Homer such a shock that he suffers from 4 simultaneous heart attacks. In the hospital, Homer says he thought it was $12,000 but then Lisa tells him that's not 10% of $120 million, causing a "code blue" in the hospital from Homer's reaction to the real value.
The episode parodies the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers when Lisa begs people to stop recycling, after having found out what Mr. Burns is doing to the sea creatures.
[edit] Production
[edit] Casting
Professional wrestler Bret Hart guest starred in the episode, as himself. He explained that "It's so cool to be part of a show that makes people laugh really, really hard."[1] The media, aware that the animated Hart would want to purchase Mr. Burns' home, mistakenly anticipated that "Bret offers to wrestle him [Mr. Burns] for the place."[2] Later, Hart moved on to do voice work on the animated television series Jacob Two-Two. The press noted that at that time Hart was "no stranger to cartoon-land," having been "immortalized" by "The Old Man and the Lisa."[3]
[edit] Cultural references
- The episode title is a play on the Ernest Hemingway novel The Old Man and the Sea. This title is also parodied in the episodes The Old Man and the "C" Student and The Old Man and the Key.
- Burns buys Count Chocula cereal at the grocery store.
- The song "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus is played at the old folks' home.
- The scene where Mr. Burns chases Lisa through town is a spoof of the opening to the TV series That Girl.
- As Mr. Burns cashes in his bottles for money, he responds to the hippie cashier by saying "Shine on you crazy diamond," after the Pink Floyd song.
- At the end of the episode, Lisa runs through town begging people not to recycle. The townsfolk then respond robotically and Lisa discovers a truckload of animal slurry, parodying the ending of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. There are also some elements from the ending of Soylent Green.
- Bart's line to Lisa, "Have I told you lately that I love you?", is the title of a 1945 song by Scott Wiseman, as well as the first line of a Van Morrison song (also covered by Rod Stewart).
[edit] References
- ^ Cam Hutchinson, "Doran Johnson given brushoff again," Star-Phoenix, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: April 19, 1997, pg. B.4.
- ^ James Muretich, "Worth Watching," Calgary Herald, August 31, 1998, pg. B.8.
- ^ Heath McCoy, "Former wrestler Bret Hart to play the Hooded Fang," National Post, August 28, 2003, pg. AL.5.
[edit] External link
- "The Old Man and the Lisa" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
