OTH: The Simpsons- "The Old Man and the 'C' Student" / "Monty Can't Buy Me Love"
Feeling a little geriatric this week, aren't we?
Season 10, Episode 20
Aired April 25, 1999
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Written by Julie Thacker
Synopsis: Thanks to a letter from Lisa, Springfield is in contention to host the Olympics. The town does their best job deep cleaning the streets, Principal Skinner sets up a lovely opening ceremony performance with the children, and Homer even introduces a mascot for the ceremony, Springy, a metal spring with googly eyes. Their presentation goes well, until Bart does his stand-up routine, insulting the countries represented. The Olympic committee reject Springfield and move over to Shelbyville instead, and Bart is blamed for this, not Skinner for having the bright idea to have the little hellraiser host an edgy performance. When the other kids come to his defense, Skinner decides to punish all of them, along with Bart, by sentencing them to 20 hours of community service. Bart and Lisa are scheduled to work at the retirement center as their project, which means plenty of time with Grampa! But what really happens is that they do boring things like bingo. Bart thinks that the elderly deserve better, but Lisa insists that they’re content with their life as is. One day, Bart decides to rebel and takes the senior citizens out of the home and run free. They frolic through the park, the best way they can at least. He then sets them up on a boat ride, where the elderly get to dance to some old-timey music, much to Lisa’s chagrin, who thinks that they’re being overstimulated. It turns out that she’s right, as they’re looking forward to medication time and bingo. They’re happy with their lives as is, apparently. But no one is happy when Mr. Burns’ boat accidentally crashes into theirs, which the Sea Captain didn’t recognize, having two glass eyes. Luckily, Jack LaLanne is there, and he tries to help pull the ship to shore, but he instead rips the ship in half. Instead, they nearly drown, with the senior citizens angry at Bart. Grampa tries to defend him, stating that Bart has given him the best time he’s had in a while. Still, it’s too late, as they’re going to sink into the ocean… except for Homer, who in this week’s b-plot, bought a boatload of springs to sell, but since Springy never went to use, he struggles to sell them, and ends up flushing all of them down the toilet. The ship keeps bouncing back thanks to the springs, and everyone gets rescued. Even though Bart’s community service requirements are over, he promises his grandpa that he’ll come visit tomorrow, anyway.
Grampa episodes seldom tend to inspire. Abe is an enjoyable character in small doses, but usually when he receives extended attention, his lack of positive qualities, most notably how terrible of a father he was and still is to Homer, make it hard to find a sticking point. Although that’s usually true when he’s paired with Homer. When we see Grampa with Bart and Lisa, he comes out a little likable, probably because he only has to deal with them every once in a while.
But “The Old Man and the “C” Student” isn’t really a Grampa episode, it’s a Bart episode where Grampa factors in more than his parents. Homer and Marge are relegated to another wacky subplot after the first act, while Bart and Lisa handle the main story. This seems to be a recent crutch for the show, which seems to think that it can’t keep audiences’ attention without plenty of Homer, and I don’t think that’s quite fair.
I’ve tried to keep this under wraps, but while I think that Lisa gets the best episodes on average, Homer is my favorite of the family, and I love when the stars are aligned for the character. When he’s allowed to be funny and still maintain the heart that made Marge fall for him, the reason that he’s considered among the best television characters of all time is evident. He’s a funny, charming bastard. Even when the episode he’s involved in isn’t the strongest, like, say, last week’s “Mom and Pop Art”, he can still elicit serious laughs, such as his frustrated attempt to build “le grille”.
But he doesn’t have to be involved in every episode. Or if the show is going to continually embrace subplots, don’t only shoehorn them in when he isn’t involved with the main story. Be consistent.
The thing is, Bart and Lisa are strong, fully-formed characters and can more than hold their own for an entire episode. The show often works well when their conflicting personalities come to a head, especially when their unbreakable sibling bond allows them to resolve their issues. And while this isn’t the best-detailed episode by any stretch, I do think that their dynamic works. Having Bart’s optimistic delinquency drive the plot against Lisa’s less enjoyable, but earnest realism makes for a welcome contrast.
“The Old Man and the “C” Student” is the first episode written by Julie Thacker-Scully, current showrunner Mike Scully’s wife, and she bases the episode on personal experience, recalling the time their eldest daughter worked at a senior center as part of a community outreach program for her school. I can’t say that Thacker-Scully’s hit ratio is as strong as her husband or brother-in-law’s, but she gets good jokes in throughout, and it’s worth giving her credit for focusing on an aspect of the Springfield ecosystem that isn’t especially developed, like the senior community.
The ending realization that the folks at the elderly home are fine with their life as is, dull routines and all, is a little sad, but works within the logic of the show. Dismantling the status quo doesn’t work for Springfield. What happened last week will continue to happen the following week, regardless of what’s going on today. Grampa and his neighbors are happy with bingo and the occasional movie night, although they’d really love it if you showed up or at least gave them a call.
So hey, if you haven’t checked up on your older loved ones, now may be a good time to do so. Also, how do Bart and Lisa know who Jack LaLanne is?
Season 10, Episode 21
Aired May 2, 1999
Directed by Mark Ervin
Written by John Swartzwelder
Synopsis: A new megastore opens in Springfield, which takes the town by storm. This also comes to the attention of one Mr. Burns, who comes inside and is displeased to see the people’s new favorite billionaire, Arthur Fortune, is vastly more popular than he is. Worrying about his image, Burns finds Homer and begs him for help to reclaim (or receive any) popularity. It’s not like Homer can say no to his boss, so he suggests that Mr. Burns repeats one of Fortune’s stunts and throws money to the public. However, instead of dollar bills, Burns gets a bunch of silver dollars and throws them down from the rooftop. Next, Homer comes up with the idea that Burns can donate to charity for the first time in his life, so he writes a check for the local hospital and has Homer deliver it for him. Instead, Homer forgets to say who it’s from and he’s rewarded instead. A distraught Burns goes to complain, but ends up taking morphine instead. He then meets with popular morning zoo host Jerry Rude (Michael McKean), and that doesn’t go well at all. How can Burns compete with someone like Fortune, who travels the world and does crazy stunts? Mr. Burns has an idea, and he ends up taking Homer, alongside with Groundskeeper Willie and Professor Frink, to Scotland, where they intend to find the Loch Ness Monster. Willie is there to show them around town, while Frink builds a tracker, but they initially struggle to find Nessie in the lake. Burns eventually demands that they drain the lake, and soon enough they find the monster, and fly it over to Springfield. Burns becomes the talk of the town as he presents Nessie to the public, but while the monster appears calm, the billionaire becomes startled by the cameras and attention, eventually causing a disaster which results in fire. Having alienated the people of Springfield once again, Burns remains despondent, but Homer cheers him up and reminds his boss of how much he loves being a miserable old fuck. As for the monster, Burns finds a new job for it, over in Vegas.
I often see people call even the earliest episodes of The Simpsons foreboding for how they depict scenarios that were simply timely back during their airdates. This tends to be more of an indictment on how society at large hasn’t changed in the 30+ years the series has started rather than praise for how the show continues to stand the test of the time. This thought comes to mind when watching “Monty Can’t Buy Me Love” and noticing how similar Mr. Burns is to a certain social media CEO, how they both possess unfathomable wealth but rather than use their advantages for good, would rather spend their infinite resources attempting to earn validation from the public. It’s pathetic in a funny kind of way, which makes Musk unbearable in real life, but Burns enjoyable as a TV character.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Burns try to revitalize his image, with season 8’s “The Old Man and the Lisa” being a recent example that comes to mind, but it’s a trend that I find worthwhile. The Mr. Burns who stole candy from a baby and tried to block out the sun is becoming less of a presence in the series, but he isn’t entirely taken away from the show.
While the character has been toned down in a rare example of character development (I do think that getting shot has softened him a little), the people of Springfield can’t and won’t easily forget how vindictive of an old fuck Burns is, nor should they. Even Homer only seems to be helping hos boss out of fear rather than his own interest or even pity. Only Smithers is willing to stand up for the old man, and that may be why he’s absent from the story after the first act- Burns may be tired of having his professional asskisser around, opting for a more neutral face like Homer.
Luckily, Swartzwelder is at the typewriter this week (I assume that he still works on a typewriter, computers be damned), and he’s a natural fit for Burns’ old-timey references. He also adds enough funny moments to keep the episode better paced than usual, almost eschewing the recent tradition of a drop in the final act. We just miss that streak due to a competent, but uninspired King Kong riff at the very end, but even that works out for the great gag of having the Loch Ness Monster work the slot machines in Vegas. Why?
Mark Ervin also does a good job with directorial duties, more or less pulling off the weirdly-colored sea creature, but making up for it with handsome animation and a nice look of the “actual” Loch Ness. It results in an entertaining late season turn when we could really use one. I will miss this show, for now.
Homer’s Bar Tab:
Chalkboard Gag Wars- “Loose teeth don’t need my help” vs. “I have neither been there nor done that.” Well, why don’t they need your help?
Couch Gag Wars- Various people are seated in front of the TV vs. the circus opener. That means the episode is running short.
“I love you, honey.” “Are you talking to me or the beer?” “To you, my nubbly, long-necked, beechwood aged-lover.”
Hey, they finally made it to the fireworks factory! Well, the fireworks, candy and puppy dog store, but same diff.
I wonder what the “edited for senior citizens” version of Gone with the Wind would look like, since apparently it doesn’t have a war.
The “chief” who resembles the character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is advocating for proposition 217, which allows Native Americans to operate casinos in certain states. Now I’m reminded of the King of the Hill episode where John Redcorn opens a casino on his native land, which is immediately shut down because he didn’t bother learning that Texas is not a state where this is approved.
It’s funny, when I initially finished these reviews,
“Poor Mr. Costner, he tries so hard.” Well, if nothing else, he’s doing better in a post-Yellowstone world.
How do you get two male pandas to mate? Although it’s worth noting, that when pandas were mentioned, I was worried that we hit a, ahem, very different episode.
Due to a mistake by the animators, the Loch Ness Monster ended up in an almost Barney-like purplish-pink. But you know what? That’s cute. I stand with the off-color Nessie.
According to Mr. Burns, Nessy is the ninth wonder in the world, while “Gomer Pile”‘s legendary singing voice is the eighth.
Next Week: We finish season 10, along with this phase of my Simpsons reviews, with Lisa teaming up to turn Springfield into a utopia, followed by the family visiting Japan. I’m sure that won’t go wrong at all.