Bleeding Gums Murphy | Simpsons Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia “The Blues ain't about feeling better; it's about making other people feel worse.” ―Bleeding Gums Murphy to Lisa [src] Murphy Kenneth "Bleeding Gums" Hibbert (January 7, 1936 - April 30, 1995) was the idol and role model of Lisa Simpson . He first appears in the sixth episode of Season 1 , Moaning Lisa . Contents Biography A young Bleeding Gums Murphy Bleeding Gums learned his musical skills at the feet of Blind Willie Witherspoon. Willie wanted to give Bleeding Gums his saxophone, only to be finally told that it wasn't a saxophone and actually an umbrella, meaning that Willie had actually been playing an umbrella for some thirty years. Bleeding Gums explained to Willie that no one informed him of the mistake because "we all thought it was funny". Murphy Kenneth "Bleeding Gums Murphy" Hibbert recorded only one album, titled Sax on the Beach , which was extremely lucrative for him. However, he soon went broke after spending too much of his money on several Fabergé eggs a day.

He revealed that he had once made a guest appearance on The Cosby Show in 1986 as the Huxtable children's grandfather, as well as appearing on Steve Allen's Tonight Show. [1] Bleeding Gums on the Cosby Show. Murphy makes his first appearance playing his saxophone on a bridge in the middle of the night. This is a reference to Sonny Rollins, the great saxophonist, who famously retired from public and was not seen for three years, until a journalist discovered him playing the saxophone alone on the Williamsburg Bridge. Bleeding Gums was a mentor to Lisa Simpson until his early death. He played and vocalized a song written by Lisa. It pleased Lisa to see the performance of her own jazz song in the bar " The Jazz Hole ", but not everyone in the family was happy with lyrics, as they criticized several of them. [2] Bleeding Gums once sang a twenty six minute version of the American National anthem "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Springfield Isotopes game. [3] He serves as one of the three judges for a talent show once, giving Bart a 10 for his impersonation of Principal Skinner.

[4] He also appears joining in with the song "Sending Our Love Down the Well" after Bart pretends that he fell into a well. [5] Death Bleeding Gums' Tombstone He makes his final appearance in " 'Round Springfield ". When Bart ends up in the hospital after eating a jagged metal Krusty-O's , Lisa finds Bleeding Gums in a hospital bed in a nearby ward. They play Carole King's "Jazzman" together, entertaining the hospital. He explains about his life, family and work to her as well as giving her advice for her upcoming school performance, lending her his saxophone. When Lisa returns she is devastated when she finds out that Bleeding Gums has died from circumstances that are never revealed, possibly cardiac arrest. [6] No one, except for Lisa attends Murphy's funeral. Reverend Lovejoy gets his name wrong, calling him "Blood and Guts Murphy" and "Bloody Gums Murphy", as well as saying that he was "quite the sousaphone player". This prompts Lisa to buy his album, as the jazz station didn't have it, although she cannot afford it.

Bart uses the $500 he got from his court case against "Krusty O's" to buy it for her. She gives it to the jazz station who play it on the radio. The signal isn't strong enough, but a lightning strike boosts the signal so that all of Springfield does hear it. Bleeding Gums (left) appearing to Lisa Simpson in a cloud, after his death in 'Round Springfield.' Murphy's face appears to Lisa from the clouds, thanking Lisa for her final tribute and performing " Jazzman " one last time with her. Behind the Laughter The appearance of Bleeding Gums Murphy is loosely based on Sonny Rollins, a great saxophone player who took a break from his life as a recording and performing jazz artist to practice his musical craft on a bridge. Bleeding Gums gave the origin of his nickname in " Moaning Lisa " as thus: "Well, let me put it this way... you ever been to the dentist? Not me. I suppose I should go to one, but I got enough pain in my life as it is." Bleeding Gums died in 1995 at the age of 59 after suffering an apparent heart attack.

The voice of Bleeding Gums Murphy was provided by Ron Taylor , while his saxophone playing is provided by Dan Higgins . In the episode " Dancin' Homer " he was voiced by Daryl L. Coley . Murphy has been a fixture of The Simpsons' opening sequence from Season Two on, even after his death. He even appeared in the live-action format [7] , in The Simpsons Sky One commercial, that was also used for the episode " Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife ". In 2009, the opening sequence had to be updated since the series was now broadcast in hi-def widescreen format. The new, updated sequence removed Murphy completely apart from a picture of him that can be seen in the Music Room when Lisa plays her Sax. Bleeding Gums Murphy with his Sax. In addition to his onscreen appearances, Murphy also appeared on The Simpsons Sing the Blues , an album of rock, and jazz music with vocals performed by characters from the show.

On the track "God Bless the Child" (a cover of the Billie Holiday song), performed by Lisa Simpson ( Yeardley Smith ), Murphy speaks up after the final chorus to praise Lisa for her vocals, after which he and Lisa perform a saxophone duet for the remainder of the song. Murphy was again voiced by Ron Taylor for the song, and his alto saxophone part was performed by Kim Richmond. Trivia Allison Taylor has a photo of Bleeding Gums on the wall. It may be possible that Bleeding Gums was also Allison's one idol. [8] Lisa also has a picture of Bleeding Gums on her wall. Where Did THAT Come From – Fabergé Egg (updated)The Simpsons Tapped Out AddictsAll Things The Simpsons Tapped Out for the Tapped Out Addict in All of Us Posted on April 25, 2014 by The Wookiee | 84 Comments Easter is over but a lot of us wabbit whackers and zappers should be finished with the Easter questline or really close and that means it’s about time this Wookiee got around to writing about an item available at the end of the Easter questline… the Fabergé Egg.

Oooooohhhh… pretty, I guess. I know a lot of you have seen this deco and wondered what the big whoop is about it. Well, it is from a Simpsons Easter episode and also, if it truly is a Fabergé egg, is a rare item. You see, if we go back in time to Russia between 1885 to 1917, we’d find a company making eggs created by Peter Carl Fabergé. It is said only about 65 were made and that about 57 survive to this day. The most famous of his eggs were made for Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II as Easter gifts for their wives and mothers. These are known ad the ‘Imperial’ Fabergé eggs. Since then, the Fabergé company has sold the trademark and while eggs similar to this are made (as well as jewelry), they’re just imitators. Which brings me to our decoration in the Best. Show. Ever. In Season 17, Episode 7: “Last of the Red Hat Mamas”, Marge is desperate for female friends after her tour of the Mayor’s Mansion was ruined by Homer battling Hugs Bunny.

Homer tries to make her “friends”, but after he brings home the Crazy Cat Lady, it’s the last straw and Marge goes out for a long walk. She happens to stop a pink hat blowing away in the wind and finds some new friends, The Cheery Red Tomatoes. Marge has some fun with the Tomatoes and is intiated into the group. Once she’s in, they let her in on their plans to steal 1 million dollars from Mr. Burns in the form of 12 Fabergé Eggs hidden in his vaults. Before we all assume that every special ladies society has a secret evil agenda, I think it only fair to say they are attempting to recoup their fundraising budget after Burns backs out of giving one million dollars to the Springfield Children’s Hospital (as simple as writing void on the giant check lol). The Tomatoes succeed in getting to Burns’ vault and the eggs but are thwarted when Homer, trying to stop Marge leads the cops right to them. At the thought of jail, all the ladies start to cry, and uncharacteristically Burns lets them go as long as they give him back his eggs.

I’m so certain Burns would have the real deal and since 8 are missing in real life, I wouldn’t be surprised if only four of these were gotten the legit way by Burns. In a surprise at the end of the episode, Marge reveals she smuggled one of the Fabergé Eggs out in her hair. Good for the Tomatoes who thank her and then kick her out of the group but I’ll admit when I first saw this episode, I was a little bummed that Marge stole something to begin with, let alone, foiled Burns. He’s a bad guy but I love Marge’s innocence. Oh well. Update by a humble Wookiee: In my haste to get this info out fast to you, I must admit I completely missed another reference to Fabergé Eggs. Reader isodore reminded us here that they also feature in the episode “Round Springfield” (S6:E22). This is the sad episode where Bleeding Gums Murphy passed on. In a flashback, Murphy tells Lisa that he blew his fortune from the hit album Sax on the Beach on his Fabergé egg addiction. He confessed that he spent $1,500 a day fueling the habit.

And there’s the exact egg used for our game. (thanks isodore!)NERD NOTE: One of the episode write, Al Jean, admitted later that at the time of writing this joke, he had no clue that Fabergé Eggs were much more expensive than $1,500. In real life, they have been auctioned for millions of dollars. Like I said previously, you can win one of these beauties when you complete the Easter questline, you have the chance to randomly get one while bopping or electrocuting bunnies. The egg comes with a 3% bonus to cash and XP which is also pretty sweet. I strongly recommend not buying it as the chances are good you’ll get one the free way. Reader JJLeigh73 reminded me I forgot to mention the added bonus that when you get the egg, it goes great with Burns’ Manor and the egg has a funny animation when tapped. Silly bunny hiding in an egg. Hope y’all are enjoying this event and until next time, keep on tapping in the free world. TTFN… Wookie out!

Share this: Bleeding Gums Murphy - Wikisimpsons, the Simpsons Wiki Bleeding Gums Murphy "Bleeding Gums" Murphy was a jazz musician, and an idol of Lisa Simpson . Contents Biography[ edit ] Bleeding Gums learned his musical skills "at the feet of Blind Willie Witherspoon ". Willie wanted to give Bleeding Gums his saxophone, only to be finally told that it wasn't a saxophone and actually an umbrella, meaning that Willie had actually been playing an umbrella for some thirty years. Bleeding Gums explained to Willie that no one informed him of the mistake because "we all thought it was funny". Murphy recorded only one album, titled Sax on the Beach , which was extremely lucrative for him. However, he soon went broke after spending his money on his Fabergé egg addiction. He revealed that he had once made a guest appearance on The Cosby Show in 1986 as the Huxtable children's grandfather, as well as appearing on The Tonight Show when Steve Allen was the host. Bleeding Gums on The Cosby Show . Bleeding Gums was a mentor to Lisa Simpson until his early death. He played and sang a blues song written by Lisa .

It pleased Lisa to see the performance of her own song in the club " The Jazz Hole ", but not everyone in the family was happy with the lyrics, as they were sharply critical of Homer and Bart , and mildly critical of Marge . [1] Bleeding Gums once sang a twenty-six minute version of the American national anthem " The Star-Spangled Banner " at a Springfield Isotopes game. [2] He served as one of the three judges for a talent show once, giving Bart a 10 for his impersonation of Principal Skinner. [3] Murphy also joined with a group of local celebrities in singing the song " We're Sending Our Love Down the Well " as a benefit for Timmy O'Toole . [4] When Springfield was hit by a freak snowstorm and Mayor Quimby declared a snow day for the whole town, Murphy and Lisa were seen playing their saxes in the crowd of townspeople enjoying the snow. [5] Allison Taylor has a photo of Bleeding Gums on her wall. It may be possible that Bleeding Gums was also Allison's one idol. [6] Lisa also has a picture of Bleeding Gums on her wall. Sometime before he died, Murphy invited Dr.

Hibbert , Carl Carlson , and Drederick Tatum to a party at his house. [citation needed] It is hinted that Dr. Hibbert and Bleeding Gums are long-lost brothers. [7] Bleeding Gums (left) appearing to Lisa Simpson in a cloud, after his death. Bleeding Gums' tombstone When Bart went to the hospital after eating a jagged metal Krusty-O , Lisa found Bleeding Gums in a hospital bed in a nearby ward. They played Carole King 's " Jazzman " together, entertaining everyone in the hospital. Bleeding Gums told Lisa about his life, family and career, including his only album, Sax on the Beach . He also gave her advice for her upcoming school recital and lent her his saxophone. At the recital, only a few of the school band members were present and their performance of " The Stars and Stripes Forever " was about to fall flat, but Lisa saved the day with an inspired impromptu jam on Murphy's sax. Lisa returned from the recital to share her triumph with Bleeding Gums, only to find that he had died.

(The cause was never revealed, nor was the reason Murphy was in the hospital in the first place.) No one, except for Lisa, Marge and Homer, attended Murphy's funeral. Reverend Lovejoy officiated and got Murphy's name wrong, calling him "Blood and Guts Murphy" and "Bloody Gums Murphy", as well as saying that he was "quite the sousaphone player". Lovejoy's blundering outraged Lisa and moved her to find Murphy's album and have it played on the radio so people would know who he was. However, even the local jazz station didn't have the album, and when she found it in Comic Book Guy 's shop , it was priced at $500, which she couldn't afford. However, Bart had sued KrustyCo Inc. over the jagged metal Krusty-O incident and received $500 in a settlement. When he saw how disappointed Lisa was at not being able to buy Murphy's album, Bart bought the album and gave it to her. Lisa then took it to KJAZZ and the DJ played it on the radio.

The station's signal was very weak, but a freak lightning strike hit the antenna and boosted the signal so that all of Springfield heard Sax on the Beach playing. Murphy's face appeared from the clouds, thanking Lisa and telling him that he had made her happy. They were interrupted by other famous characters appearing: Mufasa from The Lion King , Darth Vader from Star Wars and James Earl Jones reciting his "This is CNN " narration. Murphy asked them to leave, and he and Lisa jammed out to "Jazzman" one last time. Lisa wanted to do it again ("One more time!"), but Murphy protested that he had a date with Billie Holiday . [7] A hologram image of him was used by She-Done-Left-Me Records to advertise various products. This caused Lisa to protest agaisnt them for using dead celebrities to advertise various commercial products. [9] . Non-canon[ edit ] The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened or existed. Bleeding Gums Murphy has a biography called Floss, I Hardly Knew Ye .

[10] Behind the Laughter[ edit ] The appearance of Bleeding Gums Murphy is loosely based on LeRoi Moore, the late saxophone player for the Dave Matthews Band. It may also be an homage to Sonny Rollins, a great saxophone player who famously retired from public performance and was not seen for three years, until a journalist discovered him playing the saxophone alone on the Williamsburg Bridge. Murphy's introductory appearance, where Lisa sees him playing his sax on a bridge in the middle of the night, is a direct reference to Rollins. Bleeding Gums gave the origin of his nickname in "Moaning Lisa" as thus: "Well let me put it this way... you ever been to the dentist? Not me. I suppose I should go to one, but I got enough pain in my life as it is." The voice of Bleeding Gums Murphy was provided by Ron Taylor , while his saxophone playing is provided by Dan Higgins . In the episode " Dancin' Homer " he was voiced by Daryl L. Coley .

Mufasa, Darth Vader, and (of course) the James Earl Jones CNN narration were voice roles originally portrayed by James Earl Jones , but were performed by Harry Shearer for their scene in " 'Round Springfield ". Murphy has been a fixture of The Simpsons' opening sequence from Season Two on, even after his death. He even appeared in the live-action format, [11] in The Simpsons Sky One commercial, that was also used for the episode " Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife ". In 2009, the opening sequence had to be updated since the series was now broadcast in hi-def widescreen format. The new, updated sequence removed Murphy completely apart from a picture of him that can be seen in the Music Room when Lisa plays her Sax. Bleeding Gums Murphy with his Sax. In addition to his onscreen appearances, Murphy also appeared on The Simpsons Sing the Blues , an album of rock, and jazz music with vocals performed by characters from the show.

On the track "God Bless the Child" (a cover of the Billie Holiday song), performed by Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith), Murphy speaks up after the final chorus to praise Lisa for her vocals, after which he and Lisa perform a saxophone duet for the remainder of the song. Murphy was again voiced by Ron Taylor for the song, and his alto saxophone part was performed by Kim Richmond. Everytime Lisa's room is seen after " Moaning Lisa " a picture of Bleeding Gums Murphy is seen. "'Round Springfield" · The Simpsons (Classic) · TV Review The Simpsons (Classic): "'Round Springfield" · TV Club · The A.V. Club Share Tweet “’Round Springfield” (season 6, episode 22, originally aired 4/30/1995) Even though (or perhaps because) it ends with Lisa playing a sax duet with a dead man made out of clouds, “’Round Springfield” is a less manic, more plainly touching episode of The Simpsons that recalls its earlier seasons.

Sandwiched among the rest of season six, the difference is pronounced, and there’s a reason why—this episode was scripted by Al Jean and Mike Reiss (along with Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia) who ran The Simpsons’ third and fourth seasons before moving on to create The Critic. I don’t mean that to sound like a complaint about the sixth season of The Simpsons, but there’s no doubt that things had gotten more fanciful and ambitious at this point. Bringing back Bleeding Gums Murphy (Ron Taylor), star of the season one episode “Moaning Lisa,” emphasizes the slight throwback style. More important, I think, is the fact that this episode centers around Lisa. So many Lisa-centric stories, like “Lisa’s Substitute” and “Lisa’s Pony,” have a grounded tone, partly just because Lisa isn’t the character to do really insane stuff or get into really crazy adventures. She’s a misfit, but she feels out of place because she’s less crazy and more rational than everyone else in her family, so her episodes can reflect that. Bleeding Gums Murphy is a cool character, but outside of his crippling Faberge egg addiction, I’ve never found him particularly funny.

It’s just fun to see a grizzled old jazzman jamming with an eight-year-old girl—the image is enough to carry both “Moaning Lisa” and this episode through, and enough to forever cement Lisa’s saxophone playing as crucial to her character forever and ever. It’s something she can be nerdy about that’s very cool and still inherently kinda nerdy. Is everyone picking up that Lisa is one of my favorite characters in TV history? And probably one of the most nuanced and clever portrayals of adolescence ever? The fact that she’s intellectually stifled, but can be a real pain about it, it something you rarely see portrayed properly in television. “’Round Springfield” has a B-story that gently spurs the action, in that it puts Bart in the hospital where Lisa can run into Bleeding Gums one more time. Bart eats a jagged metal Krusty-O, which ruptures his appendix and leads to a lawsuit that nets him $500 after legal fees (Lionel Hutz sadly only gets one scene in this episode, but the lawsuit isn’t really the story here, so I suppose it’s okay).

That makes for a lot of Krusty scenes, all revolving around my favorite recurring Krusty joke—his tendency to lend his name to any product and his absolute disgust with all of them. Anyway, once Bart is in the hospital, Lisa runs into Murphy and gets a more complete picture of his life, including his guest spot on The Cosby Show that perfectly skewers the obsessive lionizing of the past Cosby could be guilty of on that show. The episode has a slightly strange, stilted structure. Lisa only runs into Bleeding Gums about seven minutes in, and just a few minutes later, he’s dead, having expired in the hospital off-screen, leaving only an empty bed for Lisa to mourn. Despite the implication that Dr. Hibbert is his long-lost brother, no one attends his funeral and Lisa is left in a miserable state, confronting mortality for the first time outside of losing a pet (which Homer helpfully reminds her about). All of this material is very sweet. I always enjoy it when the Simpson family tries to engage with Lisa even though they know she’s operating on a different level from them. Homer shows her a tattoo of the Starland Vocal Band that he regrets.

Bart says he believes in reincarnation and wants to return as a pyromaniac butterfly. Grandpa is probably the least useful, since everything in the world reminds him of death. This episode is lighter on laughs than some of season six’s best efforts, and as I mentioned, it has a very muted feel to it, spending most of its time on Lisa’s quiet grief. But the ending packs a nice punch. Bart, shopping with his $500 settlement, does the right thing and buys Lisa a rare copy of Murphy’s jazz album so that she can play it on the radio in tribute. The convenience of the ending might feel a little pat, but I like the detail that loops back to the beginning—Lisa was the only family member to believe Bart was actually in pain after he ate the tainted cereal. It’s a very smart little touch.

So Lisa gets her tribute, and the episode gets to have one, big silly moment where Bleeding Gums returns in the clouds and shoos away three James Earl Jones-voiced specters (Mufasa, Darth Vader and, well, James Earl Jones) although none of them are actually voiced by Jones (which is weird because he worked on three other episodes, including this year’s “Treehouse Of Horror.” It’s a bit gooey, and the “Jazzman” song (by Carole King) that they jam out to isn’t the coolest jazz number in the world, but the episode is heartfelt in the right way and takes care not to rub the emotional stuff in too forcefully. “’Round Springfield” is not the funniest episode of this season, but it’s nonetheless a very memorable 22 minutes. Stray observations: Krusty does storytime. “I'm going to tell you the story of Krusty's expensive new suit. His sexual harassment lawsuit!” “It wasn't my fault! It was the Percodan! If you ask me, that stuff rots your brain! And now for a word from my new sponsor.

Percodan!?” This is the episode where Willie, teaching French, says the phrase “cheese-eating surrender monkeys,” which entered the cultural lexicon forever. “I contend that those tourists were decapitated before they entered the KrustyLand House of Knives!” Barney checks out of hospital detox and goes right to retox, where Moe pours him a Pabst for his five-minute chip. A hot dog vendor appears whenever Homer wants him, be it at a surgery, or a funeral. “What do you do, follow my husband around?” “Lady, he's putting my kids through college!” K-Jazz has a pretty dire morning show. “This is Moleman in the morning. Good Moleman to you. Today, part four of our series in the agonizing pain in which I live every day.” [The Simpsons] Bleeding Gums Murphy was a drug addict, and this eventually led to his death. : FanTheories by motherstep In the 22nd episode of season 6, 'Round Springfield, we discover Bleeding Gums' health has taken a turn for the worst and ultimately dies whilst Lisa takes part in a school band recital.

She understandably takes this badly as she considers Murphy to be her hero and one of the only people who understood music like she did. However, whilst the nature of his death is unclear we are given clues as to what really happened... Bleeding Gums Murphy was a drug addict. Let's look back to his first appearance all the way back in Moaning Lisa, the 6th episode of the first season. He is shown playing his saxophone alone on a bridge late at night. He introduces himself to Lisa and she questions his name. He brushes this off, quipping that he doesn't visit dentists and we don't hear much more about it. For those in the know, one of the many side effects from taking heroin is gingival bleeding. Murphy may pick up that Lisa is smart for her young age, but he isn't callous enough to explain that his bleeding gums are a result of heroin abuse. This is alluded to further when we discover that the inspiration for Murphy's character was Sonny Rollins, and Rollins himself was found violating his parole by using heroin. Jump forward to the episode 'Round Springfield, and we see Bleeding Gums Murphy recount a brief summary of his life and career, which is less than glamorous.

From being upstaged on his own guest slot by Steve Allen too a baffling cameo on The Cosby Show, Murphy hasn't had the most enriching experience. Even his album cover is morose, featuring Bleeding Gums looking crestfallen in the background whilst a beautiful woman straddles a saxophone. It has the hallmarks of a musician who is seldom appreciated and never understood, which could be considered a stepping stone to drug abuse. One glaring detail of Bleeding Gums' career is his addiction to faberge eggs, and we are shown a comical exchange between a shop keeper telling Murphy he's had enough. He flies off the handle and is promptly shown dejected in an alleyway, surrounded by broken eggs. In his frustration, he casts one against the wall which shatters instantly. The scene works well as a tragic parody of drug addiction, but remember, Murphy knows better than to go into details with Lisa. He may be down on himself, but he knows he has a friend in Lisa and surely recognises she looks up to him.

His "faberge egg" addiction is either Lisa filling in her own blanks to a concept she doesn't understand, or it's deliberate censorship from Murphy who replaces heroin and needles with something as innocuous and luxurious as faberge eggs. It could go either way, but either way, it wasn't eggs Bleeding Gums couldn't resist. tl;dr Bleeding Gums Murphy wasn't addicted to faberge eggs; he was addicted to heroin, and his namesake and death was a result of his use which he was being treated in hospital for. Where Did THAT Come From – Fabergé Egg (updated)The Simpsons Tapped Out AddictsAll Things The Simpsons Tapped Out for the Tapped Out Addict in All of Us Posted on April 25, 2014 by The Wookiee | 84 Comments Easter is over but a lot of us wabbit whackers and zappers should be finished with the Easter questline or really close and that means it’s about time this Wookiee got around to writing about an item available at the end of the Easter questline… the Fabergé Egg. Oooooohhhh… pretty, I guess.

I know a lot of you have seen this deco and wondered what the big whoop is about it. Well, it is from a Simpsons Easter episode and also, if it truly is a Fabergé egg, is a rare item. You see, if we go back in time to Russia between 1885 to 1917, we’d find a company making eggs created by Peter Carl Fabergé. It is said only about 65 were made and that about 57 survive to this day. The most famous of his eggs were made for Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II as Easter gifts for their wives and mothers. These are known ad the ‘Imperial’ Fabergé eggs. Since then, the Fabergé company has sold the trademark and while eggs similar to this are made (as well as jewelry), they’re just imitators. Which brings me to our decoration in the Best. Show. Ever. In Season 17, Episode 7: “Last of the Red Hat Mamas”, Marge is desperate for female friends after her tour of the Mayor’s Mansion was ruined by Homer battling Hugs Bunny.

Homer tries to make her “friends”, but after he brings home the Crazy Cat Lady, it’s the last straw and Marge goes out for a long walk. She happens to stop a pink hat blowing away in the wind and finds some new friends, The Cheery Red Tomatoes. Marge has some fun with the Tomatoes and is intiated into the group. Once she’s in, they let her in on their plans to steal 1 million dollars from Mr. Burns in the form of 12 Fabergé Eggs hidden in his vaults. Before we all assume that every special ladies society has a secret evil agenda, I think it only fair to say they are attempting to recoup their fundraising budget after Burns backs out of giving one million dollars to the Springfield Children’s Hospital (as simple as writing void on the giant check lol). The Tomatoes succeed in getting to Burns’ vault and the eggs but are thwarted when Homer, trying to stop Marge leads the cops right to them. At the thought of jail, all the ladies start to cry, and uncharacteristically Burns lets them go as long as they give him back his eggs.

I’m so certain Burns would have the real deal and since 8 are missing in real life, I wouldn’t be surprised if only four of these were gotten the legit way by Burns. In a surprise at the end of the episode, Marge reveals she smuggled one of the Fabergé Eggs out in her hair. Good for the Tomatoes who thank her and then kick her out of the group but I’ll admit when I first saw this episode, I was a little bummed that Marge stole something to begin with, let alone, foiled Burns. He’s a bad guy but I love Marge’s innocence. Oh well. Update by a humble Wookiee: In my haste to get this info out fast to you, I must admit I completely missed another reference to Fabergé Eggs. Reader isodore reminded us here that they also feature in the episode “Round Springfield” (S6:E22). This is the sad episode where Bleeding Gums Murphy passed on. In a flashback, Murphy tells Lisa that he blew his fortune from the hit album Sax on the Beach on his Fabergé egg addiction. He confessed that he spent $1,500 a day fueling the habit.

And there’s the exact egg used for our game. (thanks isodore!)NERD NOTE: One of the episode write, Al Jean, admitted later that at the time of writing this joke, he had no clue that Fabergé Eggs were much more expensive than $1,500. In real life, they have been auctioned for millions of dollars. Like I said previously, you can win one of these beauties when you complete the Easter questline, you have the chance to randomly get one while bopping or electrocuting bunnies. The egg comes with a 3% bonus to cash and XP which is also pretty sweet. I strongly recommend not buying it as the chances are good you’ll get one the free way. Reader JJLeigh73 reminded me I forgot to mention the added bonus that when you get the egg, it goes great with Burns’ Manor and the egg has a funny animation when tapped. Silly bunny hiding in an egg. Hope y’all are enjoying this event and until next time, keep on tapping in the free world. TTFN… Wookie out!

Share this: Season 6 - Wikisimpsons, the Simpsons Wiki Season 6 September 4, 1994 – May 21, 1995 No. of episodes: The sixth season of The Simpsons originally aired from September 4, 1994, to May 21, 1995. Contents Highlights[ edit ] Season 6 began on September 4, 1994 with the first episode, " Bart of Darkness ". The season finale, which aired on May 21, 1995, was " Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One) ". It was the only two-part episode of the series; the conclusion aired as the premiere of the seventh season . David Mirkin was the show runner throughout the season, as he had been for Season 5. Season 6 had two holdover episodes from Season 5: "Bart of Darkness" and " Lisa's Rival ". They aired as part of Season 6 because of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which put production a month behind schedule.

Consequently, they have the Season 5 production code, 1FXX, rather than Season 6's, 2FXX. Controversy erupted as Matt Groening requested to have his name left off the credits of " A Star Is Burns ", a crossover episode which featured Jay Sherman from the ABC/FOX animated series The Critic. Groening's reason was reportedly that he felt that having Sherman appear on The Simpsons was merely a blatant advertisement for the other show, as the FOX premiere of The Critic aired immediately after "A Star Is Burns". The sixth season won one Emmy Award, and received three other nominations. " Lisa's Wedding " won the Emmy for "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or Less)". Alf Clausen was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" for " Treehouse of Horror V ", while he and John Swartzwelder were nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics" for the Stonecutters' song " We Do " in the episode " Homer the Great ". Finally, " Bart vs. Australia " was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special".

All 25 episodes of Season 6 including extras were released on DVD on August 16, 2005 in Region 1, October 17, 2005 in Region 2 and September 24, 2005 in Region 4. The sixth season also marked the beginning of the "clam-shell" packaging design for DVD boxsets, with the package being shaped like a Simpsons character's head as a limited alternative to the regular DVD boxset. The Season 6 clamshell design featured Homer's head and was received with much criticism. Dan McGrath 1F22 Springfield is hit by a summer heat wave, and the Simpsons buy a backyard swimming pool. Bart breaks his leg in a diving accident and is stuck indoors for the rest of the summer. To help him pass the time, Lisa gives him her telescope. He quickly becomes bored with it, until he hears a high-pitched scream coming from the Flanders house and sees Ned burying something in his backyard. Suspecting that Ned killed his wife Maude, Bart has Lisa go next door and investigate, but Ned catches her.

Still in his cast, Bart hobbles next door and confronts Ned about Maude's murder. All is revealed when Maude comes home and explains that she was at Bible camp, and Ned confesses to accidentally killing Maude's favorite plant. Bart had seen Ned burying the plant, and the scream had come from Ned himself. Meanwhile, Lisa enjoys the popularity that comes with having a pool until Martin Prince gets an even better one. Martin's reign, however, is cut short when his pool collapses and Nelson steals his swimming trunks. 105 - 2 Mike Scully 1F17 Lisa is outperformed in everything she does by new student Allison Taylor, who is younger than Lisa yet smarter and a better saxophone player. Lisa vows to beat her in the school diorama contest, and enlists Bart's help. Allison makes an elaborate diorama based on a scene from "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe , and Bart and Lisa replace it with a cow's heart. Principal Skinner, judging the contest, strongly criticizes the cow heart and questions Allison's overall academic prowess. The guilt gets to Lisa, however, and she puts Allison's real diorama back.

Skinner is unimpressed with both Allison's and Lisa's dioramas and declares Ralph Wiggum's collection of Star Wars action figures to be the winner. Allison and Lisa set aside their differences and become friends. Meanwhile, Homer gets 100 pounds of sugar from an overturned truck and goes to obsessive lengths to protect it and sell it. Special Guest Voice: Winona Ryder as Allison Taylor. 106 - 3 (Credited as "Penny Wise") 2F33 Marge decides that the family should share their romantic experiences. Marge tells of her near-affair with Jacques the bowling instructor (" Life on the Fast Lane ") and Homer of his near-affair with Mindy Simmons (" The Last Temptation of Homer "). Lisa tells about Ralph Wiggum's crush on her (" I Love Lisa ") and Bart about his crush on Laura Powers (" New Kid on the Block "). In search of a love story with a happy ending, they next talk about other family members' experiences (" Black Widower ", " Lady Bouvier's Lover "), but still don't find one.

Finally, Homer tells the story of his and Marge's first kiss (" The Way We Was "), which Homer describes as "one time I got it right". Marge and Homer joyfully kiss at having found a happy ending, and Marge tries to tell the kids that's what she means by romance, but the kids have already lost interest in the story and are watching Itchy & Scratchy. 107 - 4 John Swartzwelder 2F01 Bart and Lisa want the family vacation to be at the newly opened Itchy & Scratchy Land theme park, and Marge and Homer are persuaded by the park's "Parents' Island", an area with adult-friendly entertainment. The family at first have a good time (among other things, enjoying the Itchy & Scratchy robots on parade attacking each other), but behind the scenes Professor Frink delivers a dire warning that eventually the robots will attack humans. The Simpsons' fine time begins to unravel when both Bart and Homer assault a park cast member dressed as Itchy, and the vacation derails completely when the robots (as predicted) start attacking humans. Park officials evacuate the guests, but leave the Simpsons behind due to the assault incidents.

Left to face the robots on their own, the family discover that photography flashes make the robots malfunction and succeed in defeating the robots with cameras from the gift shop. In the end, Marge accepts Lisa's reasoning that it was indeed the best vacation ever, but asks that they never speak of it again. 108 - 5 Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein 2F02 Sideshow Bob is released from prison and becomes the Republican candidate for Mayor of Springfield in the upcoming election. Bob wins handily, defeating Mayor Quimby by a nearly unanimous vote. Bart and Lisa suspect foul play when Bob, immediately after he takes office, tells the Simspons that his pet project, the Matlock Expressway, will demolish their house. Bart's and Lisa's efforts to uncover evidence of fraud come up empty, until a mysterious man (revealed to be Waylon Smithers, who disagrees with Bob's policies) gives them a name to check. They discover that the man Smithers named is dead, yet voted for Sideshow Bob. Further investigation of voter records reveals that many deceased Springfieldians (including family pets) voted in the election, and all of them for Sideshow Bob.

Armed with this evidence, Bart and Lisa confront Bob and manipulate him into confessing to rigging the election. Sideshow Bob is sent back to prison and Mayor Quimby returns to office. Special Guest Voices: Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob; Larry King and Dr. Demento as themselves; Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz; Henry Corden as Fred Flintstone. 109 - 6 Bob Kushell, Greg Daniels, Dan McGrath and David S. Cohen 2F03 Prologue: Marge warns the viewers that the upcoming Halloween episode is very, very scary. Then she receives a note saying that Congress won't allow the episode to be shown and they should air a classic Western film instead. A clip from the film briefly rolls, but is quickly replaced by an oscilloscope whose waves move as Bart introduces the episode. Homer discovers the oscilloscope waves and plays with them, annoying Bart. However, Bart finishes the introduction as the oscilliscope waves form the shapes of the Simpsons' heads. The Shinning: The Simpsons are the winter caretakers at Mr. Burns' mountain lodge.

While the family tours the lodge, Bart meets Groundskeeper Willie and learns that they both have a form of telepathy called "The Shinning". Homer discovers that Burns has cut the TV cable and taken away the beer to ensure an honest winter's work from the family. Homer later encounters a ghostly Moe, who tells Homer he can have beer if he kills his family. Homer agrees and goes on a rampage, chasing them with an axe. Bart calls Willie for help, but Willie is quickly hit in the back with the axe by Homer when he tries to come to the rescue. The chase moves outdoors, where Lisa finds Willie's portable TV and the sight of it brings Homer back to normal. Later, the family is frozen in the snow. As the Tony Awards come on and the family is unable to change the channel, Homer's urge to kill begins rising again. Time and Punishment: Homer fixes the family's toaster and inadvertently turns it into a time machine. When he tries to make toast, he is transported back to the era of the dinosaurs. Homer remembers that Grampa told him to not touch anything if he ever traveled back to the past so that he wouldn't change the future.

However, Homer kills a mosquito and when he returns to the present, he finds himself in a world where Ned Flanders is the ruler of the world. Trying to get back to his own world, Homer makes several trips to the past and back, each time returning to a different world as he keeps changing things in the past. Groundskeeper Willie appears and says he can help Homer get back to his own time, but before he can say anything else he is hit in the back with an axe by Maggie. Homer finally gets to a world where everything is normal except that humans have lizard-like tongues and use them to eat instead of silverware. Homer shrugs and decides it's close enough. Nightmare Cafeteria: Principal Skinner notes that the detention area is dangerously overcrowded, and Lunchlady Doris complains about not having decent meat to serve in the cafeteria. Skinner figures out a solution to both problems: serving the detention students as food. When the first two students disappear, Bart and Lisa become suspicious and tell Marge, but she refuses to intervene, instead telling them that they're old enough to fight their own battles.

At school, most of the students are in "permanent detention" and Bart, Lisa and Milhouse are among the few left in class. The trio decide to escape, but are quickly caught by Lunchlady Doris. Groundskeeper Willie tries to come to the rescue, but is hit in the back with an axe by Skinner, which prompts Willie to say, "Ach, I'm bad at this." The three of them are cornered above a giant food processor and Milhouse falls in to his death, quickly followed by Bart and Lisa. Closing Sequence: After falling into the food processor, Bart screams and wakes up in his own bed. Marge tells him that he had a nightmare and that there's nothing to worry about except the mysterious fog that turns people inside out. The fog seeps in through the window and does just that. Then, as the closing credits roll, the family and Groundskeeper Willie perform a musical number where they sing about being inside out. At the end, Santa's Little Helper drags Bart away by his intestines. Special Guest Voice: James Earl Jones as Alternate Universe Maggie ("Time and Punishment").

110 - 7 Jonathen Collier 2F04 Reverend Lovejoy's daughter Jessica returns from boarding school and Bart quickly falls for her. He tries to impress her by doing good, but can't keep it up. He is later overjoyed to learn that she's as bad as he is, and they begin a relationship. Bart becomes disillusioned, however, when he sees that her behavior is even worse than his. Matters come to a head when Jessica steals the money from a church collection plate and everyone in the church suspects Bart. Lisa comes to Bart's aid and exposes Jessica as the thief. Everyone apologizes to Bart, and Jessica gets a new boyfriend but continues to beguile Bart by flirting with him. Special Guest Voice: Meryl Streep as Jessica Lovejoy. 111 - 8 Mike Scully 2F05 Lisa learns that she is failing gym, but can pass if she joins a Peewee team outside of school. Hockey coach Apu sees that she is a natural at goaltending, and Lisa joins Apu's team. This gives rise to sibling rivalry at home as Bart plays for a rival team and resents sharing the spotlight with Lisa.

The rivalry culminates when their teams play each other and Bart is awarded a penalty shot with the score tied and only four seconds left in the game. Bart and Lisa remember past events when they helped each other and decide not to compete, resulting in the game ending in a tie. The tie enrages the fans, and as Bart and Lisa skate off the ice arm-in-arm, a riot breaks out in the arena. 112 - 9 Greg Daniels 2F06 Homer and Marge attend a candy convention and hire college student Ashley Grant to babysit the kids. When Homer takes Ashley home, he spots a rare Gummi Venus de Milo candy from the convention stuck to the back of Ashley's pants and peels it off, which Ashley mistakes for Homer grabbing her behind. The very next morning, a mob of protesters takes up residence in the Simpsons' yard and accuses Homer of sexual harrassment. The situation escalates into all the local media denouncing Homer as a pervert, in spite of Homer's efforts to clear his name. Groundskeeper Willie saves the day when he provides a videotape (the result of his habit of taping people) that clearly shows Homer grabbing the Gummi Venus rather than Ashley.

Presented with the new evidence, Ashley and the media withdraw their accusations against Homer. When things finally calm down, Homer makes sure he's alone in the living room, then hugs the TV and says, "Let's never fight again." Special Guest Voice: Dennis Franz as himself (playing Homer in a TV movie). 113 - 10 Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein 2F07 Homer's and Marge's sex life begins to fade, and Grampa Simpson creates a tonic which puts the spark back in their relationship. Homer and Abe then go on the road promoting "Simpson & Son Revitalizing Tonic", and the tonic sells very well. During their road-tripping, however, they get into a fight and Abe angrily says that Homer was an accident—he wouldn't even exist if not for the tonic. Homer quits the sales trip, goes back home and sets out to be a better father to his kids than Abe was to him. Homer does some soul-searching and meets up with Abe at the old family farmhouse where they reconcile their differences, even though they accidentally set the building on fire.

Meanwhile, inspired by a UFO book, Bart and the kids of Springfield develop an elaborate conspiracy-style theory to explain the adults' sudden behavior (brought on by the tonic) of rushing home and immediately going indoors. 114 - 11 David Sacks 2F08 When Homer is kicked out of Moe's Tavern, he goes in search of another bar to drink in (in the process visiting the bar from Cheers) and bluffs his way into a pilots-only bar at the airport. The ruse backfires when Homer is called upon to fly an airplane and ends up damaging the plane. Embarrassed about the incident, the airline offers the family a free trip anywhere in the continental USA in exchange for Homer's keeping quiet about it. However, they end up going nowhere as Marge has a panic attack as soon as they board the plane. Marge admits to having a fear of flying, and when her phobia begins affecting her everyday life, Lisa encourages her to see a therapist. Through several sessions with Dr. Zweig, Marge learns that her fear of flying stems from discovering as a child that her father was a flight attendant and she was ashamed as she had previously been told he was a pilot.

Zweig points out that while male flight attendants are now common, her father was one of the first and therefore a pioneer of sorts. No longer ashamed of her father, Marge is cured of her phobia. The family attempt another airplane trip and Marge boards with confidence, remaining unafraid even though the plane drives off the runway and into a swamp. Special Guest Voices: Anne Bancroft as Dr. Zweig; Ted Danson , Woody Harrelson , Rhea Perlman , John Ratzenberger and George Wendt as the Cheers bar staff and customers. 115 - 12 John Swartzwelder 2F09 Mystified by Lenny and Carl having better work benefits than he does, Homer stalks them and learns that they are members of a secret society called the Stonecutters. Homer seeks to join, but is told that he must either save the life of a Stonecutter or be a son of a member. As it turns out, Abe is a member, which provides Homer with a way in. He joins and is put through the initiation ritual by the chapter's leader, Number One.

However, Homer damages the group's sacred parchment and is about to be expelled when it's revealed he has a birthmark which identifies him as the Chosen One who will lead the Stonecutters to glory. Homer at first enjoys his new power, but then becomes bored and, encouraged by Lisa, involves the group in community service. This enrages the other members, and they form a new secret society which specifically bars Homer from being a member. Special Guest Voice: Patrick Stewart as Number One. 116 - 13 Jennifer Crittenden 2F10 While looking through the family photo albums, Bart and Lisa ask why there are no pictures of Maggie. To answer, Homer tells the story of when Maggie was born. Through careful financial planning, Homer figured that as long as nothing changed, the family could afford for him to quit the nuclear plant for his dream job at the bowling alley, even though the bowling alley paid less. He did so and loved the new job, but a night of romantic celebration led to Marge becoming pregnant with Maggie. Homer was forced to return to the plant and beg for his old job back, which Mr. Burns granted, but told Homer he could never leave again.

To make his point, Burns put a wall plaque reading "DON'T FORGET, YOU'RE HERE FOREVER" at Homer's workstation. Back in the present, Bart and Lisa ask where Maggie's pictures are, and Homer replies that he keeps them where he needs the most cheering up. The episode's closing shot shows many photos of Maggie at Homer's workstation, placed around and on the wall plaque so that it now reads "DO IT FOR HER". 117 - 14 John Swartzwelder 2F11 Bart pranks the school's new weather balloon by turning it into a caricature of Principal Skinner, and for punishment he is forced to help Skinner with his early-morning astronomical observations. While doing so, Bart discovers a comet, which scientists at the town observatory determine is heading for Springfield. The town launches a rocket to destroy the comet, but the rocket goes off course and blows up the only bridge leading out of town. With no way to escape and the comet's arrival imminent, the townspeople cram into the only safe place: the Flanders family's bomb shelter. Ned is forced out due to lack of space, and sings cheerily as he awaits his fate.

Ned's bravery shames the rest of the townspeople into joining him, just as the comet arrives. The town's pollution makes the comet break up in the atmosphere so that only a small chunk (the size of a Chihuahua's head) reaches the ground, and the only damage is the destruction of the vandalized weather balloon and, ironically, the just-vacated bomb shelter. The townspeople decide to burn down the observatory to prevent the same thing from happening again. 118 - 15 John Swartzwelder 2F12 Krusty the Clown is informed by his accountant that he is nearly bankrupt, due to his wasteful spending habits and gambling debts. To increase his income, Krusty reluctantly opens a Clown College, where he trains people to stand in for him at events in which Krusty himself would never agree to appear. Homer is one of the first graduates, and his impersonation is so good that people constantly mistake him for the real Krusty.

Homer then exploits the resemblance to take advantage of all the informal perks Krusty enjoys around town, but it backfires when the Springfield Mafia mistake him for Krusty and kidnap him to force him to make good on Krusty's gambling debt to them. Homer is about to be killed when the real Krusty arrives and the mobsters realize one of them is an imposter, but can't tell which one. Under threat from the Mob, Homer and Krusty perform a difficult clowning trick together, which saves their lives. Krusty then repays his gambling debt to the Mob—which turns out to be only $48.00. Special Guest Voices: Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony; Dick Cavett and Johnny Unitas as themselves. 119 - 16 Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein 2F13 Bart notices that water always drains counterclockwise, but Lisa tells him that in the southern hemisphere, it drains clockwise. In an attempt to prove her wrong, Bart makes several phone calls to countries in the southern hemisphere, among them a collect call to a boy in Australia named Tobias.

Tobias confirms that water does in fact drain clockwise, but the call lasts six hours and his father Bruno receives a bill for AUD$900. Bruno tries to make Bart pay, but Bart refuses and the situation escalates into a diplomatic incident. U.S. diplomat Evan Conover arranges for the Simpsons to go to Australia so Bart can apologize in person. Bart does so, but the Australians demand that as additional punishment Bart receive a booting—a kick in the butt with a giant boot. After further negotiation, they settle for a kick with a regular shoe. When the time comes for Bart to receive his kick, he instead drops his pants and moons the Australians, revealing "DON'T TREAD ON ME" written on his behind. Now furious, the Australians storm the U.S. Embassy and the Simpsons are forced to flee the country via helicopter. As they fly away, they notice a plague of frogs (all descended from one frog which Bart had brought with him) overrunning the country and devouring all the crops, to their considerable amusement. Special Guest Voice: Phil Hartman as Evan Conover.

120 - 17 Brent Forrester 2F14 Homer loses the family savings in a bad investment: buying pumpkin futures and failing to sell before Halloween. Short on funds, he borrows money from Patty and Selma for a mortgage payment and asks that they not tell Marge. Patty and Selma take advantage of the situation, making Homer do humiliating and degrading things for them in exchange for their continued silence. Marge finds out anyway, however, when the I.O.U. for the loan lands on a lamp. For extra income, Homer becomes a chauffer and is delighted to have Mel Brooks as his first passenger, but soon gets in trouble for not having a chauffer's license. To get one, he goes to the DMV, where his examiners turn out to be Patty and Selma. They sabotage his test, then gleefully light up cigarettes to celebrate, which gets them in trouble with their boss. At Marge's pleading, Homer takes the blame for the cigarettes, and Patty and Selma forgive the loan. Meanwhile, Bart is late for school on gym class signup day and is forced to take ballet.

Despite disliking it at first, Bart comes to enjoy it, but performs in disguise to avoid being recognized by the bullies. The bullies enjoy the show, but when Bart reveals himself they revert to type and chase him to beat him up. Bart tries to use his ballet skills to escape, but ends up falling into a trench and getting hurt. Special Guest Voices: Mel Brooks as himself; Susan Sarandon as the ballet teacher. 121 - 18 Ken Keeler 2F31 After a national survey ranks Springfield as the least popular city in America, Marge suggests holding a film festival to boost the town's image. The townspeople support the idea, and Marge invites film critic Jay Sherman to be a judge. When Jay upstages Homer in everything he does (including belching), Homer feels inadequate and questions whether Marge respects him. To allay his concern, Marge reluctantly agrees to have Homer as a film judge, along with herself, Jay, Mayor Quimby and Krusty the Clown. The films are shown, and the judges vote. Quimby and Krusty, having been bribed by Mr.

Burns, vote for Burns' entry, a self-aggrandizing and poorly made biopic which steals scenes from E.T. and Ben-Hur. Marge and Jay vote for Barney Gumble's touching documentary about his struggle with alchoholism. Homer votes for a film that shows Hans Moleman being hit in the groin with a football, which produces a tie in the voting. However, after a heart-to-heart talk with Jay and Marge and a night of soul-searching, Homer changes his vote to Barney's movie, making Barney the winner. In an epilogue six months later, Mr. Burns' movie has been nominated for an Academy Award, but loses to a remake of Moleman's movie (now starring George C. Scott), in spite of Burns' having bribed everyone in Hollywood. Special Guest Voices: Jon Lovitz as Jay Sherman; Phil Hartman as Charlton Heston (in Burns' movie); Maurice LaMarche as George C. Scott. 122 - 19 Greg Daniels 2F15 The Simpsons attend a Renaissance Fair, and Lisa is disgusted at Homer's gluttony (eating eight different kinds of meat).

She wanders into the woods and finds the tent of a fortune teller, who predicts Lisa's future fifteen years from now. In 2010, Lisa is 23 and a student at an eastern university. She meets a British student named Hugh Parkfield, and although they quarrel at first, they discover they have much in common and soon fall in love. Hugh takes Lisa to meet his family, and she is impressed with their home and their manners. During the visit, Hugh proposes marriage, and Lisa accepts. They go to Springfield for the wedding, so Hugh can meet the Simpsons, and Lisa is concerned that her family will embarrass her. Hugh finds their behavior appalling, and says he'll be glad when he and Lisa can return to England and never have to see them again. Outraged at Hugh's lack of respect for her family, Lisa calls off the wedding. Back in the present, the fortune teller says that Hugh went back to England and never saw Lisa again. Lisa leaves the tent and finds Homer. The two of them walk together as Homer tells about his day at the fair and Lisa listens raptly. Special Guest Voices: Mandy Patinkin as Hugh Parkfield; Phil Hartman as Troy McClure.

123 - 20 Mike Scully 2F18 Santa's Little Helper falls in love with a female racing greyhound named She's the Fastest. Her owner gives her to the Simpsons, and she eventually gives birth to 25 puppies. The Simpsons find caring for them to be a struggle, and Marge and Homer decide to sell the puppies. However, they don't want to be separated, which means they need one person to take all of them. Mr. Burns comes to look at the puppies, and while the Simpsons question his reasons for being interested in them, he and Smithers steal them. Bart and Lisa follow him to his mansion and learn that he plans to kill all the puppies for their fur, except one, which he takes a shine to because it can stand on its hind legs. Bart and Lisa try to break the puppies out and are caught, but they get all the puppies to stand on their hind legs, which leaves Burns unable to kill any of them because he can't tell which one is his favorite.

An unspecified time later, it is revealed that Burns raised all 25 puppies to be racers, and so far their combined winnings have earned him over ten million dollars, to Homer's disgust and dismay. Special Guest Voice: Frank Welker as Santa's Little Helper and various other dogs. 124 - 21 Jennifer Crittenden 2F19 A school field trip goes terribly wrong, and Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel get into an argument over the school's spending. Bart eggs on Skinner and Krabappel against each other, resulting in a teachers' strike being called. The strike drags on, with Bart's behind-the-scenes agitation keeping both sides locked in conflict. The PTA intervenes and puts townspeople to work as substitute teachers, whom Bart drives away in quick succession. When the school turns into a madhouse and Bart is faced with the one sub—his mother—whom he can't prank into quitting, Bart realizes they need the real teachers back and turns his energies to resolving the strike. He locks Skinner and Krabappel into Skinner's office, telling them he won't let them out until they come to an agreement.

After several hours, Skinner admits that there's no more money in the budget, and they agree that they dislike being held like prisoners. The thought gives them an idea: renting out unused classroom space to the prison. The idea solves the school's budget problem, the teachers return to work, and things go back to normal. However, ominously, prisoner Snake begins negotiating a deal with Bart to help him escape, and Bart listens with interest. 125 - 22 Al Jean & Mike Reiss Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia Bart accidentally swallows a jagged metal Krusty-O and is taken to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. When the Simpsons visit Bart, Lisa discovers that her jazz hero, Bleeding Gums Murphy, is also in the hospital and visits him. Murphy reminisces about his career, during which he recorded only one album (titled Sax on the Beach), made guest appearances on TV shows (with Steve Allen and Bill Cosby), and lost his money due to his Fabergé egg addiction. They have a jam session (to the Carole King song "Jazzman") which moves everyone in the hospital.

Lisa has to leave to play in a school recital, and Murphy gives her his saxophone to use. The recital nearly falls flat, but Lisa's inspired impromptu performance saves the day. She eagerly returns to the hospital to share her triumph with Bleeding Gums, only to find that he has passed away. The only people attending Murphy's funeral are Lisa, Homer and Marge, and Lisa is outraged when Rev. Lovejoy can't get Murphy's name or life story correct. She vows to make sure that everyone in Springfield knows who Murphy was, and decides to have Murphy's album played on the radio, but even the local jazz station doesn't have a copy. She finds the album in Comic Book Guy's shop, but the price is $250, and Comic Book Guy doubles it to $500 when he learns that Murphy is dead. Lisa, dejected, walks away. However, Bart has successfully sued Krusty for $100,000 for the jagged metal Krusty-O incident, and his share (after paying the fees of Lionel Hutz and the other lawyers) comes to $500.

Bart buys the album and gives it to Lisa, and Lisa has the jazz station play it. A freak lightning strike causes Murphy's album to be heard all over Springfield in spite of the station's low-powered signal, and the whole town is moved by the music. Lisa is satisfied, and Bleeding Gums appears to her in a cloud and says that she's made him happy. The two of them say a final goodbye and jam to "Jazzman" one last time. Special Guest Voices: Ron Taylor as Bleeding Gums Murphy; Steve Allen as himself; Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz. 126 - 23 Jonathan Collier 2F21 When Snake steals $20 from Homer in a Three-card Monte con, Marge chases and apprehends Snake herself, and finds the experience to be so exhilarating that she decides to become a police officer. After training, Marge qualifies as a Springfield police officer, goes on the beat, and enjoys her job. However, she finds that with her new status, her friends don't treat her the same as before.

Homer, meantime, exploits his position as a "police spouse", using Marge's crime scene tape to prank Flanders and inviting his friends over for poker and illegal Cuban cigars. He changes his tune when he challenges Marge's authority and she arrests him. After Homer is released, he discovers that Herman the military antiques dealer has been operating a counterfeit-jeans smuggling ring out of Homer's garage. Herman threatens to shoot Homer, but Marge arrives in time to save the day and arrest all the smugglers, including Herman. Chief Wiggum, however, says that the smugglers can't be held because the evidence has "mysteriously disappeared"—due to the cops having helped themselves to the jeans. Marge, disgusted, announces that she's quitting because of all the corruption on the police force. After Wiggum and the cops have a good laugh, Wiggum accepts her resignation. Special Guest Voice: Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz. 127 - 24 Brent Forrester 2F22 The boys of Springfield visit the town's lemon tree and get into a confrontation with a group of boys from Shelbyville, Springfield's neighboring (and rival) town.

Afterwards, Grampa Simpson tells of the origin of the rivalry and the planting of the lemon tree. The next day, the boys find that the tree has been stolen and the trail leads to Shelbyville, so they go into Shelbyville in search of the tree. The boys have some encounters with the Shelbyville gang, and eventually find the lemon tree in the locked and guarded police impound lot. Meanwhile, the boys' fathers pile into Ned Flanders' RV and find the boys right after they learn where the tree is. The boys persuade their fathers to help, and in a Trojan Horse-style scheme they have the RV towed (with the Springfieldians inside) to the impound lot, where they tie the tree to the roof of the RV, make their getaway and return to Springfield, albeit damaging the tree in the process. In Springfield, the story of the tree's return is told by Grampa as a great victory, and they celebrate over lemonade. In Shelbyville, however, the story is told by an old man as the successful banishment of the awful haunted lemon tree, and they celebrate by drinking turnip juice, to the boys' disgust.

128 - 25 Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein 2F16 Groundskeeper Willie accidentally strikes oil in the basement of Springfield Elementary School. The school immediately makes plans for spending the oil money, accepting a number of suggestions, including Lisa's to hire Tito Puente to teach a jazz program at the school. Mr. Burns, however, is outraged that the school has an oil well. He builds a slant-drilling rig and succeeds in reaching the oil before the school can, and the school is forced to cancel its new spending plans and even cut existing programs such as music and maintenance. When Burns's rig reaches the oil, the resulting gusher destroys Bart's treehouse and injures Santa's Little Helper. Elsewhere in Springfield, Moe's Tavern is forced to close due to fumes from Burns's well, and Springfield Retirement Castle collapses into a sinkhole caused by Burns's rapid removal of the oil. With his opponents vanquished, Burns tells Smithers his next plan: to build a giant shield to block out the sun, making Springfield totally dependent on Burns for its energy. Smithers, aghast, quits his job.

When word of Burns's sun-blocking plan gets out, the town calls an emergency meeting. Homer, meanwhile, is becoming increasingly frustrated with Burns's inability to remember his name. In desperation, he breaks into Burns's office and spray-paints "I AM HOMER SIMPSON" on the wall, only for Burns to catch him and exclaim "Who the devil are you?" Now enraged, Homer attacks Burns and gives him several good shakes (while saying "My name is Homer Simpson!") before security guards escort him out. At 3:00 p.m. on Friday, the Springfieldians gather for the town meeting. Quimby announces his plan to have a polite but firm letter sent to Burns, and then opens up the floor for townspeople to speak. It quickly becomes clear that everyone in town is angry with Burns. At that point, Burns arrives. When the angry townspeople advance on him, Burns opens his jacket and displays a pistol in a chest holster. They quickly back off, and Burns taunts everyone for not having the guts to stop him. He then asks if anyone's ever seen the sun set at 3:00 p.m and activates his sun-blocking shield, plunging the town into darkness.

The meeting breaks up and Burns walks away, pleased with himself. He then talks with an unseen and unpseaking person, asking why they're so happy and telling them to drop something. Nearby, the townspeople hear a gunshot, and a wounded and weaponless Burns staggers into view and collapses on the town sundial. People quickly gather around, and Marge says she doesn't think they'll ever know who shot Burns, because everyone in town is a suspect. Dr. Hibbert says he can't solve this mystery, but asks Chief Wiggum if he can. Somewhat hesitantly, Wiggum says he'll give it a shot, because it's his job.

Question: What is the name of Lisa's saxophone playing mentor with the Faberge egg addiction?
Answer: Bleeding Gums Murphy