17th episode of the 2nd season of The Simpsons
"
Old Money
" is the seventeenth episode of the
second season
of the American animated television series
The Simpsons
. It originally aired on the
Fox network
in the United States on March 28, 1991.
[1]
The episode was written by
Jay Kogen
and
Wallace Wolodarsky
and directed by
David Silverman
.
Professor Frink
makes his debut in this episode.
Audrey Meadows
, star of the 1950s TV comedy
The Honeymooners
, guest stars as Beatrice "Bea" Simmons,
Grampa
's girlfriend. It features cultural references to films such as
Tom Jones
and
If I Had a Million
, and the
Star Wars
and
Batman
film franchises.
Since airing, the episode has received mixed reviews from television critics. It acquired a
Nielsen rating
of 12.3 and was the highest-rated show on Fox for the week.
Plot
[
edit
]
Grampa
falls in love with Beatrice "Bea" Simmons, a new resident at the
Springfield Retirement Castle
.
Homer
insists Grampa join the rest of the Simpsons at a cheap
lion safari
for their "fun day with Grampa" and ignores Grampa's protests that he is getting ready for Bea's birthday, dismissing her as a figment of Grampa's imagination. The safari trip goes wrong when Homer goes onto an unauthorized pathway that leaves the family surrounded by lions and trapped overnight until a warden rescues them. When he finally returns home,
Jasper
tells him that Bea has died of a burst
ventricle
, though a devastated Grampa believes she died of a broken heart. Deeply distressed by her death, Grampa attends her funeral, where he furiously tells a despondent Homer that it is his fault that he missed his last chance to be with Bea and disowns him, much to Homer's heartbreaking grief and his family's horror.
Grampa inherits $106,000 from Bea's estate and initially plans to spend it on himself, making sure to call Homer and tell him that he is not getting any of the inheritance. After Bea's ghost visits him on an amusement park roller coaster, he instead decides to give the money to people in need, and while he heeds Bea's plea to forgive Homer he also tells Homer he still would not get the money. Several of the townspeople visit Grampa with frivolous, greedy, and destructive proposals, disgusting him so much that he goes for a walk to clear his mind. Seeing the plight of Springfield's homeless residents during his walk, he realizes he does not have enough money to solve the city's problems.
Grampa goes on a gambling junket at Jasper's suggestion, hoping to win so much money that he can help everybody. Homer finds him on a winning streak at a casino's roulette tables and pleads for him to stop while he is ahead. The two struggle over the bet, and Homer manages to drag Grampa's chips off the table just before the wheel stops on a number he had not covered. After Grampa thanks Homer for saving him from losing the inheritance, they finally have a sincere reconciliation. Grampa uses the money to renovate the retirement home and has the dining room renamed in Bea's honor.
Production
[
edit
]
The episode was written by
Jay Kogen
and
Wallace Wolodarsky
and directed by
David Silverman
. The safari was based on the drive-through
Lion Country Safari
, located in
Loxahatchee
,
Palm Beach County
,
Florida
, which Kogen used to visit when he was younger.
[2]
"Old Money" was the first episode to feature Grampa's full name, Abraham Simpson.
Matt Groening
, creator of
The Simpsons
, named the main characters after his own family members (except for
Bart
, an anagram of brat, which he substituted for his own name),
[3]
but refused to name Grampa after his grandfather, Abram Groening. He left it to the writers to choose a name and
they
chose "Abraham".
[4]
The now recurring character
Professor Frink
makes his first appearance on the show in this episode. Frink was originally written as a
mad scientist
,
[5]
but when
cast
member
Hank Azaria
ad-libbed
a voice for Frink, he did an
impression
of
Jerry Lewis
's
The Nutty Professor
character, and the writing staff started making Frink more of a parody of Lewis.
[6]
Frink was named after
The Simpsons
writer
John Frink
; however, that was before he became a writer for the show.
[5]
The episode features a guest appearance from
Audrey Meadows
as Bea.
Al Jean
, a writer on the show, said Meadows was perfect for the role because she was very sweet, and the staff had a lot of fun during the recording sessions with her.
[5]
This is the only episode to date where the end credits actually states which character(s) each actor voices.
[5]
Cultural references
[
edit
]
The scene with Grampa and Bea eating their pills seductively is a reference to the 1963 film
Tom Jones
.
[7]
Two of the people waiting in line to ask for Grampa's money are
Darth Vader
and the
Joker
.
[8]
When the family is suggesting places they could go, Homer suggests the Springfield Mystery Spot, a reference to the
Mystery Spot
in California?although
Lisa
says the Springfield Spot is simply a puddle of mud. They eventually decide to go to the Discount Lion Safari, however.
[7]
The Diz-Nee-Land amusement park Grampa visits with Bea's money has a sign that reads "Diz-Nee-Land?Not affiliated with
Disneyland
,
Walt Disney World
, or anything else from
the Walt Disney Company
".
[7]
The shot of Grampa sitting at a diner resembles the 1942 American painting
Nighthawks
.
[1]
Before Grampa attempts to bet all his money on Roulette he quotes the poem "
If?
" by
Rudyard Kipling
. The climax scenes, where Grampa uses the money to fix up the Springfield Retirement Castle, is a reference to the ending of the 1932 film
If I Had a Million
.
[5]
Dr.
Marvin Monroe
'
s 'Monroe Box' is meant to be a spoof of
B. F. Skinner
'
s
Skinner Box
.
[9]
Reception
[
edit
]
In its original American broadcast, "Old Money" finished thirty-sixth in the ratings for the week of March 25?31, 1991, with a Nielsen Rating of 12.4. It was the highest-rated show on Fox that week.
[10]
The episode was released in video collection on May 4, 1994, called
The Simpsons Collection
, together with the episode "
Dancin' Homer
".
[11]
Since airing, the episode has received mixed reviews from television critics. The authors of the book
I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide
, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote: "a wonderful episode, very sad but ultimately uplifting, with great one-liners (particularly from Grampa)".
[7]
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide was not as positive. He said, "With 'Old Money', we find easily the crummiest episode of season two. Actually, I'd call this clunker the only bad show of the year." He went on to say, "I guess 'Old Money' wasn't a truly terrible episode, as it included a few funny moments. However, it seemed like one of the sappiest
Simpsons
episodes ever. The program became inundated with sentiment, and it did little to leaven that tide. In a generally strong season, 'Old Money' stands out as the only real clunker."
[12]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Groening, Matt
(1997).
Richmond, Ray
; Coffman, Antonia (eds.).
The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family
(1st ed.). New York:
HarperPerennial
. p.
52
.
ISBN
978-0-06-095252-5
.
LCCN
98141857
.
OCLC
37796735
.
OL
433519M
.
.
- ^
Kogen, Jay (2002).
The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Old Money"
(DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^
BBC (2000).
The Simpsons: America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD)
(DVD)
. UK: 20th Century Fox.
- ^
Groening, Matt (2002).
The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Old Money"
(DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Jean, Al (2002).
The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Old Money"
(DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^
Rhodes, Joe (October 21, 2000). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves".
TV Guide
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000).
"Old Money"
. BBC. Archived from
the original
on June 29, 2012
. Retrieved
April 2,
2009
.
- ^
Chernoff, Scott (July 24, 2007).
"I Bent My Wookiee! Celebrating the Star Wars/Simpsons Connection"
. No Homers. Archived from
the original
on October 6, 2008
. Retrieved
January 15,
2022
.
- ^
"Old Money"
. Archived from
the original
on July 10, 1997
. Retrieved
November 1,
2005
.
- ^
"What we watch, what we don't...".
Austin American-Statesman
. April 7, 1991. p. 15.
- ^
"The Simpsons Collection - Dancin' Homer / Old Money"
.
Amazon UK
. May 3, 1994
. Retrieved
March 29,
2009
.
- ^
Jacobson, Colin.
"The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season"
. DVD Movie Guide
. Retrieved
March 23,
2009
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikiquote has quotations related to
Old Money
.