'Round Springfield
| "'Round Springfield" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:Bleedinggm.JPG | |
| Episode no. | Season 6 |
| Directed by | Steven Dean Moore |
| Written by | Joshua Sternin Jeffrey Ventimilia |
| Original air dates | April 30, 1995.[1] |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "Nerve gas is not a toy"[1] |
| Couch gag | The family run in, with their sizes reversed. Maggie is the biggest and Homer is the smallest.[2] |
"'Round Springfield" is the twenty-second episode of the sixth season of The Simpsons, and the 125th episode overall. It originally aired on April 30, 1995. It marked the first time in which a recurring character was killed off in the show, as well as being the second episode to feature death as its prominent theme. (The death of Gladys Bouvier in "Selma's Choice" was the first.) The episode saw Steve Allen and Ron Taylor guest star, each in their second appearance on the show. The title is a play on both the jazz standard 'Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk and the similarly named film about an unappreciated jazz musician.[2]
Synopsis
On the day of a major history test, Bart gets a stomachache after accidentally eating a jagged metal Krusty-O with his breakfast cereal. Lisa is the only one who believes him, as Homer and Marge send him to school. There, Mrs. Krabappel tells Bart, after he has said that he cannot take the test due to his stomachache, that "No teacher will be held accountable if Bart Simpson dies".
Bart struggles through the test, and after finally convincing Mrs. Krabappel that he is actually ill, she lets him go and see the nurse, who turns out to just be Lunchlady Doris. She explains that she is there due to "budget cuts", and that all she can offer him are chewable Prozac for kids, with the options being Manic-Depressive Mouse and the Bluebird of Unhappiness. Bart collapses on the medical room floor, inconveniently for Principal Skinner, right in front of Superintendent Chalmers. "Lumpy" the school snake then slithers past, dragging along with it, numerous children yelling for help, having been swallowed by it, thus increasing Skinner's bad inspection score. Bart is taken to Springfield General Hospital and undergoes surgery from Dr. Hibbert and Dr. Nick, as it emerges he has appendicitis. After his operation, Bart explains to his classmates that he "gets to miss a week of school", prompting all of the children to want their appendix' out. This raises a continuity error, as Milhouse already had his appendix out in "Homer Defined".[2]
Later while visiting Bart in the hospital, Lisa meets her hero, jazzman Bleeding Gums Murphy, in a bed in another ward. They bond and jam to Carole King's song "Jazzman". Bleeding Gums tells Lisa of his past, and of his musical career. It is then strongly suggested that Bleeding Gums Murphy and Dr. Hibbert are brothers.[3]
Later, he lends Lisa his saxophone for her school recital. It starts off terribly as there are now only three members of the Springfield Elementary school orchestra, as the rest are having their appendixes removed, but with Bleeding Gums' sax, Lisa gets up and performs a solo routine, becoming the star of the show. However, when she returns to the hospital, she is saddened to learn that her beloved mentor Bleeding Gums has died.
Lisa is the only person who attends Bleeding Gums' funeral and after 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", Lisa vows to make sure that everyone in Springfield knows the name of Bleeding Gums Murphy. Bart, meanwhile, sues Krusty the Clown for $100,000 and wins, however after Bart's attorney Lionel Hutz takes his "legal fees", he is left with only $500, although Bart is still pleased.
Still stricken with grief, Lisa decides that the best way to honour Bleeding Gums' memory is by having his album, "Sax on the Beach", played at the local jazz station, KJAZZ. Lisa spots it in the Android's Dungeon store for $250, but after hearing that Bleeding Gums is dead, Comic Book Guy doubles the price to $500. As Lisa leaves, she sees the money she needs on the ground, but it is tied to a string which is pulled away by Mr. Burns as she approaches, leaving her without the money. Bart then walks in with his $500 and, after remembering that Lisa was the only one who believed him about his stomach ache, Bart decides to buy the album with his money, ahead of the "Steve Allen ultimate pog". Lisa thanks Bart for buying the album, but when she points out Bart may never see that kind of money again, he happily shows Lisa a new box of Krusty-O Cereal -- "With Flesh Eating Bacteria in Every Box!"
When the station plays one of Bleeding Gums' songs, Lisa is disappointed because the station's tiny range still prevents anyone from hearing it. Lightning then strikes the antenna, giving it extra power and projecting it into every radio in Springfield. Lisa is finally satisfied. After procaliming "that was for you Bleeding Gums" she turns to leave, but not before Bleeding Gums appears from the heavens to tell Lisa that she had made "an old jazz man happy". After saying a final goodbye, Lisa and Bleeding Gums jam to "Jazzman" one last time.
Episode notes
After effects
Bleeding Gums dying is one of the few times The Simpsons went against its own status quo by permanently removing a character, in this case due to death. Despite this, Bleeding Gums still appears in the complete version of the opening credits.[4] He even appeared in the live-action format,[5] in The Simpsons Sky One commercial, that was also used for the episode "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife". His grave stone is seen, along with those of the other dead characters at Maude Flanders' funeral in "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily".
Bleeding Gums' past
The episode sees Bleeding Gums explain about his past, and how his jazz career began. He says that he learned "at the feet of" "Blind Willie" Witherspoon, from whom he received his saxophone. He only recorded one album Sax on the Beach and he appeared on Steve Allen's Tonight Show and as the Huxtable children's grandfather in a guest appearance on The Cosby Show, on which Bill Cosby mixes hip hop with bebop.[6]
Steve Allen lists his available books as:
- How To Make Love To Steve Allen
- Happiness is a Naked Steve Allen
- Journey To The Center Steve Allen
- The Joy Of Cooking Steve Allen
Bleeding Gums' concludes by saying that he "blew all of his money" on Fabergé eggs. In the DVD audio commentary Al Jean, stated that "he didn't realise just how expensive Fabergé egg were." As, in the episode, they were priced at just $1500.
Production information
This episode marked the first time in which a recurring character was killed off in the show. The writers and production team felt that it would be a great storyline, with a lot of emotions, primarily for Lisa.[7] They knew that it couldn't be one of the main characters, Al Jean states in the episode's DVD audio commentary, "we wouldn't want it to be someone like Mr. Burns, that we'd obviously want to see in the show again".[8] Eventually they decided on Bleeding Gums Murphy, although Mike Reiss stated "I had been polling for years to kill Marge's mom but this was a better idea".[9] Reiss and Jean thought that the episode would "get a ton of awards",[9] this was why they received a story credit.[9]
The main story of the episode's first act sees Bart get appendicitis from eating a jagged metal Krusty O'. Mike Reiss's father, being a doctor, was the medical consultant on this episode. He stated that you "just can't get" appendicitis from eating a piece off metal.[9] This was one of two episodes that was created with the help of the staff of The Critic, with the previous being "A Star is Burns".[9]
Cheese-eating surrender monkeys
Groundskeeper Willie's description of the French as "cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys"[10] has become widely used, particularly in the run-up to the war in Iraq.[11] The New York Post used the phrase "Surrender Monkeys" as the headline for its December 7, 2006 front page, referring to the Iraq Study Group and its recommendation that U.S. soldiers be withdrawn from Iraq by early 2008.[12] The line was "most likely" written by Ken Keeler.[7]
Cultural references
- Kimba the White Lion/Lion King controversy - When Mufasa appears he accidentally says "Kimba" and corrects himself after by saying "Simba". This is a reference to a long going, raging debate about whether or not The Lion King had ripped off the anime Kimba the White Lion.[2]
- Starland Vocal Band - Homer realises that this is what his tattoo reads, after suggesting Lisa get one, at which he states that "They suck!".[2]
- ER - The music just before Bart's operation is a parody of the show's theme.[7]
- Jazzman - Bleeding Gums and Lisa play the song twice in the episode.[2]
- Billie Holiday - After playing Carole King's Jazzman for the final time, Bleeding Gums tells Lisa that he can't play it again because he has "got a date with Billie Holiday".[2]
- James Earl Jones - When Bleeding Gums Murphy appears to Lisa near the end, he is joined by Darth Vader, Mufasa, and James Earl Jones saying "This is CNN". Although these are three of the most famous roles of James Earl Jones, Harry Shearer provided the voices.[2]
- The OJ Simpson trial - Lionel Hutz' "crack team of lawyers" Robert Shaporo and Albert Dershman are parodies of Robert Shapiro and Alan Dershowitz.[2]
- Madeline - The other children wanting their appendix' removed after Bart shows them his scar is a reference to the story.[2]
- George Washington Carver - Bart believes he was "The guy who chopped up George Washington."[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Richmond, Ray (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. pp. p. 173. ISBN 0-00063-8898-1.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 'Round Springfield SNPP. Retrieved on January 10, 2007
- ^ Bleeding Gums: "I don't really have a family, all I had was a little brother who grew up to become a doctor. He used to laugh at the most inappropriate times."
Hibbert: (Hibbert laugh) "Hey I've got an older brother that I'll never see. He's a jazz musician or some such. Oh well, bye, bye." - ^ Opening Sequence SNPP. Retrieved on January 1, 2006
- ^ Real Life Simpsons Intro (He appears after 35 seconds) YouTube. Retrieved on January 1, 2006
- ^ Cosby (as Cliff Huxtable): "Oh, oh! You see, the kids, they listen to the rap music, which gives them the brain damage, with their hippin' and the hoppin', and the bippin' and the boppin', so they don't know what the jazz, is all about".
- ^ a b c Mentioned in the episode's audio commentary on The Simpsons - The Complete Sixth Season DVD.
- ^ Stated by Al Jean at the beginning of the episode's audio commentary on the The Simpsons - The Complete Sixth Season DVD.
- ^ a b c d e Stated by Mike Reiss in the episode's audio commentary on the The Simpsons - The Complete Sixth Season DVD.
- ^ Sound recording of Groundskeeper Willie's line About: Political humour. Retrieved on December 27, 2006
- ^ Wimps, weasels and monkeys - the US media view of 'perfidious France' The Guardian. Retrieved on December 27, 2006
- ^ Lathem, Niles (December 7, 2006). "Iraq 'Appease' Squeeze on W." New York Post.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|retrieved=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
External links
- "'Round Springfield" episode page at The Simpsons.com
- "'Round Springfield episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.
- "'Round Springfield" at TV.com
- "'Round Springfield" at the Internet Movie Database