A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love
Encyclopedia
"A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons
’ thirteenth season
. The episode first aired on the Fox network
on December 2, 2001. In the episode, Mr Burns falls in love with Gloria, a woman who is much younger than he is and who turns out to be Snake Jailbird's ex-girlfriend.
The episode was written by John Swartzwelder
and directed by Lance Kramer
. The episode featured, along with George Takei
as a waiter and Karl Wiedergott
as a delivery boy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
, who appeared as Mr Burns' love interest Gloria. The episode received positive reviews from critics following the thirteenth season's release on DVD
and Blu-Ray.
is hired to write Chinese fortune cookie
s after complaining that the current fortunes are unimaginative. One of his fortunes says "You will find true love on Flag Day
". This cookie makes its way to Mr. Burns on, coincidentally, Flag Day. Eager for true love at last, Burns and a reluctant Smithers spend the evening womanising at a wealthy social gathering and a strip club. With mere minutes left in the day, Burns finds a cop ticketing his car, which he had parked in the middle of the road. After discovering the cop is a beautiful woman named Gloria (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus
), Burns asks her out on a date. Gloria warily accepts, much to Burns' delight and Smithers' chagrin.
After a pleasant first date at the carnival, Burns asks about another date but Gloria is about to turn him down when Homer runs by. Burns asks Homer to vouch for him to Gloria, so Homer regales her by listing Burns' many exploits. After Gloria agrees to a second date, Burns enlists Homer to be his "youthful advisor", accompanying the couple on their next date at the disco hall, and even carrying Burns and Gloria up the stairs when they go to have sex. In these cases, Burns overcomes his weakness and extreme age by means of a powerful aphrodisiac (made from an extract of the "pocket fox", a species which only existed for three weeks in the 16th century).
Eventually, during a date at the bowling alley, Burns decides to ask Gloria to marry him. She says yes. As Burns goes off to get some champagne to celebrate, Snake comes to rob the bowling
alley, and is surprised to see Gloria, who turns out to be his ex-girlfriend. Despite Gloria's protests, Snake kidnaps her and Homer. When Burns finds Gloria's ring, dropped in the commotion, he assumes she ran off with Homer. Snake takes Gloria and Homer to his hideout. Though Gloria says she loves Burns, Snake vows he can change. The police
arrive and confront Snake. Homer tries to escape but instead sets Snake's house on fire. Snake and Homer get out and Burns runs in to save Gloria, however he is soon overcome by the smoke and Gloria is then seen carrying him to safety. Although initially grateful, Gloria begins to reminisce about Snake, causing her to break up with Burns and become Snake's girl again.
while Lance Kramer
served as director. It first aired in the United States on December 2, 2001 on the Fox network
.
, who worked as an executive producer and show runner
for the episode, stated in the episode's DVD audio commentary that the first thing the writers tried to think of while writing the episode was how the Simpson family would fit into the story. In the episode's first draft, Gloria worked as a food truck
driver, however this was later changed so that she instead worked as a police lady. Scully also stated that, in the scene after Homer carries Burns and Gloria up the stairs, there were originally a lot of jokes about Homer "taking care of business" for Burns, however the staff decided to leave it out since it would make Homer "unlikable." In the episode, Snake Jailbird's mailbox reads "Snake (Jailbird)" which is a reference to a debate that the writers had over whether Snake's mailbox would read "Snake" or "Jailbird". Originally, the episode would end with Burns taking the "pocket fox" extract, however when seeing the animatic, the writers felt that that ending would be "too slow", so they changed it into Gloria falling in love with Snake again.
for the episode, Kramer stated that there was an issue over which color to paint the fortunes with. Kramer wanted the fortunes to be white while one of his co-workers suggested they should be pink. Kramer stated that the co-worker had been to a Chinese restaurant close to the studio that had pink fortunes, and that "that's why she [colored the fortunes pink]." The animators also found it difficult to draw Mr Burns happy. Kramer stated that Burns was "designed to look like a vulture" and look "evil all the time", so in order to make Burns look happy and more sympathetic, the animators had to change some things in Burns' regular model. For example, Burns' eyebrows are not visible through the majority of the episode. The scene with Mr Burns and Gloria on the ferris wheel was difficult to animate as well, since the animators had to "keep everything moving to sell it." In the scene in which Snake's house is burning down, the animators chose to color the sky red, in order to reflect the fire as well as make the scene "a little more exciting."
guest-starred as Gloria in the episode. In the DVD audio commentary for the episode, current show runner Al Jean
stated that working with Louis-Dreyfus was "an absolute pleasure", stating that "not only was she funny but you'd give her, like, one suggestion, and she'd do three great things with it." The waiter in the chinese restaurant was portrayed by actor George Takei
. Dan Castellaneta
, who plays Homer among several characters on the show, supplied the voice for Woody Allen
. The delivery boy was portrayed by Karl Wiedergott
, a voice actor who usually fill in for the male actors on The Simpsons when they are not available for the table read. Jean described him as "versatile" and "very talented."
of The Simpsons
on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 24, 2010, "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" received positive reviews from critics. Writing for Project:Blu, Nate Boss was favorable, describing it as "A hilarious episode, with some fantastic one liners", and went on to say that the episode was "so far the best in the season." Ron Martin of 411Mania was also positive towards the episode, writing "The antics of Mr. Burns and Homer trying to woo a young police officer are at worst amusing, at most hilarious." He wrote that Snake Jailbird was "a welcome side character", and went on to write that the episode was the best of the first disc of The Simpsons´ thirteenth season on DVD.
Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict gave the episode a B+ rating, and wrote that the episodes highlights were "Burns' reaction walking into a strip club" [sic] and "a fortune cookie Homer writes, 'You will be aroused by a shampoo commercial'." Colin Jacobsson, writing for DVD Movie Guide, stated that, while it was not as good as the previous episode, "Homer the Moe
", "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" still "offers a reasonably solid episode." He liked the parts related to the fortune cookies, and stated that “Burns’ attempts to woo a much younger woman fare pretty well”. He concluded his review by saying that “enough smiles and snickers emerge to make this an enjoyable show”. Obsessed With Films Adam Rayner, in his review of The Simpsons thirteenth season, wrote that Julia Louis Dreyfus' appearance in the episode was "arguably the best [cameo] of the season."
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
’ thirteenth season
The Simpsons (season 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
. The episode first aired on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on December 2, 2001. In the episode, Mr Burns falls in love with Gloria, a woman who is much younger than he is and who turns out to be Snake Jailbird's ex-girlfriend.
The episode was written by John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
and directed by Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer is an animation director on The Simpsons. He also worked as an assistant animator on Tom and Jerry: The Movie.-History:Kramer graduated from Bismarck High School in Bismarck, ND...
. The episode featured, along with George Takei
George Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
as a waiter and Karl Wiedergott
Karl Wiedergott
Karl Wiedergott, born Karl Aloysious Treaton is a German actor. He is noted for his voice work on the long-running Fox sitcom The Simpsons since 1998, voicing background characters and some celebrities such as John Travolta and Bill Clinton...
as a delivery boy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
, who appeared as Mr Burns' love interest Gloria. The episode received positive reviews from critics following the thirteenth season's release on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-Ray.
Plot
The Simpsons visit a Chinese restaurant, where HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is hired to write Chinese fortune cookie
Fortune cookie
A fortune cookie is a crisp cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or a vague prophecy...
s after complaining that the current fortunes are unimaginative. One of his fortunes says "You will find true love on Flag Day
Flag Day
A flag day is a flag-related holiday—either a day designated for flying a certain flag , or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag....
". This cookie makes its way to Mr. Burns on, coincidentally, Flag Day. Eager for true love at last, Burns and a reluctant Smithers spend the evening womanising at a wealthy social gathering and a strip club. With mere minutes left in the day, Burns finds a cop ticketing his car, which he had parked in the middle of the road. After discovering the cop is a beautiful woman named Gloria (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
), Burns asks her out on a date. Gloria warily accepts, much to Burns' delight and Smithers' chagrin.
After a pleasant first date at the carnival, Burns asks about another date but Gloria is about to turn him down when Homer runs by. Burns asks Homer to vouch for him to Gloria, so Homer regales her by listing Burns' many exploits. After Gloria agrees to a second date, Burns enlists Homer to be his "youthful advisor", accompanying the couple on their next date at the disco hall, and even carrying Burns and Gloria up the stairs when they go to have sex. In these cases, Burns overcomes his weakness and extreme age by means of a powerful aphrodisiac (made from an extract of the "pocket fox", a species which only existed for three weeks in the 16th century).
Eventually, during a date at the bowling alley, Burns decides to ask Gloria to marry him. She says yes. As Burns goes off to get some champagne to celebrate, Snake comes to rob the bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
alley, and is surprised to see Gloria, who turns out to be his ex-girlfriend. Despite Gloria's protests, Snake kidnaps her and Homer. When Burns finds Gloria's ring, dropped in the commotion, he assumes she ran off with Homer. Snake takes Gloria and Homer to his hideout. Though Gloria says she loves Burns, Snake vows he can change. The police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
arrive and confront Snake. Homer tries to escape but instead sets Snake's house on fire. Snake and Homer get out and Burns runs in to save Gloria, however he is soon overcome by the smoke and Gloria is then seen carrying him to safety. Although initially grateful, Gloria begins to reminisce about Snake, causing her to break up with Burns and become Snake's girl again.
Production
"A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" was written by John SwartzwelderJohn Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
while Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer is an animation director on The Simpsons. He also worked as an assistant animator on Tom and Jerry: The Movie.-History:Kramer graduated from Bismarck High School in Bismarck, ND...
served as director. It first aired in the United States on December 2, 2001 on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
.
Writing
Mike ScullyMike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
, who worked as an executive producer and show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
for the episode, stated in the episode's DVD audio commentary that the first thing the writers tried to think of while writing the episode was how the Simpson family would fit into the story. In the episode's first draft, Gloria worked as a food truck
Food truck
A food truck, mobile kitchen, mobile canteen, or catering truck is a mobile venue that sells food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell mostly frozen or prepackaged food; others are more like restaurants-on-wheels...
driver, however this was later changed so that she instead worked as a police lady. Scully also stated that, in the scene after Homer carries Burns and Gloria up the stairs, there were originally a lot of jokes about Homer "taking care of business" for Burns, however the staff decided to leave it out since it would make Homer "unlikable." In the episode, Snake Jailbird's mailbox reads "Snake (Jailbird)" which is a reference to a debate that the writers had over whether Snake's mailbox would read "Snake" or "Jailbird". Originally, the episode would end with Burns taking the "pocket fox" extract, however when seeing the animatic, the writers felt that that ending would be "too slow", so they changed it into Gloria falling in love with Snake again.
Animation
On the DVD audio commentaryAudio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
for the episode, Kramer stated that there was an issue over which color to paint the fortunes with. Kramer wanted the fortunes to be white while one of his co-workers suggested they should be pink. Kramer stated that the co-worker had been to a Chinese restaurant close to the studio that had pink fortunes, and that "that's why she [colored the fortunes pink]." The animators also found it difficult to draw Mr Burns happy. Kramer stated that Burns was "designed to look like a vulture" and look "evil all the time", so in order to make Burns look happy and more sympathetic, the animators had to change some things in Burns' regular model. For example, Burns' eyebrows are not visible through the majority of the episode. The scene with Mr Burns and Gloria on the ferris wheel was difficult to animate as well, since the animators had to "keep everything moving to sell it." In the scene in which Snake's house is burning down, the animators chose to color the sky red, in order to reflect the fire as well as make the scene "a little more exciting."
Casting
Julia Louis-DreyfusJulia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
guest-starred as Gloria in the episode. In the DVD audio commentary for the episode, current show runner Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
stated that working with Louis-Dreyfus was "an absolute pleasure", stating that "not only was she funny but you'd give her, like, one suggestion, and she'd do three great things with it." The waiter in the chinese restaurant was portrayed by actor George Takei
George Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
. Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, who plays Homer among several characters on the show, supplied the voice for Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
. The delivery boy was portrayed by Karl Wiedergott
Karl Wiedergott
Karl Wiedergott, born Karl Aloysious Treaton is a German actor. He is noted for his voice work on the long-running Fox sitcom The Simpsons since 1998, voicing background characters and some celebrities such as John Travolta and Bill Clinton...
, a voice actor who usually fill in for the male actors on The Simpsons when they are not available for the table read. Jean described him as "versatile" and "very talented."
Reception
Following the release of thirteenth seasonThe Simpsons (season 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 24, 2010, "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" received positive reviews from critics. Writing for Project:Blu, Nate Boss was favorable, describing it as "A hilarious episode, with some fantastic one liners", and went on to say that the episode was "so far the best in the season." Ron Martin of 411Mania was also positive towards the episode, writing "The antics of Mr. Burns and Homer trying to woo a young police officer are at worst amusing, at most hilarious." He wrote that Snake Jailbird was "a welcome side character", and went on to write that the episode was the best of the first disc of The Simpsons´ thirteenth season on DVD.
Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict gave the episode a B+ rating, and wrote that the episodes highlights were "Burns' reaction walking into a strip club" [sic] and "a fortune cookie Homer writes, 'You will be aroused by a shampoo commercial'." Colin Jacobsson, writing for DVD Movie Guide, stated that, while it was not as good as the previous episode, "Homer the Moe
Homer the Moe
“Homer the Moe” is the third episode of The Simpsons’ thirteenth season. The episode first aired on the Fox network on November 18, 2001. In the episode, Moe, following advice of his former bartending professor, decides to modernize his bar...
", "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" still "offers a reasonably solid episode." He liked the parts related to the fortune cookies, and stated that “Burns’ attempts to woo a much younger woman fare pretty well”. He concluded his review by saying that “enough smiles and snickers emerge to make this an enjoyable show”. Obsessed With Films Adam Rayner, in his review of The Simpsons thirteenth season, wrote that Julia Louis Dreyfus' appearance in the episode was "arguably the best [cameo] of the season."
External links
- "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" at The Simpsons.com