Burns' Heir
Encyclopedia
"Burns' Heir" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons
' fifth season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 1994. In the episode, Mr. Burns
has a near-death experience which prompts him to find an heir to inherit his wealth after he dies. Although Bart
is initially rejected, Burns soon decides to choose him after seeing him as "a creature of pure malevolence". Marge convinces Bart to go spend some time with Burns, and soon becomes more disruptive than normal to his own family and decides to go live with Mr. Burns.
"Burns' Heir" was written by Jace Richdale
, his only writing credit. David Silverman
was originally going to direct the episode, but he was so swamped with his work as supervising director that it was re-assigned to Mark Kirkland
. While the Simpsons are at a movie, there is a parody of the THX
sound Deep Note
. The THX executives liked the parody so much that the scene was made into an actual THX movie trailer, with the scene being redone for the widescreen
aspect ratio. A deleted scene from the episode sees Mr. Burns release a "Robotic Richard Simmons
" as a way of getting rid of Homer. The scene was cut, but later included in the season seven
clip show "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
".
almost drowns while taking a bath and he later realizes that no one will carry on his legacy when he dies. He decides to try to find an heir that will inherit his vast fortune. He holds an audition and many of the boys in Springfield
try out, including Nelson Muntz
, Martin Prince
, and Milhouse Van Houten
. Bart
and Lisa
also try out and fail; Lisa because she is a girl
(with Milhouse abandoning his plan to return to the stage dressed as a girl after overhearing Mr. Burns) and Bart because he read Homer
's badly-worded proposal. Angry and humiliated after the audition ends, only made worse by Burns kicking him in the butt with a mechanical boot, Bart vandalizes Mr. Burns's house. Mr. Burns approves of Bart's malevolence and decides to accept him as his heir.
Homer
and Marge
sign a legal document which officially names Bart as Mr. Burns' heir. Marge suggests that Bart should spend some time with Mr. Burns. While initially repelled by Mr. Burns' coldness, Bart begins to take a liking to him after Burns promises to give Bart whatever he wants out of life. Bart decides to abandon his family because Mr. Burns allows him to do anything he likes. His family becomes angry and wants Bart back, so they decide to sue Mr. Burns, but the case does not turn out in their favor. The Simpsons get a deprogrammer to kidnap Bart, but the deprogrammer takes Hans Moleman
instead and brainwashes him into thinking he's a part of the Simpson family.
Meanwhile, Bart becomes lonely and wants to go back to his family. Mr. Burns does not want him to leave and tricks him into thinking that his family hates him, using a falsified video with actors playing the Simpson family. Bart decides that Burns is his true father and the two celebrate by firing employees at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. However, one of the employees is Homer and Mr. Burns then tries to break Bart's ties with his family by forcing him to fire Homer. Bart instead "fires" Burns and drops him through a trap door. He decides that he loves his family, and moves back in with them.
received a writers' credit, although he was a part of the show's staff for several seasons. When he was starting out as a writer on the show, Richdale was told to come up with some story ideas and he came up with the basic plot off the top of his head. David Silverman
was originally going to direct the episode, but he was so swamped with his work as supervising director that it was re-assigned to Mark Kirkland
. While the Simpsons are at a movie, there is a parody of the THX
sound Deep Note
. During that scene, a man's head explodes in a reference to the film Scanners
. The THX executives liked the parody so much that the scene was made into an actual THX movie trailer, with the scene being redone for the widescreen
aspect ratio.
A deleted scene from the episode sees Mr. Burns release a "Robotic Richard Simmons
" as a way of getting rid of Homer, which dances to a recording of K.C. and the Sunshine Band's "Shake Your Booty
". Simmons was originally asked to guest star, according to David Mirkin
, he was "dying to do the show", but declined when he found out he would voice a robot. It was fully animated, but was cut from "Burns' Heir" because it often did not get a good reaction during table reads. According to Bill Oakley
, there was a "significant division of opinion amongst the staff as to whether Richard Simmons was a target The Simpsons should make fun of" because it was "well-trod territory." They also felt it distracted viewers from the story. To the production staff's surprise, the scene would make the audience "erupt with laughter" when screened at animation conventions and college presentations, so they decided to insert it in the season seven
clip show "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
". Also shown in the deleted scenes section of the season 5 DVD.
. Mr. Burns also sings "Let's All Go to the Lobby
". Mr. Burns states that he got the idea for installing cameras all through town from Sliver
, which he calls a "delightful romp." Moe using a home-made sliding action holster with a pistol while looking in a mirror is a reference to Travis Bickle from the Taxi Driver
. The young boy saying, "Today, sir? Why, it's Christmas Day!" makes a reference to Charles Dickens
' A Christmas Carol
.
of 9.4, and was viewed in 8.85 million households. The show dropped four places in the rankings after finishing 49th the previous week. It was the third highest rated show on Fox that week following Living Single
and Married... with Children
.
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 that, "the episode lacks the emotional punch of others in which members of the family are separated." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote that the episode was "such a great concept that it’s a surprise no [one] went for it earlier." He felt that it "occasionally veers on the edge of mushiness, but it avoids becoming too sentimental. It's a blast to see Burns’ world from Bart’s point of view. DVD Talk
gave the episode a score of 5 out of 5 while DVD Verdict gave the episode a Grade B score. Paul Campos of Rocky Mountain News
described the Robotic Richard Simmons scene as "a level of surreal comedy that approaches a kind of genius."
Homer's quote, "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is never try," was added to The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
in August 2007.
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...
The Simpsons (season 5)
The Simpsons fifth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993 and May 19, 1994. The show runner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 1994. In the episode, Mr. Burns
Montgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
has a near-death experience which prompts him to find an heir to inherit his wealth after he dies. Although Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is initially rejected, Burns soon decides to choose him after seeing him as "a creature of pure malevolence". Marge convinces Bart to go spend some time with Burns, and soon becomes more disruptive than normal to his own family and decides to go live with Mr. Burns.
"Burns' Heir" was written by Jace Richdale
Jace Richdale
Jace Richdale is an American producer and writer. He served as co-executive producer for seasons 5 and 6 of The Simpsons and wrote the season five episode "Burns' Heir". He was a part of the Simpsons writing staff during seasons 5, 6, 9 and 10. Other writing credits include Family Ties, Get a Life...
, his only writing credit. David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
was originally going to direct the episode, but he was so swamped with his work as supervising director that it was re-assigned to Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
. While the Simpsons are at a movie, there is a parody of the THX
THX
THX is a trade name of a high-fidelity audio/visual reproduction standard for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, and car audio systems. The current THX was created in 2001 when it spun off from Lucasfilm Ltd...
sound Deep Note
Deep Note
Deep Note is the name of THX's audio logo, a distinctive synthesized crescendo sound. It was created by Dr. James A. Moorer, then an employee of the Lucasfilm Computer Division, in 1983...
. The THX executives liked the parody so much that the scene was made into an actual THX movie trailer, with the scene being redone for the widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
aspect ratio. A deleted scene from the episode sees Mr. Burns release a "Robotic Richard Simmons
Richard Simmons
Milton Teagle Simmons , known professionally as Richard Simmons, is an American fitness personality who promotes weight-loss programs, most famously through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos and DVDs and is known for his eccentric, outgoing and frequently flamboyant personality...
" as a way of getting rid of Homer. The scene was cut, but later included in the season seven
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
clip show "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
"The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on Fox on December 3, 1995. As the title suggests, it is the 138th episode and the third clip show episode of The Simpsons after "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" and...
".
Plot
Mr. BurnsMontgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
almost drowns while taking a bath and he later realizes that no one will carry on his legacy when he dies. He decides to try to find an heir that will inherit his vast fortune. He holds an audition and many of the boys in Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
try out, including Nelson Muntz
Nelson Muntz
Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and bully from the animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as a bully but later turned into a friend of Bart Simpson, who is best identified by his signature laugh .-Role...
, Martin Prince
Martin Prince
Martin Prince, Jr. is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Russi Taylor. Martin is Bart Simpson's classmate, and is Lisa Simpson's rival in intelligence, as well as Nelson Muntz's favorite target for bullying...
, and Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
. Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
also try out and fail; Lisa because she is a girl
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
(with Milhouse abandoning his plan to return to the stage dressed as a girl after overhearing Mr. Burns) and Bart because he read Homer
Homer 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...
's badly-worded proposal. Angry and humiliated after the audition ends, only made worse by Burns kicking him in the butt with a mechanical boot, Bart vandalizes Mr. Burns's house. Mr. Burns approves of Bart's malevolence and decides to accept him as his heir.
Homer
Homer 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...
and Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
sign a legal document which officially names Bart as Mr. Burns' heir. Marge suggests that Bart should spend some time with Mr. Burns. While initially repelled by Mr. Burns' coldness, Bart begins to take a liking to him after Burns promises to give Bart whatever he wants out of life. Bart decides to abandon his family because Mr. Burns allows him to do anything he likes. His family becomes angry and wants Bart back, so they decide to sue Mr. Burns, but the case does not turn out in their favor. The Simpsons get a deprogrammer to kidnap Bart, but the deprogrammer takes Hans Moleman
Hans Moleman
Hans Moleman is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in the episode "Principal Charming". He normally appears in a running gag, where he usually suffers unfortunate, nearly fatal, events...
instead and brainwashes him into thinking he's a part of the Simpson family.
Meanwhile, Bart becomes lonely and wants to go back to his family. Mr. Burns does not want him to leave and tricks him into thinking that his family hates him, using a falsified video with actors playing the Simpson family. Bart decides that Burns is his true father and the two celebrate by firing employees at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. However, one of the employees is Homer and Mr. Burns then tries to break Bart's ties with his family by forcing him to fire Homer. Bart instead "fires" Burns and drops him through a trap door. He decides that he loves his family, and moves back in with them.
Production
"Burns' Heir" was the episode in which Jace RichdaleJace Richdale
Jace Richdale is an American producer and writer. He served as co-executive producer for seasons 5 and 6 of The Simpsons and wrote the season five episode "Burns' Heir". He was a part of the Simpsons writing staff during seasons 5, 6, 9 and 10. Other writing credits include Family Ties, Get a Life...
received a writers' credit, although he was a part of the show's staff for several seasons. When he was starting out as a writer on the show, Richdale was told to come up with some story ideas and he came up with the basic plot off the top of his head. David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
was originally going to direct the episode, but he was so swamped with his work as supervising director that it was re-assigned to Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
. While the Simpsons are at a movie, there is a parody of the THX
THX
THX is a trade name of a high-fidelity audio/visual reproduction standard for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, and car audio systems. The current THX was created in 2001 when it spun off from Lucasfilm Ltd...
sound Deep Note
Deep Note
Deep Note is the name of THX's audio logo, a distinctive synthesized crescendo sound. It was created by Dr. James A. Moorer, then an employee of the Lucasfilm Computer Division, in 1983...
. During that scene, a man's head explodes in a reference to the film Scanners
Scanners
Scanners is a 1981 science-fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan...
. The THX executives liked the parody so much that the scene was made into an actual THX movie trailer, with the scene being redone for the widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
aspect ratio.
A deleted scene from the episode sees Mr. Burns release a "Robotic Richard Simmons
Richard Simmons
Milton Teagle Simmons , known professionally as Richard Simmons, is an American fitness personality who promotes weight-loss programs, most famously through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos and DVDs and is known for his eccentric, outgoing and frequently flamboyant personality...
" as a way of getting rid of Homer, which dances to a recording of K.C. and the Sunshine Band's "Shake Your Booty
(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty
" Shake Your Booty" is a song recorded and released in 1976 by KC and the Sunshine Band for the album Part 3. The song became their third number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as their third number-one on the soul singles chart. The song was met with a degree of controversy, since the...
". Simmons was originally asked to guest star, according to David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
, he was "dying to do the show", but declined when he found out he would voice a robot. It was fully animated, but was cut from "Burns' Heir" because it often did not get a good reaction during table reads. According to Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
, there was a "significant division of opinion amongst the staff as to whether Richard Simmons was a target The Simpsons should make fun of" because it was "well-trod territory." They also felt it distracted viewers from the story. To the production staff's surprise, the scene would make the audience "erupt with laughter" when screened at animation conventions and college presentations, so they decided to insert it in the season seven
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
clip show "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
"The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on Fox on December 3, 1995. As the title suggests, it is the 138th episode and the third clip show episode of The Simpsons after "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" and...
". Also shown in the deleted scenes section of the season 5 DVD.
Cultural references
The trailer advertising Mr. Burns' search for an heir is a loose parody of the trailer for Toys, a 1992 comedy starring Robin WilliamsRobin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
. Mr. Burns also sings "Let's All Go to the Lobby
Let's All Go to the Lobby
"Let's All Go to the Lobby" is a 1953 animated musical snipe played as an advertisement before the beginning of the main film. It featured a family of four talking concession stand products, singing "Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat" and walking to the concession stand.The...
". Mr. Burns states that he got the idea for installing cameras all through town from Sliver
Sliver (film)
Sliver is a 1993 film based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York highrise apartment building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas...
, which he calls a "delightful romp." Moe using a home-made sliding action holster with a pistol while looking in a mirror is a reference to Travis Bickle from the Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...
. The young boy saying, "Today, sir? Why, it's Christmas Day!" makes a reference to Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
.
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Burns' Heir" finished 53rd in ratings for the week of April 11–17, 1994, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 9.4, and was viewed in 8.85 million households. The show dropped four places in the rankings after finishing 49th the previous week. It was the third highest rated show on Fox that week following Living Single
Living Single
Living Single is an American television sitcom which aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 29, 1993 to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who share personal and professional experiences while living in a Brooklyn brownstone.Throughout its run, Living...
and Married... with Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
.
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 that, "the episode lacks the emotional punch of others in which members of the family are separated." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote that the episode was "such a great concept that it’s a surprise no [one] went for it earlier." He felt that it "occasionally veers on the edge of mushiness, but it avoids becoming too sentimental. It's a blast to see Burns’ world from Bart’s point of view. DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
gave the episode a score of 5 out of 5 while DVD Verdict gave the episode a Grade B score. Paul Campos of Rocky Mountain News
Rocky Mountain News
The Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...
described the Robotic Richard Simmons scene as "a level of surreal comedy that approaches a kind of genius."
Homer's quote, "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is never try," was added to The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, first published by the Oxford University Press in 1941, is an 1100-page book listing short quotations that are common in English language and culture....
in August 2007.
External links
- "Burns' Heir" at The Simpsons.com
- "Burns' Heir" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...