Weekend at Burnsie's
Encyclopedia
"Weekend at Burnsie's" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons
thirteenth season
. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network
on April 7, 2002. In the episode, Homer Simpson
is prescribed medicinal marijuana after getting pecked in the eyes by a murder of crows. While his family and friends worry about the drug altering his personality, Homer becomes Mr. Burns's vice president after cracking up at Burns's antiquated jokes.
The episode was directed by Michael Marcantel
. The plot idea for the episode was pitched by George Meyer
, who wanted to make an episode about Homer getting addicted to medicinal marijuana. Executive producer and current showrunner Al Jean
found the idea "very funny" and gave former staff writer Jon Vitti
the duty to write the episode's first draft. Fox was initially very uneasy to pass the episode for broadcast, since they were concerned that it might encourage younger viewers to smoke it. Even though The Simpsons' staff slightly altered the episode by not actually showing Homer smoke his medicinal marijuana, the network was still worried that it might cause a controversy.
The use of medicinal marijuana is prominently featured throughout "Weekend at Burnsie's". Because the legislation of medicinal marijuana is a controversial issue, The Simpsons' staff has stated that they wanted to explore both sides of the argument, showing both the negative and positive effects of marijuana use. The episode does not come to an absolute conclusion about the issue; instead, Jean has stated that the episode is critical of legislations that are immediately criminalized after they are legislated. The episode also criticizes the use of genetically modified foods, and references Citizen Kane
, Dragnet
and Judy Garland
, among other things. It also features the American rock band Phish
as themselves.
Despite the network's initial concerns, "Weekend at Burnsie's" did not attract any controversy. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.2 million viewers, finishing in 46th place in the ratings the week it aired. Following the thirteenth season's release on DVD
and Blu-ray on August 24, 2010, the episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, and a joke from the episode has become one of the most popular jokes of the series.
, including baby corn
the size of ordinary corn and a potato
that eats Lisa
's carrots, Marge
decides to plant her own garden. Crow
s arrive on the new garden, so Marge makes a scarecrow
, which scares Homer
. Homer destroys the scarecrow, and the crows eventually see Homer as their leader, following him everywhere and doing his bidding. But when the crows try to carry Maggie
, Homer turns on them and they attack his eyes. He then goes to the hospital, where Dr. Hibbert
prescribes him medicinal marijuana
. Having had a bad experience with marijuana when he was younger, Homer objects to Hibbert's suggestion at first, but eventually decides to try it.
Homer begins to enjoy smoking marijuana, even asking Flanders
to read him the whole Holy Bible
, much to Flanders' excitement. When Flanders offers a petition to have a vote on the ban of medical marijuana in Springfield
, Homer unwittingly adds his signature. Homer's stoned state also sees him promoted to Executive Vice-President at the power plant, and so he goes to a rally for the legalization of medical marijuana (but the rally is actually held a day after the ban was approved by voters). Homer is cured of his medical condition and promises he will not smoke pot again.
Mr. Burns
asks Homer to help him with a speech for a crisis shareholders meeting. Homer gives Smithers
his last joint, and while Smithers is smoking and dressing in the coat Judy Garland
once wore, Burns apparently drowns in his bathtub. So, for the meeting, Smithers and Homer make Mr. Burns into a marionette
, à la Weekend at Bernie's
, and the movement of the marionette inadvertently gets Mr. Burns' heart working again. The meeting is a success, and another financial crisis at the power plant is avoided.
and directed by Michael Marcantel
. It was first broadcast on the Fox network
in the United States
on April 7, 2002. The idea for the episode was pitched by former staff writer George Meyer
, who wanted to make an episode in which Homer becomes addicted to medicinal marijuana. Executive producer and current showrunner Al Jean
thought that the premise sounded "very funny" and assigned Vitti to write the episode's first draft. Vitti wrote the script at his home and did not participate in any rewriting sessions with the other staff writers. "[...] it's a funny bunch of people", he said in the episode's DVD commentary. "You definitely lose touch with what the movies you're supposed to see, what's good on TV..." "Weekend at Burnsie's" is the second episode Vitti wrote in which a character forgets to vote at an election, and the second episode he wrote in which Homer takes a chemical that causes him to be promoted by Burns and run into conflict with Smithers. "You can't do anything for the first time at this point", Vitti quipped. Producer and former showrunner Mike Reiss
has stated that he thoroughly enjoyed working on "Weekend at Burnsie's". "I gotta say, this was the most fun I ever had working on an episode", he said in the episode's DVD commentary. "Everyone but me had stories to tell [about various things]. There would be about four hours of recollection before any rewriting happened."
Because the use of medicinal marijuana is prominently featured in the episode, Fox had "incredible fears" about it and were very hesitant to have it broadcast. They especially disapproved of a scene in which Homer smokes marijuana for the first time, since they did not want to instruct children how to smoke. The staff discussed the scene for a long time with the network until they came up with a compromise. Just before the joint touches Homer's lips, the scene cuts to a psychedelic sequence that transpires from the joint's tip. Despite their concerns, Jean opined that the network gave the staff a "pretty good amount" of creative freedom with the episode. "[...] obviously, the network didn't want us glorifying casual marijuana use", he said in an interview with the music magazine Relix
. "[...] like we usually do, we look at everything from two sides and it's supposed to be a thoughtful look at a serious thing". Despite the modification of the scene, the network and the series' staff members were still worried about how the episode would be received. "Weeks before it aired, we were going 'This is really going to kill everything...'", Jean said in the episode's DVD commentary.
After being attacked by the crows, Homer is seen being treated by Dr. Hibbert at the Springfield General Hospital. While there are no visible scars on him, the character instead has a slightly curled hair. During a color screening of the scene, Homer's body looked "a little too bloody" and damaged, prompting the staff to change it. "One thing I learned a long time ago is, you gotta be careful how you change [the characters'] basic model pack[s]", Jean said in the episode's DVD commentary. He also said that he was happy that many viewers identify with the characters and don't want to see them get hurt or injured in any way. "They don't mind if [Homer] falls down a cliff but [...] he should recover." While working on the episode, the series' staff debated what size to make Homer's pupils when he is under the influence of marijuana. Because a common effect of smoking marijuana is to get dilated pupils, the animators initially suggested to widen them, but settled on only dilating Homer's pupils slightly.
"Weekend at Burnsie's" features the American rock band Phish
as themselves. The idea to include the band in the episode was pitched during the episode's production. "Phish plays at the rally. We thought they'd be the perfect group to use for the plot.", Jean said. Meyer, who pitched the episode's premise, was a fan of the band, but Jean did not know much of them before they appeared in the episode; "I've never seen one of their concerts, so I'm not the most familiar", he said. He first became aware of the band after reading an article about them in Entertainment Weekly
. As they worked on the episode however, Jean became more acquainted with the band members. "They were nice", he said. "Jon Fishman said to me that the band had talked from time to time about if they were to ever be on The Simpsons, what it would be like. I said, 'Well, how close was it?' He said, 'Pretty close to what we expected.' (laughs) That was gratifying."
According to Peter Shapiro of Relix, some fans of Phish debated whether or not there had been any references to the band before "Weekend at Burnsie's". While the band was mentioned by name in the season 12
episode "Lisa the Tree Hugger
", there had not been any conscious attempts to reference the band before "Weekend at Burnsie's". This includes a scene in the season 11
episode "Saddlesore Galactica
", which shows Duncan the diving horse hanging from a hoist; some Phish fans argued that the scene was a "blatant" reference to the cover of the band's seventh studio album, Hoist
. "That was a total coincidence", Jean said. "It reminds me of the whole Wizard of Oz/Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) hook-up
. I haven't done it and I'm sure it works, but I just keep thinking that it must be a coincidence. Before there was the invention of video, I don't know how Pink Floyd would have done a whole album to a movie."
wrote an analysis of "Weekend at Burnsie's" in a guest column for the newspaper. The two argued that drugs are almost always shown as having only negative effects, even though 10 million people in the United States use marijuana for recreational purposes. "We believe there are good reasons for a more honest dialogue about the positive and negative effects of marijuana use. A recent episode of the popular TV show The Simpsons highlighted the pros and cons of marijuana use, and Homer Simpson's experiences with marijuana provide an example of what we mean", they wrote. For example, when under the influence of marijuana, Homer is relieved from the pain in his eye, and he also finds himself having a variety of sensory experiences and an enhanced appreciation of music and food. "These are real effects reported by many marijuana users, and we would be hard pressed to call them anything other than benefits", Stephens and Roffman wrote. However, Homer is also depicted spending more time with other drug users than with his family, and his friends find that his personality has changed. Eventually, Homer is shown having problems with memory and attention, losing track of the date on which a pro-marijuana rally takes place. Stephens and Roffman wrote that the side effects shown in the episode are "Perhaps a bit exaggerated, but clearly there are costs of marijuana use similar to these that are experienced by real-life users."
Jean has stated that he "does not know enough" to say whether he approves of the legislation of medicinal marijuana, but none of The Simpsons' writers use the drug. "It's one of the most sober writing staffs I've ever encountered", staff writer Max Pross said in the episode's DVD commentary. When asked about what stance the episode holds regarding the legislation medicinal of marijuana, Jean said that series' staff wanted to explore both sides of the issue, rather than making an absolute statement. He added that the episode is rather a critique of legislations that are immediately criminalized after they are legitimized. "The stance is that it seems ridiculous to legalize something and then criminalize it, which I have seen happen in various states", Jean said. He continued, "It's just weird to take away a right or to grant people a liberty and then abandon it. I would say that's the strongest statement [the episode] makes." The episode also criticizes the use of genetically modified foods. At the beginning of the episode, Marge announces that the family's dinner includes genetically modified vegetables, to which Lisa replies "American corporations should stop playing god with nature." She then notices that her potato starts eating her carrot. Even though the episode portrays genetic modifications in a negative light, none of The Simspons' writers were actually against the technique. After the scene was written, Reiss asked all the writers if they were against genetic modifications of food, and none of them were. "Very often we take these stands on the show that we do not believe in at all", Reiss explained in the DVD commentary for the episode. The scene was originally three times longer, and was conceived during a rewrite session with the staff writers.
The name of the episode is a reference to the 1989 comedy film Weekend at Bernie's
, in which two young insurance executives try to convince people that their deceased boss is alive. The last part of the episode, in which Homer and Smithers believe that they have killed Burns, is based on the film's plot. While under the influence of marijuana, Homer shaves his beard, causing blood to pour out from his face. To Homer, the blood looks like psychedelic rainbows, and the song that plays during the scene is "Wear Your Love Like Heaven
" by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan
. When speaking at the Phish concert, Homer stands in front of a large picture of himself. The scene is a reference to the 1941 drama film Citizen Kane
, in which the main character Charles Foster Kane
makes a political speech in front of a large picture of himself. In another scene, Homer and Smithers smoke marijuana in order to find Mr. Burns' jokes funny. While high, Smithers wears a suit similar to one worn by American actress and singer Judy Garland
. While talking to Homer, Smithers forgets to take Mr. Burns out of his bathtub. Horrified, Smithers thinks that the unconscious Mr. Burns has drowned. The scene is a reference to "The Big High
", an episode of the television crime drama Dragnet
in which a married couple accidentally drown their baby while they are smoking marijuana.
, translating to approximately 7.2 million viewers. The episode finished in 34th place in the ratings for the week of April 1-7, 2002, tying with a new episode of the comedy television series Malcolm in the Middle
. On August 24, 2010, "Weekend at Burnsie's" was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season DVD
and Blu-ray set. Matt Groening, Al Jean, Matt Selman, Don Payne, Jon Vitti, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Mike Reiss and David Silverman participated in the audio commentary of the episode.
Following its home video release, "Weekend at Burnsie's" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict praised the episode's premise, writing that it "brim[s] with potential" even though it is "fairly simple". She also praised the episode's setpiece, which she described as "particularly good", even though she found it to be "super-random". She gave the episode an A- rating and added that it has "lots of great gags". Writing for WhatCulture!, Adam Rayner described "Weekend at Burnsie's" as "utterly hilarious" and "superbly executed". He wrote, "Apart from being very funny, the episode also manages to make statements about Marijuana, but never becomes preachy." He continued that it can be compared to the series' best episodes, writing that it "resemble[s] The Simpsons in its glory years". Casey Broadwater of Blu-ray.com considers it to be one of the season's best episodes, and so did High-Def Digest's Aaron Peck, who described it as one of his personal favorites. James Plath, a reviewer for DVD Town, wrote that the episode is a "classic". On the other hand, giving the episode a mixed review, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that "Weekend at Burnsie's" "falls into the abyss as a distinctly ordinary episode." He continued, "Like many other S13 shows, this one feels recycled, as it lacks much to make it stand out as creative or memorable." He summarized the episode as being "decidedly mediocre". Nate Boss of Project-Blu disliked the episode, calling it "terrible", "utterly preachy" and "too damn political for its own good." He criticized the Simpsons staff for making an episode about marijuana, as he believed that children might imitate Homer. "Congrats, Simpsons, you just pissed off those who choose to live sober, by pandering to stupid college kids and idiot high schoolers who may be your only remaining fans", Boss wrote.
In a scene in the episode, Homer takes his crows to Moe's tavern. Annoyed, Moe tells Homer "This ain't no crow bar
." He then reaches behind the counter, as if to take out a crowbar (seen in earlier episodes as a hidden emergency weapon), but instead holds up a picture of crows in a bar, and says "This is a crow bar." The joke was written by staff writer Matt Selman
and has since become one of the most popular lines in the series, according to Jean. Since its broadcast, "Weekend at Burnsie's" garnered little to no scrutiny from viewers. Vitti has never gotten any questions about the episode, except from his sister-in-law who wanted him to explain the episode for his nephews. "[...] My sister-in-law called me up saying that I needed to talk to my nephews about how this was wrong that Homer did", Vitti said. "They watched it and had lots of questions for her. And she referred them all to me. So there are some people who are still bothered by it." The little amount of scrutiny that the episode attracted took The Simpsons' staff by surprise, as they anticipated that the episode would generate a lot of controversy. Instead, "Blame it on Lisa
", an episode which aired the previous week, caused an uproar in Brazil
because of its depiction of the country. It became one of the biggest controversies the series has ever faced. "It just goes to show that you never know what's going to be a problem", Jean said in the DVD commentary for "Weekend at Burnsie's".
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...
. It first aired in the United States 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 April 7, 2002. In the episode, Homer Simpson
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...
is prescribed medicinal marijuana after getting pecked in the eyes by a murder of crows. While his family and friends worry about the drug altering his personality, Homer becomes Mr. Burns's vice president after cracking up at Burns's antiquated jokes.
The episode was directed by Michael Marcantel
Michael Marcantel
Michael Marcantel is an animation director on The Simpsons. He graduated form California Institute of the Arts where he studied in the Experimental Animation program under Jules Engel.-External links:...
. The plot idea for the episode was pitched by George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
, who wanted to make an episode about Homer getting addicted to medicinal marijuana. Executive producer and current showrunner 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...
found the idea "very funny" and gave former staff writer Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
the duty to write the episode's first draft. Fox was initially very uneasy to pass the episode for broadcast, since they were concerned that it might encourage younger viewers to smoke it. Even though The Simpsons
The use of medicinal marijuana is prominently featured throughout "Weekend at Burnsie's". Because the legislation of medicinal marijuana is a controversial issue, The Simpsons
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
, Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
and Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, among other things. It also features the American rock band Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
as themselves.
Despite the network's initial concerns, "Weekend at Burnsie's" did not attract any controversy. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.2 million viewers, finishing in 46th place in the ratings the week it aired. 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 on August 24, 2010, the episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, and a joke from the episode has become one of the most popular jokes of the series.
Plot
After a bad experience with genetically modified foodGenetically modified food
Genetically modified foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms . Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques...
, including baby corn
Baby corn
Baby corn or candle corn is a cereal grain taken from corn harvested early while the ears are very small and immature. It typically is eaten whole–cob included—in contrast to mature corn, whose cob is considered too tough for human consumption. Baby corn is eaten both raw and cooked. Baby corn is...
the size of ordinary corn and a potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
that eats 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...
's carrots, 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...
decides to plant her own garden. Crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s arrive on the new garden, so Marge makes a scarecrow
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
, which scares 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...
. Homer destroys the scarecrow, and the crows eventually see Homer as their leader, following him everywhere and doing his bidding. But when the crows try to carry Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
, Homer turns on them and they attack his eyes. He then goes to the hospital, where Dr. Hibbert
Julius Hibbert
Dr. Julius M. Hibbert, usually referred to as Dr. Hibbert, is a recurring character on the animated series The Simpsons. His speaking voice is provided by Harry Shearer and his singing voice was by Thurl Ravenscroft, and he first appeared in the episode "Bart the Daredevil". Dr...
prescribes him medicinal marijuana
Medical cannabis
Medical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine...
. Having had a bad experience with marijuana when he was younger, Homer objects to Hibbert's suggestion at first, but eventually decides to try it.
Homer begins to enjoy smoking marijuana, even asking Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
to read him the whole Holy Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, much to Flanders' excitement. When Flanders offers a petition to have a vote on the ban of medical marijuana 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...
, Homer unwittingly adds his signature. Homer's stoned state also sees him promoted to Executive Vice-President at the power plant, and so he goes to a rally for the legalization of medical marijuana (but the rally is actually held a day after the ban was approved by voters). Homer is cured of his medical condition and promises he will not smoke pot again.
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...
asks Homer to help him with a speech for a crisis shareholders meeting. Homer gives Smithers
Waylon Smithers
Waylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open...
his last joint, and while Smithers is smoking and dressing in the coat Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
once wore, Burns apparently drowns in his bathtub. So, for the meeting, Smithers and Homer make Mr. Burns into a marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
, à la Weekend at Bernie's
Weekend at Bernie's
Weekend at Bernie's is a 1989 American comedy film directed by Ted Kotcheff. A comedy starring Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman features the two as a couple of young insurance agency employees who discover their boss is deceased...
, and the movement of the marionette inadvertently gets Mr. Burns' heart working again. The meeting is a success, and another financial crisis at the power plant is avoided.
Production
"Weekend at Burnsie's" was written by Jon VittiJon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
and directed by Michael Marcantel
Michael Marcantel
Michael Marcantel is an animation director on The Simpsons. He graduated form California Institute of the Arts where he studied in the Experimental Animation program under Jules Engel.-External links:...
. It was first broadcast 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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on April 7, 2002. The idea for the episode was pitched by former staff writer George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
, who wanted to make an episode in which Homer becomes addicted to medicinal marijuana. Executive producer and current showrunner 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...
thought that the premise sounded "very funny" and assigned Vitti to write the episode's first draft. Vitti wrote the script at his home and did not participate in any rewriting sessions with the other staff writers. "[...] it's a funny bunch of people", he said in the episode's DVD commentary. "You definitely lose touch with what the movies you're supposed to see, what's good on TV..." "Weekend at Burnsie's" is the second episode Vitti wrote in which a character forgets to vote at an election, and the second episode he wrote in which Homer takes a chemical that causes him to be promoted by Burns and run into conflict with Smithers. "You can't do anything for the first time at this point", Vitti quipped. Producer and former showrunner Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
has stated that he thoroughly enjoyed working on "Weekend at Burnsie's". "I gotta say, this was the most fun I ever had working on an episode", he said in the episode's DVD commentary. "Everyone but me had stories to tell [about various things]. There would be about four hours of recollection before any rewriting happened."
Because the use of medicinal marijuana is prominently featured in the episode, Fox had "incredible fears" about it and were very hesitant to have it broadcast. They especially disapproved of a scene in which Homer smokes marijuana for the first time, since they did not want to instruct children how to smoke. The staff discussed the scene for a long time with the network until they came up with a compromise. Just before the joint touches Homer's lips, the scene cuts to a psychedelic sequence that transpires from the joint's tip. Despite their concerns, Jean opined that the network gave the staff a "pretty good amount" of creative freedom with the episode. "[...] obviously, the network didn't want us glorifying casual marijuana use", he said in an interview with the music magazine Relix
Relix
Relix magazine was launched in 1974 as newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concerts. It rapidly expanded into a music magazine covering a wide amount of artists...
. "[...] like we usually do, we look at everything from two sides and it's supposed to be a thoughtful look at a serious thing". Despite the modification of the scene, the network and the series' staff members were still worried about how the episode would be received. "Weeks before it aired, we were going 'This is really going to kill everything...'", Jean said in the episode's DVD commentary.
After being attacked by the crows, Homer is seen being treated by Dr. Hibbert at the Springfield General Hospital. While there are no visible scars on him, the character instead has a slightly curled hair. During a color screening of the scene, Homer's body looked "a little too bloody" and damaged, prompting the staff to change it. "One thing I learned a long time ago is, you gotta be careful how you change [the characters'] basic model pack[s]", Jean said in the episode's DVD commentary. He also said that he was happy that many viewers identify with the characters and don't want to see them get hurt or injured in any way. "They don't mind if [Homer] falls down a cliff but [...] he should recover." While working on the episode, the series' staff debated what size to make Homer's pupils when he is under the influence of marijuana. Because a common effect of smoking marijuana is to get dilated pupils, the animators initially suggested to widen them, but settled on only dilating Homer's pupils slightly.
"Weekend at Burnsie's" features the American rock band Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
as themselves. The idea to include the band in the episode was pitched during the episode's production. "Phish plays at the rally. We thought they'd be the perfect group to use for the plot.", Jean said. Meyer, who pitched the episode's premise, was a fan of the band, but Jean did not know much of them before they appeared in the episode; "I've never seen one of their concerts, so I'm not the most familiar", he said. He first became aware of the band after reading an article about them in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
. As they worked on the episode however, Jean became more acquainted with the band members. "They were nice", he said. "Jon Fishman said to me that the band had talked from time to time about if they were to ever be on The Simpsons, what it would be like. I said, 'Well, how close was it?' He said, 'Pretty close to what we expected.' (laughs) That was gratifying."
According to Peter Shapiro of Relix, some fans of Phish debated whether or not there had been any references to the band before "Weekend at Burnsie's". While the band was mentioned by name in the season 12
The Simpsons (season 12)
The Simpsons 12th season began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI".The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully. The season features three episodes that were produced for the...
episode "Lisa the Tree Hugger
Lisa the Tree Hugger
"Lisa the Tree Hugger" is the fourth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 19, 2000...
", there had not been any conscious attempts to reference the band before "Weekend at Burnsie's". This includes a scene in the season 11
The Simpsons (season 11)
The Simpsons 11th season originally aired between September 1999 and May 2000, beginning on Sunday, September 26, 1999, with "Beyond Blunderdome". The show runner for the 11th production season was Mike Scully...
episode "Saddlesore Galactica
Saddlesore Galactica
"Saddlesore Galactica" is the thirteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2000...
", which shows Duncan the diving horse hanging from a hoist; some Phish fans argued that the scene was a "blatant" reference to the cover of the band's seventh studio album, Hoist
Hoist (album)
Hoist is the fifth official studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on March 29, 1994, by Elektra Records. At the time of its release, Hoist was Phish's best selling album to date....
. "That was a total coincidence", Jean said. "It reminds me of the whole Wizard of Oz/Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) hook-up
Dark Side of the Rainbow
Dark Side of the Rainbow – also known as Dark Side of Oz or The Wizard of Floyd – refers to the pairing of the 1973 Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon with the visual portion of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. This produces moments where the film and the album appear to...
. I haven't done it and I'm sure it works, but I just keep thinking that it must be a coincidence. Before there was the invention of video, I don't know how Pink Floyd would have done a whole album to a movie."
Themes and cultural references
On May 17, 2002, Robert S. Stephens and Roger A. Roffman of The Seattle TimesThe Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
wrote an analysis of "Weekend at Burnsie's" in a guest column for the newspaper. The two argued that drugs are almost always shown as having only negative effects, even though 10 million people in the United States use marijuana for recreational purposes. "We believe there are good reasons for a more honest dialogue about the positive and negative effects of marijuana use. A recent episode of the popular TV show The Simpsons highlighted the pros and cons of marijuana use, and Homer Simpson's experiences with marijuana provide an example of what we mean", they wrote. For example, when under the influence of marijuana, Homer is relieved from the pain in his eye, and he also finds himself having a variety of sensory experiences and an enhanced appreciation of music and food. "These are real effects reported by many marijuana users, and we would be hard pressed to call them anything other than benefits", Stephens and Roffman wrote. However, Homer is also depicted spending more time with other drug users than with his family, and his friends find that his personality has changed. Eventually, Homer is shown having problems with memory and attention, losing track of the date on which a pro-marijuana rally takes place. Stephens and Roffman wrote that the side effects shown in the episode are "Perhaps a bit exaggerated, but clearly there are costs of marijuana use similar to these that are experienced by real-life users."
Jean has stated that he "does not know enough" to say whether he approves of the legislation of medicinal marijuana, but none of The Simpsons
The name of the episode is a reference to the 1989 comedy film Weekend at Bernie's
Weekend at Bernie's
Weekend at Bernie's is a 1989 American comedy film directed by Ted Kotcheff. A comedy starring Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman features the two as a couple of young insurance agency employees who discover their boss is deceased...
, in which two young insurance executives try to convince people that their deceased boss is alive. The last part of the episode, in which Homer and Smithers believe that they have killed Burns, is based on the film's plot. While under the influence of marijuana, Homer shaves his beard, causing blood to pour out from his face. To Homer, the blood looks like psychedelic rainbows, and the song that plays during the scene is "Wear Your Love Like Heaven
Wear Your Love Like Heaven
"Wear Your Love Like Heaven" is a song and US-single by Donovan, released in 1967. It became the opening title of his double album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden...
" by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
. When speaking at the Phish concert, Homer stands in front of a large picture of himself. The scene is a reference to the 1941 drama film Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
, in which the main character Charles Foster Kane
Charles Foster Kane
Charles Foster Kane is a fictional character and the subject of Orson Welles' 1941 film Citizen Kane. Welles played Kane , with Buddy Swan playing Kane as a child...
makes a political speech in front of a large picture of himself. In another scene, Homer and Smithers smoke marijuana in order to find Mr. Burns' jokes funny. While high, Smithers wears a suit similar to one worn by American actress and singer Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
. While talking to Homer, Smithers forgets to take Mr. Burns out of his bathtub. Horrified, Smithers thinks that the unconscious Mr. Burns has drowned. The scene is a reference to "The Big High
The Big High
The Big High was an episode of the American television series Dragnet. It aired on the NBC network on November 2, 1967, the program's second season. It starred Jack Webb Harry Morgan, Tim Donnelly, Ed Prentiss, Merry Anders, Brenda Scott, Kent McCord and James Oliver...
", an episode of the television crime drama Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
in which a married couple accidentally drown their baby while they are smoking marijuana.
Release and reception
In its original American broadcast on April 7, 2002, "Weekend at Burnsie's" received a 6.8 rating, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, translating to approximately 7.2 million viewers. The episode finished in 34th place in the ratings for the week of April 1-7, 2002, tying with a new episode of the comedy television series Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
. On August 24, 2010, "Weekend at Burnsie's" was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season 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 set. Matt Groening, Al Jean, Matt Selman, Don Payne, Jon Vitti, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Mike Reiss and David Silverman participated in the audio commentary of the episode.
Following its home video release, "Weekend at Burnsie's" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict praised the episode's premise, writing that it "brim[s] with potential" even though it is "fairly simple". She also praised the episode's setpiece, which she described as "particularly good", even though she found it to be "super-random". She gave the episode an A- rating and added that it has "lots of great gags". Writing for WhatCulture!, Adam Rayner described "Weekend at Burnsie's" as "utterly hilarious" and "superbly executed". He wrote, "Apart from being very funny, the episode also manages to make statements about Marijuana, but never becomes preachy." He continued that it can be compared to the series' best episodes, writing that it "resemble[s] The Simpsons in its glory years". Casey Broadwater of Blu-ray.com considers it to be one of the season's best episodes, and so did High-Def Digest's Aaron Peck, who described it as one of his personal favorites. James Plath, a reviewer for DVD Town, wrote that the episode is a "classic". On the other hand, giving the episode a mixed review, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that "Weekend at Burnsie's" "falls into the abyss as a distinctly ordinary episode." He continued, "Like many other S13 shows, this one feels recycled, as it lacks much to make it stand out as creative or memorable." He summarized the episode as being "decidedly mediocre". Nate Boss of Project-Blu disliked the episode, calling it "terrible", "utterly preachy" and "too damn political for its own good." He criticized the Simpsons staff for making an episode about marijuana, as he believed that children might imitate Homer. "Congrats, Simpsons, you just pissed off those who choose to live sober, by pandering to stupid college kids and idiot high schoolers who may be your only remaining fans", Boss wrote.
In a scene in the episode, Homer takes his crows to Moe's tavern. Annoyed, Moe tells Homer "This ain't no crow bar
Crowbar
Crowbar may refer to:* Crowbar * Crowbar * Spud bar, a long straight metal bar used lengthwise as a hand tool to deliver blows to a target, or for leverage...
." He then reaches behind the counter, as if to take out a crowbar (seen in earlier episodes as a hidden emergency weapon), but instead holds up a picture of crows in a bar, and says "This is a crow bar." The joke was written by staff writer Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
and has since become one of the most popular lines in the series, according to Jean. Since its broadcast, "Weekend at Burnsie's" garnered little to no scrutiny from viewers. Vitti has never gotten any questions about the episode, except from his sister-in-law who wanted him to explain the episode for his nephews. "[...] My sister-in-law called me up saying that I needed to talk to my nephews about how this was wrong that Homer did", Vitti said. "They watched it and had lots of questions for her. And she referred them all to me. So there are some people who are still bothered by it." The little amount of scrutiny that the episode attracted took The Simpsons
Blame It on Lisa
"Blame It on Lisa" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 31, 2002. In the episode, the family goes to Brazil in search of a Brazilian orphan named Ronaldo whom Lisa has been sponsoring...
", an episode which aired the previous week, caused an uproar in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
because of its depiction of the country. It became one of the biggest controversies the series has ever faced. "It just goes to show that you never know what's going to be a problem", Jean said in the DVD commentary for "Weekend at Burnsie's".
External links
- "Weekend at Burnsie's" at The Simpsons.com