Lady Bouvier's Lover
"Lady Bouvier's Lover" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 12, 1994. In the episode, Abe Simpson falls in love with Marge's mother, Jacqueline Bouvier, and they start dating. However, on a night out in town, she is charmed by Mr. Burns. Abe is brokenhearted when he learns that Jacqueline is going to marry Mr. Burns.
"Lady Bouvier's Lover"
Season 5
Episode 21
1F21
May 12, 1994
"I will not re-transmit without the express permission of Major League Baseball"
The family runs to the couch, but when they get there, they break and shatter like glass. Santa's Little Helper enters the room confused.
The episode was written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, and directed by Wes Archer. It was recorded in October 1993 at the Darryl F. Zanuck Building on the 20th Century Fox lot in West Los Angeles. The episode features cultural references to films such as The Gold Rush and The Graduate, and songs such as "Moonlight Serenade" and "Sing, Sing, Sing".
Since airing, the episode has received mixed reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 10.0, and was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
Plot[edit]
The Simpson family gathers to celebrate Maggie's birthday. After the party, Grampa feels depressed, so Marge sets him up for a date with her mother, Jacqueline. Eventually, the couple falls in love, which enrages Homer, who believes that old people should not date each other — especially in-laws — and fears that his children will become "freaks" if the two decide to marry.
To impress Jacqueline, Grampa takes her out dancing, but when he does, Mr. Burns steals her from him and breaks his heart. They soon fall in love, and Jacqueline later agrees to marry Burns, to Marge's chagrin. Meanwhile, Bart buys a $350 Itchy & Scratchy animation cel with one of Homer's credit cards, which turns out to be poor quality with only part of Scratchy's arm drawn. Bart tries to trade it to Comic Book Guy for money but is offered a telephone in the shape of Mary Worth instead. In order to pay Homer back, Bart blackmails Burns by threatening to ruin his suit before his date.
On the day of the wedding, Grampa crashes Burns' and Jacqueline's wedding ceremony and asks that Jacqueline marry him instead. Partly due to Burns' behavior, especially when he threatens Bart after he accidentally drops the wedding rings, she decides not to marry either man. Grampa accepts Jacqueline's decision.
Reception[edit]
Ratings[edit]
In its original American broadcast, "Lady Bouvier's Lover" finished 50th in the ratings for the week of May 9 to May 15, 1994, with a Nielsen rating of 10.0. The episode was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place.[7]
Critical reception[edit]
Since airing, the episode has received mixed reviews from television critics.
DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson called the episode a "generally good program, though not one of the year’s best". Jacobson said he dislikes Marge's mother; "she’s one of the series’ less interesting characters, which is probably why she appears so rarely." However, he thinks Grampa is "always fun", and "it’s nice to see him in an ebullient mood, at least for a while."[8] Patrick Bromley of DVD Verdict gave the episode a B− grade and said he is "never terribly interested in episodes that revolve around [Grampa] Simpson". He believes Grampa is "great as a background character, but less so when he takes center stage". He added: "I'm also especially uninterested in episodes revolving around Marge's mother. Having said that, this episode does have a number of inspired moments—notably the subplot involving Bart's pursuit of an Itchy & Scratchy cel, as well as one of the series' many homages to The Graduate."[9] Bill Gibron of DVD Talk gave the episode a score of 4 out of 5.[10]
The authors of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote: "Homer's nightmare vision of Bart, Lisa and Maggie as ordinary kids is a highlight of this especially crazy—surreal jokes, flashbacks and dream sequences whizz by at an alarming rate—installment."[5]