Old Money (The Simpsons)
"Old Money" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 28, 1991.[1]
"Old Money"
Season 2
Episode 17
7F17
March 28, 1991
"I will not grease the monkey bars"
The family finds Grampa asleep on the couch.
The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky and directed by David Silverman. Professor Frink makes his debut in this episode. Audrey Meadows, star of the 1950s TV comedy The Honeymooners, guest stars as Beatrice "Bea" Simmons, Grampa's girlfriend. It features cultural references to films such as Tom Jones and If I Had a Million, and the Star Wars and Batman film franchises.
Since airing, the episode has received mixed reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 12.3 and was the highest-rated show on Fox for the week.
Plot[edit]
Grampa falls in love with Beatrice "Bea" Simmons, a new resident at the Springfield Retirement Castle. Homer insists Grampa join the rest of the Simpsons at a cheap lion safari for their "fun day with Grampa" and ignores Grampa's protests that he is getting ready for Bea's birthday, dismissing her as a figment of Grampa's imagination. The safari trip goes wrong when Homer goes onto an unauthorized pathway that leaves the family surrounded by lions and trapped overnight until a warden rescues them. When he finally returns home, Jasper tells him that Bea has died of a burst ventricle, though a devastated Grampa believes she died of a broken heart. Deeply distressed by her death, Grampa attends her funeral, where he furiously tells a despondent Homer that it is his fault that he missed his last chance to be with Bea and disowns him, much to Homer's heartbreaking grief and his family's horror.
Grampa inherits $106,000 from Bea's estate and initially plans to spend it on himself, making sure to call Homer and tell him that he is not getting any of the inheritance. After Bea's ghost visits him on an amusement park roller coaster, he instead decides to give the money to people in need, and while he heeds Bea's plea to forgive Homer he also tells Homer he still would not get the money. Several of the townspeople visit Grampa with frivolous, greedy, and destructive proposals, disgusting him so much that he goes for a walk to clear his mind. Seeing the plight of Springfield's homeless residents during his walk, he realizes he does not have enough money to solve the city's problems.
Grampa goes on a gambling junket at Jasper's suggestion, hoping to win so much money that he can help everybody. Homer finds him on a winning streak at a casino's roulette tables and pleads for him to stop while he is ahead. The two struggle over the bet, and Homer manages to drag Grampa's chips off the table just before the wheel stops on a number he had not covered. After Grampa thanks Homer for saving him from losing the inheritance, they finally have a sincere reconciliation. Grampa uses the money to renovate the retirement home and has the dining room renamed in Bea's honor.
Reception[edit]
In its original American broadcast, "Old Money" finished thirty-sixth in the ratings for the week of March 25–31, 1991, with a Nielsen Rating of 12.4. It was the highest-rated show on Fox that week.[10] The episode was released in video collection on May 4, 1994, called The Simpsons Collection, together with the episode "Dancin' Homer".[11]
Since airing, the episode has received mixed reviews from television critics. 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: "a wonderful episode, very sad but ultimately uplifting, with great one-liners (particularly from Grampa)".[7] Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide was not as positive. He said, "With 'Old Money', we find easily the crummiest episode of season two. Actually, I'd call this clunker the only bad show of the year." He went on to say, "I guess 'Old Money' wasn't a truly terrible episode, as it included a few funny moments. However, it seemed like one of the sappiest Simpsons episodes ever. The program became inundated with sentiment, and it did little to leaven that tide. In a generally strong season, 'Old Money' stands out as the only real clunker."[12]