 |
| "Ya see, the kids, they listen to the rap music, which gives them the brain damage. With their hippin and the hoppin and the bippin and the boppin, so they don't know what the JAZZ... is all about! Ya see, jazz is like a Jello pudding pop- no, actually its more like Kodak Film- no, actually, jazz is like the new Coke, it'll be around forever, heh heh heh." |
On the day of a big history test, as Bart struggles to tell Marge anything that would imply he studied, he inadvertently eats a special jagged metal Krusty-O in his cereal. The O tears him up inside, but both Homer and Marge think he's faking it to get out of taking the test, with only Lisa believing he's in real pain. After taking the test in school, Bart barely makes it to the nurse's office, now run by lunchlady Doris, before passing out. At the hospital, its learned that the O has inflamed his appendix and its promptly removed. Bart's family and friends visit him, and as Bart shows off his new scar to the other kids (which, combined with the prospect of missing school, convinces the other kids to get their appendixes removed as well), Lisa overhears someone playing a saxophone.
Turns out, that person is Bleeding Gums Murphy, whom Lisa first some time ago. Although its never explained why he's in there, the two reminisce and Bleeding Gums opens up about his life, including the one album he released in his career. A short time later, Lisa is going to perform at a band recital at school. She visits Bleeding Gums again, and the two play a saxophone duet. Afterwards, Bleeding Gums gives Lisa his saxophone for good luck. At the band recital, most of the band is unavailable after having their appendixes removed, and with only Lisa at sax, Martin Prince at triangle, and Ralph Wiggum playing a flute with his nose, the recital starts off poorly. However, Lisa takes over and plays a passionate cover of Stars & Stripes Forever, which garners much praise. Later, Lisa is thrilled to tell Bleeding Gums about the recital, but she learns that Bleeding Gums has passed away. Saddened over the loss, Lisa tries to talk to other people about death, but nothing seems to help. At the funeral, which only Lisa attends, she decides to vow that the entire town of Springfield knows the name Bleeding Gums Murphy.
Meanwhile, Bart has sued the Krusty Corporation over the metal O incident, and after some poor deflecting by Krusty, he and Bart's lawyer (Lionel Hutz) agree to a $100,000 settlement. Hutz and his lawyer team take away much of the money, leaving Bart with just $500, which he's more than happy to get.
Lisa goes to the jazz radio station, but it doesn't possess Bleeding Gums' album. What's more, even if Lisa found the album, the station has poor reception (albeit the best reception among jazz stations in the United States), and chances are not many people will be able to hear it. Despite that, Lisa finds a copy of the album, but its priced at $250, soon bumped up to $500 when the owner learns Bleeding Gums had died. A short time later, Bart enters the store with his $500 looking to blow it on something. Almost ready to buy a massive Steve Allen pog, Bart notices the album and a sad Lisa walking by, and decides to buy to the album instead as Lisa was the only one who believed Bart was ill after he ate that O. He's not even concerned about losing his $500, as the new batch of Krusty-O cereal now features flesh-eating bacteria.
With the album in hand, Lisa gives it to the jazz station to play as a tribute, noting that she's done all she's can. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hits the station, vastly improving its reception so much so that radios all across town turn on and immediately switch to the jazz station somehow. Lisa learns that this divine intervention was done by Bleeding Gums himself. After chasing away two James Earl Jones characters that died in their respective franchises as well as James Earl Jones himself (who isn't dead), Bleeding Gums and Lisa partake in one last jazz session.
Quick Review
'Round Springfield is perhaps an underrated episode. Granted, Bart's storyline provides the majority of the laughs throughout the episode, and the best bit during the main plot was when Bleeding Gums mentioned his appearance on the Cosby Show, but those moments along with a few others combined to make another excellent entry for the season. Its marks the first time a recurring character died, and though people don't like Lisa-centric episodes at times, this episode shouldn't be looked down upon because of that. Its a very good episode once you take the whole package in.
Final Score: 9.1
No comments:
Post a Comment