The Great Phatsby
| "The Great Phatsby" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Episode no. |
608 609 |
| Directed by |
Chris Clements (Part 1) Timothy Bailey (Part 2) |
| Written by |
Dan Greaney (Part 1) Dan Greaney & Matt Selman (Part 2) |
| Showrunner(s) |
Matt Selman Al Jean |
| Production code |
WABF04 WABF05 |
| Original air date | January 15, 2017 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Charles Barkley as himself | |
|
Season 28 episodes
| |
| Seasons | |
"The Great Phatsby" is the twelfth and thirteenth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the animated television series The Simpsons, and the 608th and 609th episode of the series overall. The episode aired in the United States on Fox on January 15, 2017. It marks the first hour-long episode of the series.
The title is a spoof of The Great Gatsby and involves a music mogul dynasty like its fellow Fox program Empire.
Plot
Part One
Mr. Burns is reminiscing his past, mainly how he used to hold excessive parties at his estate at Middle Hampton, Lengthy Island. Smithers suggests he throw a new one to relive the past. Mr. Burns offers to organize the entire party himself, but relents and tasks Smithers to travel to Northern Canada to get a quarter ton of lake ice for the party. Smithers meets Homer and tells him about the party, handing him invitations to distribute. Homer decides to invite his family and some random citizens of Springfield to Mr. Burns' party. The party ends up being a failure thanks to Mr. Burns planning it too cheaply.
While being consoled by Homer after the party, Mr. Burns spots another party across the bay, and he gets the idea to crash it. At the party, Mr. Burns is impressed that the party is just like the ones he used to throw. He then meets the host of the party, an elite hip hop artist named Jay G (Kevin Michael Richardson). Jay G is upset with the party crashers at first, but then he recognizes Mr. Burns and is excited to meet him, telling him that Mr. Burns' advice book, "The Rungs of Ruthlessness", was a major influence on his life and helped shape his Golden Goose empire. Jay G allows Mr. Burns to crash the party.
The following day, Homer's family explores Middle Hampton, and while visiting an ice cream shop, a rich boy named Blake Black cuts in front of them. Upon being scolded for doing so, Blake offers to pay for everyone's cones. Lisa is at first put off by Blake's behavior, but when Blake becomes infatuated with her and wants to hang out with her, she reconsiders her judgement of him. Meanwhile, Bart, upset by these recent developments in his family's lives, meets a scented candle salesman (Keegan-Michael Key), who offers to tell him about how Jay G ruined his chance at recognition if he buys one of his candles. Bart declines, being unimpressed by the cheapest candle available. Later, Lisa is once again put off by Blake when he commits unethical methods to enhance their whale watching experience, and rejects him. Blake attempts to make up for Lisa by organizing a horse justice protest at a horse show, and just as she appears to be won over, another boy appears to offer her a chance to personally groom the horses, and she accepts, leaving Blake to lament that he redeemed himself for nothing.
Meanwhile, Mr. Burns and Jay G continue to bond, with Jay G giving Mr. Burns a special credit card with no spending limit as a gift for inspiring him. Encouraged by Jay G, Mr. Burns goes on a spending spree with his new card, until he learns that he has gone bankrupt. It turns out that Jay G had designed the card to con Mr. Burns out of his entire fortune. With all of Mr. Burns' assets absorbed into Jay G's empire, Mr. Burns finds himself at rock bottom.
Part Two
Having lost everything to Jay G, and with Smithers still in Canada, Mr. Burns finds that the only person still loyal to him is Homer. Homer consults with Marge if he should continue to work at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, which is now under Jay G's ownership, and learns that life in the Springfield Hamptons has driven Marge to open a small store specializing in adorable items. Since the family can't live off the store, Homer has no choice but to betray Mr. Burns and resume working at the plant, where Jay G has him dismantle the trap door in his office as the last remnant of Mr. Burns' power. Remorseful, Homer goes to Springfield Cemetery to vomit in an open grave and finds Mr. Burns commiserating at his family mausoleum. Homer vows never to return to the plant and help Mr. Burns get back at Jay G.
The following night, Homer and Mr. Burns are plotting their scheme when they discover that Bart has been spying on them, since Homer never told Marge what he has been up to. Homer gets the idea to let Bart help them get their revenge, and Bart gets Milhouse to research Jay G's background to find a way to ruin his reputation. As Milhouse presents his findings, Bart recognizes the candle salesman he met earlier, and Milhouse tells him that he is Jay's former writer, Jazzy James, who fell into obscurity after a fallout. The group visits Jazzy, who explains that he wrote all the material for Jay G's first album, but couldn't make any money off it due to being forced to sign over all the rights. Jazzy is hired by the group to write a revenge rap directed at Jay G.
Homer visits Marge's store again and finds that she has become unhinged from running the store. Homer and Bart learn that she has been affected by the "curse of the adorable little store", as stores like Marge's exist since rich people with no money to make want a place for their friends to hang out after spin class. Meanwhile, during a break from recording sessions for the revenge rap, Mr. Burns and the group meet Jay G's ex-wife Praline (Taraji P. Henson) who helps them by bringing in Common, RZA, and Snoop Dogg to form a group called Hate Squad, featuring the Rhyme Crime All-Stars. At the night of the concert that's due to debut the revenge rap, however, Jay G appears to announce to Mr. Burns that he has bought the master recording of the revenge rap to dispose of it, and Jazzy James and the other rappers turn Mr. Burns by selling out to Jay G. While Jazzy James claims that Jay G is too good to be beaten, Praline states that she doesn't recall hating Jay G while Common states that the acts of betrayal is part of the Road of Life.
Homer returns to Marge's store to confess his actions to her. Marge easily forgives him, citing his big heart for staying loyal to Mr. Burns. As Mr. Burns comes up with a new revenge scheme, Marge sells her store off as she could no longer afford it. Mr. Burns enacts his plan by breaking into Jay G's mansion and capturing the living symbol of Jay G's empire, a goose named Goosius. Jay G comes out to feed Goosius, only to discover that Goosius had seemingly been killed and cooked. As Jay G laments the loss of his mascot, it is revealed that Goosius is still alive, as Homer neglected to kill him and got a roast goose from the local gas station instead. Mr. Burns and Jay G give chase to Goosius, with Mr. Burns intending to kill him. They both end up hanging from a chandelier that is about to fall. With death seemingly imminent, Jay G reveals the real reason he betrayed Mr. Burns is because he was following the advice book, specifically the last page — "You will never be truly ruthless until you destroy the one who made you." As Mr. Burns was his inspiration, bankrupting him was the final rung.
As the chandelier plummets, Mr. Burns and Jay G are saved by the timely intervention of Smithers, who has finally returned from his adventure in Canada, although the lake ice he was tasked to collect had by now reduced to slush. In the end, the family returns home to Springfield, and Mr. Burns, with his wealth and empire restored, attempts to incorporate a moment of musical appreciation into the daily shift at the power plant (although he starts to reconsider the first time he enacts it).
Reception
Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, stating "[...] the episode’s charms are better than modest. If, as Selman says, 'The Great Phatsby' sort of mushroomed in the process, it’s understandable, as guest stars Kevin Michael Richardson (as Burns’ nemesis Jay G) and Keegan-Michael Key (as former Jay G musical collaborator Jazzy James) do stellar work in sizable roles. Richardson has done multiple spots on the show in recent years and is such a versatile and comfortable presence on The Simpsons that he’s become something of an unofficial regular. And nobody has to sell Key at this point, as his ability to inhabit comic characters in short order is ideal for his role as the former rapper turned high-end candle salesman here. And with a brief but juicy role for Empire’s Taraji P. Henson (as Praline, Jay G’s very Cookie-like ex-wife who joins Mr. Burns revenge plan in the second half), and amusing cameos from real life rap royalty RZA, Common, and Snoop Dogg, there’s enough legitimate blackness to make the whole 'Simpsons do a rap episode' thing less cringe-inducing than perhaps the initial description made it sound. Plus, the episode looks great."[1]
Sheldon Pearce of The Guardian gave the episode negative review, ultimately stating "An attempt to combine F. Scott Fitzgerald with the rap world, featuring cameos from Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg and RZA, is nonsensical and sadly unfunny."[2]
Ratings
"The Great Phatsby" scored a 2.8 rating with an 8 share and was watched by 6.90 million people, making it Fox's highest-rated show of the night.[3]
References
- ↑ "The Simpsons’ "super-sized rap Gatsby episode" is best in its low-key charms". 2017-01-15. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
- ↑ Pearce, Sheldon (2017-01-16). "The Simpsons mixes The Great Gatsby with hip-hop in misfiring special". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
- ↑ Porter, Rick (January 18, 2017). "‘The Simpsons,’ many others adjust down, final NFL numbers: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 18, 2017.