| "Weekend at Burnsie's" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 13 Episode 16 |
| Directed by | Michael Marcantel |
| Written by | Jon Vitti |
| Production code | DABF11 |
| Original air date | April 7, 2002 |
| Guest appearance | |
| Phish as themselves | |
| Episode features | |
| Couch gag | The couch is replaced by a hedge. A gardener comes in and creates a topiary statue of The Simpsons. |
| Commentary | Matt Groening Al Jean Matt Selman Don Payne Jon Vitti Tom Gammill Max Pross Mike Reiss David Silverman |
"Weekend at Burnsie's" is the sixteenth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. 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 marijuana. 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. The episode also criticizes the use of genetically modified foods, and references Citizen Kane, Dragnet, The Birds, and Judy Garland, among other things. It also features the 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.
The episode is one of several from the series that has been restricted to post-watershed airings in the UK due to its drug use and references. The episode was also rated M in Australia, making it the second episode to receive the rating after "Natural Born Kissers".