| "The Old Man and the Lisa" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 8 Episode 21 |
| Directed by | Mark Kirkland[1] |
| Written by | John Swartzwelder[1] |
| Production code | 4F17 |
| Original air date | April 20, 1997 |
| Guest appearance | |
| |
| Episode features | |
| Couch gag | The Simpsons' couch becomes a giant Whac-A-Mole game, with Homer getting hit.[1] |
| Commentary | Matt Groening Josh Weinstein Dan Castellaneta Yeardley Smith Mark Kirkland David X. Cohen George Meyer |
"The Old Man and the Lisa" is the twenty-first episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 20, 1997. In the episode, Mr. Burns goes bankrupt and asks Lisa to help him get rich again. She agrees on the condition that he change his evil ways. They earn money by recycling cans and soon Burns has enough money to start his own recycling plant. Lisa is aghast when she learns the plant makes a slurry from liquefied sea creatures. When Burns sells the plant to a company that makes fish sticks, he offers Lisa 10 percent of his profits, but she declines for ethical reasons.
The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by John Swartzwelder. The writing staff had thought about an episode in which Mr. Burns would lose his money and would have to interact with the outside world. In DVD commentary, the writers explained that while Mr. Burns tried to change, he "couldn't help being himself".[2] Professional wrestler Bret Hart made a cameo as himself, animated in his pink wrestling outfit. "The Old Man and the Lisa" contains cultural references to the television series That Girl and the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It was positively received by critics and won the Environmental Media Award for "TV Episodic Comedy".