"Gone Abie Gone" is the fourth episode of the
twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' and the 512th episode overall. It first aired on the
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
in the United States on November 11, 2012, and in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
on
Sky 1
Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
on April 7, 2013. The episode received mixed reviews.
Plot
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
receives a large sum of money when
Squeaky Voiced Teen
The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...
accidentally throws hot onion rings on him in the Gulp N’ Blow drive-thru. Homer uses the money as a college fund for
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
and plans to put it in a bank, but Lenny and Carl warn him that banks are not as safe as they used to be.
Following this warning, he instead puts the fund on an online poker site, which horrifies Lisa. Eventually, however, Lisa finds enjoyment in gambling her college fund to other citizens in
Springfield, increasing the amount of money with every win. The gambling soon takes its toll on Lisa. During one game, she relentlessly decides to bet all of her money, but is mortified when one of the other players, revealed to be
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...
, wins the game instead, therefore winning her entire college fund. Saddened, Lisa quits gambling.
Bart
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
then approaches her, admits that he was using Sideshow Bob's image whenever he gambles online. Unfortunately, the poker site somehow found out Bart and Lisa were underage and they are now back with the original $5,000. When asked why he did it, Bart admits that he actually loves Lisa and felt sorry for her, then demands her to not tell anyone about this exchange.
Meanwhile, Homer and
Marge arrive at
Springfield Retirement Castle
Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
to visit
Grampa. There, the staff inform them that Grampa had been missing for a while. Searching his room for clues, they find a photo of Spiro's, a restaurant where Grampa was revealed to work at. Homer is puzzled by this as he does not remember Grampa having a job there. The two go to Spiro's and talk to the manager, who points them to the direction of Rita LaFleur, a singer who worked alongside Grampa. Homer and Marge go to Rita, who tells them that she was married to Grampa and that Homer even knew this during his childhood. The relationship ended, however, when Homer was badly injured in a car accident and Grampa stayed behind to take care of him instead of accompanying Rita to Europe for a music tour the two had been planning together. Shocked by the revelation, Homer feels a new respect for his father because of the sacrifices he made for the sake of him. He and Marge then go to a winery where Grampa frequented and find him working there. Grampa refuses to go back to the retirement home, but changes his mind when Homer promises that the family will visit him more frequently. Unexpectedly, Rita pays Grampa a visit by playing his old song on the piano and he joins her.
Reception
Ratings
''The Simpsons'' earned a 3.2 in the 18-49 demographic up from 2.6 the previous week. It was watched by a total of 6.86 million viewers. This made it the most watched show of the night on Fox and the most watched in the 18-49 demographic. The episode was repeated on the 23rd and 30 December and was watched by a total of 5.54 million and 6.69 million viewers respectively and winning the
Animation Domination line up on both nights.
Critical reception
Robert David Sullivan of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode a C+, commenting that the Homer-Grampa subplot was "another thin story with little satiric spark, and we don’t even get much of Grampa Simpson in cranky-old-man insanity" and the Lisa subplot as "especially inconsequential".
References
External links
*
"Gone Abie Gone" at theSimpsons.com
{{The Simpsons episodes, 24
The Simpsons (season 24) episodes
2012 American television episodes