Blood Feud
Encyclopedia
"Blood Feud" is the twenty-second and final episode of The Simpsons
' second season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on July 11, 1991. In the episode, Mr. Burns falls ill and desperately needs a blood transfusion
. Homer discovers Bart has Burns' rare blood type and urges his son to donate some, promising that they will be handsomely rewarded. However, after receiving the blood, all Burns does is send the family a card. Enraged, Homer writes an insulting reply, but Marge convinces him at the last minute not to send it, although Bart mails it anyway.
The episode was written by George Meyer
and directed by David Silverman
. Executive producer Sam Simon
and writers Al Jean
and Mike Reiss
came up with the idea for the episode. A co-worker had recently needed a blood transfusion and the writers thought it would be funny if Mr. Burns had one. Although Meyer was credited with writing the episode, Jean and Reiss re-wrote and polished the script. The episode includes the debut of the Olmec head
Xtapolapocetl, which would become a common background prop in the Simpson home.
"Blood Feud" was part of the season two production run, but was completed behind schedule. It was originally broadcast on July 11, 1991 as part of "premiere week", the Fox Network's attempt to expand the normal 30 week prime time season and gain new viewers for the fall. In its original broadcast, the episode finished 24th in ratings for the week with a Nielsen rating
of 10.8.
falls ill with hypohemia (a fictional condition in which the body naturally runs out of blood, though it is akin to a real condition called hypovolemia
) and needs a blood transfusion. His blood type
, double O negative, is very rare, however, and none of the employees at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant have it. Homer
discovers that Bart
has double O negative blood and urges his son to donate, promising that he will be handsomely rewarded. Bart reluctantly agrees and his blood donation
saves Mr. Burns' life. Burns is rejuvenated by the blood and he sends the Simpson family a thank you card. Enraged at Burns' paltry gesture, Homer writes an insulting reply, but Marge
convinces him at the last minute not to send it. The next morning, Homer discovers that the letter is gone as Bart has mailed it.
Bart explains that he knew Homer would probably change his mind, and decided to send the letter before that could happen. Homer desperately tries to prevent the letter from reaching Burns, but fails. Mr. Burns becomes furious and demands that Homer be beaten. However, his assistant Waylon Smithers
calls off the beating on the grounds that that is no way to thank the man who saved Mr. Burns's life. Smithers convinces Burns to instead reward the Simpson family. The Simpsons receive an antique Xtapolapocetl, an Olmec head
(a massive, Tiki
-god-like affair) that Bart, the blood donor, likes, and which Homer hates. At the end, as the family stare at the head, the Simpsons debate on what the moral of this whole story is. It cannot be 'A good deed is its own reward' as Bart got a reward he likes, but at the same time it is not 'No good deed goes unrewarded' as they never would have received anything if Homer had not written the angry letter. Homer decides that there is not a lesson to be learned from this, as it's "just a bunch of stuff that happened".
"Blood Feud" was written by George Meyer
and directed by David Silverman
. Executive producer Sam Simon
and writers Al Jean
and Mike Reiss
came up with the idea for the episode while they were trying to fill up the rest of the production run. A co-worker had recently needed a blood transfusion
, and the writers thought it would be funny if Mr. Burns had one. Although Meyer was credited with writing the episode, Jean and Reiss re-wrote and polished the script. Harry Shearer
, the voice of Mr. Burns and Smithers, could not attend the table read for the episode, so his parts were read by Dan Castellaneta
(the voice of Homer). "Blood Feud" includes a first act that is much longer than a normal episode of the show. The producers were going to end the act with Mr. Burns feeling better, but decided to extend it to show how the Simpson family was affected. "Blood Feud" ends with the family discussing what the message of the episode was, but decide that there was no message. The writers were having trouble conceiving an ending, but decided that since there was no point, they would discuss it. In his book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner
writes that the ending is meant to openly mock the "notion of the tidy sitcom-style moral" and the "formulaic plots of sitcoms."
David Silverman describes the episode as "one of my very favorite episodes that I had the pleasure to direct." He notes that several "standard Homerisms" appear for the first time in the episode, such as Homer's conversations with his brain and his high-pitched "fairy voice". Silverman inserted a red herring into the episode in a scene where Mr. Burns says that he was rejuvenated. Silverman used a close-up of Burns when he says "blood of a young boy" in hopes of misleading viewers into thinking that the rest of episode would be about Burns seeking more of Bart's blood.
The episode includes the debut of the Olmec head
Xtapolapocetl. After the episode, it was moved into the Simpsons' basement, where it has since reappeared as a prop in the background of several episodes, although never in a major role. The design was partially based on real Olmec heads, but changed to look more interesting and grotesque.
discuss Mr. Burns' health is partially inspired by a scene from Citizen Kane
where Kane talks to his wife Susan Alexander after she attempts suicide. Otto
is heard humming "Iron Man
" by Black Sabbath
. The ghostwriter Mr. Burns hires mentions that he wrote "Like Hell I Can't". The title is a play on Sammy Davis, Jr.
's autobiography Yes, I Can. Homer mistells the story of "Androcles and the Lion", instead referring to it as "Hercules and the Lion". A mural in the post office resembles Michelangelo
's The Creation of Adam
. Burns's line about getting "A frabulous, grabulous, zip-zoop-zabulous present" is similar to lines used in Dr. Seuss
books.
, in hopes of expanding the normal 30 week prime time season and gaining new viewers for the fall. Although "Three Men and a Comic Book
" was the official season two finale, "Blood Feud" is considered part of the second season and was included in The Complete Second Season DVD boxset.
In its original broadcast, "Blood Feud" finished 24th in ratings for the week of July 8–14, 1991, with a Nielsen rating
of 10.8. It was the second highest rated program on Fox after Beverly Hills, 90210. The episode beat a rerun of The Cosby Show
, which aired at the same time on NBC, which had a Nielsen Rating of 10.3. Fox finished second overall on July 11, with an average rating of 10.4.
", but Homer’s attempts to regain the letter before Burns reads it appear reminiscent of an episode of The Flintstones
. Despite those similarities, "Feud" still provided a very entertaining show. The program packed in a slew of hilarious moments, from Homer’s description of a Bible story to his visit to the post office." A reviewer for DVDTown gave the episode a grade of C, describing it as "a fun episode, but far from great." Ben Rayner of The Toronto Star included "Blood Feud" in his list of the top ten episodes of The Simpsons, noting that "Homer's efforts to thwart the mail service still kill me 15 years later."
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 11, 1990 and May 9, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with "Bart Gets an F". Another episode, "Blood Feud" aired during the summer after the official season finale. The show runners for the second production season were Matt...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on July 11, 1991. In the episode, Mr. Burns falls ill and desperately needs a blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
. Homer discovers Bart has Burns' rare blood type and urges his son to donate some, promising that they will be handsomely rewarded. However, after receiving the blood, all Burns does is send the family a card. Enraged, Homer writes an insulting reply, but Marge convinces him at the last minute not to send it, although Bart mails it anyway.
The episode was written by George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
and directed by David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
. Executive producer Sam Simon
Sam Simon
Samuel "Sam" Simon is an American director, producer, writer, boxing manager and philanthropist. While at Stanford University, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. He submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was...
and writers Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
and Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
came up with the idea for the episode. A co-worker had recently needed a blood transfusion and the writers thought it would be funny if Mr. Burns had one. Although Meyer was credited with writing the episode, Jean and Reiss re-wrote and polished the script. The episode includes the debut of the Olmec head
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
Xtapolapocetl, which would become a common background prop in the Simpson home.
"Blood Feud" was part of the season two production run, but was completed behind schedule. It was originally broadcast on July 11, 1991 as part of "premiere week", the Fox Network's attempt to expand the normal 30 week prime time season and gain new viewers for the fall. In its original broadcast, the episode finished 24th in ratings for the week with a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 10.8.
Plot
Mr. BurnsMontgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
falls ill with hypohemia (a fictional condition in which the body naturally runs out of blood, though it is akin to a real condition called hypovolemia
Hypovolemia
In physiology and medicine, hypovolemia is a state of decreased blood volume; more specifically, decrease in volume of blood plasma...
) and needs a blood transfusion. His blood type
Blood type
A blood type is a classification of blood based on the presence or absence of inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells . These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycolipids, depending on the blood group system...
, double O negative, is very rare, however, and none of the employees at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant have it. Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
discovers that Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
has double O negative blood and urges his son to donate, promising that he will be handsomely rewarded. Bart reluctantly agrees and his blood donation
Blood donation
A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions or made into medications by a process called fractionation....
saves Mr. Burns' life. Burns is rejuvenated by the blood and he sends the Simpson family a thank you card. Enraged at Burns' paltry gesture, Homer writes an insulting reply, but Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
convinces him at the last minute not to send it. The next morning, Homer discovers that the letter is gone as Bart has mailed it.
Bart explains that he knew Homer would probably change his mind, and decided to send the letter before that could happen. Homer desperately tries to prevent the letter from reaching Burns, but fails. Mr. Burns becomes furious and demands that Homer be beaten. However, his assistant Waylon Smithers
Waylon Smithers
Waylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open...
calls off the beating on the grounds that that is no way to thank the man who saved Mr. Burns's life. Smithers convinces Burns to instead reward the Simpson family. The Simpsons receive an antique Xtapolapocetl, an Olmec head
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
(a massive, Tiki
Tiki
Tiki refers to large wood and stone carvings of humanoid forms in Central Eastern Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean. The term is also used in Māori mythology where Tiki is the first man, created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond – she seduced him...
-god-like affair) that Bart, the blood donor, likes, and which Homer hates. At the end, as the family stare at the head, the Simpsons debate on what the moral of this whole story is. It cannot be 'A good deed is its own reward' as Bart got a reward he likes, but at the same time it is not 'No good deed goes unrewarded' as they never would have received anything if Homer had not written the angry letter. Homer decides that there is not a lesson to be learned from this, as it's "just a bunch of stuff that happened".
Production
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
and directed by David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
. Executive producer Sam Simon
Sam Simon
Samuel "Sam" Simon is an American director, producer, writer, boxing manager and philanthropist. While at Stanford University, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. He submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was...
and writers Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
and Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
came up with the idea for the episode while they were trying to fill up the rest of the production run. A co-worker had recently needed a blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
, and the writers thought it would be funny if Mr. Burns had one. Although Meyer was credited with writing the episode, Jean and Reiss re-wrote and polished the script. Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
, the voice of Mr. Burns and Smithers, could not attend the table read for the episode, so his parts were read by Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
(the voice of Homer). "Blood Feud" includes a first act that is much longer than a normal episode of the show. The producers were going to end the act with Mr. Burns feeling better, but decided to extend it to show how the Simpson family was affected. "Blood Feud" ends with the family discussing what the message of the episode was, but decide that there was no message. The writers were having trouble conceiving an ending, but decided that since there was no point, they would discuss it. In his book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner
Chris Turner (author)
Chris Turner is a Canadian author. He is the author of Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, published in 2004...
writes that the ending is meant to openly mock the "notion of the tidy sitcom-style moral" and the "formulaic plots of sitcoms."
David Silverman describes the episode as "one of my very favorite episodes that I had the pleasure to direct." He notes that several "standard Homerisms" appear for the first time in the episode, such as Homer's conversations with his brain and his high-pitched "fairy voice". Silverman inserted a red herring into the episode in a scene where Mr. Burns says that he was rejuvenated. Silverman used a close-up of Burns when he says "blood of a young boy" in hopes of misleading viewers into thinking that the rest of episode would be about Burns seeking more of Bart's blood.
The episode includes the debut of the Olmec head
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
Xtapolapocetl. After the episode, it was moved into the Simpsons' basement, where it has since reappeared as a prop in the background of several episodes, although never in a major role. The design was partially based on real Olmec heads, but changed to look more interesting and grotesque.
Cultural references
The composition and setting of the scene where Smithers and Dr. HibbertJulius Hibbert
Dr. Julius M. Hibbert, usually referred to as Dr. Hibbert, is a recurring character on the animated series The Simpsons. His speaking voice is provided by Harry Shearer and his singing voice was by Thurl Ravenscroft, and he first appeared in the episode "Bart the Daredevil". Dr...
discuss Mr. Burns' health is partially inspired by a scene from Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
where Kane talks to his wife Susan Alexander after she attempts suicide. Otto
Otto Mann
Otto Mann is a fictional character on the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the school bus driver for Springfield Elementary School...
is heard humming "Iron Man
Iron Man (song)
"Iron Man" is a song by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their second studio album Paranoid released in 1970. It was later included on their initial greatest hits compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll , as well as all subsequent greatest hits compilations.-Writing and...
" by Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
. The ghostwriter Mr. Burns hires mentions that he wrote "Like Hell I Can't". The title is a play on Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
's autobiography Yes, I Can. Homer mistells the story of "Androcles and the Lion", instead referring to it as "Hercules and the Lion". A mural in the post office resembles Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
's The Creation of Adam
The Creation of Adam
The Creation of Adam is a section of Michelangelo's fresco Sistine Chapel ceiling painted circa 1511. It illustrates the Biblical story from the Book of Genesis in which God the Father breathes life into Adam, the first man...
. Burns's line about getting "A frabulous, grabulous, zip-zoop-zabulous present" is similar to lines used in Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
books.
First broadcast
"Blood Feud" was part of the season two production run, but was completed behind schedule. It was originally broadcast on July 11, 1991 as part of the Fox Network's "premiere week". Fox aired new episodes of several of its top shows, including The Simpsons and Beverly Hills, 90210Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
, in hopes of expanding the normal 30 week prime time season and gaining new viewers for the fall. Although "Three Men and a Comic Book
Three Men and a Comic Book
"Three Men and a Comic Book" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 9, 1991...
" was the official season two finale, "Blood Feud" is considered part of the second season and was included in The Complete Second Season DVD boxset.
In its original broadcast, "Blood Feud" finished 24th in ratings for the week of July 8–14, 1991, with a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 10.8. It was the second highest rated program on Fox after Beverly Hills, 90210. The episode beat a rerun of The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
, which aired at the same time on NBC, which had a Nielsen Rating of 10.3. Fox finished second overall on July 11, with an average rating of 10.4.
Reception
The episode has received positive reviews from television critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote, "One of those shows that people always talk about when discussing The Simpsons – and rightfully so. Homer's transformation from angry parent to sensible, calm husband is excellent, as is his reaction to Bart posting his angry letter. Their attempts to retrieve the letter and Burns' eventual reaction are fabulous." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote: "In many ways, "Feud" seemed more derivative than usual. Not only did it resemble parts of "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every FishTwo Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish
"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 1, 1990. In the episode, Bart catches a three-eyed fish in a river downstream of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant...
", but Homer’s attempts to regain the letter before Burns reads it appear reminiscent of an episode of The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
. Despite those similarities, "Feud" still provided a very entertaining show. The program packed in a slew of hilarious moments, from Homer’s description of a Bible story to his visit to the post office." A reviewer for DVDTown gave the episode a grade of C, describing it as "a fun episode, but far from great." Ben Rayner of The Toronto Star included "Blood Feud" in his list of the top ten episodes of The Simpsons, noting that "Homer's efforts to thwart the mail service still kill me 15 years later."
External links
- "Blood Feud" at The Simpsons.com