Line #8 Recap/TheSimpsonsS22E6TheFoolMonty


1	A "secret conclave of America's media empires", in order to improve ratings and keep the public watching the news, release a deadly disease and create a hysteria surrounding it. When Mr. Burns finds out that he's caught it and is near death's door and that no one cares if he dies (in fact, [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing they're ready to celebrate]]), Burns decides to [[DrivenToSuicide end it all himself]], but botches it, loses his memory and ends up as the Simpsons' latest house guest.
2	----
3	!!Tropes featured:
4	* AesopAmnesia: Lisa defends Burns despite the [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E21TheOldManAndTheLisa last time]] she helped him.
5	* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When Burns is pronounced dead, everyone (except [[UndyingLoyalty Smithers]]) is happy that he's gone, to the point of showing up to his funeral for the sake of spitting in his grave.
6	* BaitAndSwitchComparison: When Kent is reporting at Burns' funeral.
7	-->'''Kent Brockman:''' A humanitarian. A philanthropist. A man of peace. These are among the people that have gathered at Springfield cemetery today to spit in Mr. Burns' grave.
8	* CallBack:
9	** To [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie the movie]]; Mr. Burns wants to put a dome over the town, only to learn that ItsBeenDone.
10	** To ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E25WhoShotMrBurnsPartOne Who Shot]] [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E1WhoShotMrBurnsPartTwo Mr. Burns?]]'' when Maggie aims a shotgun at Mr. Burns and Lisa tells her not to do it this time.
11	** [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E22FraudcastNews This is not the first time that Mr. Burns has been presumed dead and everyone has celebrated]].
12	* EvenEvilHasStandards: One of the media conspirators found it wrong to falsely announce a new epidemic to scare the masses. [[SubvertedTrope He instead suggested spreading a real disease so the news wouldn't be false]].
13	* GenreBlind: Everybody in Springfield just assumes Mr. Burns is dead without even seeing his body. It's even worse because [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E22FraudcastNews it's not the first time they've made that mistake]].
14	* InstantlyProvenWrong:
15	** Homer wants to get revenge on Burns but Marge stops him and decides that the town should give a fair and just sentence for Burns. Cut to the meeting hall where the Mayor and every townsfolk unanimously agrees on getting revenge on Burns. In a FreezeFrameBonus, Homer gives a smug look to his dismayed wife that's almost saying "IToldYouSo".
16	** Lisa takes Mr. Burns to his home as a sign of good gesture before telling him that any person can change. Then Burns, having regained his memories, turns around and says that they can change back.
17	* ItsBeenDone: Inspired by ''Literature/UnderTheDome'', Burns plans to seal the town under a glass dome. Then Lenny mentions that [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie it had been done already]].
18	* LastDisrespects: People come at Mr. Burns' funeral just to spit in his grave. So many that the grave has to be drained at one point.
19	* NeverFoundTheBody: Nobody finds Mr. Burns' "corpse" after his failed suicide attempt but everyone just assumes he's dead.
20	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Lisa decides to take Burns to his manor... where he snaps out from his amnesia.
21	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: NBC's representative at the secret conclave of media companies resembles then-CEO Jeff Zucker, with the accompanying ButtMonkey status.
22	* OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: The owners of the various media companies are depicted as this, holding secret meetings inside the Art/StatueOfLiberty crown and calling themselves a "secret conclave of America's media empires". The episode shows them plotting to manufacture a crisis and drive up ratings by releasing a deadly disease and blaming it on house cats.
23	* PetTheDog:
24	** Of all the people to treat Mr. Burns well, the unrepentant criminal Snake wants to take him ice-skating, defying Apu's expectations that he would make him a criminal accomplice.
25	** Burns attempts to do this by giving Ralph a lemon-drop...but this injures him, leading him to YankTheDogsChain by taking the candy back.
26	* PowerOfHate: Burns learns that his hatred was what saved him from falling to his illness. He mockingly thanks Springfield for giving him the key to immortality. Homer happily replies "You're Welcome".
27	* RageBreakingPoint: Burns's continuous selfish actions culminates to where almost everybody in Springfield wants him dead...."[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E25WhoShotMrBurnsPartOne again]]"
28	* SeriesContinuityError: How come Mr. Burns doesn't remember the events of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''? He was technically trapped under the dome along with everyone else, and was seen rejecting Apu's pleas to share his power during the crisis. He should know that ItsBeenDone. It can be justified by the fact that Mr. Burns ''is'' [[DependingOnTheWriter often depicted as]] [[ScatterbrainedSenior incredibly forgetful]].
29	* ShoutOut:
30	** The title is a pun on the phrase "the full Monty".
31	** At the end, Burns goes to see a school performance of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' featuring Nelson and Lisa.
32	** Mr. Burns hides in Bart's closet and Marge does not notice him buried among the various dolls and puppets, in a scene lifted from ''Film/ETTheExtraterrestrial''; to drive the point home, there's an E.T. doll among the others. Burns also eats the stuffing from a [[ComicStrip/LifeInHell Bongo]] doll.
33	** When Mr. Burns ends up on a construction site, Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" plays. It is also heard over the closing credits.
34	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: When Homer learned Burns survived his failed suicide, he suggested treating Burns the way he "screwed" them. Mayor Quimby later suggested the same thing and the people approved.
35	* TakeThat:
36	** To Fox News ([[BitingTheHandHumor as always]]) and the mainstream news media in general, who are depicted as corrupt and wanting nothing more than to [[IfItBleedsItLeads scare their viewers into staying tuned]]. The episode satirically portrays them as a NebulousEvilOrganization that plots to unleash a deadly disease and blame it on house cats solely to drive up ratings, while the newscaster delivering the story, Kent Brockman, uses WeaselWords and declares “mild thirst, occasional hunger, tiredness at night” to be symptoms.
37	** The Center for Disease Control is depicted as being in the pocket of the media; here they are called the Center for Disease Disinformation, scare the public with a model depicting the unlikely absolute worst-case scenario, and are responsible for implementing the absurd guidelines.
38	* TemptingFate: Lisa says she'll show Mr. Burns not everyone hates him. Maggie then aims a shotgun at him.
39	* WhyDidntIThinkOfThat: After Mr. Burns tries covering the town with a dome (and then a cube of bulletproof plexiglass), a couple of citizens that even if he were to go through with it, the people of Springfield could just dig themselves out--one even sarcastically wonders why they didn't bother doing it the first time. (Remember: the Simpsons ''did'' use a tunnel out)

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS22E6TheFoolMonty