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"Monty Can't Buy Me Love"
The Simpsons episode
Homer Simpson after losing on a slot machine free pull. Mr. Burns decided to allow the Loch Ness Monster to work at the "Vegas Town Casino"
Episode no.	224
Prod. code	AABF17
Orig. airdate	May 2, 1999
Show runner(s)	Mike Scully
Written by	John Swartzwelder
Directed by	Mark Ervin
Chalkboard	"I have neither been there nor done that"
Couch gag	The Simpsons join a kickline of Rockette-style dancers as the living room turns into a showbiz extravaganza, with fire-eaters, performing animals, magicians, unicyclists, etc.
Guest star(s)	Michael McKean as Jerry Rude
DVD commentary	Mike Scully George Meyer Ian Maxtone-Graham Ron Hauge Matt Selman
Season 10 August 23, 1998 – May 16, 1999 "Lard of the Dance" "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" "Bart the Mother" "Treehouse of Horror IX" "When You Dish Upon a Star" "D'oh-in in the Wind" "Lisa Gets an "A"" "Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble"" "Mayored to the Mob" "Viva Ned Flanders" "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" "Homer to the Max" "I'm with Cupid" "Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers"" "Make Room for Lisa" "Maximum Homerdrive" "Simpsons Bible Stories" "Mom and Pop Art" "The Old Man and the "C" Student" "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" "They Saved Lisa's Brain" "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" List of all The Simpsons episodes
Seasons 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21

"Monty Can't Buy Me Love" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons' tenth season. The episode aired on May 2, 1999, and is the first non-Treehouse of Horror episode to be rated TV-14 on American television.

[edit] Plot

On a normal afternoon, Marge wants Homer, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie to go for a walk. They agree when faced with the threat of having to talk to each other, and arrive at a Fortune Megastore, a venture of wealthy Arthur Fortune (modelled on British entrepreneur Richard Branson), who gives every one of his customers a dollar each. This embarrasses the unpopular Mr. Burns, who asks Homer to help him be loved by all.

As his first activity, Burns makes Homer throw silver dollars from the top of a tall building, which causes injuries. Next, he tries to make Homer donate money to the Springfield Hospital, but Homer is mistakenly believed to be the donor. Mr. Burns appears on a radio show called "Jerry Rude and the Bathroom Bunch", a parody of Howard Stern's radio show, and gets mocked by Rude. Feeling disappointed, Mr. Burns makes his newest plan, which is to go to Scotland to capture the legendary Loch Ness Monster with help from Homer, Professor Frink and Groundskeeper Willie. After some minor setbacks, Burns has Loch Ness drained of water to expose the creature. After (somehow) subduing the monster single-handed, Burns has it sent to Springfield to be unveiled, where "Nessie" turns out to be friendly and charms all of the spectators.

However, during the unveiling of the monster, Burns is blinded by flash pictures. He runs into a camera, which crashes and starts a fire: the crowd panic and flee. Following this disaster, Homer then cheers up Burns by pointing out that being loved means you have to be nice to people everyday but being hated means you don't have to do anything. Burns agrees with that logic, saying "I'm a selfish old crank--and that fits me like a Speedo!" In the aftermath of the incident, Homer and Burns give Nessie a job at the "Vegas Town Casino."

[edit] Cultural references

• The title is a pun on The Beatles' song "Can't Buy Me Love", whose refrain is "Money can't buy me love". A cover of the song appeared in the previous episode.
• The antiques appraisal TV show "Cash In Your Legacy" is a parody of Antiques Roadshow.
• The character of Arthur Fortune is modeled after Virgin Records founder Richard Branson.
• The song that plays when Arthur Fortune enters the Springfield Megastore is "Billion Dollar Babies" by Alice Cooper.
• When the family visits the new MegaStore, Bart asks Homer for money. Homer then hands Bart, Lisa and Marge money much like in the intro of Married... with Children where Al hands money to Bud (his son), Kelly (his daughter), Peg (his wife), and Buck (the family dog) and (to a lesser extent) the intro to Wait Til Your Father Gets Home, where Harry Boyle hands money to Irma (his wife), Chet (his oldest son), Alice (his daughter), and Jamie (his youngest son), with Jamie giving Harry money back.
• Mr. Burns complains that he is ranked below Adam Sandler on a list of the most popular billionaires.
• Mr. Burns's press conference falling apart when all of the flashbulbs go off is reminiscent of King Kong.
• When Bart tries to ride off on a dog while taking a walk with his family at the beginning of the episode he says, "Hi ho Silver Away!" just like in the Lone Ranger.
• Mr Burns appears on a radio show hosted by Jerry Rude and the bathroom bunch, Jerry Rude has a similar appearance and similar (albeit more extreme) attitude to that of shock DJ Howard Stern.
• The roar of the monster when first seen after the loch is drained is the same as Tyrannosaurus rex in Jurassic Park.
• In the megastore, Lisa watches The Postman, where the director and star Kevin Costner (in a video commentary) is regretting his work, parodying the critical reception of the film upon its release.
• The song Otto listens to after commenting on a new song being a rip-off of Judas Priest is "Living After Midnight" by Judas Priest.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: "Monty Can't Buy Me Love"

• "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
• "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" at the Internet Movie Database