Episode 7F22
Written by George Meyer
Directed by David Silverman
Also starring: Maggie Roswell

Premise: When Mr Burns fails to turn up at the unveiling of the new Springfield nuclear emergency warning sign, Smithers discovers him dying. A search for a blood donor goes out and Bart saves the day. With help from ghostwriter Roman, Mr Burns starts to pen his autobiography. But things go wrong when Homer, expecting a hefty reward, is palmed off with a thank-you card.

Features: Mr Burns, Smithers, Mayor Quimby, Chief Wiggum, Dr Hibbert, Barney, Moe, Otto, Lenny, Carl, the FeMail Man.

Couch: The sofa falls through the floor.

Trivia:

• Mr Burns' biography is called Will There Ever Be A Rainbow?
• Other books Roman has ghostwritten include - Like Hell I Can't!, Up From The Muck and The Unsinkable Sedrorovin Murghurobag.
• Burns' and Bart's blood type is 00- while Homer's is A+.
• Lisa's shoe size is 4B, Bart has 16 permanent and 8 baby teeth and is allergic to butterscotch, imitation butterscotch and Glo-in-the-Dark Monster Make-Up.

Notes for the Uneducated: The Springfield Post Office has an amusing variant on Michelangelo's 1511 painting The Creation of Adam.

Look out for: The end sequence where the family discuss the moral implications of the episode.

Hello, can I speak to: Mike Rotch.

Notes: 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 (and his comment about understanding why wives are called 'the better half') is excellent, as is his reaction to Bart posting his angry letter. Their attempts to retrieve the letter (Homer telling the postal clerk he's Mr Burns) and Burns' eventual reaction are fabulous.