Episode 4F17
Written by John Swartzwelder
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Also starring: Tress MacNeille
Special guest voice: Bret Hart (as himself)

Premise: After Mr Burns loses everything due to bad financial management, he goes to live in the Springfield Retirement Castle and enlists Lisa's help in turning him into an ecology-friendly businessman, so he can rise up once again. Lisa forgets, however, that leopards never really change their spots.

Features: Mr Burns, Smithers, Lenny, Moe, Barney, Grampa, Jasper, Kent Brockman, Skinner, Ms Krabappel, Milhouse, Nelson, Martin, Ralph, Mrs van Houten, Dr Hibbert, Ruth Powers, Krusty, Spotty Boy.

Couch: The Simpsons pop up through holes in the sofa and floor, to be hit by a large hammer, á là a Whack-A-Mole game.

Trivia:

• Burns' motto for good business is to bypass such weaknesses as family, religion and friendship.
• Smithers was born in 1954.
• Burns' biography, started in Blood Feud, Will There Ever Be A Rainbow?, has now been published and Lisa owns a copy.
• The residents of the Retirement Castle are watching a TV movie called Colonel Dracula Joins the Navy, and they later do their aerobics to the rather appropriate sounds of Billy Ray Cyrus' 1992 hit Achy, Breaky Heart.
• Oh, and at the Castle according to Grampa, the residents are not allowed to use the library, read newspapers, nor use either the games room or the activity room.
• They may, however, stare out of the Staring Window.

Notes for Brits: Bret Hart is one of those flamboyant American wrestler-types who goes by the name The Hitman. Ooh, scary!

Look out for: We love the idea of Smithers, briefly, getting his heart's desire, as Burns moves into his apartment. And keep an eye out for Maggie recognising Burns and holding her fingers up like a gun at him. L'il' Lisa's Animal Slurry has many uses, including a protein-based animal feed, insulation for low-income housing, a high explosive, and a topnotch engine coolant.

Notes: An odd episode with a not-too-unexpected outcome. The best bits are undoubtedly Burns learning his way around a supermarket and Lisa's realisation of what Burns has been up to. 'Oh dear God', she breathes. And who can truly blame her?