Difference between revisions of "The Lastest Gun in the West"

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"The Lastest Gun in the West"

Episode Information Episode number: 281 Season number: S13 E12 Production code: DABF07 Original airdate: February 24, 2002 Chalkboard gag: "Making Milhouse cry is not a science project" Couch gag: The Squeaky-Voiced Teen and a girl are making out on the couch. The Simpsons run into the room and turn the lights on, scaring the couple. Guest star(s): Dennis Weaver as Buck McCoy Showrunner: Al Jean Written by: John Swartzwelder Directed by: Bob Anderson DVD features

"The Lastest Gun in the West" is the twelfth episode of broadcast season 13 of The Simpsons and the two hundred eighty-first episode overall. It originally aired on February 24, 2002. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Bob Anderson. It guest stars Dennis Weaver as Buck McCoy.

Synopsis

"Bart and Lisa meet a washed-up movie star of westerns from the 1950s and attempt to revive his career by getting him to appear on The Krusty the Clown Show. But years of alcohol addiction get in the way of his comeback."

Plot

When walking home one day, Bart goes through a lucky streak. He catches a baseball knocked out of the park from the Duff Stadium, finds two shiny dimes, and gets free ice cream from a broken-down ice cream truck. He then sees a dog and approaches it thinking it will be friendly. However, the dog attacks Bart and chases him home. The dog starts following Bart around everywhere, causing him a lot of stress and leaving him frequently in ripped clothing. While being chased home by the dog one day, Bart hops over the gate to a mansion to escape the rabid animal. He is then greeted by Buck McCoy, a retired Western actor. Buck shows Bart a trick to use on the dog and turns him docile by getting Bart to place his hands on the dog's neck. Buck then takes Bart into his home and shows him around briefly until Bart has to leave for dinner. Buck tells Bart that he's welcome back anytime.

At home, Bart tells his family about Buck, and Grampa reveals that he's a big fan of him, being part of the Junior Buckaroos when he was younger. Later that day, Bart takes Milhouse to see Buck and they get a tour of his house. With Buck becoming Bart's new hero, Homer gets jealous as he wants to be Bart's hero instead. When Buck comes round for dinner, Homer meets him also dressed as a cowboy in the hopes Bart would see him as his hero. Buck also shows the family his old shows, including McTrigger, which was the last show he did before he retired.

At Springfield Elementary, Bart tells everyone to come to school dressed as cowboys. The children do so, and Kent Brockman reports on the Western craze sweeping the school. Bart and Lisa decide to capitalize on the craze by going to Krusty to get Buck on The Krusty the Clown Show. Krusty is initially reluctant but ends up agreeing to have him on the show. Bart and Lisa then manage to convince Buck to go on the show by telling him that he couldn't fit into his old outfit.

Rehearsals for the show go well, with Buck doing target practice and hitting all his targets successfully. However, when Krusty tells him millions of people will be watching, Buck starts to get anxious and drinks from his hip flask. When the show starts, the villain, Sideshow Mel, has tied the damsel, Mr. Teeny, to some train tracks. When it's Buck's cue to come onto the stage, he misses it because he's drunk. Buck then comes onto the stage, accidentally unloads one of his guns, then misses the shots with his other gun, before finally shooting Krusty in the stomach. Krusty has to have surgery as Buck apologizes to Bart and admits he's an alcoholic.

Bart is crushed that his hero has let him down and removes all the Buck McCoy memorabilia from his bedroom. Homer feels bad for Bart and comes up with a plan to make Buck a hero for Bart again. He and Marge try to help Buck get sober by removing all the alcohol from his house and signing him up at the John Ford Center for Alcoholic Cowboys. However, Buck quits the rehab center in his first session as he decides it's not for him since he thinks he should be able to drink all he wants in his retirement. Still wanting Buck to become a hero to Bart again, Homer tries to come up with a new plan when he sees a news report about a robbery at the National Bank of Springfield. Homer gets Buck and Bart and they go to the bank where Homer convinces Buck to go in and save the day. Buck lassos the weapons out of the robbers' hands and knocks them out, also stealing Snake's underwear with his lasso. Becoming a hero to Bart once more, Buck rides home and tells Bart to never bother him again.

Production

The idea of the episode came from producer Ron Hauge, who thought it would be interesting if Bart ran into a retired Western star and thought he was the coolest guy in the world, even though he had seen better days. Hauge also suggested that John Swartzwelder should write the episode, as he's an avid Western fan. Swartzwelder also pitched the idea for the first act, with the dog chasing Bart.^[1]

The inside of Buck McCoy's house was based on the inside of Will Rogers' house in Will Rogers State Historic Park.^[2]

Dennis Weaver was chosen to voice Buck McCoy partly because of his role as Chester B. Goode in Gunsmoke,^[1] which was the longest-running primetime TV series until The Simpsons broke its record in 2018.^[3] McCoy's appearance was a combination of Will Rogers, John Wayne, and Dennis Weaver.^[2]

Reception

According to showrunner Al Jean, "The Lastest Gun in the West" hasn't received much positive reception and isn't well liked by fans, which is surprising to him.^[1]

References

Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "The Lastest Gun in the West".