| "'Round Springfield"
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| Episode Information
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"Round Springfield" is the twenty-second episode of season 6 of The Simpsons and the one-hundred and twenty-fifth episode overall. It originally aired on April 30, 1995. The teleplay was written by Joshua Sternin and Jennifer Ventimilia and the story was written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore. It guest stars Ron Taylor as Bleeding Gums Murphy, Steve Allen as himself and Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz.
Synopsis
- "Bart is hospitalized and has his appendix out after he eats a jagged metal Krusty-O. When the family visit him in the hospital, Lisa is reunited with her jazz hero, Bleeding Gums Murphy, who is also in the hospital. Murphy reminisces about his career and gives Lisa his sax to play in the school recital, but passes away soon after. To honor his memory, Lisa decides to buy his only album and have it played on the radio, so everyone will know who Bleeding Gums Murphy was. However, the album costs $500 and Lisa has no way to pay for it. Bart, meanwhile, receives $500 from suing Krusty the Clown for the jagged metal Krusty-O incident. When he sees Lisa's grief and heartbreak, he buys the album for her and she has it played on the radio. Pleased with the honor, Murphy's ghost returns for one last jam session with Lisa."
Plot
Bart gets a stomach ache after accidentally eating a jagged metal Krusty-O with his breakfast cereal. Lisa is the only one who believes him, as Homer and Marge send him to school. Bart struggles through the test, and after finally convincing Mrs. Krabappel that he is actually ill, she lets him go and see the nurse. Bart collapses on the medical room floor, and is taken to Springfield General Hospital where he undergoes surgery from Dr. Hibbert and Dr. Nick Riviera, as it emerges he has appendicitis. While visiting Bart in the hospital, Lisa meets her hero, jazzman Bleeding Gums Murphy in a bed in another ward.
Later, he lends Lisa his saxophone for her school recital. It starts off terribly, but Lisa gets up and performs a solo routine, becoming the star of the show. However, when she returns to the hospital, she is saddened to learn that Bleeding Gums has died. Lisa, Marge and Homer are the only people who attend Bleeding Gums's funeral, and vow to make sure that everyone in Springfield knows the name Bleeding Gums Murphy. Bart, meanwhile, sues Krusty the Clown for $100,000 and wins. However, after Bart's attorney Lionel Hutz takes his "legal fees", Bart is left with only $500.
Still stricken with grief, Lisa decides that the best way to honor Bleeding Gums' memory is by having his album played at the local jazz station. Lisa spots it in the Android's Dungeon store for $250, but after hearing that Bleeding Gums is dead, Comic Book Guy doubles the price to $500. Bart then walks in with his $500 and, after remembering that Lisa was the only one who believed him about his stomachache, Bart decides to buy the album with his money. When the station plays one of Bleeding Gums's songs, Lisa is disappointed because the station's tiny range still prevents anyone from hearing it. Lightning then strikes the antenna, giving it extra power and projecting it into every radio in Springfield. Lisa is finally satisfied. After proclaiming "that was for you Bleeding Gums," she turns to leave, but not before Bleeding Gums appears from the heavens (along with Darth Vader, Mufasa, and James Earl Jones) to tell Lisa that she had made "an old jazz man happy". After saying a final goodbye, Lisa and Bleeding Gums jam to "Jazzman" one last time.
Production
