| "Penny-Wiseguys"
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| Episode Information
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"Penny-Wiseguys" is the fifth episode of season 24 of The Simpsons and the five-hundred and thirteenth episode overall. It originally aired on November 18, 2012. The episode was written by Michael Price and directed by Mark Kirkland. It guest stars Steve Carell as Dan Gillick, Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony and Alex Trebek as himself.
Synopsis
- "Homer is shocked to discover that his bowling teammate, Dan Gillick, is an accountant for Fat Tony and his mob. When Fat Tony gets jury duty, he appoints Dan as the temporary don of the mafia. Meanwhile, Lisa adds insects to her vegetarian diet after she passes out in the middle of a saxophone solo, but starts questioning her decision when bugs start pleading for mercy in her dreams."
Plot
Homer is surprised to discover that his neighbor and bowling teammate, Dan Gillick, is an accountant for Fat Tony and his mob. When the government finally catches up with Fat Tony and he is forced to serve time on a jury, he names Dan as his temporary replacement. Dan eventually becomes power-hungry from the position, which frightens him. Matters take a tipping point when Fat Tony orders him to whack redundant mafia members, to which Dan tries to get Homer to stop him. Despite Homer's efforts, the ploy fails when Dan escapes and goes after the people he was assigned to kill. Homer eventually catches up with him and convinces him to stop. When Fat Tony is relieved of his jury duty, he regains control of the mob, while Dan goes on to run an ear-piercing stand at the Springfield Mall, commenting that he loves the job because he gets to use an ear-piercing gun.
Meanwhile, at a school concert, Lisa passes out during a saxophone solo (from iron deficiency), so she chooses to add insects to her vegetarian diet. She breeds grasshoppers to eat, but it turns disastrous after they escape from their container and contribute to Dan's escape. When the bugs haunt Lisa in her dreams, she immediately quits eating insects. The grasshoppers form a swarm and strip a corn maze.
Production
On November 20, 2012, the storyboard, the animatic and the full color images of three scenes from the episode were posted on Pinterest. The storyboards and the animatics showed Dan Gillick's original design, who wore glasses.
Reception
The episode gathered 5.18 million viewers on its premiere airing.[1]
The Simpsons: Tapped Out was used to promote this episode by adding Fat Tony as a playable character.
International airdates
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