Fraudcast News
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"Fraudcast News" is the 22nd and last episode of The Simpsons' fifteenth season, first aired on May 23, 2004 in the United States on the FOX network. The Writers Guild of America gave this episode a 2005 WGA Award, winning the Paul Selvin Award, which honors works that focus on First Amendment issues.
Plot
Springfield holds a ceremony dedicating their newest national park, Geezer Rock, a rock formation which resembles the face of an old man in profile. As Lisa prepares to read a poem there at the behest of Mayor Quimby, she notices that there is a small tree growing in the eye of the rock. Fearing that it will destroy Geezer Rock over time, Homer, who claims that “It's time to do something I have never done—help an old man!”, rushes over and pulls it out, believing he is doing the right thing. Unfortunately, this causes Geezer Rock to fall apart, and everyone runs for their lives — except for Mr. Burns, who winds up in a landslide. Smithers fears he has lost Mr. Burns.
Lisa is saddened that no one ever heard her poem, and she publishes it on Marge's suggestion. Meanwhile, it turns out that, Burns survived the horrible landslide through slithering his way out and subsisting on centipedes, insects and mole milk. However, Springfield's local news instead reports on the destruction of Geezer Rock and then labels Mr. Burns as being a hateful man nobody liked and signs off by thanking Geezer Rock for doing what everyone else was too scared to do and kill Mr. Burns. To improve his image, Mr. Burns decides to purchase every media outlet in Springfield, instead of being a kinder person reformed by a near-fatal rockslide.
Lisa distributes the very first issue of her newspaper, The Red Dress Press, which is well-received. She enlists the help of Bart, Milhouse, Martin, Nelson, and Ralph among others, to publish her newspaper's second issue.
Burns acquires all media outlets in Springfield except Lisa's newspaper. His views are even promoted on Itchy & Scratchy (which he now writes and directs) in an episode promoting nuclear power. Lisa is saddened that all the others left her, but is relieved when Bart decides to stay and help Lisa publish more issues. Later, Burns tries to bait Lisa with ponies in an attempt to acquire her newspaper, but she will not give up; this causes the ponies to hiss and bare their teeth at her to her shock, and she leaves. Burns gets back at Lisa by cutting off the Simpsons' power, so Lisa is forced to write her next issue through an old mimeograph Principal Skinner used in Vietnam. Mr. Burns has a talk with Homer (and even drugs him) so he can dish some dirt on Lisa; the following day's Springfield Shopper boasts the headline, “LISA’S A TOTAL WACKO, IMPLIES FATHER”. Lisa writes her final "I Give Up" edition and gives up, but Homer responds by creating his own newspaper, The Homer Times, and other people, such as Lenny, Groundskeeper Willie and Patty and Selma, also create their own newspapers to help her.
Burns ultimately decides that acquiring all media outlets is not so great, so rather than conceding defeat (in which he hates), he goes out on a shopping spree with Smithers.
Cultural references
- The title of the episode is a play on the name of James L. Brooks' 1987 film, Broadcast News. Brooks is also a co-developer and producer of The Simpsons.
- The Squeaky Voiced Teen jumps off Geezer Rock, screaming, "Why did they cancel Futurama?" referring to Matt Groening's other animated sitcom, which was canceled on FOX at the time of this airing. (As of 2009, Futurama has been brought back from cancellation and will air new episodes in 2010 on the cable network Comedy Central).
- The group playing at the ceremony at the beginning of the episode is Blood, Sweat & Tears (though Mayor Quimby makes a comment indicating that “Sweat” is dead).
- The collapse of Geezer Rock is a reference to when the Old Man of the Mountain collapsed in 2003.
- The title of the Itchy and Scratchy short, What's Nuked, Pussycat? is a play on What's New Pussycat?
- The tree that is holding Geezer Rock together is a bonsai tree. This was a reference to The Karate Kid Part III, where Mr. Miyagi plants a rare bonsai tree on a rock surface that is not reachable except by rock climbing.
- Homer is listening to “Wannabe” by Spice Girls.
- The scene in which Homer plays "Wannabe" is a reference to the 1998 film, Small Soldiers when the same song is played during the blackout in the movie.
- The song playing in the background during Skinner’s Vietnam War flashback is "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock.
- Towards the end of the episode, several independent newspapers spring up, most of which are parodies of real newspapers - The Barney Bugle (Daily Bugle), The Lenny Saver (The Penny Saver).
- At the end of the episode, Mr. Burns concludes that only FOX executive Rupert Murdoch can control all the media, referring to Murdoch's media empire.
- This episode marked the first use of the grounding since Marge Be Not Proud in Season 7.
- Kearney exclaims "Burns is alive? Then whose skull am I drinking beer out of?" and holds a skull aloft, in a pose reminiscent of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
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