Blood Feud (The Simpsons)

"Blood Feud" is the last episode of the second season of The Simpsons. However, The Simpsons Archive lists "Blood Feud" as not belonging to any season, as it aired after the formal end of the second season and before the beginning of the third season. It is considered part of Season 2 as it appeared on that season's DVD.^[1]

1 Plot
2 Cultural references
3 Trivia
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Plot

When Mr. Burns falls ill with "Hypohemia" and desperately needs a blood transfusion, Homer discovers Bart has Mr. Burns's rare blood type, and Homer, disappointed he only has A Positive, urges his son to donate, promising that they will be handsomely rewarded. He mistells the story of "Androcles and the Lion" (instead, referring to it as "Hercules and the Lion"), telling Bart the hero was rewarded with riches. However, Mr. Burns knows nothing of this promise, or even of the Simpsons' desire for a reward, and having received the blood, all he does is send the family a card. Enraged, Homer writes an insulting reply, but Marge convinces him at the last minute not to send it. Later the letter goes missing, as Bart has mailed it, still thinking its message is called for.

Homer and Bart's attempts to stop the mail delivery end in failure, and Mr. Burns is furious at the insult and demands that Homer be beaten up. Waylon Smithers calls off the beating, however, on the grounds that this action is no way to thank the man who saved Mr. Burns's life. Just as Marge had convinced Homer to refrain from sending the letter, Smithers has a calming influence on Mr. Burns, and the two decide instead to buy the family a present. The Simpsons receive an antique Xtapolapocetl, an Olmec head (a massive, Tiki-god-like affair) that Bart, the blood donor, likes, and which Homer hates. At the end, the family debate on what the moral of this whole story is, but they soon dismiss it as "just a bunch of stuff that happened".

The antique head appears many times in subsequent episodes, usually in the family's basement.

[edit] Cultural references

Burns's line about getting "A frabulous, grabulous, zip-zoop-zabulous present" is similar to lines used in many Dr. Seuss books. Burns also has Dr. Seuss-inspired lines in "Last Exit to Springfield" and a few other episodes.
Otto is also heard humming the Black Sabbath tune "Iron Man".

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

After recovering from hypohemia, Burns writes a book "Will There Ever Be a Rainbow?" The book made another appearance in the episode "The Old Man and the Lisa", where it is revealed that Mr. Burns is worth $100 million. Mr. Burns's book is mentioned in one of the Simpsons comics.
Bart receives a blue crowbar in this episode. It later appears in the season nine episode Lisa the Skeptic and he refers it to as "Old Bluey".
In this episode, it's revealed that Bart is allergic to butterscotch, imitation butterscotch, and glow-in-the-dark monster make-up. Despite Bart's allergy to butterscotch (or in a case of the writers forgetting continuity), Marge cooks Bart butterscotch chicken in the season eight episode A Milhouse Divided and in the season eighteen episode, Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em, Bart is also revealed to be allergic to shrimp.
In this episode Bart is revealed to have OO negative blood, the type that Mr. Burns requires for his transfusion. Marge doesn't reveal hers but she says that Homer's is A positive. Human genetics is such that a child inherits his/her blood group from his/her parents so Marge must be OO negative too, or Homer is not Bart's biological father (which is highly unlikely, considering the events that transpired in the flashback of the season three episode "I Married Marge"). Actually type O is a recessive phenotype so Homer is AO and Marge could be AO, BO, or OO.
On the envelope of the card that Burns sends, the two-letter state code is shown in the return address. It is Il, indicating that Springfield is (or was) in Illinois. But, contradicting this, the letter says "Springfield, NJ".
A sample from this episode is heard in the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "Phony Calls".
The Xtapolapocetl head reappears in many subsequent episodes, often when the Simpsons' basement is shown.