'Round Springfield

"'Round Springfield" 250px

Episode Information Showrunner: [[{{{showrunner}}}]]

Plot

Bart gets a stomachache 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 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.

Cultural References

Bart's appendicitis is a reference to the book and television series Madeline. [1]

the episodes title is a reference to the song and film 'round Midnight

← Season 5 Season 6 Episodes Season 7 →

Bart of Darkness • Lisa's Rival • Another Simpsons Clip Show • Itchy & Scratchy Land • Sideshow Bob Roberts • Treehouse of Horror V • Bart's Girlfriend • Lisa on Ice • Homer Badman • Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy • Fear of Flying • Homer the Great • And Maggie Makes Three • Bart's Comet • Homie the Clown • Bart vs. Australia • Homer vs. Patty and Selma • A Star Is Burns • Lisa's Wedding • Two Dozen and One Greyhounds • The PTA Disbands • 'Round Springfield • The Springfield Connection • Lemon of Troy • Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)