Gal Of Constant Sorrow
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"Gal of Constant Sorrow" is the fourteenth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'', and the 588th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by
Matthew Nastuk Matthew Nastuk is an American animation director on ''The Simpsons''. He started directing during the tenth season, and has since directed over two dozen episodes and continues to direct today. ''The Simpsons'' episodes He has directed the followi ...
and written by
Carolyn Omine Carolyn Omine is an American television writer. She has won four Emmy Awards for her writing work on ''The Simpsons''. Writing credits ''The Simpsons'' episodes Omine has written the following episodes: *" Little Big Mom" (2000) *" Treeho ...
. It aired in the United States on
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
on February 21, 2016. In this episode, Lisa encounters a homeless woman who is musically talented and arranges a concert for her while Homer does a poor job of fixing things around the house.
Natalie Maines Natalie Louise Maines (born October 14, 1974) is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist for the country band the Chicks. In 1995, after leaving Berklee College of Music, Maines was recruited by the Dixie Chicks to replace their lead si ...
and
Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022, where she became known for her character work and celebrity im ...
guest starred. Musician
Bob Boilen Bob B Boilen (born April 10, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American musician and media personality. He was the host and creator of NPR's online music show ''All Songs Considered'' and the co-creator of NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, a series ...
appeared as himself. The episode received positive reviews.


Plot

During breakfast,
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret. Notable Marges include: People * Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist * Marge Anderson (1932–2013), Ojibwe ...
discovers a loose tile on the floor and says that she will have to call a
handyman A handyman, also known as a fixer, handyperson or handyworker, maintenance worker, maintenance man, repairman, repair worker, or repair technician, is a person who is knowledgeable in skills such as basic carpentry, plumbing, minor electrical w ...
.
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
gets the hint that he is not handy and decides to replace the tile himself. He succeeds with the help of an online tutorial, but soon realizes that he has trapped the family cat Snowball II inside the floor. He later manages to free the cat from the walls, but then traps
Santa's Little Helper Santa's Little Helper is a fictional dog in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. He was previously voiced by Frank Welker, and is currently voiced by Dan Castellaneta. The do ...
inside. Homer eventually falls through the roof trying to rescue the dog, only to find that Marge has already rescued him and has been doing the handiwork around the house to cover for Homer's mistakes; she admits she played along with this as she found the idea of Homer being "handy" attractive. Meanwhile,
Bart Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...
participates in a sled race on a hill, but Milhouse slows them down out of fear of slants. Bart knocks Milhouse off, but he loses control of the sled and hits the shopping cart of a homeless woman named Hettie Mae Boggs, throwing it and all of her things into a frozen river. Feeling guilty, he invites Hettie to the Simpsons' house. Hettie gets too comfortable in Bart's closet, so she decides to give Bart one dollar per day as rent.
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...
soon notices Bart's suspicious income and discovers Hettie, but Bart convinces her not to tell Marge out of fear that Hettie will get kicked out of the house. They also discover Hettie's incredible talent for music, so Lisa invites her to stay in her closet and helps her record her songs. Bart warns Lisa against this because if Hettie lets her down, Lisa will not be able to deal with her emotions. Lisa showcases the songs for the town and manages to arrange a concert and an
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
interview for Hettie. Much to Lisa's shock, Hettie reveals during the interview that she is a heroin addict who has a propensity for shooting people in the face if she does not get the drug. When Hettie goes missing on the night of her concert, Bart and Lisa come clean about her to Marge and Homer. With less than thirty minutes before the concert, Lisa distracts the audience by playing her saxophone while Homer and Bart search for Hettie. They manage to find Hettie drinking on
Cletus Spuckler The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...
's farm. They calm her down and persuade her to come to her concert, only to find that a heartbroken Lisa had failed to entertain the crowd and the place is almost empty. Hettie sings one last song dedicated to Lisa, who decides to forgive her. During the credits, Hettie is shown playing in a rehab clinic as the interns and fellow patients escape to Moe's Tavern through a secret tunnel. One of the group,
Disco Stu The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...
, comments that the bar is dirtier than the tunnel.


Production

In an interview in June 2015, executive producer
Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...
said that
Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022, where she became known for her character work and celebrity im ...
would guest star in an episode as a homeless woman with musician
Natalie Maines Natalie Louise Maines (born October 14, 1974) is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist for the country band the Chicks. In 1995, after leaving Berklee College of Music, Maines was recruited by the Dixie Chicks to replace their lead si ...
providing her singing voice. Maines previously appeared as herself as part of
The Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Strayer ...
, credited as The Dixie Chicks, in the nineteenth season episode " Papa Don't Leech." Jean described the character as the opposite of
Bleeding Gums Murphy The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...
, and although Lisa would help with her music career, it would not progress the same way. Musician
Bob Boilen Bob B Boilen (born April 10, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American musician and media personality. He was the host and creator of NPR's online music show ''All Songs Considered'' and the co-creator of NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, a series ...
appeared as himself, who hosts a radio show in Springfield called "Mountain Trax."


Cultural references

"
Started from the Bottom "Started from the Bottom" is a song by Canadian hip hop recording artist Drake, released as the first single from his third studio album ''Nothing Was the Same''. The song was written by Drake, Michael Coleman, and Noah "40" Shebib, and it was p ...
" by
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
plays while Bart spends his money. Lisa's imagination during Hettie's first song shows Apu and two of his children in the same pose as ''
Migrant Mother ''Migrant Mother'' is a photograph taken in 1936 in Nipomo, California, by American photographer Dorothea Lange during her time with the Resettlement Administration (later the Farm Security Administration). The 28.3 by 21.8 cm (11 1/8 b ...
'' by
Dorothea Lange Dorothea Lange (born Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn; May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange' ...
. On the concert stage, Hettie sings a parody of "
Down in the River to Pray "Down in the River to Pray" (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud 4928, also known as "Down to the River to Pray," "Down in the Valley to Pray," "The Good Old Way," and "Come, Let Us All Go Down") is a traditional Music of the United States, American song v ...
." Over the end credits, Hettie sings a parody of " The Big Rock Candy Mountains."


Reception

"Gal of Constant Sorrow" scored a 1.4 rating and was watched by 3.10 million viewers, making it Fox's highest rated show of the night. Dennis Perkins of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' gave the episode a B+ stating, "For all the griping about ''The Simpsons'' overstaying its welcome, it doesn’t take much for the show to win back viewers’ trust and affection. The characters and pieces are all in place, just waiting for the right tune to start moving in a semblance of their former hilarious harmony. For the second episode this season, credited writer Carolyn Omine pitches her script with a deftness and an understanding of the Simpsons that makes an episode fairly sing."
Tony Sokol Tony Sokol (born March 23, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York, United States) is an American playwright, writer and composer, best known for writing the theatrical horror series La Commedia Del Sangue: Vampyr Theatre in New York City. As a musician, So ...
of ''
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...
'' gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars. He stated that the episode was evenly paced and highlighted the heroin twist. He also praised the song lyrics.


References


External links

* {{Simpsons Sideshow Bob 2016 American television episodes The Simpsons season 27 episodes Television episodes about homelessness Television episodes written by Carolyn Omine Television episodes directed by Matthew Nastuk