 = Burns ' Heir = 
 
 " Burns ' Heir " is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons ' fifth season . It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14 , 1994 . In the episode , Mr. Burns has a near @-@ death experience which prompts him to find an heir to inherit his wealth after he dies . Although Bart is initially rejected , Burns soon decides to choose him after seeing him as " a creature of pure malevolence " . Marge convinces Bart to go spend some time with Burns , and soon becomes more disruptive than normal to his own family and decides to go live with Mr. Burns . 
 " Burns ' Heir " was written by Jace Richdale , his only writing credit . David Silverman was originally going to direct the episode , but he was so swamped with his work as supervising director that it was reassigned to Mark Kirkland . While the Simpsons are at a movie , there is a parody of the THX sound Deep Note . The THX executives liked the parody so much that the scene was made into an actual THX movie trailer , with the scene being redone for the widescreen aspect ratio . A deleted scene from the episode sees Mr. Burns release a " Robotic Richard Simmons " as a way of getting rid of Homer . The scene was cut , but later included in the season seven clip show " The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular " . 
 
 = = Plot = = 
 
 Mr. Burns almost drowns while taking a bath after Smithers puts a sponge on his head that weighs him down . Later , after realizing that no one will carry on his legacy when he dies , Burns decides to try to find an heir that will inherit his vast fortune . He holds an audition and many of the boys in Springfield try out , including Nelson Muntz , Martin Prince , and Milhouse Van Houten . Bart and Lisa also try out and fail ; Lisa because she is a girl , and Bart because he read Homer 's badly @-@ worded proposal . Angry and humiliated after the audition ends , only made worse by Burns kicking him in the butt with a mechanical boot , Bart pays him back by vandalizing his mansion . Mr. Burns approves of Bart 's malevolence and decides to accept him as his heir . 
 Homer and Marge sign a legal document which officially names Bart as Mr. Burns ' heir . Marge suggests that Bart should spend some time with Mr. Burns . While initially repelled by Mr. Burns ' coldness , Bart begins to take a liking to him after Burns promises to give Bart whatever he wants out of his life . Bart decides to abandon his family because Mr. Burns allows him to do anything he likes . Bart 's family becomes angry and wants him back , so they decide to sue Mr. Burns , but due to hiring Lionel Hutz as their lawyer , the court ends up deciding that Mr Burns is Bart 's biological father . The Simpsons get a Private Investigator deprogrammer to kidnap Bart , but the deprogrammer wrongly takes Hans Moleman instead and brainwashes him into thinking he 's a part of the Simpson family . 
 Meanwhile , Bart becomes lonely and wants to go back to his family . Mr. Burns does not want him to leave and tricks him into thinking that his family hates him , using a falsified video with actors playing the Simpson family . Bart decides that Burns is his true father and the two celebrate by firing employees at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant by ejecting them through a trap door . However , one of the employees is Homer and Mr. Burns then tries to break Bart 's ties with his family by forcing him to fire Homer . Bart instead " fires " Burns and drops him through a trap door . Bart decides that he loves his family , and moves back in with them . 
 
 = = Production = = 
 
 " Burns ' Heir " was the first episode in which Jace Richdale received a writers ' credit , although he was a part of the show 's staff for several seasons . When he was starting out as a writer on the show , Richdale was told to come up with some story ideas and he came up with the basic plot off the top of his head . David Silverman was originally going to direct the episode , but he was so swamped with his work as supervising director that it was reassigned to Mark Kirkland . While the Simpsons are at a movie , there is a parody of the THX sound Deep Note . During that scene , a man 's head explodes in a reference to the film Scanners . The THX executives liked the parody so much that the scene was made into an actual THX movie trailer , with the scene being redone for the widescreen aspect ratio . 
 A deleted scene from the episode sees Mr. Burns release a " Robotic Richard Simmons " as a way of getting rid of Homer , which dances to a recording of K.C. and the Sunshine Band 's " Shake Your Booty " . Simmons was originally asked to guest star , according to David Mirkin , he was " dying to do the show " , but declined when he found out he would voice a robot . It was fully animated , but was cut from " Burns ' Heir " because it often did not get a good reaction during table reads . According to Bill Oakley , there was a " significant division of opinion amongst the staff as to whether Richard Simmons was a target The Simpsons should make fun of " because it was " well @-@ trod territory " . They also felt it distracted viewers from the story . To the production staff 's surprise , the scene would make the audience " erupt with laughter " when screened at animation conventions and college presentations , so they decided to insert it in the season seven clip show " The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular " . 
 
 = = Cultural references = = 
 
 The episode parodies THX 's infamous ' Deep Note ' . 
 The trailer advertising Mr. Burns ' search for an heir is a loose parody of the trailer for Toys , a 1992 comedy starring Robin Williams . 
 Mr. Burns also sings " Let 's All Go to the Lobby " . 
 Marge 's fantasy about Bart graduating from Harvard University with Mr. Burns ' money is interrupted by a fantasy of her being lifted into the sky by Lee Majors , accompanied by a sound effect from The Six Million Dollar Man , in which Majors played the title character . 
 Mr. Burns states that he got the idea for installing cameras all through town from Sliver , which he calls a " delightful romp " . 
 Moe using a home @-@ made sliding action holster with a pistol while looking in a mirror is a reference to Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver . 
 The scene in which Homer is secretly eating flowers is a reference to a scene in The Last Emperor where the empress eats flowers . 
 The young boy saying , " Today , sir ? Why , it 's Christmas Day ! " makes a reference to Charles Dickens ' A Christmas Carol . 
 The room in which " Bart " ( who is really Hans Moleman ) is deprogrammed in is room number 101 , which is in reference to the novel Nineteen Eighty @-@ Four . 
 In the deleted scene , the Richard Simmons robot healing itself after Smithers shoots it with a shotgun is a reference to the T @-@ 1000 from Terminator 2 : Judgment Day . 
 
 = = Reception = = 
 
 In its original broadcast , " Burns ' Heir " finished 53rd in ratings for the week of April 11 – 17 , 1994 , with a Nielsen rating of 9 @.@ 4 , and was viewed in 8 @.@ 85 million households . The show dropped four places in the rankings after finishing 49th the previous week . It was the third highest rated show on Fox that week following Living Single and Married ... with Children . 
 The authors of the book I Can 't Believe It 's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide , Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood , wrote that , " the episode lacks the emotional punch of others in which members of the family are separated . " DVD Movie Guide 's Colin Jacobson wrote that the episode was " such a great concept that it ’ s a surprise no [ one ] went for it earlier . " He felt that it " occasionally veers on the edge of mushiness , but it avoids becoming too sentimental . It 's a blast to see Burns ’ world from Bart ’ s point of view . DVD Talk gave the episode a score of 5 out of 5 while DVD Verdict gave the episode a Grade B score . Paul Campos of Rocky Mountain News described the Robotic Richard Simmons scene as " a level of surreal comedy that approaches a kind of genius " . 
 Homer 's quote , " Kids , you tried your best and you failed miserably . The lesson is never try " , was added to The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations in August 2007 . 
 
 