The Simpsons
The Burns and the Bees
TV Flash files “The Burns and the Bees” as hour 428 of 802 in the TV Flash guide — The Simpsons (1989–present) on Fox, season 20, episode 8, aired 2008-12-07, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S20E08: listed hour 428 of 802 in the The Simpsons guide, hour 8 of 21 in season 20. It aired 2008-12-07 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Mypods and Boomsticks” (S20E07). Next is “Lisa the Drama Queen” (S20E09). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
During the annual billionaires' retreat, Mr. Burns wins the Boston Celtics in a casual game of poker. While hosting the season opener in Springfield, Mr. Burns witnesses the antics of Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban (guest voice as himself). Fascinated with his behavior, Mr. Burns decides to emulate Cuban's over-the-top crowd pleasing stunts in order to win over the hearts of Springfield's basketball fans. In the midst of his failing endeavor, Mr. Burns decides that the best way to win over the fans is to build a brand new, state-of-the-art sports arena. Unfortunately, the last remaining bee colony in Springfield is located on the proposed stadium site, and Lisa is single-handedly spearheading a movement to protect them. As Lisa fights for a safe haven for the bees, Homer attempts to help the quickly diminishing bee population by mating the Springfield bees with Africanized bees, creating a buzzworthy fiasco.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Burns and the Bees sit in the The Simpsons guide?
S20E08 is listed hour 428 of 802 — hour 8 of 21 in season 20, season 20 episode 8.
When did The Simpsons S20E08 air?
The Burns and the Bees aired 2008-12-07 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start if I am not watching all 800 episodes?
Start with the 1989 Christmas premiere, then a handful of golden-age hours from seasons four through eight. Treat the rest as a library, not a novel.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Watch it as a living joke encyclopedia, not a series you owe from pilot to present. The early years still teach how American satire learned to reset weekly; the later catalog is optional weather. You already speak Springfield. This is how the grammar got written.
The first image is a couch, and then it is not. The Simpsons treats the opening gag as a weekly contract: we will reset the living room, and we will still find a new joke about the country that owns it. Fox put a yellow family on Sunday nights in 1989 after the Tracey Ullman shorts, and the half-hour that followed did not merely popularize adult animation. It installed a shared vocabulary. People who stopped watching still speak Springfield.
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