Thursdays with Abie

Plot

Grampa Abe met a journalist named Marshall Goldman during a family water park trip. Marshall loved hearing Abe ramble. Abe told him about World War II, when his warship was sunk by a torpedo his own crew had fired earlier. He claimed he sat on and animal-trained a real shark.

Marshall published the story in the Springfield Shopper. Homer read it and was shocked anyone found his father's tales interesting. Abe next told of shining Clark Gable's shoes at the Springfield railway station and lending him a copy of Gone with the Wind, still angry Gable never paid him. Marshall wrote that up too, and Abe became famous.

Homer visited, but Abe accused him of only caring now that he was famous. Marge suggested Homer was actually angry at himself for not spending more time with his dad. Insulted, Homer listened to Mr. Burns' stories, wrote his own column, and took it to the newspaper, where it was shredded. Sneaking into Marshall's office, Homer found a Pulitzer manuscript stating Abe was dead.

He realized Marshall planned to kill Abe. Homer rushed to the railway station, but Abe and Marshall had already boarded the vintage Tinseltown Starliner. Marshall knocked Abe out and tried to suffocate him with a pillow. With Lenny and Carl's help, Homer broke through a window as Marshall pulled a gun.

They struggled, and Abe pulled the emergency brake. A load of hat boxes knocked Marshall out. Homer and his father reconciled, and Abe told Homer he was ready for his first ramble.

Cultural references

This episode parodies the book and film Tuesdays with Morrie, where a man learns life lessons from an old teacher. Hank Azaria, who voices Marshall, also played the lead in the movie version of that story. The opening gag shows a flying object mimicking the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The Slimu octopus is a spoof of the orca Shamu. During the train station scenes, the song "Chattanooga Choo Choo" plays. Nelson performs an altered rendition of "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Reception

When "Thursdays with Abie" first aired on Fox, about 8.65 million households tuned in. It scored a 4.0 rating and a 10 share among viewers aged 18 to 49, making it both the most-watched and highest-rated episode on the network's Animation Domination block that week. Among all shows in that key demographic, it ranked seventh, and it came in third on Fox for the week, behind The OT and The Allstate Sugar Bowl. Overall, it placed 20th in the weekly ratings, yet it remained Fox's top-rated scripted program.

IGN's Robert Canning praised the episode with an 8.4 out of 10, calling it a success that used one of The Simpsons' best running jokes to craft an engaging and sentimental story. Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave it a C+, noting that while most core relationships on the show still move viewers, the bond between Homer and his father Abe is an exception. Jason Hughes of TV Squad said he did not find the episode particularly funny but appreciated that it brought some emotion back to the characters' relations.

Dan Castellaneta earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance at the 62nd Creative Arts Emmy Awards for his work as both Abraham Simpson and Homer Simpson in this episode, but lost to Anne Hathaway, who won for her role in another Simpsons installment, "Once Upon a Time in Springfield."