The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A.

"The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A."
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.	Season 32 Episode 21
Directed by	Mike Frank Polcino
Written by	Carolyn Omine
Featured music	“The Third Man Theme” by Anton Karas "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller
Production code	QABF13
Original air date	May 16, 2021 (2021-05-16)
Guest appearances
Stephen Fry as Terrance, Terrance's Father and Hazel Robin Atkin Downes and Brian George as MI5 Agents Maurice LaMarche as Orson Welles Dima Malanitchev as Russian See 'n Say
Episode chronology
← Previous "Mother and Child Reunion" Next → "The Last Barfighter"
The Simpsons (season 32)
List of episodes

"The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A." is the 21st and penultimate episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons , and the 705th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 16, 2021. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino, and written by Carolyn Omine. In this episode, Homer meets a British secret agent.

Plot

In 1970, Head of the British Intelligence Agency, Terrance, is sent to America after a Russian spy named "the Grey Fox". 50 years pass, and Terrance has finally found a clue of where the Grey Fox is, which is in Springfield retirement home. After posing as the residence's new resident, he meets Homer and his friends at Moe's bar and bonds with them by telling them about his past life, and how his father was an oafish fool who screwed up every mission he was on, making a laughing stock of his reputation.

Later, Terrance begins to suspect that Homer's father Abe may be the Grey Fox and interrogates Homer. Homer realizes that Abe may be the Grey Fox after Terrance reveals that Homer somehow keeps his job even though he screws it up all the time, and that Abe hates America.

The two then spy on Abe, and see him take a package from two Russian-looking men. Terrance asks Homer to trick Abe into Terrance's company. However, Homer cannot bring himself to bring Abe in, so Terrance (having now gone insane) kidnaps both Homer and Abe at gunpoint and plans to execute them both in the desert. Meanwhile Marge, Bart, and Lisa go to the retirement home to find Abe and Homer. They meet Terrance's daughter, who tells them that Terrance has kidnapped them. The family head to the desert with Chief Wiggum and arrest Terrance.

Abe feels sorry for Terrance and his failure to accomplish anything in his entire life, and pretends to be the Grey Fox, making Terrance feel proud. Later, Homer and Lisa hear a Russian voice in Maggie's room and believe she may be in communication with the Russians, but they learn that the voice is coming from her Russian-made toy.

Production

Executive producer Al Jean stated that, in early drafts, the Grey Fox was going to be Jasper. ^[1]

Stephen Fry was cast for four roles including Terrence, his daughter Hazel, and the head of MI-5. ^{[2] [3]} Al Jean stated that Fry may have had the most lines ever for a guest star. ^[4]

Cultural references

There are several references to films involving government agents. The conference room at the beginning of the episode refers to the one in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy . ^[5] Live-action footage from The Third Man is shown in the retirement home. ^[6] The scene with Homer and Grampa locked in the truck is a homage to Out of Sight . ^[7]

The file on the Grey Fox includes the "Old Man Yells at Cloud" meme that originated in the episode "The Old Man and the Key." ^{[8] [9]}

Reception

Viewing figures

The episode earned a 0.38 rating and was watched by 1.06 million viewers, which was the third-most watched show on Fox that night. ^[10]

Critical response

Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode 3.5 stars out of 5, stating "“The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A.” feels like the kind of movie Homer would fall asleep at. The British spy film references come too respectfully, and the laughs have to squeeze through too stiff an upper lip. It’s not that it’s too clever, as opposed to funny, which has plagued some episodes. It pulls its punchlines when they should be hot enough to cut 007 to a size .035." ^[11]

Jesse Bereta from Bubbleblabber gave the episode a 7/10, stating “Unfortunately, there is not much excitement going on for an episode that should be action-packed. Once the story gets rolling, it is more about convincing Homer that his father is a spy more than any actual spy work. It would have been fun to see this long-running series try to inject some action like we would not usually see. They managed to accomplish some great stuff back when Hank Scorpio came to Springfield. Regardless, it was a fun episode that tried something different. Sure, we have seen plenty of Grampa Simpson’s old war days, but not much after that, aside from raising Homer. Alternatively, there was much room throughout this story to expand or do something unexpected. Unfortunately, the episode follows much of the same formula you would expect. Though it is a pleasing addition to a diverse season 32.” ^[12]

References

1. Jean, Al [@AlJean] (May 17, 2021). ".@TheSimpsons For those who are wondering, in early drafts the Grey Fox was...Jasper" (Tweet). Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Twitter.
2. Omine, Carolyn [@CarolynOmine] (May 17, 2021). "The "Head of MI-5" and "Terrance" two of the four roles the brilliant @stephenfry voices in this episode. Obviously, we are huge fans - It was thrilling to have him in our Zoom Table grid! And he's incredibly lovely to work with. @TheSimpsons" (Tweet). Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Twitter.
3. Omine, Carolyn [@CarolynOmine] (May 17, 2021). "Another role voiced by @stephenfry, Terrance's daughter, Hazel. @TheSimpsons" (Tweet). Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Twitter.
4. Jean, Al [@AlJean] (May 16, 2021). "@stephenfry did a fantastic job...maybe most lines of a Simpsons guest star ever" (Tweet). Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Twitter.
5. Omine, Carolyn [@CarolynOmine] (May 17, 2021). "This super-cool room is modeled after the MI-5 conference room in the 2011 movie, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. @TheSimpsons" (Tweet). Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Twitter.
6. Omine, Carolyn [@CarolynOmine] (May 17, 2021). "Throughout this episode, there are subtle homages to the film noir classic, "The Third Man". And some not so subtle: like here, where we show actual footage from the movie. @TheSimpsons" (Tweet). Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Twitter.
7. Omine, Carolyn [@CarolynOmine] (May 17, 2021). "This shot is an homage to the J-Lo classic, Out of Sight. @TheSimpsons" (Tweet). Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Twitter.
8. Omine, Carolyn [@CarolynOmine] (May 17, 2021). "The file Terrance has on "The Grey Fox." @TheSimpsons" (Tweet). Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Twitter.
9. Thompson, Liz (July 13, 2022). "Equipped: Comedy writer-showrunner Michael Price". Final Draft Blog. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
10. Berman, Marc (May 17, 2021). "Sunday Ratings: ABC and CBS Share Dominance". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
11. Sokol, Tony (May 17, 2021). "The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 21 Review: The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A." Den of Geek . Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
12. Bereta, Jesse (May 17, 2021). "The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 21 Review: The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A." Bubbleblabber. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.

External links

• "The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A." at IMDb