Two Dozen and One Greyhounds
"Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons.
Fearing he will mistreat them, Lisa persuades her parents to refuse Burns' offer, but he and Smithers secretly steal the puppies.
The Simpsons then let Burns keep the puppies, who grow to become world champion racing dogs and earn him millions of dollars in prize money.
[5] Mr. Burns says in the episode that the puppy that stands up only on its hind legs reminds him of Rory Calhoun, an American actor who lived from 1922 to 1999.
[5] As Bart and Lisa sneak away to Mr. Burns' mansion, they see him loading a gun and singing a musical number called "See My Vest", in which he proclaims his intention to kill the puppies to make a tuxedo out of them.
When the staff discussed how they could gloss over the horrifying things Mr. Burns would do to the dogs, one of the writers suggested that if they communicated his plan through a song, it would stay "fun and light".
[3] Scully, who agreed that the idea was good, came in the following day with complete lyrics that he wrote for "See My Vest",[3] which was a parody of the song "Be Our Guest", sung by Jerry Orbach in the 1991 film Beauty and the Beast.
[5] The staff had a "big fight" with the Fox network censors over the scene in which Santa's Little Helper mates with She's The Fastest.
[4] The writers were originally worried about the idea, but Mirkin knew that they could show the dogs having sex in a manner that was not explicit.
[3] The scene in which Santa's Little Helper and She's The Fastest are presented with a plate of spaghetti at Luigi's Italian restaurant parodies Lady and the Tramp.
They noted how the musical piece revealed Mr. Burns' essence of character, and that it also commented on some disturbing elements of humankind.
In the list, they noted, "Burns is terrifying because he will do absolutely anything, and since it's a cartoon, he just might", pointing to "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" and his plans to make the puppies into a tuxedo as proof.
[9] In a review by the Toronto Star, Ben Rayner commented that "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" was one of his favorite episodes of the series, and concluded that Mr. Burns' "tour de force" performance was particularly captivating.
[12] In a review for the sixth season DVD of The Simpsons, IGN's Todd Gilchrist found Mr. Burns' performance to be memorable, commenting that he "flirts with copyright infringement with his rendition of 'See My Vest'".
[15] DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson appreciated the spoofs of Disney films, and also complimented "the most bizarre references to Rory Calhoun imaginable", concluding that the combination of these elements formed a "fine show".
