I Love Lisa

Last updated

"I Love Lisa"
The Simpsons episode
I Love Lisa promo.jpg
Promotional image, depicting Lisa and Ralph playing on the swings.
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 15
Directed by Wes Archer
Written by Frank Mula
Production code9F13
Original air dateFebruary 11, 1993 (1993-02-11)
Guest appearance
Episode features
Chalkboard gag "I will not call the principal "spud head"" [2]
Couch gag The family and various circus performers form a kickline, turning the living room into a circus extravaganza. [3]
Commentary Matt Groening
Al Jean
Frank Mula
Wes Archer
David Silverman
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Brother from the Same Planet"		Next →
"Duffless"
The Simpsons season 4
List of episodes

"I Love Lisa" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 11, 1993. In the episode, Lisa gives Ralph Wiggum a Valentine's Day card when she sees that he has not received any. Ralph misinterprets Lisa's gesture and, much to Lisa's dismay, relentlessly pursues her with affection. Lisa snaps at Ralph and angrily tells him they are not together and that she never liked him. Heartbroken, Ralph channels his feelings into his performance as George Washington in the school's President's Day pageant. After a thunderous applause from the audience, he is able to accept Lisa as just a friend.

Contents

The episode was written by Frank Mula and directed by Wes Archer. Michael Carrington guest-starred as Sideshow Raheem. Al Jean, show runner of the episode, came up with the idea for the story when he remembered that he had received a valentine from a girl in third grade that read "I Choo-Choo-Choose You". The episode features cultural references to songs such as "Monster Mash" and "Break on Through", and to the cartoon character Droopy.

Since airing, "I Love Lisa" has received mostly positive reviews from television critics; Entertainment Weekly placed the episode twelfth on their top 25 The Simpsons episodes list. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 14.9 and was the highest rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.

Plot

The second-grade students at Springfield Elementary School ridicule Ralph Wiggum's strange behavior. On Valentine's Day, the students give each other Valentine's Day cards. None of the students give Ralph cards, causing him to cry. Seeing this, Lisa gives Ralph a card out of sympathy. Ralph cheers up, develops a romantic interest in Lisa, and walks her home from school. Lisa is unsure how to tell Ralph she is not interested in him.

At Marge's suggestion, Lisa tells Ralph she is not ready for a romantic relationship. Ralph asks his father, Chief Clancy Wiggum, for advice on romance; Chief Wiggum tells Ralph to be persistent. Ralph invites Lisa to come with him and his father to the taping of Krusty the Clown's upcoming 29th Anniversary Special, and Chief Wiggum blackmails Miss Hoover into giving Ralph the part of George Washington in the school's President's Day pageant, in which Lisa plays Martha Washington.

Lisa reluctantly goes to the taping of Krusty's special with Ralph. When Krusty starts interviewing audience members, Ralph takes the opportunity to declare that Lisa is the love of his life and that he intends to marry her. Furious, Lisa loses her temper and tells Ralph she does not like him and she never liked him and the only reason she gave him that card was because no one else would. Later, at home, Bart, having taped the event, replays the scene to Lisa which shows Ralph's humiliated, deeply hurt reaction; Lisa feels ashamed of herself. Wiggum comforts Ralph and attempts revenge on Lisa by smashing the taillight on Homer's car, but is alarmed when Homer warns him that one day, honest citizens will retaliate against the corrupt police.

On the night of the President's Day pageant, Lisa tries to apologize to Ralph, but he ignores her. Ralph proves to be a remarkably effective and eloquent actor, gaining the approval of the audience and even reducing Groundskeeper Willie to tears. Lisa approaches Ralph on the swing set after the performance and gives him a new card with a picture of a bee on it, reading "Let's 'Bee' Friends". Ralph laughs at the pun and happily accepts the offer of friendship as Wiggum fondly watches them from his car.

Production

A personal event of Al Jean's life inspired the plot of this episode. Al Jean by Gage Skidmore.jpg
A personal event of Al Jean's life inspired the plot of this episode.

This was the first episode Frank Mula wrote for The Simpsons. [4] [3] Mula had previously worked with Simpsons executive producer Sam Simon at another Gracie Films show. [4] This was the first season four episode that Wes Archer directed. [5] [3] Jeff Martin and Mula wrote the music for the President's Day pageant. [6] Michael Carrington guest-stars in the episode as Sideshow Raheem, one of Krusty's old sideshows from the 70s. [3]

The story of "I Love Lisa" originated from a personal episode of Al Jean's life; [6] when Jean was in third grade, he received a valentine from a girl that read "I Choo-Choo-Choose You". Years later, Jean wondered if the girl had really liked him. He told writing partner Mike Reiss about it, and they thought it could be an idea for an episode where Lisa could give such a valentine to Ralph Wiggum, who would then take it too far. [6] At that time, Ralph and Chief Wiggum were not established as being related. Jean thought it would be funny if Ralph was Wiggum's son, considering both characters are "fat and dumb". [6] Despite this, Ralph's last name was already revealed to be Wiggum in the episode "Kamp Krusty".

A technique the staff used to come up with stories and ideas was to think "what holiday haven't we done on The Simpsons, or done lately?". As they had done several Halloween and Christmas episodes before, the staff liked the idea of doing a Valentine's Day episode. [6]

Cultural references

The title plays on I Love Lucy . The song "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett bookends the episode, which begins on Valentine's Day and ends on President's Day (Marty, the disk jockey on KBBL, played the wrong record.) [3] Ned Flanders serenades his wife, Maude, to Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (1979). The orchestral version of Tony Bennett's "Stranger in Paradise" can be heard in an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon. [3] The name of the cartoon, "My Bloody Valentine", is a reference to the band of the same name. Homer's conscience, which tells him that stealing is wrong, speaks with the voice of Droopy. [6] Principal Skinner's flashback is based on Apocalypse Now (1979), with Laurence Fishburne and Frederic Forrest's characters visible in the background. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton appear in the audience of Krusty's anniversary show. Krusty shows a clip of Robert Frost reading "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" on his show, where Krusty dumps snow on him (Frost: "We discussed this, and I said 'no.'") Another clip shows Krusty singing "Break On Through (To the Other Side)". The Presidents' Day pageant opens with a "tribute to our lesser known Presidents," among them John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Rutherford B. Hayes, and William Henry Harrison, who mentions that "I died in 30 days!" During the segment, the children on stage sing "You won’t find our faces on dollars or on cents!" and "We are the adequate, forgettable, occasionally regrettable caretaker presidents of the U.S.A.!", a reference the general obscurity and ineffectiveness of 19th century Presidents. [7] Backstage, Lisa tries to apologize to Ralph, who says "Leave me alone! I need to play George Washington!" while donning the dress of Franklin Roosevelt. During the re-enactment of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln at the school pageant, Bart, playing John Wilkes Booth, says "Hasta la vista, Abie!", in reference to Terminator 2: Judgment Day . [6] His entrance, while Milhouse was turned with his back when the assassin was entering also looks like the final scene from Scarface, altrought it is speculated that the idea for the Terminator as a character was inspired from the assassin from Scarface. The scene of Chief Wiggum sitting behind Krusty at an adult movie theater and Krusty asking "Is this a bust?" is a reference to Paul Reubens' arrest for masturbating at a pornographic movie theater in Sarasota, Florida. [8] The positioning of Krusty's hands on his face as he watches the movie is an homage to a similar scene in Taxi Driver (1976).

Reception

In its original broadcast, "I Love Lisa" finished eighteenth in the ratings for the week of February 6 to February 12, 1993, with a Nielsen rating of 14.9. [9] The episode was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. [9]

Since airing, it has received many positive reviews from fans and television critics. Entertainment Weekly's Dalton Ross said the episode was both touching and humorous. [10] He added that in the scene where Bart runs a videotape in slow motion to show Lisa how "you can actually pin-point the second when [Ralph Wiggum's] heart rips in half", the audience does not really know "whether you're shedding tears of laughter, empathy, or both—you just know that it's damn good any way you slice it." [10]

The Arizona Republic 's Bill Goodykoontz named the episode one of his five favorites and highlighted Ralph's line "and my doctor said I wouldn't have so many nosebleeds if I kept my finger out of there" as one of the best lines in the history of the show. [11]

In a review of The Simpsons season four, Lyndsey Shinoda of Video Store cited "Brother from the Same Planet" and "I Love Lisa" among her "personal favorites" from the season. [12]

Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, said their favorite scenes from the episode include Principal Skinner's flashback to Valentine's Day in Vietnam, the scene in which Chief Wiggum chases a duck to get his badge back, and the one where Bart and Milhouse play John Wilkes Booth and Abraham Lincoln respectively at the school pageant. They added that those scenes were "just the icing on the cake of the main plot." [3]

In 2003, Entertainment Weekly placed the episode twelfth on their top 25 The Simpsons episodes list, [13] and in 2008 placed the episode second on their top "25 New Classic Holiday TV Episodes" list. [14] In 2019, Consequence ranked it number eight on its list of top 30 Simpsons episodes. [15]

When Principal Skinner tells the children at school that Valentine's Day is not a joke (due to Bart fabricating candy hearts with mean insults), he has a flashback in which he is sitting in a PBR somewhere in Da Nang in 1969. On an oil drum next to him is a manila envelope and a photograph of Colonel Kurtz. Skinner sees Johnny, one of his army friends, holding a Valentine card and asks him, "Sending your chick a Valentine?", to which Johnny replies "Yep", right before he is shot to death. [5] Cutting back to the present, Skinner repeatedly calls out Johnny's name in anguish, to which a perplexed Bart states "Cool! I broke his brain." After the episode aired, a Vietnam veteran sent in a letter to the show that read, "I was watching the Valentine's Day episode of your cartoon and I saw the horrifying Vietnam flashback. Do you really think this was funny, this horrible experience?" [6] The staff ignored the letter and, as Wes Archer pointed out, the scene was "an obvious" reference to Apocalypse Now [5] even featuring characters that resembled Chef (Frederic Forrest) and Mr. Clean (Laurence Fishburne). In contrast, Mark Groening—the brother of Matt Groening and himself a Vietnam veteran—"loved" the sequence as well as the episode. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grampa Simpson</span> Recurring character in The Simpsons

Abraham Jebediah "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa Simpson, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled "Grandpa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on The Tracey Ullman Show, before the debut of the television show in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bart Simpson</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons

Bartholomew Jojo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart while waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip, Life in Hell, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name is an anagram of the word brat. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for two years, the Simpson family received its own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989. Bart has appeared in every Simpsons episode except "Four Great Women and a Manicure".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krusty the Clown</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky, better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown, is a recurring character on the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the long-time clown host of Bart and Lisa Simpson's favorite TV show, a variety show consisting of various kid-friendly sketches and often highly violent cartoons, most notably The Itchy & Scratchy Show. Despite his cheery onscreen persona, Krusty is actually a cynical, burnt-out, addiction-riddled smoker who is made miserable by show business but continues on anyway. He has become one of the most frequently occurring characters outside the main Simpson family and has been the focus of many episodes, some of which also feature Sideshow Bob.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Wiggum</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Ralph Wiggum is a recurring character in the animated series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Ralph is characterized largely by his frequent non-sequiturs which range from nonsensical and bizarre to profound. His dim-witted behavior lends him an air of blissful ignorance.

"Kamp Krusty" is the fourth season premiere of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 60th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 24, 1992. In the episode, the children of Springfield attend Kamp Krusty, a summer camp named after Krusty the Clown. The camp is extremely unpleasant, leading to the campers rebelling against the camp director. Meanwhile, with the kids away, Homer and Marge enjoy more time together, and Homer becomes physically and emotionally healthier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa's First Word</span> 10th episode of the 4th season of The Simpsons

"Lisa's First Word" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on December 3, 1992. In the episode, as the Simpson family gathers around Maggie and tries to encourage her to say her first word, Marge reminisces and tells the story of Lisa's first word. Maggie's first word is voiced by Elizabeth Taylor.

"Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 29, 1990. The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky and directed by Brad Bird. In the episode, Krusty the Clown is convicted of armed robbery of the Kwik-E-Mart. Believing that Krusty has been framed for it, Bart and Lisa investigate the crime and learn that Krusty's sidekick, Sideshow Bob, is the culprit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer's Barbershop Quartet</span> 1st episode of the 5th season of The Simpsons

"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 30, 1993. It features the Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of the Beatles. George Harrison and David Crosby guest star as themselves, and the Dapper Dans partly provide the singing voices of the Be Sharps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">22 Short Films About Springfield</span> 21st episode of the 7th season of The Simpsons

"22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on April 14, 1996. It was written by Richard Appel, David X. Cohen, Jonathan Collier, Jennifer Crittenden, Greg Daniels, Brent Forrester, Dan Greaney, Rachel Pulido, Steve Tompkins, Josh Weinstein, Bill Oakley, and Matt Groening, with the writing being supervised by Daniels. The episode was directed by Jim Reardon. Phil Hartman guest-starred as Lionel Hutz and the hospital board chairman.

"I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" is the twelfth episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 16, 2003, and was seen by around 22 million people during this broadcast. The episode is referred to as the 301st in the opening theme as it originally aired the same day as the episode "Barting Over", which was promoted as the 300th episode.

"This Little Wiggy" is the eighteenth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 22, 1998. It was written by Dan Greaney and directed by Neil Affleck. The episode sees Ralph Wiggum becoming friends with Bart. Phil Hartman guest stars as recurring character Troy McClure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase</span> 24th episode of the 8th season of The Simpsons

"The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 11, 1997. The episode centers on fictional pilot episodes of non-existent television series derived from The Simpsons, and is a parody of the tendency of networks to spin off characters from a hit series. As such it includes references to many different TV series. The first fictional spin-off is Chief Wiggum P.I., a cop-dramedy featuring Chief Wiggum and Seymour Skinner. The second is The Love-matic Grampa, a sitcom featuring Moe Szyslak who receives dating advice from Abraham Simpson, whose ghost is possessing a love testing machine. The final segment is The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour, a variety show featuring the Simpson family except for Lisa, who has been replaced.

"Another Simpsons Clip Show" is the third episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 25, 1994. In the episode, Marge reads a romance novel in bed, and it prompts her to have a family meeting, where the Simpson family recall their past loves in form of clips from previous episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bart Gets Famous</span> 12th episode of the 5th season of The Simpsons

"Bart Gets Famous" is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 3, 1994. In the episode, Bart gets a job as Krusty the Clown's production assistant. He replaces Sideshow Mel in one of Krusty's skits and accidentally destroys the stage props. When Bart says "I didn't do it," he instantly becomes famous for his catchphrase.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons premiered on the Fox network on December 17, 1989, with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", with the rest of the season airing from January 14 to May 13, 1990. The executive producers for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon. It was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television.

Media is a recurring theme of satire on The Simpsons. The show is known for its satire of American popular culture and especially television culture, but has since its inception covered all types of media such as animation, journalism, commercials, comic books, movies, internet, and music. The series centers on a family and their life in a typical American town but the town of Springfield acts as a complete universe. The town features a vast array of media channels—from kids' television programming to local news, which enables the producers to make jokes about themselves and the entertainment industry.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 6 Season of television series

The sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994, and May 21, 1995, and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional city of Springfield, and lampoons American culture, society, television and many aspects of the human condition.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992, and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty". The showrunners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss, with the season being produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season three, which Jean and Reiss also ran. Following the end of the production of the season, Jean, Reiss and most of the original writing staff left the show. The season was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and Dan Castellaneta would win one for his performance as Homer in "Mr. Plow". The fourth season was released on DVD in Region 1 on June 15, 2004, Region 2 on August 2, 2004, and in Region 4 on August 25, 2004.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 3 Season of television series

The third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991, and August 27, 1992. The showrunners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes for the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, and Sam Simon, with it being produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. An additional episode, "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?", aired on August 27, 1992, after the official end of the third season and is included on the Season 3 DVD set. Season three won six Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" and also received a nomination for "Outstanding Animated Program" for the episode "Radio Bart". The complete season was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 26, 2003, Region 2 on October 6, 2003, and in Region 4 on October 22, 2003.

References

  1. ↑ Bates, James W.; Gimple, Scott M.; McCann, Jesse L.; Richmond, Ray; Seghers, Christine, eds. (2010). Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1–20 (1st ed.). Harper Collins Publishers. p. 1111. ISBN   978-0-00-738815-8.
  2. ↑ Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. p.  108. ISBN   978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN   98141857. OCLC   37796735. OL   433519M..
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "I Love Lisa". BBC. Archived from the original on September 10, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
  4. 1 2 Mula, Frank (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD commentary for the episode "I Love Lisa" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  5. 1 2 3 Archer, Wes (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD commentary for the episode "I Love Lisa" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jean, Al (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD commentary for the episode "I Love Lisa" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  7. ↑ Greene, Andy (November 14, 2019). "Flashback: The Simpsons Celebrate America's 'Lesser-Known' Presidents in Song". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  8. ↑ Silverman, David (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD commentary for the episode "I Love Lisa" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  9. 1 2 "What we watch, what we don't". Austin American-Statesman . February 14, 1993. p. 13.
  10. 1 2 Ross, Dalton (June 18, 2004). "The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  11. ↑ Goodykoontz, Bill (July 26, 2007). "5 Best Simpsons". The Arizona Republic. p. 6.
  12. ↑ Shinoda, Lyndsey (June 13, 2004). "The Simpsons: the Complete Fourth Season". Video Store. Advanstar Communications.
  13. ↑ "The best Simpsons episodes, Nos. 11-15". Entertainment Weekly . January 29, 2003. Archived from the original on January 21, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
  14. ↑ "25 New Classic Holiday TV Episodes". Entertainment Weekly . June 17, 2008. Archived from the original on January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  15. ↑ "The Simpsons' Top 30 Episodes". Consequence. December 17, 2019. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  16. ↑ Groening, Matt (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD commentary for the episode "I Love Lisa" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.