Lisa with an 'S'

Last updated

"Lisa with an 'S'"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 27
Episode 7
Directed by Bob Anderson
Written by Stephanie Gillis
Production codeTABF20
Original air dateNovember 22, 2015 (2015-11-22)
Episode features
Couch gag During the parody of Star Trek , all the couches surround the donut Starship Enterprise and destroy it after the Simpson family in it destroys their couch.
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Friend with Benefit"		Next →
"Paths of Glory"
The Simpsons (season 27)
List of episodes

"Lisa with an 'S'" is the seventh episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons , and the 581st episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by Stephanie Gillis. It aired in the United States on Fox on November 22, 2015. This marks the final episode to credit Sam Simon as executive producer until "Lisa the Veterinarian."

Contents

Plot

Homer, Moe, Lenny, Carl and Barney start the episode by singing a parody of "Tonight" as they prepare for the poker night at Moe's bar. On his way out, Homer promises Lisa that if he wins, he will pay for her to attend an elite band camp she has been accepted to, a camp that is the best one on their side of the Mississippi River (which side they are talking about is left unspecified). But Homer fails on a full house and ends up losing $5,000 to Broadway legend Laney Fontaine, who is now dating Moe because he has a liquor license. Trying to convince Laney to give his money back, he invites her to dinner to show her how miserable they are. Lisa asks her to sing a song while she plays the saxophone, making Laney realize that Lisa has a lot of talent and could become a famous showbiz kid. She offers to clear the debt if she can take Lisa to New York City for a month to perform on her Broadway shows. Marge is reluctant, but agrees after Grampa says this may be the only opportunity for Lisa to live her dreams.

In New York, after meeting Lisa's former ballet teacher Chazz Busby, Lisa easily passes the audition and gets cast in one of the Broadway shows. Later, during a Skype conversation, Marge believes that Lisa is not in a good place and decides to take the family to New York to get her back. On their way there, the family encounters Ned Flanders' Amish cousin Jacob in Pennsylvania and learn that Ned is now considered "ultra liberal" and a black sheep because he lives in the modern world. In New York, the Simpsons and even Marge realize that Lisa fits right into the Broadway show world and they decide to go back to Springfield without her. Laney sees Marge's sacrifice and, having a change of heart, immediately kicks Lisa out of the show on the grounds that Lisa got more cheers than her, leaving Lisa free to return home with the Simpsons.

The episode ends with Homer taking Jacob to Ned's house where Jacob makes Ned realize that he is guilty of pride. Both cousins reconcile by hugging Homer, much to his annoyance.

Production

Tress MacNeille reprised her role as Laney Fontaine, who originally appeared in the twenty-sixth season episode "My Fare Lady." [1] The character is an homage to actress Elaine Stritch. [2]

Approximately midway through the episode, a sign with "Lafayette: The Musical" is shown with a variation of the peace symbol containing the Eiffel Tower. The symbol was created by designer Jean Jullien in the aftermath of the November 2015 Paris attacks, which occurred nine days earlier. [3]

Cultural references

During the poker game, the view inside Homer's head is a parody of the 2015 film Inside Out . [1] Lisa asks Fontaine to read her the novel Anne of Green Gables . [4]

Reception

"Lisa with an 'S'" scored a 2.3 rating and was watched by 5.64 million viewers, making the episode Fox's highest rated show of the night. [5]

Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C+ saying, "Could this heap of half-realized plots coalesce into a satisfying episode of The Simpsons? Sure—if any of them were funny on its own, or if they all somehow tied together in the end. Instead, 'Lisa With An "S"' just sort of exists, the final description of a lot of latter-day episodes (although there have also been a couple of genuinely great episodes this season). It wasn’t abysmal or infuriating—at least that would leave something to talk about. This episode was just ... there." [1]

Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode 4 out of 5 stars. He stated that the episode was well paced with plenty of jokes. He also highlighted Tress MacNeille's Laney Fontaine character as a homage to Elaine Stritch. [2]

Related Research Articles

"Fear of Flying" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on December 18, 1994. In the episode, the family attempts to go on a vacation but soon discovers that Marge is afraid of flying.

"Labor Pains" is the fifth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 535th episode of the series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 17, 2013. It was written by Mitch Glazer and Don Payne and directed by Matthew Faughnan.

"Peeping Mom" is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 570th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by John Frink. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 19, 2015.

"Opposites A-Frack" is the fifth episode in the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 557th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by Valentina L. Garza. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 2, 2014.

"The Kids Are All Fight" is the nineteenth episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 571st overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by Rob LaZebnik. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 26, 2015.

"My Fare Lady" is the fourteenth episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 566th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino and written by Marc Wilmore. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 15, 2015. It is the first episode where Bart has no dialogue even though he appears. He did not appear at all in the earlier episode "Four Great Women and a Manicure".

"The Princess Guide" is the fifteenth episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 567th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by Brian Kelley. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 1, 2015.

"Simprovised" is the twenty-first episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 595th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by John Frink. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 15, 2016, and includes a three-minute live-animated segment in which viewers were able to ask Homer Simpson questions.

"To Courier with Love" is the twentieth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 594th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by Bill Odenkirk. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 8, 2016.

"Mr. Lisa's Opus" is the eighth episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 626th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Al Jean. It aired in the United States on Fox on December 3, 2017. The title is a spoof of the film Mr. Holland's Opus. Lisa looks back through all her family's attempts to remember her birthday and uses those attempts to write an essay for Harvard.

"Left Behind" is the nineteenth episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 637th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Lance Kramer with a story by Al Jean and teleplay by Joel H. Cohen and John Frink. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 6, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XXX</span> 4th episode of the 31st season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XXX" is the fourth episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 666th episode overall as well as the thirtieth Treehouse of Horror episode. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 20, 2019. The episode was written by J. Stewart Burns, and was directed by Timothy Bailey.

"Werking Mom" is the 646th episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the seventh episode of Season 30. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino and written by Carolyn Omine and Robin Sayers. The episode was also dedicated in memory of Stan Lee of Marvel Comics fame, who died on November 12, 2018, and had guest starred three times on the show, in the episodes "I Am Furious (Yellow)", "Married to the Blob" and "Caper Chase" respectively.

"I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say D'oh" is the twentieth episode of the thirtieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 659th episode overall. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino and written by Jeff Martin and Jenna Martin. It aired in the United States on Fox on April 7, 2019.

"Woo-Hoo Dunnit?" is the twenty-second and penultimate episode of the thirtieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 661st episode overall. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Brian Kelley. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 5, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrin' Priests</span> 19th and 20th episodes of the 31st season of The Simpsons

"Warrin' Priests" is a two-part episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. Part One is the 19th episode of the thirty-first season and the 681st episode overall, having originally premiered on the Fox network in the United States on April 26, 2020, Part Two is the 20th episode of the thirty-first season and the 682nd episode overall, having premiered on May 3, 2020. The title "Warrin' Priests" refers to War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. This marks the series' third two-parter following Season 6 and 7's "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" and Season 28's "The Great Phatsby."

"The Dad-Feelings Limited" is the 11th episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 695th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on January 3, 2021. The episode was directed by Chris Clements and written by Ryan Koh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Star of the Backstage</span> 1st episode of the 33rd season of The Simpsons

"The Star of the Backstage" is the thirty-third season premiere of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 707th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on September 26, 2021. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Elisabeth Kiernan Averick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Serious Flanders</span> 6th and 7th episodes of the 33rd season of The Simpsons

"A Serious Flanders" is a two-part episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It is the sixth and seventh episodes of the thirty-third season and the 712th and 713th episodes overall. Part One premiered on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 2021, while Part Two premiered on November 14, 2021. Both parts are written by Cesar Mazariegos. Part One is directed by Debbie Mahan, while Part Two is directed by Matthew Faughnan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Perkins, Dennis (November 22, 2015). "Lisa hits the road but The Simpsons plods in place". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Sokol, Tony (November 23, 2015). "The Simpsons: Lisa with an 'S' Review". Den of Geek . Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  3. ↑ Shepherd, Jack (November 25, 2015). "The Simpsons honour Paris attack victims by putting subtle Peace for Paris symbol in 'Lisa with an 'S' episode". The Independent . Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ Cormier, Mitch (November 23, 2015). "Lisa Simpson reads Anne of Green Gables". CBC News . Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  5. ↑ Porter, Rick (November 24, 2015). "Sunday final ratings: AMAs and scripted shows steady, plus final NFL numbers". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
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.