She of Little Faith

Last updated

"She of Little Faith"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 13
Episode 6
Directed by Steven Dean Moore
Written by Bill Freiberger
Production codeDABF02
Original air dateDecember 16, 2001 (2001-12-16)
Guest appearance
Richard Gere as himself
Episode features
Couch gag The couch is a slot machine that shows Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa in the windows. Maggie, however, is replaced by lucky number “7” as a jackpot siren wails and a pile of gold coins spill out.
Commentary Al Jean
Matt Selman
John Frink
Tom Gammill
Max Pross
Bill Freiberger
Pamela Hayden
Steven Dean Moore
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Blunder Years"		Next →
"Brawl in the Family"
The Simpsons season 13
List of episodes

"She of Little Faith" is the sixth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on December 16, 2001. In the episode, Bart Simpson and his father Homer accidentally launch a model rocket into the Springfield church, causing the church council to accept funding plans from Mr. Burns for reparation. Discontent with how commercialized the rebuilt church has become, Lisa abandons Christianity and seeks out to follow a new religion, deciding on Buddhism.

Contents

The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Bill Freiberger, whom executive producer and show runner Al Jean had met while working on the television series Teen Angel . The plot idea for the episode was pitched by Jean, who wanted to expand on Lisa's personality, even though some of the Simpsons writers were concerned over the episode's originality. Lisa has remained a Buddhist since this episode. The episode features actor Richard Gere, who agreed to star as long as Buddhism was portrayed accurately, and as long as Lisa would say "Free Tibet".

The episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) in 2002, which it ultimately lost to the Futurama episode, "Roswell That Ends Well".

Following the thirteenth season's release on DVD and Blu-ray, the episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.

Plot

While watching a 1950s science fiction movie, Bart and Lisa see a commercial for a model rocket kit and Bart orders it by using Homer's credit card number. Homer helps Bart and Milhouse build it, but it blows up before launching. Jealous that Ned Flanders built a superior rocket, Homer enlists the help of his former nerdy college roommates, Gary, Doug, and Benjamin, to build a rocket piloted by the hamster Nibbles. The rocket lifts off successfully, but it develops complications and Nibbles bails out. Homer attempts to shoot down the rocket with a 12 gauge shotgun, but the rocket crashes into the church. The church council meets up to decide how to come up with money to fund the repairs to the church. With no other aid available, they accept help from Mr. Burns and Lindsay Naegle, who wish to run the church as a business. The two rebuild the church as a commercial monstrosity, complete with advertising signs, a currency exchanger, a Lard Lad statue, a photo booth for the churchgoers to put their faces in a cut-out of Jesus from The Last Supper, and a Jumbotron known as "Godcam". Lisa is appalled at this and after Lovejoy welcomes The Noid to hold a sermon "on the sanctity of deliciousness," she abandons the church, feeling her religion has lost its soul. [1]

That night, Lisa prays to God and assures him she has not turned her back on Him, but plans to seek a new path to "Him" (or "Her", she says). While on a walk around town, passing many sacrilegious signs, she finds Springfield's Buddhist temple. Inside she sees Lenny and Carl meditating, and Hollywood actor Richard Gere teaches the core concepts of Buddhism to her. An intrigued Lisa takes a pamphlet on Buddhism and studies it at home. It convinces her of the virtues of the faith, and Lisa announces out her window she has become, and forever will be, a Buddhist. Lisa plants her own bodhi tree in the back yard and begins to meditate, but Marge grows increasingly worried about Lisa's soul and tries to convince her to come back to Christianity.

At the church council meeting, Reverend Lovejoy tells Marge to use Christmas to bribe her back. Homer places a tasteless animatronic angel on top of Lisa's bodhi tree, and Marge bakes cookies, decorates the home, and has Ralph and Milhouse dress as a pony in wrapping paper to tempt her, but Lisa runs from the home when she realizes what is happening. At the Buddhist temple, she tells Gere her family tried to trick her, but Gere informs her that while Buddhism is about one finding inner peace, it is also about respecting the diversity of other religions based on love and compassion. Thus, Lisa is free to celebrate any holiday with her family, including Christmas. Lisa goes back home, falling asleep beside the Christmas tree and tells everyone that she will be celebrating Christmas with them and continue paying lip service to Christianity while practicing Buddhism for the rest of her life. As Marge takes her to the kitchen to get some cookies for her, Lisa asks about her pony, and Marge tries unsuccessfully to change the subject as Lisa calls out for her gift.

Production and themes

Al Jean (pictured) met the episode's writer, Bill Freiberger while they worked together on the television series Teen Angel. Al Jean by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg
Al Jean (pictured) met the episode's writer, Bill Freiberger while they worked together on the television series Teen Angel .

"She of Little Faith" was directed by Steven Dean Moore and was the only episode Bill Freiberger wrote for The Simpsons. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on December 16, 2001. [2]

Before returning to work full-time on The Simpsons, Jean had worked on a television series called Teen Angel together with Mike Reiss and Freiberger. While working on Teen Angel, Freiberger suggested that, if Jean was ever to run The Simpsons, he should hire Freiberger as a writer on the series. For the thirteenth season, Jean became show runner and assigned Freiberger to write the episode. [2] Freiberger wrote the first draft as a freelance script at his parents' barn in Pennsylvania, and when he returned to the writing staff to rewrite the story, Freiberger took so many notes that the script became 106 pages long. As a result, Freiberger spent more time editing down the script rather than writing it. [3] The episode's main plot, in which Lisa becomes a Buddhist, was pitched by Jean, who wanted to expand Lisa's personality. When he pitched the plot idea to the Simpsons writing staff, they became concerned about the episode's originality. They argued that the series had already explored religious themes in earlier episodes, but Jean assured them that the episode would be about Lisa first-and-foremost, rather than Buddhism. Unlike several other episodes in the series in which a character undergoes a change in their personality, Lisa has remained a Buddhist since this episode, much like her conversion to vegetarianism in "Lisa the Vegetarian". [2]

Freiberger pitched the subplot involving the model rockets in the beginning of the episode. He based it on a real-life experience, in which he, as a child, accidentally launched a model rocket into a window in his house. [3] A scene from this subplot was removed from the episode following the September 11 attacks. The scene would show a man named Hassan Jay Salam being arrested by policemen (who tells them to call his cousin Casey Kasem), who think the rocket Bart and Homer launched was launched by him (The rocket bears the abbreviation HJS, which stands for Homer J Simpson). After the attacks, the scene was considered too offensive by the Fox censors, so the scene was removed. [2] Originally, the subplot would involve Marge trying to get Homer to build model rockets with Bart. Homer would not want to at first, but after Marge convinces him, he would soon get more into it than Bart. The plot idea was encouraged by some of the writers who thought that Marge had "gotten short shrift," and, according to Freiberger, Marge would have had a "really big part motivating the story" had the subplot remained intact. [3]

Richard Gere agreed to appear as long as Lisa said "Free Tibet" in the episode. Richardgere.jpg
Richard Gere agreed to appear as long as Lisa said "Free Tibet" in the episode.

The renovated church in the episode is built like a mall; several stores and merchandising is located inside, and Reverend Lovejoy plugs products and television programs during his sermons. The scene is used to satirize the so-called "megachurches" and the commercialization sometimes associated with these institutions. [2] The episode also argues that, even if Christmas has lost most of its meaning, it is more important to "keep these thoughts to oneself in order to make the family happy." [4] It also comments on what the writers believe to be the "all or nothing, we're right, you're all going to hell mentality" of some Christian movements. [5] Even though "She of Little Faith" is a Christmas episode, the holiday is not mentioned until the episode's third act. Jean stated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode that the writers did not want to make a conventional Christmas episode, and instead wanted to "slide into" the subject. [2]

The episode features actor Richard Gere as himself. Gere agreed to guest star under three conditions, the first being that Buddhism should be portrayed accurately, the second, that Lisa remain a Buddhist for the rest of the series, and his third and strongest request being that Lisa should say "Free Tibet" in the episode. Jean agreed, but Gere ended up with the line. However, Lisa did yell out "Free Tibet" in an episode in the following season. Gere's lines were recorded in New York City by Jean who, in the DVD audio commentary for the episode, stated that Gere was "great" and that he "didn't mind being made fun of" in the episode. He also mentioned that Gere was one of the only guest-stars they had that "looked handsome simpsonized." [2]

Release

In 2002, "She of Little Faith" was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour), but it ultimately lost to the Futurama episode "Roswell That Ends Well". [6] Matt Groening, creator of both series, joked that the award "gave [him] a chance to be bitter either way". [2] On August 24, 2010, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season DVD and Blu-ray set. [7]

Following its home video release, "She of Little Faith" received mostly positive reviews from critics.

Dominic von Reidermann of Suite101.com considered the episode to be a "comedy gem" and Casey Burchby of DVD Talk wrote that it "offers its fair share of laughs". [8] [9]

Stuart O' Conner of Screen Jabber was also favorable, calling it a "first-rate" episode. [10]

Writing for Obsessed With Film, Adam Rayner derided Gere's performance as being "bland and dreary", however he went on to write that it couldn't ruin the episode, which he described as "great". He especially liked Flanders' line "My Satan sense is tingling." [11]

Jennifer Malkowski, who gave the episode a B−, wrote that the episode's "highlight" was a scene in which "Milhouse mourns his 'beautiful eyebrows'" that were burned off by Bart and Homer's model rocket. [12]

In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times listed Gere's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show. [13]

Ron Martin of 411Mania, who consider episodes about Lisa to be "traditional channel changers", wrote that it "offers one of the worst ‘Lisa episodes’" of the series. [14]

Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide criticized the episode for being "little more than a retread" of earlier episodes of the series. He argued that the episode borrows plot elements from both "Lisa the Vegetarian", "Lisa's Pony" and "Grift of the Magi", and went on to write that the episode is "a pretty unoriginal piece of work". He concluded his review by writing that the episode "fails to deliver more than a chuckle or two". [7]

Cultural references

The episode title is a reference to the common phrase "O ye of little faith".

Related Research Articles

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

Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television sitcom series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed her while waiting to meet James L. Brooks. Groening had been invited to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic Life in Hell, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the older Simpson daughter after his younger sister Lisa Groening Bartlett. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family were moved to their own series on Fox, which debuted on December 17, 1989.

"Moaning Lisa" is the sixth episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 11, 1990. The episode was written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, and was directed by Wes Archer. Ron Taylor guest stars in the episode as "Bleeding Gums" Murphy. The episode deals with Lisa's depression and her attempts to sublimate it by playing her saxophone.

"Sleeping with the Enemy" is the third episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 21, 2004. To date, this is Jon Vitti's last episode as writer and Lauren MacMullan's last episode as director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XII</span> 1st episode of the 13th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XII" is the first episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. Because of Fox's contract with Major League Baseball's World Series, the episode first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 6, 2001, nearly one week after Halloween. It is the twelfth annual Treehouse of Horror episode, consisting of three self-contained segments. In the first segment, a gypsy puts a curse on Homer, which puts everybody he cares about in danger. In the second segment, which is a parody on both 2001: A Space Odyssey and Demon Seed, the Simpson family buys a new house, who falls in love with Marge and attempts to kill Homer. In the third and final segment, which lampoons the Harry Potter franchise, Lord Montymort attempts to capture Lisa, a skilled magician, in order to drain her magic powers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer Defined</span> 5th episode of the 3rd season of The Simpsons

"Homer Defined" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 17, 1991. In the episode, Homer accidentally saves the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant from meltdown by arbitrarily choosing the emergency override button using a counting rhyme. Homer is honored as a hero and idolized by his daughter Lisa, but feels unworthy of the praise, knowing his apparent heroism was blind luck. Meanwhile, Bart is downhearted after learning that Milhouse's mother forbids the boys to play together anymore because she thinks he is a bad influence on her son.

"Future-Drama" is the fifteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The 350th episode overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 17, 2005. In the episode, Bart and Lisa stumble into Professor Frink's basement, and he gives them a look into their future as teenagers getting ready for their high school graduation.

"The Bart Wants What It Wants" is the eleventh episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 2002. In the episode, Bart befriends Rainier Wolfcastle's daughter, Greta. While Greta falls in love with him, Bart only accompanies her because she owns a lot of entertaining things.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tales from the Public Domain</span> 14th episode of the 13th season of The Simpsons

"Tales from the Public Domain" is the fourteenth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 17, 2002. It is the third trilogy episode of the series, which had become annual since the twelfth season's "Simpsons Tall Tales", consisting of three self-contained segments that are based on historical stories. The first segment puts Homer Simpson in the role of Odysseus in the ancient Greek epic poem the Odyssey. The second segment tells the story of Joan of Arc, and the third and final segment lampoons William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.

"Make Room for Lisa" is the sixteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on February 28, 1999. The main plot has Homer and Lisa embark on a spiritual journey via a sensory deprivation tank.

"Last Tap Dance in Springfield" is the twentieth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 7, 2000. In the episode, Lisa decides to sign up for tap dancing lessons after being inspired by a film about a girl who enters a tango contest and wins. Meanwhile, Bart and Milhouse hide out at the mall to escape going to summer camp. "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" was written by Julie Thacker, who based it on her own experiences with dance classes.

"Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is the twelfth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 15, 2004. The episode was written by David and Julie Chambers and was directed by Matthew Nastuk.

"The Parent Rap" is the second episode and official premiere of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 11, 2001. In the episode, Bart and his father, Homer, are sentenced by the cruel judge Constance Harm to be tethered to each other as a result of Bart stealing Police Chief Wiggum's car thanks to Homer's negligence. Eventually, Homer's wife, Marge, is fed up with the punishment and cuts the rope, which instead leads to Judge Harm sentencing them to have their heads and hands locked up in wooden stocks.

"Large Marge" is the fourth 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 November 24, 2002. In the episode, Marge decides to get liposuction, thinking that Homer does not find her attractive anymore. However, she accidentally receives breast implants, so she becomes adored by many men in Springfield and becomes a model. Meanwhile, Bart and Milhouse try to imitate a stunt they saw on an episode of Batman that guest starred Krusty the Clown. When the stunt ends badly, media watchdog groups blame Krusty, forcing the clown to make his show more safety-conscious and less fun.

"Jaws Wired Shut" is the ninth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 27, 2002. In the episode, Homer's jaw is broken when he collides with a statue of Drederick Tatum. Homer's jaw is wired shut, leaving him unable to speak. At first Marge enjoys Homer's inability to talk, since it makes him a better listener and a more compassionate person. Eventually Marge misses Homer's wild antics. Craving excitement, she enters a demolition derby.

"Brawl in the Family" is the seventh episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 6, 2002. In the episode, the Simpsons get arrested for domestic violence, prompting social worker Gabriel to move in and make the family functional. After the family is declared acceptable, Amber and Ginger, the cocktail waitresses Homer and his neighbor Ned Flanders married in Las Vegas, show up at their doorsteps. This episode is the first episode of Season 13's DABF production line.

"Little Girl in the Big Ten" is the twentieth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 12, 2002. In the episode, Lisa befriends two college students at a gym and attends college with them. Meanwhile, after being bitten by a mosquito from a Chinese-made toy, Bart is infected with the "panda virus" and is placed in a plastic bubble to prevent others from infection.

"We're on the Road to D'ohwhere" is the eleventh episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 29, 2006. The episode was written by Kevin Curran and directed by Nancy Kruse.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 13 Season of television series

The thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001, and May 22, 2002, and consists of 22 episodes. The showrunner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean, who executive-produced 17 episodes. Mike Scully executive-produced the remaining five, which were all hold-overs that were produced for the previous season. The Simpsons is an animated series about an American 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.

"The Daughter Also Rises" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The episode was directed by Chuck Sheetz and written by Rob LaZebnik. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 12, 2012.

References

  1. ↑ Moleman, Hans. "The Simpsons - Mr Burns takes over the Springfield Church [Funny Simpsons Clips]". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jean, Al. (2010). Commentary for "She of Little Faith", in The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  3. 1 2 3 Freiberger, Bill. (2010). Commentary for "She of Little Faith", in The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  4. ↑ Chocano, Carina (December 20, 2001). "What I learned about Christmas". Salon. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ Boss, Nate (September 8, 2010). "The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season". Project-Blu. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search". Emmys.org. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Jacobson, Colin (September 2, 2010). "The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [Blu-Ray] (2001)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  8. ↑ von Riedemann, Dominic (September 8, 2010), The Simpsons The Thirteenth Season DVD Review, Suite101.com
  9. ↑ Burchby, Casey (August 24, 2010). "The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  10. ↑ O' Connor, Stuart (August 24, 2010). "The Simpsons: Season 13 review (DVD)". Screen Jabber. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ↑ Rayner, Adam (September 20, 2010). "DVD Review: THE SIMPSONS SEASON 13". Obsessed With Film. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  12. ↑ Malkowski, Jennifer (September 6, 2010). "The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season (Blu-Ray)". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on December 9, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  13. ↑ Crerar, Simon (July 5, 2007). "The 33 funniest Simpsons cameos ever". The Times . Archived from the original on May 17, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ Martin, Ron (September 15, 2010). "The Simpsons Season 13 DVD Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
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.