The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson

Last updated

"The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 31
Episode 12
Directed by Matthew Nastuk
Written by J. Stewart Burns
Production codeZABF06
Original air dateFebruary 16, 2020 (2020-02-16)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Hail to the Teeth"		Next →
"Frinkcoin"
The Simpsons season 31
List of episodes

"The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson" is the 12th episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons , and the 674th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on February 16, 2020. The episode was written by J. Stewart Burns and was directed by Matthew Nastuk.

Contents

In this episode, a new school is built where an algorithm designs the education for each child. Zach Woods guest starred as Zane Furlong. Musician John Legend and model Chrissy Teigen appeared as themselves. The episode received mixed reviews.

Plot

In an alpine bar, a German officer demands a young Sea Captain and his wife hand over their half of a treasure map. The couple spits alcohol into a candle and start a fire. Escaping with both halves of the map, the couple heads to Springfield in search of the treasure. Forty years later, the Sea Captain finds it, but Mayor Quimby says it belongs to the town after being alerted by his estranged wife. At a town meeting to spend the money, Marge suggests building a STEM school to teach children success for the future. The residents are skeptical, but with John Legend and Chrissy Teigen's help, they agree to the idea. At the STEM school, run by Zane Furlong, Bart enjoys his video game-infused education, while Lisa is accepted into the gifted class.

Lisa learns the school is run by an algorithm to determine the best education for the kids. At a career day meeting at the school, Homer speaks about his job at safety inspector at the nuclear power plant. However, Furlong disparages this as one of several jobs that will be taken over by automation. At the plant, his fears seem confirmed when an automated soda machine is installed in the break room. Meanwhile, Lisa discovers that the kids outside of her gifted class are being trained to do menial jobs. She attempts to warn the other kids, but Bart convinces them to embrace their education and career prospects.

Homer, seeking to prove humans can mix drinks better than machines, competes with the soda machine until he is exhausted. However, he believes his job will not be taken over by robots for now. Meanwhile, Lisa tries to rewrite the algorithm to give the other kids real STEM education, but Bart stops her. They fight until Furlong stops them and uses the algorithm to determine the jobs of the future. To their horror, the algorithm determines the only job will be elder care. Bart and Lisa warn the kids, and the horrified students negatively rate the algorithm, causing the server to explode and destroy the school. Homer comforts Marge, assuring her she will suggest other schools.

Later, Furlong visits the Simpsons. Bart and Lisa ask him what the jobs of the future will be. He says technology is changing quickly and does not know. In the future, sentient soda machines force residents to work as slave bartenders.

Production

In August 2019, Fox announced that John Legend and Chrissy Teigen would guest star as themselves when Marge recruits them for an education proposal. [1] Zach Woods guest starred as Zane. [2]

Reception

Viewing figures

The episode earned a 0.7 rating and was watched by 1.95 million viewers, which was the most watched show on Fox that night. [3]

Critical response

Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave this episode a B− stated "As ‘The Simpsons’ has aged, it’s occasionally fleshed out some of its supporting characters. Sometimes it’s to (with very mixed success) update a problematic stereotype to something resembling cultural acceptability. Other times, the practice smacks of needing to fill out a season order...Then there are those episodes that seize upon a theretofore one-dimensional joke character’s potential to be a bit more of a human being. (Although, technically, still one-dimensional, being a cartoon and all.) Barney’s entry, the hauntingly self-excoriating ‘Pukahontas,’ in the Springfield Film Festival remains an early, legendary example of a sidekick stepping forward to steal the show". [4]

Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave this episode a 3 of 5 stars. He stated that the episode showed how all noble ideas can be corrupted, and that the best parts of the episode occurred at the beginning. [5]

Related Research Articles

"The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" is the twenty-fifth episode and the season finale of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 18, 1997. Bart gets sent to a military academy as punishment for bad behavior. While visiting the academy, Lisa sees that the school is far more challenging than hers and she decides that she wants to attend as well. It was directed by Mike B. Anderson, written by Richard Appel and featured Willem Dafoe in a guest spot as the school's commandant.

<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.

"Blazed and Confused" is the seventh episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and 559th episode in the series. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Carolyn Omine and William Wright. It originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on November 16, 2014.

"Lisa the Veterinarian" is the fifteenth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 589th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Dan Vebber. It aired in the United States on Fox on March 6, 2016.

"Orange Is the New Yellow" is the twenty-second and final episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 596th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan and written by Eric Horsted. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 22, 2016. The title is a spoof of the book and the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black.

"Pork and Burns" is the eleventh episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 607th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by Rob LaZebnik. It aired in the United States on Fox on January 8, 2017.

"Kamp Krustier" is the fifthteen episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 612th episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on March 5, 2017 and in the United Kingdom on Sky 1 on May 5, 2017. The follow-up to the season 4 episode "Kamp Krusty", the episode was directed by Rob Oliver and features a script by David M. Stern, who had not written for the show in 18 years.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haw-Haw Land</span> 10th episode of the 29th season of The Simpsons

"Haw-Haw Land" is the tenth episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 628th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by Tim Long and Miranda Thompson. It aired in the United States on Fox on January 7, 2018.

"Frink Gets Testy" is the eleventh episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 629th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Chris Clements and written by Dan Vebber. It aired in the United States on Fox on January 14, 2018.

"3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 631st episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by Tom Gammill and Max Pross. It aired in the United States on Fox on March 25, 2018. The title is a reference to the 1973 Swedish television miniseries Scenes from a Marriage.

"King Leer" is the sixteenth episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 634th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Chris Clements and written by Daniel Furlong and Zach Posner. It aired in the United States on Fox on April 15, 2018.

"Throw Grampa From the Dane" is the twentieth and penultimate episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 638th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino and written by Rob LaZebnik. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 13, 2018. The title is a takeoff of the film Throw Momma from the Train.

"Daddicus Finch" is the ninth episode of the thirtieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 648th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on December 2, 2018. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Al Jean.

"Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion" is the twenty-third and final episode of the thirtieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 662nd episode overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan and written by Megan Amram. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 12, 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.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 31 Season of television series

The thirty-first season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons aired on Fox from September 29, 2019 to May 17, 2020. The season was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. This was the first of two new seasons ordered by Fox. Al Jean continues as showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season. Matt Selman also contributed as showrunner for the episodes "Go Big or Go Homer", "Livin La Pura Vida", "Thanksgiving of Horror", "The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson", "Bart the Bad Guy", "Highway to Well" and "The Hateful Eight-Year-Olds".

"Wad Goals" is the thirteenth episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 697th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on February 28, 2021. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino and written by Brian Kelley.

"Bart the Cool Kid" is the fifteenth episode of the thirty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 721st episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on March 20, 2022. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Ryan Koh.

"Poorhouse Rock" is the twenty-second and final episode of the thirty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 728th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 22, 2022. The episode was directed by Jennifer Moeller and written by Tim Long.

References

  1. ↑ Snierson, Dan (August 7, 2019). "The Simpsons adds John Legend and Chrissy Teigen to season 31 guest roster". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  2. ↑ "(SI-3106) "The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson"". The Futon Critic . Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  3. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (February 19, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 2.16.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  4. ↑ Perkins, Dennis (February 17, 2020). "A bewilderingly atonal Simpsons ditches the deep for the STEM". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  5. ↑ Sokol, Tony (February 16, 2020). "The Simpsons Season 31 Episode 12 Review: The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson". Den of Geek . Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
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.