OTH: The Simpsons- "Lisa the Simpson" / "This Little Wiggy"
Talk about being S-M-R-T.
Season 9, Episode 17
Aired March 8, 1998
Directed by Susie Dietter
Written by Ned Goldreyer
Synopsis: Lisa fears that her intellect is slipping away from her. First, she can’t solve a puzzle on the back of her school lunch that Bart and his friends can knock out, then she forgets her locker combination AND that she has a science project due for class. These and some other smaller things add up, so she confides in her mother as she’s cutting Grampa’s hair. Marge thinks Lisa is just having a bad day, but Abe has another theory- the Simpson Gene is coming for her. Apparently he, as well as Homer and Bart, were smarter when they were Lisa’s age, only for their intellect to melt away from their minds. Lisa rejects this, but when she struggles to reclaim her old ways, she starts to accept her fate and tries to interact with Homer and Bart. The three have a good time watching junk TV and eating melted candy bars, but after having a flash, Lisa realizes that this isn’t the life she wants, insults her father and brother, and storms out. Realizing that she only has a finite amount of time to use her mind left, Lisa runs to the museum and to see some live music, connecting to a violinist who plays at an open mic night. She encourages Lisa to go on the news and share one last piece of advice to the town before her brain turns to mush. The family catches her editorial and are confused as to what family curse she’s talking about, before Grampa shows up and reminds them. This gets Homer thinking, and the next day he sets up a Simpson family reunion outside their house, trying to prove that not everyone in the family dumbs down before age 10. Unfortunately, the men he interviews only proves Grampa’s point, and Homer is ready to call the whole thing off after a handful of relatives. However, Marge suggests that he asks some of the women what they do, and we see some smart relatives, all of whom went to college and have made something of themselves. A Dr. Simpson suggests that the Simpson gene defect only affects the Y chromosome, which means that Lisa is likely to remain the brilliant little girl we know and love her as. Bart, however, is screwed.
Also, Jasper decides to freeze himself in one of the Kwik-E-Mart’s freezers so he can see the future. When this captures the attention of the residents of Springfield, Apu decides to cash in and turns the convenience store into a freak show, which earns him a few bucks until Jasper thaws out and returns to civilization. Weird!
We hit one last Oakley and Weinstein leftover this week- why this aired near the end of the season is beyond me- and the duo wanted to end their tenure with a bang. On one hand, they wanted a sweet episode that reminds fans of why they care about The Simpsons more than any other comedy, with its earnest and unpretentious heart, but also why people come back to the show, for how damn funny it is. They succeeded!
Mostly, anyway. The Jasper storyline is a little too weird even for me, and a little of Apu’s voice sure goes a long way. Still, even that has some great jokes throughout, like his discovery of Moon Pies (what a world), and it helps to keep the show’s sillier elements alive during a heavier story.
Lisa tends to be the character you go to when you want a heavy story, and for good reason. Being the (arguably) smartest and most serious Simpson gives her a weight that she’s expected to carry when Homer or Bart often don’t, and her life is an entertaining sort of paradox. On the one hand, she loves her family, but she’s also smart enough to recognize that being a Simpson comes with its share of hurdles and burdens, least of all their supposed lack of class or smarts.
While I could see a story like this come off as condescending (later seasons will have lesser episodes dealing with Lisa’s perception of her family and their intellect), “Lisa the Simpson” focuses primarily on, well, Lisa the Simpson. Despite what her outburst would entail, she loves her father and brother and recognizes that they’re proud with their place in life. That just isn’t what Lisa herself wants, which is fair, many children don’t aspire to follow in their parent’s footsteps.
So yes, while part of me was worried about “Lisa the Simpson”, it turns into a nice episode about a child trying to find her place in her family and the world, and learning that life can be what she makes of it. Because unlike the men in her family, Lisa can do whatever she want.
Besides Oakley and Weinstein, Brad Bird contributes his last bit of animation for the show, while Susie Dietter also leaves her directing duties, aside from a one-off way in the future. She was one of the show’s most reliable directors, and it was always nice to see Dietter’s name featured. She’ll be missed.
Season 9, Episode 18
Aired March 22, 1998
Directed by Neil Affleck
Written by Dan Greaney
Synopsis: When the family goes to the new science center, Marge meets and is smitten with young Ralph Wiggum, and is sad to hear from his dad that he doesn’t have any friends. She invites Ralph to have a playdate with Bart, and while the oldest Simpson child dreads it, he has no choice but to play along. Initially, Bart wants to stay in the house, but Ralph’s popsicle residue leaves his toys sticky, so he agrees to follow Ralph to his house, trying to avoid Nelson, Jimbo and the bullies on the way. At the Wiggum house, Bart asks if Ralph’s dad has left any of his officer trinkets, which are mostly saved inside his closet, although they’re not allowed to go in. Bart talks Ralph into letting them inside anyway, and the two start playing with weapons and police records. Chief Wiggum arrives as they keep playing, but he’s so happy to see Ralph have a real friend that he approves of them going through his things. The Chief leaves his skeleton key to the city on the side of his bed, which gives Bart an idea. He plans a sleepover at the Wiggums that night, and when Ralph’s parents go to bed, they steal the key and go around town, wrecking havoc at a toy store and pigging out at a bakery. The two run into Nelson and the bullies, and in between barbs thrown at the boys, Bart pulls out the skeleton key and suggests one way they can spend the night. The kids arrive at the old, abandoned prison, but Ralph is scared by the prospect. The other kids try to goad Bart into going in without him, but he refuses to leave Ralph behind, causing Nelson to steal the key and play keep away by throwing it through one of the windows. Bart and Ralph sneak in to get the key, and shortly after finding it, they sneak into the leftover electric chair, which they realize the key can turn the system on. Bart plugs it in and tests it on leftover bride and groom figures from a wedding cake they devoured and sees them melt. Ah well, that was fun, back home they go. The next day, as Bart and Ralph play at the Simpson house, they see on TV that the formerly abandoned old prison is being reopened, and to prove its effectiveness, Mayor Quimby will sit on the electric chair and demonstrate what it will be like if it’s activated. Bart remembers that they forgot to shut off the system, and now he’s worried that they’re going to see the Mayor kill himself on live TV. Unfortunately, he has no idea how to save the day after the prison’s phone is blocked off, but Ralph has one, as he sees the smartest girl he knows right outside. Lisa writes a quick note to inform everyone at the prison that the power is on and sets it off to Bart’s rocket, but it reaches the power plant instead. Mr. Burns is miffed to see the prison has had free electricity for thirty years, so he shuts the power off just before Quimby burns to a crisp. The episode ends with the Simpson family cheering Ralph for saving the day. Even Lisa, who is initially unhappy to see Ralph get her credit, joins along when Bart reminds her that he’ll never have an opportunity like this again.
Ableism is a subject that I take seriously, but recognize that it’s tricky to articulate or succeed. While I want characters with disabilities to be well-represented, sometimes it’s hard to write for a certain disability without making them seem offensive, primarily when we start talking about learning disabilities.
Does this mean that we can’t laugh at dimwitted characters, like Homer? I have an answer to this question that I trot out when it arrives- Patrick Star just received his own show. We’re not ready for this conversation yet.
Still, I think a character like Ralph, who is designated to struggle in society, can be a little different than a Homer, who is by all right of lower intellect, but is fully capable of functioning on his own. Sure, he needs Marge’s help with many things, like raising his kids, but with the two of them I see a partnership where the two active participants rely on themselves for separate necessities.
Ralph, meanwhile, is being drafted for “special” schools. I hate that word, yet I like Ralph as a character, and frankly, who doesn’t? He gets some of the best lines on the show, and the character remains likable throughout, having a can-do attitude that’s endearing without being as tiring as, say, SpongeBob’s (hot take, I know). Ralph seems pretty happy in his world, pretending to be the family dog and contributing however he can at school. There is little cynicism with the character, which I find refreshing.
Even Bart starts to feel that way as the episode goes along, which I like how gradual this change is. It makes sense why Bart would want to play around with Ralph at first, considering his father’s job and his connections, but even beyond that, his sweetness and naivety endears himself to Bart when he becomes tired of trying to gain credit from Nelson and the bullies. The show often flip-flops on how Bart feels about these characters and vice versa, but it seldom has him pull a 180 mid-episode like he does here.
But this works to show what kind of person Bart is. He’s a troublemaker, but he’s not as bad of an apple as Nelson or Jimbo. He has a loving, supportive family (even if Homer tests his patience) and some kind of moral code, usually stopping himself from crossing a line. Said code isn’t perfect, but hey, Bart’s ten. And while he may not initially find himself having much in common with a kid like Ralph, Marge was right to give them a chance first.
Ralph Wiggum’s stature will only grow as the years go on, to the point that he may be the most popular child character who isn’t a part of the family (take THAT, Milhouse!). His lines only get more ridiculous and Nancy Cartwright never stops being game to play him, but I do think that from here on, the character will lose a little bit of the nuance that made him stand out back in “I Love Lisa”. I can’t see the Ralph of today, or even in 1998, give such a memorable performance as Abraham Lincoln. But I can see him fill his nose with pennies, so that counts, right?
Ah well, even if the character does dumb down to an absurd degree, he remains likable and even useful in “This Little Wiggy”, so let’s allow him his moment here.
Homer’s Bar Tab:
“This Little Wiggy” has a chalkboard gag- “I was told not to do this.” Fair enough!
Couch Gag Wars: The family grows out from a vine and appear as different vegetables vs. El Barto spraying graffiti by the couch. The former is cute, but I like the change of pace with the latter.
This is mentioned in the commentary, but the show is still stuck in the past at this point, using projectors instead of VHS. Nowadays, they’ll pull out DVDs or streaming to watch a movie, but not in the 90’s!
Speaking of which, both episodes this week feature Phil Hartman as Troy McClure, and it’s making me sad that we’re nearing the end of his introductory videos.
“It says show me your tie. It’s cute, let’s go.”
What use is the world’s fattest race horse?
Damn, what does Lisa have against war widows getting discounted bus fares?
The scene where Marge tries to convince Bart to accept his playdate with Ralph is a favorite, understated moment for the character. It shows how much of her child Bart is with how well she tricks him into saying yes, while also reminding us of what Lisa takes from her mom when she considers the A-students the cool kids.
The best Ralph line ever is possibly “he told me to burn things.”
Homer’s been in jail six times, but Marge only twice. I know that we’ve seen at least one time for each of them.
Is this episode the first time that Nelson’s dedication to huckleberries is mentioned?
Next Week: Homer joins the navy and gets audited. What an exciting week! And yes, these are separate episodes.