OTH: The Simpsons- "Make Room for Lisa" / "Maximum Homerdrive"
When's the last time someone told Homer to shut up? Not recently enough, I wager.
Season 10, Episode 16
Aired February 28, 1999
Directed by Matthew Nasuk
Written by Brian Scully
Synopsis: It’s Homer’s monthly adventure with the kids, where on the first Saturday of each month, he takes them out to do something invigorating. This month is Lisa’s turn (it should’ve been Bart, but he traded his turn for her dessert), and she picks a rotating Smithsonian exhibit, which stops into Springfield for some reason. Of course, Homer makes a scene by picking up, reading, and desecrating the Bill of Rights while sitting on Archie Bunker’s chair, which is going to cost a hefty fee for him to make it up. However, OmniTouch, the cellphone company who owns the Smithsonian in this show’s reality, offers to allow Homer to pay off his debt by having him volunteer the house for their services, which includes converting the equipment meant to keep the phones active in Lisa’s room. You know, without asking her. Now Lisa has to stay in Bart’s room for the time being, which doesn’t go over well for her study time, and Homer’s attempts to “make things better” only makes them worse. Lisa starts feeling bad to the point that she’s having a serious tummy ache, which Dr. Hibbert deduces is being caused by stress. He suggests that Lisa tries some new age medicine like herbal teas to recover, a move that Homer rebuffs despite Lisa’s protests. When he continues to bemoan the concept of new age medicine, Lisa finally admits that not only does she like the concept, but she fears that she and Homer are drifting apart due to how different their personalities are. Fearful of losing his daughter, Homer decides to take her to a new age store, where the shopkeeper suggests that they try a sensory deprivation tank to ease them of their worries. It doesn’t quite work for Homer, especially as the store is going out of business and his tank is reposed, which takes him on a wild ride around town before returning back to the shop somehow. It works better for Lisa, though, who imagines herself in Homer’s shoes, recalling their time at the ballet, this time with Lisa in her father’s body and realizing how much he hates the things that excite Lisa, but continues to go anyway. She has an epiphany and tells her dad how much she appreciates him, even agreeing to go see a monster truck show with him at the end.
Also, Marge learns that thanks to the cellphone tower in Lisa’s room, her baby monitor can pick up most people in Springfield’s services, so she keeps on eavesdropping on various phone calls. Bart and Milhouse notice this and decide to have some fun by pretending to be escaped convicts who stop and attempt to hold the house hostage. Marge ends up whacking Milhouse with her monitor, and then both Bart and Marge decide to stop eavesdropping.
I only have sisters (or a sister I guess, since my half-sister has barely been in my life), so I’ve never had to share a room before. However, that’s also true for Bart, and here he’s sharing his space with Lisa, although in this case, he’s not the one suffering.
The sibling rivalry aspect is what drove the idea behind “Make Room for Lisa”, but it only takes a small part of the episode in total, which instead becomes another story about Homer and Lisa’s opposing personalities. And while I like seeing the two together, we’ve definitely seen this story before. It’s even been done by the same writer, as Brian Scully delivered the previous season’s solid if unremarkable “Lost Our Lisa”.
And that’s the thing, Lisa and Homer can make for worthwhile stories as they attempt to mend their fractured, but not hopeless relationship. I do love the two together, but we’ve seen them at this before, while it’s been a bit longer since we’ve had a Lisa and Bart story. Allowing their frustration at sharing a room to fold into something bigger, where maybe Bart is the one who goes into the sensory deprivation tank would make for a less tired story.
That said, I understand why it has to be Homer, as the episode needs Lisa to realize how much he puts up with for her, even though the audience will continue to think it’s the other way around. And who can blame us? Even though Lisa has proven that she’s not exactly an angel herself, Homer’s faults will always be the more prevalent, and even from the beginning, it’s his unwillingness to do “Lisa’s thing” that drives the episode. I don’t think you can frame Lisa to be in the wrong when she doesn’t put up as much of a fight as Homer does to not go to the Smithsonian exhibit.
But hey, no matter how much I may complain about “Make Room for Lisa”, or really any Simpsons episode, it’s still funny! I try to not fill my reviews or observations tags with quotes from any given episode, even though I clearly can. Brian Scully may not be one of the show’s best writers (his brother is currently proving to be a better player when he had less power), but he still can land some good bits, and has one of the best crews out there helping him out.
The b-plot also contains some memorable moments, as it allows for a less-common Marge and Bart pairing, even if it’s just as the end. Still, as Homer and Lisa’s story largely contains them and one-offs, Marge’s spying is what gives us material from the supporting cast that we love. And it has Marge knock Milhouse out, which is always a good time.
This is Matthew Nastuk’s first full directorial episode, after contributing a scene to “D’oh-in’ in the Wind”, his first full episode in a long tenure that continues to this day. Nastuk proves to have followed the right people around, as this is a handsome, well-paced episode. Not the most memorable or notable, but good enough to stick around for another week, which is more than enough at this point in the show’s run.
Season 10, Episode 17
Aired March 28, 1999
Directed by Swinton O. Scott III
Written by John Swartzwelder
Synopsis: The family (sans Lisa, who’s protesting) goes to a new meat shack, where Homer discovers their 16-pound steak challenge. When Red Barclay, one of the only two people who has finished the steak, advises Homer not to go through with it, our resident lardass challenges this new lardass to a duel. Homer loses handedly to Red, who finishes his steak in record time… only to be pronounced dead immediately after finishing, due to beef poisoning. Unfortunately, Red is a truck driver who had a big shipment to Atlanta planned, but rather than letting his last mission go to waste, Homer volunteers to take it on, himself, with Bart as his passenger. The two enjoy their trip on the open road, but they end up taking too much free time off, and now they have 10 hours to drive more than 2,000 hours. Homer ends up asleep on the wheel, but not only does the car keep running, but it never crashes. When he stops to get gas, he runs into a couple of other teamsters and talks about what happens, when they reveal that their trucks have newly-made equipment which allows them to drive for you, which makes their jobs easier than ever. It’s very hush-hush, though, so of course Homer blabs about it and shows off to non-teamsters, which causes a sensation to the union. Soon, a convoy comes by to stop Homer, but he’s able to steer off the first run. A second, bigger load of trucks comes from the other side, however, and his machine ejects as Homer races the convoy head-on. Since he has no help, Homer puts the breaks and ends up having the truck roll pass the convoy as he continues his drive to Atlanta. After delivering their goods, Homer and Bart are looking for a way to get back home, and wouldn’t you know it, a train conductor quits his post when he’s forced to deliver napalm to Springfield.
Back home, Marge and Lisa decide to shake things up by getting a new doorbell, which rings to the tune of “(They Long To Be) Next to You” by The Carpenters (Homer and Marge’s song). When the door finally rings, it won’t stop, and keeps going all night, until Marge tries to cut the wire keeping the bell ringing off. That only makes it ring faster, causing a panic in town, until Señor Ding Dong comes and finds a way to turn the doorbell off.
Usually, a Swartzwelder script is strong enough that it stands on its own, but reportedly, his first draft for “Maximum Homerdrive” needed some tinkering from the rest of the crew, and it kind of tells. The bones of mighty funny material are still here, but it’s not the best-built script otherwise.
This is one that I struggle to write about, because there isn’t a lot to the episode that we haven’t already seen. Homer tries another job with no regard to his duties at the power plant, he screws himself over in an easily avoidable and uniquely obnoxious fashion, he escapes certain doom through either sheer luck or pure pathetic behavior. Not that this can’t be funny, and there is indeed good stuff here (a favorite bit has Homer down a bottle of dangerous caffeine pills and mixes that with a bottle of sleeping pills, a scene that the censors were reportedly unhappy with), but maybe, just maybe, ten years in, and the shtick is starting to wear thin. Not that Homer can’t find other ways to make us laugh at his being an ass, but there has to be other ways to show his rear.
I almost appreciated Marge and Lisa’s subplot about the doorbell more, but even then, I’m noticing a pattern. Lately, there hasn’t been much use for Marge, and the show tries to find something for her to do, ideally with another family member who’s also short-shafted this week. On paper, I like seeing more of Marge and/or Lisa at any time, but even here, her material is starting to wear thin. She deserves something more substantive than some dumb bit about doorbells. Or road rage. Or another strife between her and Homer. Marge really is a lovely character, but she doesn’t always get the best stories to work with. Maybe something that stretches into her weirdness, which I love and think is a big reason why she and Homer work so well together.
If anything, I’m surprised that Red Barclay wasn’t played by a noteworthy guest star (you’d think that Willie Nelson or George Strait or someone in that vein would be game), but at least Hank Azaria has fun with the character. I also like the other teamsters, even if I don’t think all of the jokes about their laziness are totally fair. They’re about 65% fair.
“Maximum Homerdrive” aired right before the first episode of Futurama, Matt Groening’s next series, which he co-created with David X. Cohen. I’ll talk a little about Futurama during my season wrap-up, but rest assured, it’s a good one. And I can’t help but feel that even though Simpsons fans would have been pleased with tonight’s episode, the new show would have impressed even more with its stellar pilot.
Homer’s Bar Tab:
Chalkboard Gag Wars- “I do not have diplomatic immunity” vs. “It does not suck to be you.” The former is a repeat, so it loses by default.
Couch Gag Wars- Firefighters pick up the couch vs. the family either age up or down. I feel like I’ve seen both before.
This bit has always stuck out to me- “Lisa, what’s your favorite movie?” “Until you taped over it, The Little Merma-” “That’s right, The Odd Couple!”
ngl, now I want some Mexican bacon.
Homer has it right, putting the pizza place on speed dial under “fire”.
The Gassy Knoll is a great name for a gas station.
Next Week: We get to hear some stories from the bible, followed by Homer becoming an artist. Why not, he’s tried everything else.
