Make Room for Lisa Written by Brian Scully Directed by Matthew Nastik ============================================================================== Production code: AABF12 Original Airdate on FOX: 28-Feb-1999 Capsule revision A (14-Feb-2000) ============================================================================== > "TV Guide" Synopsis ============================================================================== (Canadian) Neat-freak Lisa is traumatized at the prospect of having to share a room with messy Bart, so Homer takes her to a New Age store to cheer her up; Marge becomes addicted to the phone after her lines are crossed and she can eavesdrop on strangers' gossip. {hl} ============================================================================== > Title sequence ============================================================================== Blackboard: I DO NOT HAVE / DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY [{ddg} notes it's a repeat of "Marge in Chains (9F20)"] Couch: Two firemen hold the couch on either end, like a safety net. The family members fall from above, to land safely on the couch; first Marge, then Bart, then Lisa, and finally Maggie, who lands on Marge's lap. Homer also falls, but misses the couch, and crashes through the floor. Oh, well, four out of five ain't bad. [Recycled from 5F22.] ============================================================================== > Did You Notice... ============================================================================== ... Homer blocks an ambulance when he passes out in the road? ... Howdy Doody is part of the travelling exhibit? ... the phrase "cruel and unusual" has been transferred to Homer's tongue? ... Fonzie's jacket is better-protected than the Bill of Rights [and Archie Bunker's chair, says {ddg}]? ... Maggie plays with a Bongo doll? Ellen Amy Cohen: ... how that Omni Touch lady never really entered a room, she just emerged from behind objects? ... Lisa does trigonometry homework? ... that Lisa's imitation of the Hibbert laugh is much better than Nelson's? Don Del Grande: ... the blackboard opening is a repeat [of "Marge in Chains (9F20)"] -- for the first time in four years? ... in the exhibit, Fonzie's jacket had a light beam alarm while the Bill of Rights (and Archie Bunker's chair) did not? ... Bart has a Space Mutants doll in his room? ... Lisa's hair was blunt almost throughout the episode? ... either they got Maggie's "cow cup" out of the melted Christmas mass, or they got her a replacement? Yuri Dieujuste: ... tractor trailers use Evergreen Terrace a thorough fare? ... Springfield has poor cellular phone service(before the OFF's antenna)? ... Bart actually tough his mother a lesson? Jordan Eisenberg: ... the many television monitors circling the ceiling of Homer's workstation? ... P.J.O.H.'s is sponsored by Duff beer? ... as Marge walks Homer off the street, we see a person's face reflected in their side-view mirror, and the person looks like Fry, from "Futurama?" ... two separate references to comic strip characters? ... she uses the words "communication" and "unity" to form "community?" ... Principal Skinner regularly commutes to a place at least 90 minutes away? ... Homer carelessly throws his jar of mayo onto Bart's bed? ... a lot of people in Springfield own cell phones? ... the crystal the Repo man plays with was hung around the "hippie lady's" neck earlier on? ... Maude has a bible with her, maybe for emergency religious ceremonies such as Homer's burial? ... Homer (in Lisa's dream) seems to be taking his anger out on his playbill? ... nobody seems to care when a man gets hit with an airborne fender? Darrel Jones: ... this is the first episode since [AABF04] not to have any guest stars? Joe Klemm: ... Homer has already desecrated a U.S. article before the Bill of Rights? ... the guy sitting behind Lisa at the demolition derby gets hit by a fender? Haynes Lee: ... P.J. O'Harrigan's is all green? Must have been meant to be shown closer to St. Patrick's Day. ... Lisa has a pie and bar chart in her school notes? ... Lisa's stomach gurgled like Homer's in Homerpalooza? ... Homer says "kick ass" like Eric Cartman of "South Park?" Tom Rinschler: ... Lisa doesn't refer to Snowball II by name? Benjamin Robinson: ... one of P. J. O'Harrigan's patrons chases a woman? ... OmniTouch executives have nothing better to do with their time than to hang out at cell phone towers? (This is funnier when you've been in the corporate world for awhile. I mean, if you see an executive voluntarily stay around anywhere near where actual work is being done, alert the press.) ... Lisa's homework involves drawing pie and bar charts, which are a little advanced for second-graders? ... the magician, when attacked, yells, "pick another card"? ... Milhouse's hand twitches after Marge knocks him out? (Look closely -- it happens when she tells Bart he played a "horrible trick.") ... for all his faults, Wiggum has a decent work ethic in this episode? Mike Smith: ... Homer is taping over "The Little Mermaid" (at least half of it), when, in fact, ABC is airing the Disney animated feature at that moment? ... Lisa didn't know about the marks on Homer's body (or the wild ride he took), as soon as Lisa is out from the tub? Gary Wilson: ... Brian Scully seems to have a thing for Lisa episodes with a wacky Homer subplot? (Lost our Lisa) ... The Fonz's jacket is in a case, while Lincoln's hat is merely out in the open? ... La-Z-Mom baby monitor? ============================================================================== > Voice Credits ============================================================================== - Starring - Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Bill, Krusty) - Julie Kavner (Marge) - Nancy Cartwright (Bart, Todd, Ralph) - Yeardley Smith (Lisa) - Hank Azaria (Carl, Guard, Magician, Moe, Ned, Wiggum) - Harry Shearer (Announcer, Lenny, Marty, Guard 1, Skinner, Hibbert, Repo Man, Louie) - Also Starring - Pamela Hayden (Milhouse, Rod) - Tress MacNeille (Omni Lady, Agnes Skinner, Owner) - Maggie Roswell (Maude Flanders) - Karl Wiedergott (Repo Man 1) ============================================================================== > Movie (and other) references ============================================================================== + "Make Room for Daddy" (TV series) - title a take of this Fifties sitcom - "Dateline NBC" (TV series) {ag} - the radio timeline is very similar to the Dateline Timeline + Men Without Hats (musical group) {jg2} - Bill and Marty poke fun at this group, calling them "Men Without Jobs" - [{jk} identifies the song as, "The Safety Dance"] + Bennigan's (restaurant chain) {bjr} - P. J. O'Harrigan's sounds similar - [{ag} reports, "At the local Ramada Inn, we have a P.J. Harrigan's: "] + "Animal House" (movie) {hl} + "Terms Of Endearment" (movie) {hl} - titles mentioned + Sammy Davis Jr. (singer) {hl} - he had a glass eye + Marmaduke (newspaper cartoon) {gw} - Homer initially thinks this is what Lisa wants to go see - "Airtouch" (telecommunication company) {ah} - "Omnipoint" (telecommunication company) {tmh} - "OmniTel" (telecommunication company -- this time in Italy) {gw} - "OmniNet" (tele, ah you get the idea) {hl} - companies whose names inspired "OmniTouch" - OmniTel had a strikingly similar logo and manufactured strikingly similar products {gw} - also, sponsoring a museum is just the kind of thing this company would do {gw} + "Andy Capp" (comic strip) - Homer imitates Capp's habit of lying on the couch, with his back toward the viewer {hl} - Homer's bruises, after exiting the tank, have the classic comic hashmarks, rather than the black and blue the Simpsons artists usually use for bruises {pt} - [Reggie Smythe, the man who drew "Andy Capp," passed away last summer, most likely while this episode was still in the production phase.] ~ "Demon Seed" (movie) {hl} - room taken over by computer + "The Odd Couple" (movie, and TV series) - Homer calls his oldest children "the original Odd Couple" - Homer sings the theme, more or less + La-Z Boy (recliner maker) {jk} - La-Z Mom baby transmitters + "Life in Hell" (comic strip) {hl} - Maggie has a doll of Bongo from the strip + Bill Clinton & Monica Lewinsky (scandal) {dj} - Mayor Quimby & his interns + Frick and Frack (comedy team) {tpe} - Homer likens Bart and Lisa to this ice-skating comedy duo [See "Comments" section for more -- Ed.] + "I Love Lucy" (TV series) {jg2} - Homer likens Bart and Lisa to Fred and Ethel Mertz, two characters from this show + "When Animals Attack" (TV specials) {jk} - When Animals Attack Magicians + pharmaceuticals {bjr} - Karma-ceuticals obviously a pun on this word + karma {eac} - Karma-ceuticals obviously a pun on this word, too - [{eac} defines karma as, "the belief that things you do in this life will affect you spiritually"] + "Lorenzo's Oil" (movie) - Oil of Lorenzo available for purchase + Altered States (movie) - sensory deprivation tanks a key feature of this movie {hl} - shapechanging (for lack of a better word) ["morphing," perhaps? -- Ed.] {ag} + "Witch Doctor," by David Seville (song) - Homer unleashes the full potential of his brain by singing this - [See "Comments" section for more -- Ed.] + "Planet of the Apes" (movie) {tmh} - Lisa's "Get your stinky paw off me!" sounds like Charlton Heston's famous line + "Call someone who cares" (phrase) {bjr} - "Channel someone who cares" a clever adaptation of classic brush-off line ============================================================================== > Previous episode references ============================================================================== - [7F12], [3F21] Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" poster seen {bh} - [7F19], [2F15], [3F03] Lisa realizes by the end of the episode that she should cut her dad some slack {eac} - [8F01] The family goes to the Smithsonian Museum {bjr} - [8F01] The Spirit of St. Louis is seen {dj} - [8F10] Homer buys a baby monitor {je} - [8F11] Bart plays a radio prank {hl} - [9F10] Andy Capp referenced {je} - [9F11] Lisa's "Quit it! Quit it! Quit it!" {ddg} - [9F21] Homer desecrates a historical American document {je} - [1F02] Sir Oinksalot (cf. Sir Drinks-A-Lot) {hl} - [1F03] Homer hates the ballet {je} - [1F08] Marge has a gambling addiction (cf. eavesdropping addiction) {hl} - [2F05] Milhouse abused by Marge {je} - [2F05] Marge doesn't seem to care whether or not Milhouse gets proper medical attention {eac} - [2F06] "The Little Mermaid" referenced {je} - [2F07] Tunnels used to symbolize "you-know-what" {je} - [2F09] Stonecutters flag and sacred parchment appear - [2F09] The destruction of an important document {tmh} - [3F01] The Flanders condone judging other people {je} - [3F02] A Flanders birthday {bc} - [3F04] A superimposed piece of text should obviously be mirror-imaged, but it isn't (Lard Lad's shoe cf. Homer's tongue) {je} - [3F06] Homer is mistaken for dead {jg2} - [3F24] A Simpson goes on a hallucinatory journey {jg2} - [3G02] "All In The Family" referenced {ms} - [3G02], [AABF09] Archie Bunker referred to {gw} - [3G03] Dr. Hibbert treats a stress-induced illness {je} - [4F13] Bart and Lisa fight in a battle of wills - [4F16] Repo Depot van seen - [4F23] The silhouettes Skinner makes on Fridays are seen {dj} - [4F24] A confused person thinks he's been time-traveling {je} - [5F02] Homer has gum stuck in his hair: the same hair that was supposedly infested with bats {je} - [5F04], [5F12] Moe talks about mail-order brides {je} - [5F07] Maggie's cow cup {ddg} - [5F11] Homer bones up on his constitution, and _bone_ he does {je} - [AABF05] Mayor Quimby and interns {je} - [AABF06] Joan Rivers referenced / insulted {je} - [AABF11] Kama Sutra seen and spoken of {bjr} ============================================================================== > Freeze frame fun ============================================================================== - Ad for the Smithsonian exhibit {bjr} Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit Featuring [capsule] Mercury Space Capsule The Spirit of St. Louis [plane] [eye on pillow] Sammy Davis Jr.'s Eye (Boy, won't the people who took the trouble to actually go to Washington to see this stuff be hacked to discover it's gone?) [{bc} adds, "How about the people who visit the Baseball Hall of Fame and discover that they have to go to Washington -- or Springfield -- to see Lou Gehrig's uniform?"] - Museum sign {bjr} BEST OF THE SMITHSONIAN - Exhibits in opening shot of museum (from left to right) {bjr} - Liberty bell, Lou Gehrig's shirt, bat, and baseball, Spirit of St. Louis (just as advertised), the Star-spangled Banner, various Colonial- era flags (hanging from ceiling), Howdy Doody, 1911 High-wheeler automobile (the Car Watch pick o' the day), statue of man on horseback, Civil War-era cannon and cannonballs - Marge's cell phone observations {bjr} Otto -- drugs? Mayor Quimby -- interns? Burns -- greedy? Krusty -- Gay? - Interesting Items in the Karma-ceuticals shop {tmh} Lava Lamp Vishnu Shrine Egyptian Life Symbol Stonecutters Flag Kama Sutra posters {bjr} Pink Floyd poster {bjr} A dream catcher {eac} Essential oils {eac} Lots of stars and moons {eac} ["... looks like every new age store I ever went into," says {eac}] ============================================================================== > Animation, continuity, and other goofs ============================================================================== + Since when has Evergreen Terrace been such a busy street? {gw} * How could Marge see if Homer had gum in his hair? He was wearing a hat at the time. {nd} * Bart says, "Oh quit your complaining, it's only half the work of a divorced dad," and Homer answers, "But it's twice the work of a deadbeat dad." This isn't exactly correct, since a typical deadbeat dad does nothing, twice of nothing is still nothing. {jj} * The Liberty bell, if I am not mistaken, isn't on display at the Smithsonian. Instead, you can see it near Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. (Likewise, I always thought the Bill of Rights was on display in the Capitol building somewhere.) {bjr} * The Bill of Rights and the Constitution are at the National Archives, not the Smithsonian. {ms} - The 15-star flag should have 15 stripes, not 13. [See "Comments" section for more -- Ed.] {ddg} - Yankees' uniforms don't have the player's name (like "Gehrig") on the back. {dga} - The words "cruel and unusual" should be in a mirror image on Homer's tongue. = There's no way Lisa could have made it from the middle of the staircase to her doorway in the length of time it took for her to talk about her homework. {je} + The rotating part of the tower is in the middle of the roof, but Lisa's room is in a corner of the house. If it's in anybody's room, it would be in Bart's. {ddg} - When Lisa and Homer are standing outside of Lisa's room, the blue lighting comes from the hallway rather than the room. {je} * I've never seen a rotating dish for a cell phone. {ag} + What happened to all the furniture that Bart and Lisa used to have? (Bart's desk and bookshelf are replaced with Lisa's bed, although I don't think we got a clear shot of the fourth corner of his room.) {je} = Lisa's notebook was animated as the textbook (or Lisa can make perfect graphs) {yd} - From outside the window, Maggie's white La-Z-Mom unit is black. {je} * My understanding is that if you try to eavesdrop on a cell phone frequency, you can only hear one side of the conversation. (Supposedly, each side of the conversation is on a different frequency.) {bjr} = The shelf that Homer picks up the Oil of Lorenzo from isn't in the establishing shot of the store (or at least isn't facing the same way). {je} * Homer and Lisa didn't have their swimsuits with them when they entered the store, and they're the same ones that they wear to the beach and water parks, so it's unlikely the store just happened to have such similar suits for them to borrow. {je} * Wouldn't Ned want to know who the "body" was before burying it? {jg2} * How did Chief Wiggum know right away that whoever dumped their "whale egg" didn't have a license? = The water level in Lisa's tank is high enough to drown her when she gets out. {tmh} ============================================================================== > Reviews ============================================================================== Dale G. Abersold: An excellent episode about learning to compromise, taking family for granted, and characters growth. A month after I lost all hope in the series, they come at me with this. I pray that this trend continues. "Make Room for Lisa" is easily the best episode so far with Mike Scully as executive producer. (A) Ben Collins: This is one of those pleasant surprises that occasionally come along in bad seasons. Lisa's character is perfect; I like the long-overdue look at her intelligence (her frustrating inability to stop thinking strongly resonates with me). The slam on big business and its public-relations newspeak is brilliant, almost as good as the political satire in 7F01 and 2F02. Every character gets a welcome turn in the spotlight, even Maggie. But, and it's a big butt (pun intended), Homer is such an obnoxious, outrageous jerk that his behavior goes beyond boorishness into psychotic sadism; it's worse than in 4F19. I literally cheered at his misadventures in the tank. This episode would easily get an A if I could scrape Homer off the screen, and a C if Homer stayed and there were no reconciliation at the end. Instead, it gets a (B+) Nathan DeHoff: It had a decent plot, with some clever ideas, and we got to see the entire family. It meandered too much, though, constantly shifting focus, and introducing an abundance of subplots, some of which were never resolved. (C+) Yuri Dieujuste: Another Homer and Lisa plot was given to us. Tonight's episode was well written and the execution was great. Even with the lack of extremely funny scenes, I still found this episode enjoyable. Marge's subplot was pretty good, but lacking the humour needed for a regular plot. It was also nice to see everybody who can talk involved in the story. (B) Jordan Eisenberg: It's almost as if they laid out the plot by chopped the second and third acts off of half a dozen other episodes and stringing it together. I was disappointed to see that Lisa and Bart wouldn't get to interact for long, and that nothing really resolved itself at the end. The episode certainly didn't set up the ridiculous loose ends as a joke, ala 4F23 and 5F11, so why was the gigantic monstrosity jutting out of OFF's roof completely ignored? Nonetheless, this was one of the more polished episodes of the year, and it had that nice, extra sensation of a great episode that, to this day, I haven't been able to put my finger on. It's nice to see that everyone in the family (even Maggie!) had a significant role to play, but I must join the overall consensus that Lisa and Homer have bonded enough for one decade. (A) Alex Flandonwittsy: Am I the only one here didn't(through and through) enjoy this ep? Ok, it did have an assortment of clever, genuine gags. And I commend Brian Scully for attempting to write an emotional ep, contrary to the usual junk these days. But he didn't. Not only did this ep have a completely useless third act, but we also got a modified "Help me!!!" Homer situation near the end. And, are we just supposed to think the cellular tower will get up and walk away by next week? Really, if you want to see a great Homer/Lisa plot, look elsewhere, or watch last season's "Lisa's Sax". After all, how are we supposed to "feel" for Home-boy when he always insults/puts down his family/friends? (C-) Curtis Gibby: The first act was good humor-wise ("I've gone back in time"), but weak plot-wise (What did Homer getting drunk at PJ McWhatever's have to do with anything?). The Bart/Lisa angle was weak (I did enjoy the pen-clicking race -- totally random and funny!). I actually sat down and watched this episode, enjoyed it, rather than trying to take notes and be a critic. I laughed several times, making up for the sub-par episode we got last week in "Screaming Yellow Honkers." I loved the mobsters' appearance ("Crime doesn't take a vacation") and felt good about how Lisa and Homer were pals at the end. (I know, it's been done before, but I still liked it.) The Marge subplot was humorous. Mr. Burns greedy? Never! (A) Joe Green: The strong characterization of Lisa is what saved this from being yet another "The Wacky Adventures of Homer the Jerk!" episode. Some grade-A humor, like Homer thinking he's gone back in time and Agnes Skinner's Freudian hostility towards tunnels. (A-) Carl Johnson: I didn't particularly like this one. Homer's trip was too cartoonish. Marge's subplot should have been longer. Hardly any good gags, although Homer's "I think I'll eat some mayonnaise" was pretty funny. It does make a good point, however: Although Homer is a jerk, he does (reluctantly) do things with Lisa. I'd never thought of it that way before. That added a little. Way too many loose ends though, like in "Dumbbell Indemnity" or "Das Bus." It meandered too much. The switch from "Lisa's Room" to "New Age" should have been better than "Upset Stomach." It wasn't bad, though. I'll give it a (C) Darrel Jones: I'm disappointed this wasn't the "tension between Bart and Lisa" episode the promotion suggested. But it was still a nice "Homer and Lisa grow closer" episode. Sure, Homer's wackiness with the Bill of Rights and in the sensory depravation chamber aren't for everyone, but the scene where Lisa imagined herself to be Homer should be enjoyed by even the biggest cynics of this season. The subplot was poorly developed, but still fun. Altogether, this gets a (B-) Joe Klemm: Though the third act proved to be a hilarious bit with Homer's little new age trip, the show stuck out the first two acts thanks to Homer acting like an [jerkass] and not thinking about Lisa, who I think should be written out of the show. Personally, it would have been better if they forgot about the whole Homer ruining Lisa's room story, which goes nowhere and has no resolution. (C-) Jake Lennington: This episode reminded me of that scene in "Lisa on Ice" when all of the hockey players dived for the puck and in the end the puck just kinda popped out of the mass of kids and headed for the goal. The similarity, to me, is that there were multiple ideas piled onto the first act and Homer and Lisa's bonding (or lack of) seemed to pop out during the second and glide towards the end of the episode. As for the rest of the show, I actually enjoyed Marge's/Bart's subplots more than Homer and Lisa's. IMHO, this episode is the most "shallow" of all the Homer/Lisa episodes to date. (C-) Ondre Lombard: The episode is a conglomeration of aimlessness, good characterization, a decent Marge subplot for once, disappointingly meshed together plots that could each be developed on their own, smart and clever writing, and, fundamentally, rehash. Make Room For Lisa, thus, IMO, is both a good and bad episode. When you get down to it, though, can we for once see some deep interaction between Lisa and Marge instead? Moaning Lisa nearly 10 years ago was perhaps the first and last time it ever happened. (B) Tyler McHenry: Pretty good episode, with a lot of good -- not great -- jokes, and an interesting plot. The only thing that really takes away from this episode is the reoccurring theme of [jerkass] Homer reconciling with Lisa. (B) Paul Melnyk: This Episode was ok. It's one of those Lisa episodes which just encourages you to learn more. When you have a Lisa-Homer episode, you have to have one thing, which is sharing emotions. You could do exactly that when Homer was getting annoying. The episode ended generally touching. It was a good quality episode, but lacked humor. I could only mentally giggle at Fonzie's jacket in the Smithsonian, knowing the legend, and other small parts, Marge's subplot was pretty funny though, but who said the Simpsons has to be funny? The plot quality saved the Episode and made up for the humorless episode. (B+) Thomas Rinschler: This story had three separate sections. First, the sections involving Homer at the beginning and his bizarre sensory-deprivation tank journey were mediocre at best. The subplot involving Marge was interesting, in that the writers seem to be adding a new dimension to her character: a housewife who tends towards compulsive and/or slightly immoral behavior to bring excitement to her other boring life (see "$pringfield" or "Natural Born Kissers" for other examples). The third, and best, part was Lisa's portion. Her hallucinations were both humorous and thought-provoking (and some of the best Snowball II footage ever, even if it was just an illusion). This last portion did much to make up for the drawbacks of the other two, raising this episode above the norm. (A-) Matt Rose: It amazes me how predictable everything is now ... can anyone look me in the eye and tell me when Lisa saw the Bill of Rights that somehow it would end up destroyed in Homer's hands? Even though it was supposedly well-protected in its case. Okay ... then they build a rotating satellite dish on top of the Simpsons house. Uh huh ... Then we see Lisa hallucinate and become Homer the brain-dead jerk in her own mind, and suddenly we are supposed to believe she's feeling empathy for him? Are we supposed to feel empathy for Homer too? This sounds like the staff is trying to justify writing him the way they do, and that's just sad. (D) Jason Rosenbaum: Easily the best episode of the season. Funny and touching, I can't believe how good it was. The only flaw was the pointless subplot with Marge. Otherwise, everything was perfect. Homer, Lisa and even Bart. The Simpsons are back! WOO HOO! (A) Jim Terzis: At first I thought it would be another one of those "Oh no Homer is being an ignorant jerk towards Lisa" episode ... which it was mostly throughout the first two acts. But when you get to the end of the second/beginning of the third it turned out to be a "Lisa is sorry for being mean to Homer" episode (But don't they all turn out like that?), which is getting a little bit redundant now. In any case I didn't really like how Homer was acting, but a few of his jokes had me laughing a lot like the Odd Couple dance/humming combo. And the Marge subplot wasn't too bad either. (B-) Gary Wilson: Like so many other times, the beginning was sensible and somewhat plausible but it soon became another wacky Homer plot. Okay, I don't mind these in moderation, but this seems to be becoming somewhat of a formula. I did think Homer's character was done to a tee, however. This is a prime example of Homer being an [jerkass] and a loving father at the same time. I feel the plot would have been improved if they had simply skipped the whole "Homers Wild Ride" thing, however. Maybe even re-writing the whole third act would have done the whole thing justice. But, what we got was still descent. Though it was fairly good in terms of doing justice to the characters, it's actual plot was hard to find and a lot of the third acts humor fell flat. (B-) Yours Truly: We've seen this plot -- Homer and Lisa learn to appreciate one another, despite their differences -- quite a bit through the series' run, so tonight's show doesn't break new ground in that respect. What it does do is execute the formula well, with lots of incidental gags, good voice work, and a wickedly good Bart prank on his mother. Frequent shifts of tone and some excessive Homer jerkiness detract, but this is a nice entry in the Homer-Lisa bonding series. Still, perhaps it's time for her to get closer to another family member. (B) AVERAGE GRADE: B (2.84) Std Dev.: 0.9936 (29 reviews computed) ============================================================================== > Comments and other observations ============================================================================== >> Musical References Gary Wilson: "One O'clock Jump (?)" by Benny Goodman, 1939, played at beginning of episode. >> Warning: The cool, refreshing taste of Laramie may kill you Andrew Gill: For the past few years, the FDA has tried to classify nicotine as addictive. To that end, the US government sued the tobacco companies for some reason that I'm not entirely clear on. What resulted was a settlement that forced the tobacco industry to pay for anti-smoking ads. The ads (one of which aired during The Simpsons) show some rather poor foresight on the part of the government, in that the corporations place their names prominently on the ads. Talk about mixed messages! >> Tourist attractions Wanna see the Constitution before Homer gets his mitts on it again? John M. Daniel tells us where to find it: The Constitution is in the National Archives building just down the Mall (as is at least one of the copies of the Declaration of Independence). It's in a vacuum-sealed compartment that is uncovered for viewing something like 5 minutes of every hour to prevent light damage. There is also a polite-but-firm guard stationed there who is apparently authorized to shoot you on the spot if you whip out a sledgehammer or magic marker or something. BTW, Fonzie's jacket and Archie Bunker's chair are in the same case at the Smithsonian, along with the original Kermit the Frog and Mr. Rogers' sweater. >> Stars and Stripes Forever Don Del Grande: The National Museum of American History, which is what most people think of when someone mentions "The Smithsonian", has the original flag that was raised at the end of the failed assault on Fort McHenry that inspired Francis Scott Key to write what would become the lyrics to one of the most unsingable national anthems ever, which has 15 stars and 15 stripes; when more states were added, it was decided that additional stripes would make them too small, so they went back to 13 stripes. Actually, quite a bit of that flag is missing, as pieces of it were given away as souvenirs; it's undergoing restoration. >> The party line Haynes Lee: In the far out rural areas two or more families have to share the phone line. The situation's major drawback is that the females can surreptitiously listen to each others' telephone conversations. A major source of gossip in the country. Cellular eavesdropping [is] a legal gray era in many countries. Equipment to do this is illegal in the U.S. but not in Canada. >> Well, at least they didn't put a tower in your room ... Andrew Gill: My father, who is executive director of the State College Borough Water Auth., has been solicited by cell phone companies who want to put their transmitters on the water towers. Benjamin Robinson: Seeing the tower go up on the Simpsons' house reminded of the fights that sometime spring up over their location. In densely built- up areas, all the good land is taken (or near) residential housing, and homeowners object to the towers as being too ugly to have nearby. I'll bet Homer's neighbors were just thrilled. (This doesn't seem to be as much of a problem in medium size or small cities, where there's some vacant land to stick cel(l) towers on.) Yuri Dieujuste: In many areas of the country, cellular phone bandwidth is being increased by adding cellular phone towers. But most cellar phone towers are large poles that have some box at top. In many areas, these towers are camouflage as trees especial in tree-lined areas. Homer should have made OmniTouch put the tower in the backyard with the equipment in the garage or basement. In a related vein John Jensen provides this news article: From the local newspaper, Harrisburg Patriot News, Sat Feb 27, 1999 Headline: Cell phone tower dials up concern Subhead: Tell, skinny farm silo not disguised enough for some in township By Barbara Miller Of our Lebanon Bureau LEBANON -- A cellular telephone tower disguised as a silo has West Cornwall Twp. supervisors crying foul. The 80 foot concrete silo was erected presently by PCS One on farmland ... the supervisors heard "round about" that it was intended to hold a cellular transmitter antenna ... Although the township permits silos in agricultural districts, they must be working silos ... A silo that hides a communications tower may not fit the bill ... Any accessory structures, such as antennas and satellite dishes, situated on the agricultural zone are for the use of the property owner only ... "Everyone wants their cell phone working but won't want to see more towers." ... [The] department issued the building permit for the silo because it is trying to limit the number of new towers. "Our department's position is we are trying to mesh them into the landscape" ... Although a nearby farm has three silos ... the new silo appears out of place ... "They don't want to see silos just out in the middle of fields all over the place. I can understand their concerns" Then there is the shape. The new silo is just 13 feet in circumference. "It's the skinniest silo you'll ever see .... >> Lisa and "The Little Mermaid" Surprised at Lisa's choice of favorite movie? Ellen Cohen wasn't: Seeing as "The Little Mermaid" was one of my favorite films too, I figured I'd do a quick analysis as to why it was Lisa's. And why she mentioned it in an episode about her disagreeing with Homer. For those of you who haven't seen it, a main source of tension in "The Little Mermaid" is that Ariel is a rebellious 16 year old teen princess, daughter to the Sea King, Triton, who doesn't want her to venture above the surface. Humans are dangerous, he says. So what does she do? She falls in love with one. But she isn't like past or later whiny Disney heroines who wait for things to happen to them ... she pursues the human herself and takes her own -- albeit faulty -- measures to get him. Okay, so she gave her voice to the Sea Witch Ursula ... but she took a stand and went after her man! An independent and smart little lass to be compared to Lisa. The film is also very anti-eating fish ... as anyone can tell you if they've seen the side bit about Sebastian the Crab escaping from the French Chef. But even though Ariel and her father argue constantly, you know they love each other, even if they are very different people. He even destroys her secret grotto filled with human things! (Kind of how Homer unwittingly destroys Lisa's room?) At the very end, Ariel marries the handsome human prince, after her father realizes his little girl is all grown up and has earned her happiness ... and he comes to her wedding by diving up out of the ocean and hugging her, and she whispers, "I love you, Daddy." Gets me every time! Just like those Lisa-and-Homer-reconciling episodes! I guess I have some issues with my dad, because those kinds of things always get me choked up. So there you have it. Ariel's relationship with King Triton in many ways parallels Lisa's relationship with Homer. Both get me all teary. Ariel and Lisa both smart, precocious, inquisitive. I don't know if this would count as a DYN, a reference, or what. You let me know. [Well, Ms. Cohen, here's your answer -- Ed.] David Garcia: How funny - as soon as Lisa announced "Little Mermaid" as her favorite movie, I was taken aback! Surely insightful little Lisa would recognize the terrible messages that movie sends to little girls. Ariel, on the surface, may look much like an ideal female role model - she is, as Mag [MagmaGirl, Ms. Cohen's screen handle -- Ed.] points out, smart, precocious, and inquisitive. She is rebellious and independent and free- thinking. What makes me so furious about the film is that it tells little girls that you can have all these fabulous attributes, but a girl cannot be truly happy UNLESS YOU HAVE A MAN and MARRY him. It totally supports a male-dominated social construct in which women can't be happy or successful unless they have a man. Oh, and I can't sign off without mentioning that Ariel's waist is only a tad bit wider than her arm. Now there's a healthy image for girls to strive for! Rudolf Radna: For the record, I am not a Disney fan, mainly because I'm not that interested in this sort of material. But that doesn't mean I think anybody who is interested in these films is per se a philistine. It is possible that this interest in Lisa's part represents more an interest in the story of "The Little Mermaid" than a particular affinity for the Disney version itself; of course it is not an authentic version of the Anderson tale, but I don't think Lisa would particularly enjoy the streak of fatalism running through so many of this author's works (such as The Little Match Girl). It is important to distinguish between appreciation and enjoyment. While Lisa is certainly aware that Disney's TLM is not an authentic version, and probably has read the original, it's not a stretch to posit that she could like a version that had a "happy ending," even if it is inauthentic. Disney didn't start this idea (there was a rewrite of King Lear in the 1800's with a happy ending) they just seem to do it a good deal (The Lion King = Hamlet with a happy ending, &tc (haven't seen enough Disney films to do a good list, only recent ones I've seen are TLC and TLM)). Going back to the original point, Lisa's not an adding machine. She's bound to have likes and dislikes that are somewhat distinct from her "intellectual" world, whatever its bounds may be (I'm not a psychologist, so my ability to articulate such things is rather limited). A good way to approach the question of whether this was "in character" for Lisa would be to ask whether it would be preferable to have a Lisa characterization which was so academic and pedantic as to summarily reject any such adaptation. Characterization is not an absolute; there's no objective good or bad, only more effective and less effective. A character who can startle occasionally in such small ways is probably more effective than one that is completely predictable and dull. As for whatever message or image is gotten from the movie, I've come to believe that the deconstructionists are wrong: nothing has meaning outside of its context. One person may take the film one way, and another person may take it another way. Both are right, meaning is created by an interaction between the source (in this case, the film) and its recipient, who interprets it in their own way. No two people read a book, watch a film, &tc, and come away with the same ideas and conceptions of the author's purpose. All of the negative things that have been mentioned about Disney's TLM may possibly not have even registered with Lisa. I've been known to miss some rather obvious things in films myself. It's also probable that younger people just take stories a little bit less seriously. Of course, it's possible that I'm thinking too much yet again, and Disney just gave Fox a sack of money. Text of Anderson's original is at . >> Frick and Frack Todd P. Emerson: In "Make Room for Lisa," when Homer is comparing Lisa & Bart to various famous couples (including Fred & Ethel), he brings up Frick & Frack. To the best of my recollection, they were a pair of German figure- skating "acrobats" (for lack of a better term), travelling with either the Ice Follies or the Ice Capades. I forget which, exactly. The only reason I know this much is because of an Ice Capades (or Follies) program my mom bought when I went to a show as a kid. One of the featured performers at this show was the surviving member of the duo, Mr. Frick. Or Frack. Anyway, the picture in the program showed him in his lederhosen, posed like he's doing the limbo walk in ice skates. The blurb next to him mentioned a partner he had many years earlier named Mr. Frack. Or Frick. >> Dream catcher? Give me a break! Ellen Amy Cohen explains: This is a Native American spiritual item -- I have one myself and can tell you what it's about, and possibly why Homer would have dismissed it just as easily as he did the emu farm. The round part of the dream catcher has a woven area in the middle, like a spider web. You're supposed to hang the dream catcher over your bed, preferably close to your head. The bad dreams get caught in the web, to be melted away when the morning sunlight shines onto it. The feathers that dangle from it are supposed to give you light, easy dreams. Glen Ramsden: Funny thing about that; the only dream-catchers I've ever seen are hanging from rear-view mirrors in people's cars. I dunno how to interpret that. :) >> No, it's nothing like Oil of Olay Joe Klemm: Oil of Lorenzo refers to Lorenzo's Oil, a fact based movie starring Susan Sarandon. In it, she plays a mother who, with her husband, tries to find the cure of a rare disease her son named Lorenzo is infected with. >> Tanks for the memories Rick Barbour asks: Does anyone know enough about these devices [sensory deprivation tanks] to briefly tell me what exactly they do? Todd Emerson answers: Go rent the movie "Altered States." 'Nuff said. Don't feel like going to the video store? Jeremy Ross answers: Basically, the concept is simple. By depriving your body of any sensory input, the tank allows your brain to concentrate on a more mental, rather than physical, plane. I'm not sure exactly what triggers the hallucinations, but my friend said it takes quite a while (a lot longer than two hours) for these hallucinations to occur. "GI Mlow" writes: Here's my layman's semi-detailed explanation: Person floats in dark tank in water with lots of salt dissolved in it. All sensory stimuli are removed Touch: Buoyancy removes sensation of weight and water is at body temp, so it cannot be felt. Sound: You shut up. Vision: It's dark. Taste/smell: Easily habituated out of one's attention. So in the absence of external stimuli, internal stimuli (such as kinesthesia, the sense of where your body parts are, or other stuff within the brain.) either grow in number/strength, or are noticed more readily. And that's part of the cause of hallucinations. "The Flies of Memory," a book by Ian Watson, explains those tanks great and in a very interesting way. Paul Tomko opines: Sounds exactly like what happens when you fall asleep, except more expensive. >> Is this how the Backstreet Boys got started? Joe Klemm: Written and performed by Dave Seville, Witch Doctor is a novelty song was partially recorded in a slow speed, thus creating a high pitched sound when a person sings. A number one hit in 1959, the song later helped Dave Seville create the Chipmunks, a trio of sibling rodents that speak and sing in a high pitched voice. >> Fathers who are obnoxious, and the daughters who forgive them Some people felt the wrong person was doing the apologizing in this episode, like David Gilbert: If Homer took away Lisa's Room, why does she when the episode finishes end up forgiving him generally? IMO, the Episode showed two things that Homer did to Lisa, a) He took away her room which _really_ upset her (well, would you like the power centre of a receiver tower in your room? must make a lot of noise in the night :-) The Lisa experience of Homer at the Ballet. I can understand how Lisa forgave Homer in one sense for Homer being what he is (a similar forgiveness is seen in the Episode with Lisa's Pony) but he still did sleep in the ballet and Homer being homer does not explain why Lisa would forgive him for taking away her room. Of course, Lisa has the type of nature that would forgive Homer for whatever he did ... Benjamin Robinson: She was too forgiving -- within the context of this one episode. Homer was a constant, albeit unwitting, source of irritation to his daughter, and aside from taking Lisa to the new age store, he doesn't really do that much in the way of making amends to her. If this was the only episode of "The Simpsons" that you watched, you'd wonder why Lisa was so apologetic. In the bigger picture of the show, her actions are a little more believable. In part, this is because we have a history of instances where Homer really does try to do right by Lisa. Gary Wilson: I have to stick up for Homer, even if he is only a cartoon character. When Lisa talked about them drifting apart, he was upset, "Lisa, I'll never *ever* let that happen." And he then took her to that shop to cheer her up, for gosh sakes! Simply because Homer was "Homer" you take it to mean he was a jerk. Homer is pretty complex character, really. He is annoying, loud, boorish ... but, inside, he has always been shown as a truly nice person. What do you want? Homer to suddenly be a perfect father figure? Homer's style of being nice is not that obvious. If last nights ep had been Lisa the Greek, all of you Homer critics would have scorned him for only caring about the Super Bowel and not Lisa. Everyone ... Homer may be more "in your face" than he used to, but, (in this ep especially) his kind side is still apparent. Not so fast, says Andrew Gill: I'll tell you, if I were watching a ballet (fat chance) or other fine arts (like the symphony, more likely), and my father were acting like that (eating, fidgeting, I can't remember if he was talking), I would shoot him a stern glance, and ream him out during the intermission. We would not be on speaking terms thereafter for at least a day. I used to be in band, and since our conductor was the cellist for the Erie Philharmonic, we'd hear lots of horror stories of people taking pictures or other noisy things during the performance. Very Bad. Ellen Cohen: Sorry, but if I were at the ballet because my blue-collar dad paid for my ticket, I'd keep my mouth shut! Show your parents some respect for crying out loud! Sharon Malloy: Now there's a double message for you ... taking a kid to an event and then ruining it by drowning out the music he or she enjoys so much. Kind of like offering a kid a big plate full of cookies ... just as they're leaving the house for a swim meet. While I personally think "reaming him out" and then the silent treatment is a little much, I don't think a parent who spoils an event like this is entirely blameless! Someone named "windzy" writes: Finally Lisa 'fessed up to being rather critical and unaccepting to homer (she hasn't done that since the vegetarian episode). After all those episodes where homer apologized for not understanding Lisa, she finally admitted that she does treat homer like an idiot sometimes, and that she has never really tried to accept that he has different tastes than her. It reminds us that Lisa isn't a totally uncaring and mean character. Benjamin Robinson, again: I'm inclined to think that it will take a measure of forgiveness and empathy on both sides of the Lisa/Homer pair if the two are to draw closer together. Homer needs to straighten up and fly right, of course, but Lisa must be careful not to lose sight of the fact that she can be close to her father, even if they are two very different people. >> Miscellaneous, Etc. The Haynes Lee alterna-title for this show is: Watertank Girl Jake Lennington's alterna-alterna title is: Lisa Cells Her Room Alan Hamilton: "Icons of the Smithsonian" is a real touring exhibit, which does feature Abe's hat and Fonzie's jacket. The Constitution isn't included, though. Thomas Rinschler: Depending on how much of the Bill of Rights Homer destroyed, not only could the guards inflict cruel or unusual punishment (which is the final portion of the Eighth Amendment), but also he may be subject to excessive bail or fines (the earlier portions of the Eighth Amendment), or may lose those rights not listed in the Bill of Rights (the succeeding Ninth Amendment). Benjamin Robinson contributes these next two items: Judging from the outside location of the cell tower, it was directly above Lisa's room. Presumably, the people building the tower would use a straight shaft to rotate the dish. The base of the shaft, therefore, would be located in Lisa's room whether Homer wanted it that way or not. Just wanted to point out that it wasn't entirely his fault. Hopefully, Lisa was watching ABC [the night this episode originally aired], as she could have used the opportunity to get "The Little Mermaid" on tape again. ============================================================================== > Quotes and Scene Summary {bjr} ============================================================================== % Homer is hard at work at the power plant. Well, he's at the plant, % anyway, listening to the radio. Announcer: ... FDR is in the White House. An ice cream cone costs a nickel, and a hot new tune by Benny Goodman is hitting the charts. The year is 1939. [Benny Goodman's hot new tune plays] Homer: Nineteen ... 1939! Oh, my God, I've gone back in time! I've got to warn everybody about Hitler -- and get to the ice cream store! [Lenny and Carl walk into Homer's work area] Lenny: Hey, Homer, what's all the hubbub? Carl: Let me guess. You travel back in time again? Homer: Shut up. You haven't even been born yet. -- "Make Room for Lisa" % Lenny brings Homer into the present by tuning in a pop radio % station. The DJs there are doing a remote broadcast from P. J. % O'Harrigan's, a local pub. Carl remarks that it's too bad they have % to miss the party. Obviously, he underestimated Homer's party % ethic, because as soon as Carl says this, Homer's voice can be heard % over the radio from O'Harrigan's. % % The next morning, Marge rouses Homer from his car, which he has % parked sideways in the middle of Evergreen Terrace. Drunkenly, he % asks Marge, "Hey, Marge, what's your favorite radio station?" % % Homer's more coherent the next morning. Sort of. Homer: Well, Marge? Marge: What? Homer: What's your favorite radio station? [Lisa and Bart walk in. He's wearing a jacket, and Lisa has a camera around her neck] Lisa: Okay, Dad, we're ready. Homer: Hey, that's super. See you later. Lisa: Dad, don't you remember? It's our special Saturday. Marge: You agreed to spend one Saturday a month doing something with the kids. Homer: Ohhh. [slaps forehead] Bart: Oh, quit complaining. It's half the work of a divorced dad. Homer: Yeah, but it's twice as much as a deadbeat dad. Marge: [scolding] Homer! Homer: They know I'm kidding. [Bart and Lisa look dejected] Okay, Bart, it's your turn to pick, where are we headed? Bowling? Demolition derby? P. J. O'Harrigan's? Isn't that a funny name? Huh? Huh? Bart: Hysterical, but I traded my turn to Lisa for her dessert. Homer: D'oh! But we did a Lisa thing last month -- [notices Marge glaring at him, and changes to a happier tone of voice] -- and I'm glad we did. But now I think we should do something that normal people would like. Lisa: Why do you assume that I won't pick something fun? Let's see ... [leafs through newspaper] Oh, this looks very educational. Homer: [groans] Lisa: Well, this could be quite enlightening -- Homer: [groans again] Lisa: Fine, how about -- Homer: [groans] Marge: She didn't say it yet. Homer: Go ahead. Lisa: The book fair? Homer: Oh, no, I'm not falling for that again. If it doesn't have Siamese twins in a jar, it's not a fair. Lisa: [looks at paper again] Oh, this is perfect. Homer: [takes paper] We're going to go see Marmaduke? Lisa: No, the Smithsonian travel exhibit. It encapsulates America and makes history come alive! Homer: What, and Marmaduke doesn't. Lisa: No, Dad, my mind is made up. Homer: [to Bart] This is all your fault for trading away your turn. Just for that, no dessert tonight. Bart: [to Lisa] Trade you my next turn for your dessert. Lisa: Deal. Homer: D'oh! -- So much for that lesson, "Make Room for Lisa" % So, the family goes to the Smithsonian travel exhibit. Or rather, % the OmniTouch travel exhibit, for they own and sponsor the tour. % Inside the exhibit hall is a treasure trove of Americana. One of % the displays is of Abraham Lincoln's hat. America's greatest citizen summed up in one piece of clothing. -- Lisa Simpson, admiring Lincoln's hat, "Make Room for Lisa" % Homer notices that another prominent citizen has also been summed up % with one piece of clothing -- Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli. His % jacket is on display in a glass case flanked by two armed guards and % surrounded by a laser beam perimeter alarm. Lisa wonders how this % trinket can be kept so close to the Bill of Rights, stored in % considerably less sturdy case next to the jacket. % % Lisa explains what the Bill of Rights grants the country, but stops % when she sees that Homer has removed the document from its case for % a closer look-see. He plops down in Archie Bunker's chair, and % alarms immediately sound. Guard 1: Get out of Archie Bunker's chair -- now! Homer: Relax, I'm just boning up on the old Constitution! [rustles the page, causing it to rip] Guard 2: Ooh, you're going to regret that, pinko! [Homer cowers, holding the Bill of Rights over his head] Guard 1: Oh, I am so sick of people hiding behind the Bill of Rights! Guard 2: Look - he got chocolate on it! Homer: I didn't mean to. [licks off the chocolate] Guard 1: Mmm-hmm. You just licked off the part that forbids cruel and unusual punishment. Guard 2: [chuckles and dons a set of brass knuckles] Beautiful. -- "Make Room for Lisa" % Repairing the Bill of Rights will cost $10,000, which is clearly % more than Homer can afford to pay. The OmniTouch representative % doesn't seem to mind. She has a solution that she thinks will % benefit both parties. % % Soon, OmniTouch workers are on the Simpsons' roof, installing a two- % story tall transmitting tower. Marge: I don't want a cellular transmitter sticking out of my roof. OmniLady: We prefer to think of them as, "keep in touch towers." Homer: It's called caring, Marge. OmniLady: Plus, you've increased Springfield's roaming capability 64 percent. Homer: You've gotta admit, Marge, that's a lot more roaming. Marge: [resigned] Mmmm, I guess. -- Room to roam, "Make Room for Lisa" % As Homer takes a nap on the couch, Lisa comes home, and walks % upstairs to her room. Lisa: Ugh. That antenna is an eyesore. Homer: Just pretend it's a tree, honey. Or as we say at OmniTouch, a "progress tree." Lisa: Yeah, well I hope it doesn't hum too loud, because I've got a ton of homework to do, and I'm almost finished with my -- [opens the door to her room, which is now crammed to capacity with electronics, wires, and other telecommunications equipment. A huge rotating shaft occupies the center of the room] Waaugh! My room! Homer: [running upstairs] What? I heard a yell. Did you touch a wire? Lisa: What happened to my room? Homer: Nothing. They just needed a place to put all the electronic gizmos, and I know how much you like that science-y stuff. So I -- Lisa: [interrupting] You gave away my room!? Homer: Come on, Lisa, try and see this from the OmniTouch corporation's point of view. -- Yeah, be reasonable, "Make Room for Lisa" % The OmniTouch lady appears from behind the shaft, and encourages % Lisa to go along with the plan. The camera shifts to Lisa's point % of view. The OmniTouch lady bends over Lisa and, lit by the eerie % light of the telco gear, looks pleading and menacing at the same % time. Homer adopts the same position. With a sigh, Lisa gives in. % % [End of Act One. Time: 6:20] % % Even though she's resigned to losing her room, Lisa isn't happy % about it. Lisa: I can't believe you did this, Dad. Why didn't you put that thing in your room? Homer: Hmmm. That thought never occurred to me. Funny how your mind works in a crisis. -- Funny how his mind works, period, "Make Room for Lisa" % Marge does her best to reassure her daughter. Marge: It's just until we pay off Daddy's desecration of a priceless artifact. I thought I'd never have to say that again. [walks away] Lisa: But where am I supposed to live? Homer: Lisa, what's your favorite movie? Lisa: Until you taped over it, "The Little Mermaid." Homer: That's right -- "The Odd Couple!" Now meet your comically mismatched roommate, Bart Simpson! [opens the door to Bart's room, revealing Bart sitting on Lisa's bed, then scat-sings the theme to "The Odd Couple"] Bart: I'm going to make your life a living hell. -- "Make Room for Lisa" % Still singing the "Odd Couple" theme, Homer pushes Lisa into Bart's % room and closes the door. Bart: Okay, if you're going to live in my room, you're going to obey my rules. One: I am Bart, thy god. If I am out, the Krusty doll [holds it up] is thy god. If the doll's with me, you will worship the night-light. Should the night-light be unable to fulfill its duties -- Lisa: Shut up. Bart: You shut up! Lisa: Oh, this is not going to work. Bart: No, you shut up! Lisa: Ohh ... -- Just like "The Odd Couple," all right, "Make Room for Lisa" % Meanwhile, Marge picks up something other than Maggie's usual % sucking noises on her baby monitor. Skinner: [over baby monitor] Hello, mother? Marge: [gasps] Maggie? Agnes: Seymour? You were supposed to call me three minutes ago. Marge: [realizing] Ooh. Skinner: [cut to Skinner, driving in his car] Sorry, mother, I was driving through a tunnel and my cell phone wouldn't work. Agnes: [cut to Agnes, at home] I don't want you driving through tunnels. You know what that symbolizes. Skinner: [cut back to the Simpsons' kitchen] But Mother, it cuts ninety minutes off my drive. Agnes: No tunnels! -- "Make Room for Lisa" % Marge wants to do the responsible thing and notify an OmniTouch % "care rep." Homer also wants to do something -- eat mayonnaise. He % takes a big jar of it from the refrigerator. % % In his room, Bart squeaks his chair, much to the annoyance of Lisa. % Homer drops by, discarding an empty mayonnaise container on the bed. Homer: Well, well, if it isn't Frick and Frack, Jack and Jill, Fred and Ethel, the Three -- Lisa: Dad, would you please tell Bart to stop squeaking his chair? I'm trying to do my homework. Homer: Bart, stop squeaking your chair. If you've got to do something, click this pen. [hands Bart a ballpoint pen. Bart clicks rapidly on the pen's retract/extend button] Lisa: No-o-o. Homer: Hey, that looks like fun. [takes another pen from his pocket] Bart: Race ya. Homer: You're on. Lisa, you play winner. [Homer and Bart click away like madmen] -- "Make Room for Lisa" % Lisa can't take too much of that. She covers her ears and heads % downstairs to do her homework. She isn't there long before Homer % returns. Homer: Oh, honey, you missed a great race. Bart was winning, but then he said, "This is stupid," and he stopped, and I won. Lisa: [restraining herself] Dad, I'm trying to do my homework. Homer: Hey, you're mad at me. That wasn't your mayonnaise, was it? Lisa: Dad, why did you have to take away my room? Homer: Maybe you'd feel better if we watched some TV together. Lisa: Rrgh! I just want to study. Homer: That's no fun. Lisa: It is to me. Homer: No it's not. [picks her up, causing her to mark up her homework] Lisa: [protesting] Dad! Homer: [turns on TV] Ooh, here's something you like. "When Animals Attack Magicians." Magician: ... pick a card, any -- [noise of primate attacking] Aagh! Homer: [laughs] Lisa: That's awful. Homer: Awful entertaining. Lisa: Ugh, my stomach hurts. -- Father-daughter bonding, "Make Room for Lisa" % Marge, using the baby monitor, listens in on someone who has it even % worse than Lisa. It's Krusty, who's trying to bum a ride in the % desert while wearing only a towel. Seems the lady he tried to pick % up last night wasn't what she appeared to be. As Marge takes notes % (literally), Lisa walks in. Lisa: Ugh, Mom? I don't feel so good. Ohhh ... Marge: What is it, honey? Lisa: My tummy really hurts. [Homer walks in, carrying Maggie by the armpits] Homer: [falsetto] Somebody wants Mommy to change baby's diaper. Marge: Is that somebody you, Homer? Homer: [nodding Maggie's head] Yes it is. Maggie: [sucks pacifier] Marge: Okay, then you can take Lisa to Dr. Hibbert's. Homer: Great. Maybe on the way back, we can swing by the demolition derby and have a nice talk. Lisa: [not convincing] Oh, sounds great. -- "Make Room for Lisa" % Dr. Hibbert finishes up his examination of Lisa. Hibbert: Lisa, I'm afraid your tummyache may be caused by stress. Homer: Well, that's a relief. Hibbert: Heh, yeah. Anyway, when it comes to stress, I believe laughter is the best medicine. You know, before I learned to chuckle mindlessly, I was headed for an early grave myself. [chuckles mindlessly] Homer: Give it a try, honey. Lisa: [forced chuckle] Hibbert: Oh, now you call that chuckling? Come on, child, force it. Lisa: I'm really not the chuckling type. Homer: It's true. I'm always making clever noises, and she never chuckles at 'em. Hibbert: Well, I could prescribe some harsh antacids, but I think Lisa would benefit more from herbal teas, or aromatherapy. Lisa: Yeah, some of that all-natural stuff is really very -- Homer: Oh, no, you don't! Screw that touchy-queery crap! We'll take the harsh antacids. [tousles Lisa's hair] Nothing's too good for my little girl. -- "Make Room for Lisa" % Homer exults in his moral victory vs. Dr. Hibbert. Homer: I sure settled his hash. Imagine that quack, thinking he'd try one of those crazy New Age cures. Lisa: They're not all crazy, Dad. Homer: Sure they are, honey. Lisa: You know, just because you say something is crazy, doesn't make it so, and just because you think museums are boring and demolition derbies are fun doesn't make that true either. Homer: [chastened] I'm sorry, Lisa. Lisa: Oh, it's not your fault. I know we love each other, Dad, but we're two very different people and, much as I hate to say it, as time goes on, we'll probably just drift further and further apart. Homer: Oh, Lisa, honey, I won't ever let that happen. [camera pulls back to show that Homer is standing on the escalator, which is carrying him away from Lisa] Oh. -- "Make Room for Lisa" % [End of Act Two. Time: 11:54] % % Homer attempts to bridge the gap between Lisa and himself by taking % her to a store specializing in new-age nostrums. Homer: [forced] Oh, good, I've been meaning to catch a [picks up a dream-catcher] dream catcher? Give me a break. Lisa: I just wish you could keep an open mind about other cultures. Homer: Other cultures are fine. I'm just saying I can get along in life without a [picks up a box and reads it] tooth ... brush. [the store's owner walks up] Owner: Namas Dai. [?] Homer: And, uh, ooga-booga to you too. Owner: May I tell you about our white-light special? Homer: Absolutely not. My little girl's tummy hurts. Do you have anything to stop her complaining? Lisa: Dad! Owner: [pours a glass of green liquid] Here. Try this wheat grass juice. [gives it to Lisa] Lisa: [drinks] Bleah! Owner: Well, your tongue works. -- Harsh antacids are sounding better now, "Make Room for Lisa" % Homer looks through the shelves, looking for some hopefully more % palatable medicine, perhaps even the same stuff that keeps Joan % Rivers among the living. That would be beetle grindings, of course, % but the owner has an even better idea -- sensory deprivation tanks. % The freezer-like tanks block out distracting sensory stimulation, % fostering an environment for meditation. Lisa signs up for two % hours. % % Homer and Lisa put on swimwear, and get into the water-filled tanks. % The owner briefs the two on what to expect. You are about to take a journey into the mind. You may see and experience things that are strange and frightening. But remember, they can't physically harm you, though they may destroy you mentally. -- New age shop owner, describing the deprivation-tank experience, "Make Room for Lisa" % With that, the owner closes the lid on Lisa and Homer. Homer opens % his lid to reach for a magazine, but the owner slaps his hand away, % and weighs Homer's lid down with a cinderblock. % % Lisa floats quietly in her tank. Ah, this is kind of relaxing, but it's so hard to turn off my brain. I have to stop thinking, starting ... now! [pause] Hey, it worked -- oh, no, that's thinking. -- Lisa Simpson, "Make Room for Lisa" % Meanwhile, Marge keeps an ear out for Springfield's juiciest cell- % phone gossip. Moe: [over monitor] Lenny, how are you doing? This is Moe. I've got some class three gossip here. Lenny: [over monitor] Well, dish! Moe: Groundskeeper Willie -- you know, the guy in the skirt -- bought himself a mail-order bride. But he's too cheap to pay the C. O. D., right? So she's still in a crate down at the post office. Wanna go look-see? Marge: Ooh, this sounds juicy. -- "Make Room for Lisa" % Bart and Milhouse eavesdrop on Marge's eavesdropping. A plan % hatches in Bart's head. % % Back to Lisa. Lisa: How am I supposed to hallucinate with all these swirling colors distracting me? [camera angle changes so we can see the colors. They morph into a ball of yarn, the camera focuses on this, so all we see is a ball of yarn on a black field] Ah, it's a ball of yarn. That's funny, I feel like batting it around. [a paw reaches in from the right-hand side of the screen to bat the yarn ball] Whoa! I have a paw. [the background of the Simpsons' kitchen fades in. Lisa walks over to the water dish and looks down, to seen Snowball II's face] Oh my gosh, I've entered the body of our cat! [Maggie walks into frame, standing taller than Lisa] Yah! Maggie! [Maggie, her hands dirty, reaches for the cat] Hey, hey, get your sticky hands off me! Ow! [hisses and takes a swipe at Maggie] Marge: Bad cat! Leave her alone. [swats "Snowball" with the broom] Lisa: Aaaah! [cut back to the tank, looking straight down on Lisa] Wow, my mind just created that out of nothing. This tank is releasing the full potential of my brain. [cut to Homer's tank] Homer: [singing] Ooh! Ee! Ooh-ah-ah! Ching, chang, walla- walla-bing-bang! Ooh! Ee! Ooh-ah-ah! Walla-bing-bang- ching-chang-doo! -- No comment, "Make Room for Lisa" % At home, Marge struggles to find something on the baby monitor. Marge: Come on, come on, I need some gossip here. Where is everybody? Does this town shut down at five o'clock? Bart: [over monitor, disguising voice] Frankie, it's me, Killer. I just busted out of prison and the cops are after me. Marge: Ooh, talk to me, baby. [cut to Bart's room, where Bart uses a toy police car to make siren noises] Bart: Okay, I think I lost them. [Maggie plays with a cow noisemaker] Uh, oh, a cow! [shoots in the air with a toy gun] Eat lead, Bossie! Listen, Tony, I need someplace to hide. Oh, this place looks good. 742 Evergreen Terrace. Marge: [gasps in horror] [cut to outside, where Milhouse stands at the door] Bart: Now, to open the door and kill whoever's inside. [motions Milhouse to open the door. Cut to a shot inside the house] I'll start by turning the knob. [the knob turns, and Milhouse pokes his head in the door] Milhouse: Gotcha, Mrs. -- [Marge whacks him with the baby monitor, knocking him out] Bart: [comes down the stairs and laughs] Oh, Mom, you are a prankster's dream. [notices his friend lying unconscious in the doorway] Wow, you really clobbered him. Marge: That was a horrible trick to play on your mother. Bart: Yeah, well, it serves you right for eavesdropping. Marge: Mmmm. Well, I guess we both learned a lesson. But if anybody asks, you hit him. [Bart and Marge each grab one of Milhouse's arms and drag him inside] -- Live and learn, "Make Room for Lisa" % At the new-age store, two burly repossession men load the % merchandise onto their truck. When the owner protests, the first % man tells her to, "channel somebody who gives a damn." Heading into % the back, the two men find the deprivation tanks. Only one of them % will fit on the truck, so they take one now and plan to come back % for the other. Naturally, they take Homer's. % % Driving back to the repossession center, one of the guys has a % little fun with a crystal. Little do they know that Homer's tank % has fallen out of the back of their truck. The tank slides down a % steep hillside, bouncing Homer around as it goes. Whoa! Sensory deprivation kicks ass! -- Homer Simpson, "Make Room for Lisa" % The tank comes to rest in the middle of a road. Ned and the % Flanders clan have to brake suddenly to avoid hitting it. Maude: Oh, Neddy, you almost hit that coffin! [the family gets out of the car] Ned: [gasps] Leaping Lazarus! Is this what passes for eternal rest these days? Rod, go get daddy his burying shovel. Rod: Yay! [runs to the car] [a little later, the family has buried the tank] Todd: You sure buried him deep, Daddy. Ned: Not so deep the Lord can't find him -- and judge him. Rod: This is the best birthday I ever had. -- What was the worst one you had? "Make Room for Lisa" % Deep underground, Homer knocks on the lid of his tank, and asks to % be let out. No answer. Homer panics and knocks harder. The ground % underneath him gives way, and the tank falls -- it turns out that % Flanders buried him right over an underground pipe. The roof of the % pipe collapses, and the tank drops through, where it goes on a ride % wild enough to be the envy of most water parks. Homer is thrown % around violently inside the tank. Then the tank is sucked into a % whirlpool. This inner peace stuff is tough on the old coconut! -- Homer Simpson, "Make Room for Lisa" % The tank sinks down a curvy pipe. Finally, it emerges in the ocean % and washes ashore. Ralph mistakes it for a whale egg, but Chief % Wiggum assumes that it's industrial waste. He's angry with firms % dumping trash in the water without a permit ("It's not like those % permits are hard to get!"). The tank is tagged with the store's % name, so Chief Wiggum goes to take it back to the store. % % Lisa's journey of self-discovery continues uninterrupted. Lisa: Wow, I've been a cat, a tree, and Cokie Roberts. It's happening again. I wonder where I'm going this time. What's that? [another hallucination appears. A sandwich floats in on a black background] Yuck! That sandwich is full of meat. There's bacon, Canadian bacon, Mexican bacon [drools lustily] and a mouth-watering veal chop. [two arms come from either side of the screen, grab the sandwich. Lisa takes a bite] Oh, no, now I'm dad! [background, from Homer's point of view, fades in. He's at a ballet] Oh, and I'm at a stupid boring ballet. [yawns, and the camera's "eye" closes. We hear snoring noises] Lisa: [in hallucination] Dad! Wake up! [camera "eye" opens] Your snoring is disturbing the dancers. [camera looks at the dancers, who are staring at Homer, tapping their feet. Then it pans back to Lisa. We can see Homer reflected in her eyes] How can you embarrass me like this? Ooh, you won't sit through anything that doesn't have car crashes. Lisa: [as Homer] I'm sorry, honey. [to "himself"] Gee, why is Lisa so mad at me? [twists his ballet program] I only came to this dump so I could be with her. And what happened to my big sandwich? -- "Make Room for Lisa" % Lisa comes to a realization. Lisa: Oh! Boy, I can really be a pain in the butt. [opens the door to her tank, and sits up] Gee, I should cut Dad some slack. After all, he did take me to the ballet, and the Smithsonian exhibit. In fact, he takes me lots of places he hates. [gets out and walks over to Homer's tank, where he's singing "Witch Doctor." Lisa opens Homer's tank. He looks a little bruised, but otherwise okay] Homer: Hi, sweetie. Lisa: Hi, Dad! How was it? Homer: [gets out] I went on a wild ride without ever leaving the building. How was yours? Lisa: Pretty cool, but now what do you say we go do something we'll both enjoy. Homer: [suspicious] Ooh, like what? ["what" turns out to be the demolition derby, where cars crash into one another with wild abandon] Wow, look at that car burn! Does it get any better than this? Lisa: Not to me, Dad. [hugs her father] -- It don't get no better than this, "Make Room for Lisa" % Off screen, we hear another crash. Homer hugs Lisa back, and kisses % her on the forehead. A fender flies into the audience, knocking an % unfortunate spectator out cold. In the distance, an ambulance siren % wails. Lisa, hugging her father, is blissfully unaware of all this. % % [End of Act Three. Time: 20:29] ============================================================================== > Contributors ============================================================================== {ag} Andrew Gill {ah} Alan Hamilton {bc} Ben Collins {bh} Beau Hartenstine {bjr} Benjamin Robinson {ddg} Don Del Grande {dga} Dale G. Abersold {dj} Darrel Jones {eac} Ellen Amy Cohen {gw} Gary Wilson {hl} Haynes Lee {je} Jordan Eisenberg {jg2} Joe Green {jj} John Jensen {jk} Joe Klemm {ms} Mike Smith {nd} Nathan DeHoff {pt} Paul Tomko {tmh} Tyler McHenry {tpe} Todd P. Emerson {yd} Yuri Dieujuste ============================================================================== > Legal Mumbo Jumbo ============================================================================== This episode capsule is Copyright 2000 Benjamin Robinson. It is not to be redistributed in a public forum without consent from its author or current maintainer (capsules@snpp.com). All quoted material and episode summaries remain property of The Simpsons, Copyright of Twentieth Century Fox. All other contributions remain the properties of their respective authors. The transcript itself is Copyright 2000 Benjamin Robinson. This capsule has been brought to you by Karma-ceuticals, Inc., and Associated Beetle Grinding Distributors of North America. Some of the material in this capsule is from the Lisa Simpson Fan Club mailing list. for more details. This work is dedicated to Raymond Chen, James A. Cherry, Ricardo Lafaurie, Frederic Briere, and all of those who made episode capsules what they are today.