Lisa's Date with Density
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"Lisa's Date with Density" is the seventh episode of the The Simpsons' eighth season, which originally aired December 15, 1996.[2] It was written by Mike Scully, and directed by Susie Dietter.[2]
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[edit] Synopsis
At Springfield Elementary School, Superintendent Chalmers visits Principal Skinner to show off his newly purchased 1979 Honda Accord, but becomes distraught when he discovers the car's hood ornament missing. Principal Skinner orders a search of every student's locker, and it is discovered that Nelson Muntz is the culprit. As punishment, Nelson is forced to apologize and then help Groundskeeper Willie with his job around the school.
Mr. Largo catches Lisa looking outside at Nelson during class, and is given detention. After school, she continues to watch Nelson and develops a crush on the bully.
Lisa tries to let Nelson know how she feels about him by getting Milhouse to pass a love note to him in class; however the plan backfires, with Nelson seriously injuring Milhouse, thinking the note came from him. Lisa admits that she wrote the letter, Nelson seems indifferent about the matter but begins "dating" her. Lisa is resolved to reform Nelson into a model student. She changes his appearance by given him new clothes and hair style. Later, the pair share a kiss during their date to the Springfield Observatory.
However, the influence of Nelson's friends Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney proves to win out when they convince him to come and throw spoiled coleslaw at Principal Skinner's house. Skinner immediately phones the police, and the four flee. Nelson takes refuge with Lisa, proclaiming his innocence. Lisa believes him, until Nelson unwittingly lets slip the truth. Lisa realizes that Nelson is always going to be Nelson and ends their relationship, much to the relief of an overjoyed Milhouse.
In the subplot, Chief Wiggum arrests a scam artist for telemarketing fraud. Homer witnesses the arrest and sees the discarded autodialer in a nearby trash bin. Homer takes the autodialer home to use for tele-panhandling.
Homer ends up annoying most of Springfield with his "Happy Dude" scam, and it isn't long before Chief Wiggum catches him. Instead of confiscating the autodialer and taking Homer into custody, Wiggum gives him a citation and asks him to bring the autodialer with him to his court hearing.[1][2][3]
[edit] Production
The idea of Lisa dating Nelson had been around for a while, with several different versions being pitched.[4] The writers wanted a "silly" Homer story to balance the episode out,[4] and the idea of using the telemarketing scam for this had also been around for a while.[5] By this time, the show had begun to have episodes revolving around secondary characters. This was the first episode to revolve around Nelson, and was done to partly explain why Nelson acts the way he does.[5] The words to Nelson's song were contributed by Mike Scully's daughters.[4] The scene in which Milhouse passes Lisa's note to Nelson was written by Bill Oakley,[4] with the line "He can't hear you, we had to pack his ears with gauze" being George Meyer's line.[6] There was a debate as to how injured Milhouse could look without it being horrifying, the drop of blood coming from his nose was decided to be enough.[5] Milhouse liking vaseline on toast was based on a child from Josh Weinstein's school days who everyday would get on to the bus with a piece of toast, which had vaseline on it.[5]
[edit] Cultural references
A majority of the story is a reference to the film Rebel Without a Cause.[1] Lisa calls Nelson "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma"; this was Winston Churchill's opinion of Russia at the outbreak of the Second World War.[1]
[edit] Reception
Josh Weinstein called it one of the most "real" episodes, commenting that every character in the episode, from Superintendent Chalmers to Lisa, acts like a real person throughout.[5] The medics line "He can't hear you, we had to pack his ears with gauze" is one of Matt Groening's favorites.[6] Marge's line "When I first met your father, he was loud, crude and piggish. But I worked hard on him, and now he's a whole new person." is one of Susie Dietter's favorites as it explains, why Marge is still married to Homer despite his actions.[7] The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called it "impressive" how "even after Nelson has beaten him [Milhouse] up for apparently making a pass, [Milhouse] will still do anything for uncaring Lisa."[1] It currently holds a rating of "Great" with a score of 8.4/10 at TV.com,[8] and a score of 7.2/10 at the Internet Movie Database.[9]
This is also one of the episodes that has been performed live by the cast in front of an audience.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). Lisa's Date With Density. BBC. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
- ^ a b c Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, p. 218. ISBN 0-00063-8898-1.
- ^ "Lisa's Date With Density". The Simpsons.com. Retrieved on March 30, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Scully, Mike. (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa's Date with Density" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d e Weinstein, Josh. (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa's Date with Density" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c Groening, Matt. (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa's Date with Density" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Dietter, Susie. (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa's Date with Density" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Lisa's Date With Density. TV.com. Retrieved on March 30, 2007.
- ^ Lisa's Date with Density. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on March 30, 2007.
[edit] External links
- "Lisa's Date with Density" at The Simpsons.com
- "Lisa's Date with Density" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
- "Lisa's Date with Density" at TV.com
- "Lisa's Date with Density" at the Internet Movie Database
