Lisa the Beauty Queen
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Lisa the Beauty Queen" | |
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| Episode no. | 63 |
| Prod. code | 9F02 |
| Orig. Airdate | October 15, 1992 |
| Show Runner(s) | Al Jean & Mike Reiss |
| Written by | Jeff Martin |
| Directed by | Mark Kirkland |
| Chalkboard | "I will not prescribe medication" |
| Couch gag | Family "overshoot the mark" and run past the edge of the film and return to the couch. |
| Guest star | Bob Hope as himself Lona Williams as Amber Dempsey |
| DVD commentary by | Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss Jeff Martin Mark Kirkland |
| Season 4 September 24, 1992 – May 13, 1993 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Lisa the Beauty Queen" is the 4th episode of The Simpsons' fourth season.
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[edit] Synopsis
Springfield Elementary School is having its carnival, deemed "The Happiest Place on Earth". Principal Skinner deters a lawyer representing Disneyland and his muscular goons with surprising physical force. Bart somehow disappears in thin air after throwing a smoke bomb. Meanwhile, Lisa procures a caricature of herself from an artist. Peering at the crude drawing of herself and observing the surrounding crowd's reaction, Lisa is horrified at her picture. She exclaims, "Oh my God! I'm ugly!" Elsewhere, Homer has eagerly entered the raffle at the fair, with the grand prize being the chance to ride in the Duff Beer blimp. He fantasizes about the possibilities of riding in the blimp for a moment before yelling at Ned Flanders for winning the second prize, a shoe buffer. However, Homer's anger is quick to disappear when Skinner announces that Homer is the winner of the grand prize.
Back at home, Lisa is sullen over her realization that she lacks outer beauty. Homer notices the problem, but he is unable to fix it. After discussing the concept of beauty with his buddies at Moe's, he is saved through a TV ad. Homer sees that Laramie Cigarettes is sponsoring this year's "Little Miss Springfield" pageant. The entry fee for the pageant is $250, but Homer is currently broke. He decides to sell the Duff Blimp ticket to Barney (who receives money from being a lab rat for medical testing) to get the money. Homer reveals his ticket to Lisa, who is still dismayed over her appearance and refuses to participate in the pageant. However, Marge shows Lisa that Homer got the entry fee by selling his ticket to the Duff Blimp ride-along. Lisa, realizing how much that meant to her father, decides to enter the pageant.
At the pageant sign-ups, Lisa encounters a formidable competitor in the form of Amber Dempsey, a blonde girl with eyelash implants to make her act more adorable to the judges. After some makeovers at the beauty parlor and encouragement from her family, the day of the pageant arrives. At the introductions, Lisa emphasizes her goals of making Springfield a better place, while Amber catches the adoration of everyone with her eyelashes' blinking. Lisa's talent segment consists of a jazzed-up rendition of "America the Beautiful" and "Proud Mary". After Krusty's questions with the little girls (where Amber once again relies on her eyelashes), the runner-up is announced as Lisa, and the winner is Amber. However, at her first appearance, rain and thunderstorms occur, and a lightning bolt strikes Amber's scepter. She is hospitalized for her injuries, and Lisa takes her place as the acting Little Miss Springfield.
As Little Miss Springfield, Lisa unwillingly becomes a symbol for Laramie Cigarettes. She begins to fight back by protesting against the dangers of cigarettes at her appearances, and also vows to target the corruption of Mayor Quimby. Quimby and the Laramie officials meet to look for a way to dethrone Lisa as Little Miss Springfield. They find it through a technicality on her entry form; when Homer saw an area marked "Do not write in this space" on the paper, he wrote under it: "Okay". Amber is restored to her place as Little Miss Springfield. At home, Homer and Lisa discuss what they have learned, and Lisa thanks him for caring about her self-esteem. Homer requests that she remember it "the next time I wreck your life", to which Lisa gladly agrees.
[edit] References
- The Duff Blimp crashing into the radio tower is a parody of the Hindenburg disaster, which Kent Brockman quotes "Oh, the humanity!". However, unlike the real Hindenburg disaster, in future episodes it is shown that Barney is alive and well, having apparently escaped unscathed.
- A quote made by two boys: "Love that chewing gum walk," followed by Ralph saying "Very Wrigley," is a reference to Wrigley's chewing gum.
- When the G.I.s are disappointed at the appearance of Little Miss Springfield and they storm the stage, it's a reference to the movie Apocalypse Now.
- Apu's niece Pahusacheta performs an excruciating long rendition of "MacArthur Park" on the tabla.
- Lisa's rendition of Proud Mary where she rips off her dress to reveal she is wearing a leotard underneath is similar to the famous performance given by Tina Turner.
- When Bart comments that Lisa's statue in Springfield's Wax Museum doesn't really resemble her, someone answers that they used Dr. Ruth's body. The camera then flashes to the Chamber of Horrors where Dr. Ruth, Mr. T. and Ronald Reagan's heads are stuck on poles.
- Menthol Moose, Laramie's mascot for selling cigarettes to children is an obvious parody of Joe Camel.
- Krusty makes a comment referring to the Vanessa Williams scandal that cost her the Miss America crown in 1984.
- When Lisa is being sworn in as Little Miss Springfield on her front lawn, Marge is to her left dressed in a pink suit-dress and has taken a pose similar to that of Jacqueline Kennedy in the famous photo of Lyndon B Johnson being sworn in on Air Force One after John F Kennedy's assassination.
[edit] External links
- "Lisa the Beauty Queen" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
