Lisa's Substitute

"Lisa's Substitute" is the 19th episode of the second season of The Simpsons. The episode is about Lisa developing feelings for an unconventional substitute teacher, as well as a stronger relationship with Homer.

1 Plot
2 Further info
3 Cultural references
4 Sam Etic
5 Reception
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Plot

When Ms. Hoover falls ill with a suspected case of Lyme disease, she is replaced by substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom. Because of his unorthodox teaching methods, Lisa quickly takes a friendly, even romantic, liking to him. He is the only teacher, and perhaps the only adult, who has ever challenged, respected, and liked her. Just as Lisa is about to ask Mr. Bergstrom over to her parents' house for dinner, Ms. Hoover returns rubbing out Mr. Bergstrom's name on the blackboard, stating her Lyme disease was psychosomatic. Rushing to the train station, Lisa confesses to Mr. Bergstrom (who is taking a job in another city) that she will be lost without him. To comfort her, he writes her a note with a message that he says will always support her. He then boards the train and the train departs. She tries to catch up with the train, but of course, it soon gets out of her sight. Only then does she read the note. It says, "You are Lisa Simpson", in order to change her feelings.

Meanwhile, Bart runs for class president against Martin Prince. With his shock-based campaign, he seems to be the sure winner, but still loses due to the fact that nobody in the class (including himself) voted, with the exception of Martin himself and one other student, Wendell, who both voted for Martin.

At dinner that evening, Bart is miserable and Lisa is very upset. Lisa explains to Homer that Mr. Bergstrom is gone, but Homer responds in his usual uncaring manner which enrages Lisa, causing her to decidedly call her own father a baboon before running to her room in tears (Bart then exclaims 'somebody was bound to say it one day, I just can't believe it was her'.). Marge furiously orders Homer (after he whined about being called "the ugliest ape of them all") upstairs to apologize and to console Lisa, explaining how her daughter is very hurt emotionally and in need of her father. He enters Lisa's room and finds her crying over her desk. He is uncertain of how to deal with Lisa's sadness, and is noticeably uncomfortable seeing his daughter crying. Homer finds his inspiration from the music of a musical ballerina jewelry box and explains to Lisa how he can not really understand how it feels to lose someone important because he tells Lisa how everyone he has ever loved and cared about lives with him still. Homer then alludes to Lisa calling him a baboon, and in a loving manner mimics a monkey and Lisa is cheered up. Lisa apologises to Homer for calling him a baboon, and Homer accepts the apology. Finding Bart still seething over the election result, Homer reminds his son that all the job of class president would have meant was extra work with little reward. Bart becomes happy that he lost. Finally going by Maggie's room, he places her pacifier in her mouth. Proud that he helped all three of his children, Homer goes to bed happy that night.

[edit] Further info

According to the DVD commentary for the episode, James L. Brooks contributed more to this episode than he did for any other in the show's history, although the episode is credited to Jon Vitti. Brooks was also responsible for the "You are Lisa Simpson" line.
The character of the substitute teacher, Mr. Bergstrom, was actually modeled on the physical appearance of Mike Reiss, longtime writer/producer for the show.
In the episode "Smart and Smarter", Marge gives Lisa a paper that says "You are Lisa Simpson" and then Lisa says "I already have one of those".
When Lisa arrives at Mr. Bergstrom's apartment building, you can see a list of tenants. One of the names is J. Vitti, for the episode's writer Jon Vitti, and another is J. Kamerman, for then-animator (and future Simpsons director) Jen Kamerman.

[edit] Cultural references

Many of the lines and camera angles in this episode are homages to the film The Graduate.
As the substitute teacher approaches the classroom, the music from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is heard.
When Bart unexpectedly loses to Martin in the class president race, a picture of Martin holding up a copy of The Daily Fourth Gradian with the headline "Simpson Defeats Prince" is taken, which in turn ends up on the front page of The Daily Fourth Gradian under the headline "Prince Beats Simpson." This is a direct nod to the famous picture of President Harry Truman holding up a copy of a prematurely printed edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune that proclaimed "Dewey Defeats Truman," taken the day after his close victory over Governor Thomas Dewey in the 1948 presidential race.
Mr. Bergstrom reads a line from Charlotte's Web. It is implied that this line is the end of the book, when in fact another chapter follows.

[edit] Sam Etic

Sam Etic is a pseudonym for actor Dustin Hoffman (which he is credited as in this episode). The name is a play on the word semitic, alluding to the fact that Hoffman and the Bergstrom character are Jewish. According to the DVD commentary, James L. Brooks also suggested the pseudonym which Dustin Hoffman supposedly liked. This is referenced in the later episode "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie", in which Lisa tells Bart that the film included several cameos, mentioning Michael Jackson, (who appeared on the episode Stark Raving Dad, also using a pseudonym) and Dustin Hoffman, adding that "they didn't use their real names, but you could tell it was them."