Lisa the Beauty Queen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Simpsons episode
"Lisa the Beauty Queen"
Image:9f02.gif
Bob Hope guest starring
Episode no. 63
Prod. code 9F02
Orig. airdate October 15, 1992[1]
Show runner(s) Al Jean & Mike Reiss
Written by Jeff Martin
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Chalkboard "I will not prescribe medication"[2]
Couch gag Maggie appears on the couch first. Homer, Marge, and Bart run by but end up on the empty white space of the film frame. They scramble back and Lisa comes in at the last minute.[3]
Guest star(s) Doris Grau
JoAnn Harris
Pamela Hayden
Bob Hope
DVD
commentary		 Matt Groening
Al Jean
Jeff Martin
Mark Kirkland
Season 4
September 24, 1992 – May 13, 1993
  1. "Kamp Krusty"
  2. "A Streetcar Named Marge"
  3. "Homer the Heretic"
  4. "Lisa the Beauty Queen"
  5. "Treehouse of Horror III"
  6. "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie"
  7. "Marge Gets a Job"
  8. "New Kid on the Block"
  9. "Mr. Plow"
  10. "Lisa's First Word"
  11. "Homer's Triple Bypass"
  12. "Marge vs. the Monorail"
  13. "Selma's Choice"
  14. "Brother from the Same Planet"
  15. "I Love Lisa"
  16. "Duffless"
  17. "Last Exit to Springfield"
  18. "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show"
  19. "The Front"
  20. "Whacking Day"
  21. "Marge in Chains"
  22. "Krusty Gets Kancelled"
List of all The Simpsons episodes

"Lisa the Beauty Queen" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons' fourth season, which first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 15, 1992. In the episode, Homer enters Lisa into a beauty pageant to boost her confidence. Lisa is runner-up, but gains the title of Little Miss Springfield after the original winner is injured. Little Miss Springfield's duties include being a spokesperson for Laramie Cigarettes, which causes Lisa to speak out against smoking. As a result of her anti-smoking protests, her title is taken away on a technicality.

Jeff Martin wrote the episode and its accompanying songs and music. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and Bob Hope made a guest appearance. The episode references various films, music, and historical events and was well-received.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Springfield Elementary School holds a school fair, where Lisa purchases a caricature of herself drawn at a carnival booth. She is horrified at the unfavorable drawing and the reaction of the surrounding crowd. Homer wins the fair's raffle, with the grand prize a ride in the Duff Blimp. Back at home, Lisa is in tears because she feels unattractive. Homer sees a TV advertisement that says Laramie Cigarettes is sponsoring this year's "Little Miss Springfield" pageant, and decides to enter Lisa to boost her self esteem. The entry fee for the pageant is $250, so he sells his Duff Blimp ticket to Barney to raise the funds needed. Homer excitedly tells Lisa he has entered her in the pageant, but she refuses. However, Marge tells Lisa that Homer sold his Duff Blimp ticket to pay the entry fee, and she realizes her father's sacrifice and enters the pageant.

At the pageant's registration, Lisa meets a formidable competitor named Amber Dempsey, a blond girl with eyelash implants from Paraguay to make her look cuter. In preparation for the pageant Lisa receives makeovers at the beauty parlor, training from her brother, and encouragement from her family. The day of the pageant arrives, and on-stage Lisa explains her aim to make Springfield a better place, while Amber wins the crowd's adoration by batting her large eyelashes. Lisa's talent is a jazzed-up rendition of "America the Beautiful" and "Proud Mary". After Krusty's interview segment, Lisa is announced as the runner-up and Amber the winner. At Amber's first official appearance, a thunderstorm creates a lightning bolt which strikes her metal scepter. She is hospitalized for her injuries, and Lisa is crowned Little Miss Springfield.

One of Little Miss Springfield's duties is spokesperson for pageant sponsor Laramie Cigarettes, to lure a younger demographic into smoking. Instead, Lisa protests against the dangers of cigarettes at her appearances, and also vows to target the corruption of Mayor Quimby. Quimby and the Laramie officials look for a way to dethrone and silence Lisa. They find a technical error on her entry form: Homer wrote "OK" underneath the instruction "Do not write in this space". Amber is recrowned Little Miss Springfield. At home, Homer is upset that he cost Lisa her title, but Lisa reminds Homer that he entered her in the pageant to help her self-esteem, and thanks him because it worked. Homer requests that she remember it "the next time I wreck your life", to which Lisa gladly agrees.[1][2][3]

[edit] Production

Bob Hope featured as a guest star.
Bob Hope featured as a guest star.

Many of The Simpsons' writers had left the show or were absent at the beginning of season four, which left Al Jean and Mike Reiss to brainstorm plot ideas alone. After brainstorming "Homer the Heretic", they thought of Lisa entering a beauty pageant. They assigned Jeff Martin to write the episode because they assumed he would fill it with songs, like he did on previous episodes.[4] Martin obliged, and wrote the episode and its songs and music.[5] He also based the episode on some of his own experiences, such as the scene where Lisa has a caricature of herself drawn.[5]

This episode featured Bob Hope as a guest star, with his part recorded at his house by Jeff Martin and Conan O'Brian. At that point he could almost not hear or see them at 92 years old, but he is portrayed as more youthful in the episode.[5]

[edit] Cultural references

The episode makes several references to popular culture and history. The episode includes a scene based on Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, where Lisa and Bob Hope escape the Fort Springfield stage.[3] It also makes two references to Star Wars, where the caricature artist displays a caricature of Darth Vader and a montage shows Lisa with a double-bun hairdo like Princess Leia.[6] The Springfield Waxworks' Chamber of Horrors contains Mr. T, Ronald Reagan and Dr. Ruth,[3] and Laramie's mascot Menthol Moose is a parody of Joe Camel.[4] Musically, Homer mournfully sings a song, "Blimpy Boy", to the tune of The Seekers' "Georgy Girl".[3] Historically, there is a parody of the Hindenburg disaster, when the Duff Blimp crashes into the radio tower, to which Kent Brockman quotes "Oh, the humanity!".[3] When Lisa is sworn in as Little Miss Springfield on her front lawn, Marge is to her left wearing a pink suit-dress in 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.[4]

[edit] Reception

The episode finished 28th in the Nielsen ratings for the week of 12 October - 18 October 1992 with a rating of 12.0, seen by approximately 11.1 million households.[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, said: "Another top-notch episode" and adds that "Krusty gets some of his best lines in a few brief appearances."[3]

The Church of England's book Mixing it up with The Simpsons, which encourages children to reflect on life issues, explores self-image through "Lisa the Beauty Queen".[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Lisa the Beauty Queen. The Simpsons.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  2. ^ a b Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, p. 95. ISBN 0-00-638898-1. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). Lisa the Beauty Queen. BBC. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  4. ^ a b c Jean, Al. (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Beaúty Queen" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  5. ^ a b c Martin, Jeff. (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Beaúty Queen" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  6. ^ Chernoff, Scott. "I Bent My Wookiee! Celebrating the Star Wars/Simpsons Connection", Star Wars.com, 2007-07-24. Retrieved on 2008-04-30. 
  7. ^ "NIELSEN RATINGS /OCT. 12-18", Press-Telegram, October 21, 1992, p. C5. Retrieved on 2008-05-09. 
  8. ^ Aye Carumba! The Simpsons help liven up Christian teaching (July 25, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
The Simpsons Portal
Languages