Lisa the Greek

"Lisa the Greek" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons' third season. The episode title is a reference to the novel (Zorba the Greek) and title of the 1964 movie Zorba the Greek, and can also be a reference to Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, an American sports commentator. Its major influence though is Nick the Greek, a famous professional gambler of the 20th century

1 Plot
2 Cultural references
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Ignored by Homer when she tries to show him a shoebox apartment she made for her Malibu Stacy dolls while he is watching football, Lisa complains to Marge, who suggests spending some "quality time" with Homer by taking up his interests. Lisa decides to join her father on the couch, and an annoyed Homer reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, Homer loses his bet on Denver.

After being ripped off by 1-900 betting advice hotlines, a desperate Homer turns to Lisa to pick a winner, and she picks the Miami Dolphins, prompting Homer to call Moe's Tavern to place his $50 wager, in spite of Lisa's moral concerns. In the end, the Dolphins win, and Homer and Lisa celebrate. Meanwhile, Marge has taken Bart shopping for new (dorky) clothes, but the bullies taunt him.

Lisa becomes very adept at choosing winners of football games, and Homer declares every Sunday "Daddy-Daughter Day." With his new money, he starts buying expensive presents for the family and treating them to fine dining. Marge eventually wants to know where Homer's extra income is coming from and gets the truth, but Homer says it is not really a big deal. Eventually, Lisa realizes all Homer wanted was to exploit her prognostic abilities to help him gamble. Completely heartbroken, Lisa then gives up all the Malibu Stacy toys that Homer bought for her.

Homer realizes he needs to make amends with Lisa, but she is too hurt to even talk with him. Homer briefly cheers her up, but shows that he still only wants to win a bet. She agrees to tell Homer who she thinks the winner will be, but she fears that she may be so distraught that she subconsciously wants Homer to lose his bet, leading her to a cryptic prediction: If she still loves Homer, Washington will win; if she does not, Buffalo. Homer becomes even more anxious over his relationship with Lisa as Super Bowl Sunday approaches.

Homer mopes throughout the game as he watches it at Moe's Tavern, especially after Buffalo gets a 14-7 halftime lead. In the end, Washington rallies in the second half and scores at the last second to win the game. Homer becomes happy and Bart proudly says to Lisa that she still loves Homer, in which she agrees. Homer cancels his bowling date with Barney and – on the Sunday after the Super Bowl – makes good on his promise to go hiking up Mount Springfield with Lisa.

[edit] Cultural references

The episode references the Super Bowl, correctly predicting that the Washington Redskins would win Super Bowl XXVI. When a repeat re-aired the following year on January 28, 1993, days before Super Bowl XXVII, they redubbed the episode to mention the Dallas Cowboys instead of the Washington Redskins. Fortunately, the Cowboys won, making the episode accurate again and continued to be accurate in later years when it was redubbed. In fact, showrunner Al Jean would always bet against Lisa's predictions, causing him to think "Why didn't I take Lisa's advice?". For another re-airing, on September 18, 1994, the same teams were used (they faced each other in Super Bowl XXVIII as well, with the same outcome); the same stadium was used, as well (Pasadena Rose Bowl), despite Super Bowl XXVIII actually being played at the Georgia Dome. Also, "week eight of the NFL" was changed to "week three"; 1994 was the first season of NFL on FOX, as well as the first broadcast during the NFL regular season. The DVD version and some syndicated reruns have the original dialogue, while other syndicated prints use the Dallas-Buffalo references.

The Duff Bowl is an obvious parody of the Bud Bowl advertisements for Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser family of beers.

Malibu Stacy (and all related accessories) are based on the Barbie doll franchise. The sports commentators in the episode are references to several famous American sports commentators. "Smooth" Jimmy Apollo is based on the American sports commentator Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder , and the namesake of this show's title. Brent Gunsilman is based on the American Sports Commentator Brent Musburger.

Troy McClure's new sitcom, Handle with Care (starring a retired cop who resides with a retired convict) is a sitcom patterned after the 1970s series Switch starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner (a detective series about an ex-police officer partnered with a reformed con artist).

Lisa mentions that she and Homer used to have burping contests; which is a reference to one Simpsons short on The Tracy Ullman Show called Burp Contest.