Lisa's Substitute
Encyclopedia
"Lisa's Substitute" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons
' second season
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on April 25, 1991. In the episode, Lisa
's teacher Miss Hoover takes medical leave due to what she thinks is Lyme disease
, so substitute teacher
Mr. Bergstrom takes over the class. Lisa finds Mr. Bergstrom's teaching methods inspiring and discovers an entirely new love for learning. When Miss Hoover returns to class, Lisa is devastated to lose her most positive adult role model. Eventually, she realizes that while Mr. Bergstrom was one of a kind, she can find role models in other people, including her father Homer
. Meanwhile, Bart
runs for class president
against Martin
.
Jon Vitti
wrote the episode and Rich Moore
directed it. Dustin Hoffman
–using the pseudonym Sam Etic
–guest starred in it as Mr. Bergstrom, who was modeled on the physical appearance of Mike Reiss
, a longtime writer and producer on the show. The episode features cultural references to Mike Nichols
's film The Graduate
, which starred Hoffman, and the novel Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen Rating
of 11.1, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
teacher, Miss Hoover, thinks she has come down with Lyme disease
and is replaced by substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom. Because of his unorthodox teaching methods and friendly nature, Lisa starts falling in love with him.
Lisa runs into Mr. Bergstrom at a museum and is embarrassed when Homer
displays his ignorance. Sensing that Lisa is missing something in her relationship with her father, Mr. Bergstrom takes Homer aside to suggest he be a more positive role model. After venting to her mother
about Homer ruining her 'one chance' to get to know Bergstrom outside of the classroom, Lisa is given permission to invite him to family dinner, only to be shattered when she finds Miss Hoover back and Mr. Bergstrom gone. She rushes to his apartment and finds him having left for another job. She rushes to the train station to catch him, and confesses to that she will be lost without him. To comfort her, he writes her a note and tells her that if she ever feels alone and like she cannot rely on anybody, its contents are all she needs to know. He then boards the train and departs. It reads, "You are Lisa Simpson
."
In a subplot, Bart
's class prepares to elect a class president
. Mrs. Krabappel
nominates Martin
, while Sherri and Terri nominate Bart. During a debate with Martin, Bart tells jokes and wins the class over. Afterwards, certain of Bart's inevitable victory thanks to his popular campaigning, none of the children in his class — including himself — actually voted, giving Martin the victory with just two votes: one from himself, and the other from Wendell Borton.
Devastated by Mr. Bergstrom's departure, Lisa takes her grief out on Homer, calling him a baboon. Marge tells Homer to console Lisa, explaining how her daughter is very hurt emotionally and is in need of her father. Homer enters Lisa's room and finds her crying over her desk. He is uncertain of how to deal with Lisa's sadness, and is uncomfortable seeing his daughter crying. Homer explains to Lisa how he cannot really understand how it feels to lose someone important: everyone he has ever loved and cared about lives with him still. He then alludes to Lisa calling him a baboon, and in a loving manner mimics a monkey, cheering her up. Lisa apologizes to Homer for calling him a baboon, and he accepts the apology. Finding Bart still seething over the election result, Homer cheers him up by reminding him that all the job of class president would have really meant was a lot of extra work with little reward, making Bart feel happy that he lost the election. 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 with Marge happily that night, stating he is "on the biggest roll" of his life.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
and directed by Rich Moore
. According to Vitti, The Simpsons producer James L. Brooks
contributed more to this episode than he did to any other in the show's history. Vitti said the episode was "very controversial" when it was being made because it "came at a point when the staff were just beginning to realize the comedy potential of the show, but we were trapped with these love stories, and just as the staff were starting to get frustrated with the love stories, along came 'Lisa's Substitute': the biggest, huggiest, warmest and fuzziest of them all."
Mr. Bergstrom was modeled on the physical appearance of Mike Reiss
, a longtime writer and producer on the show. American actor Dustin Hoffman
provided the voice of Mr. Bergstrom. Hoffman was not sure if he wanted to be identified with a cartoon show at the time, like many early guest stars on The Simpsons, and therefore used the pseudonym
Sam Etic in the closing credits
. Sam Etic is a play on the word semitic
, alluding to the fact that both Hoffman and Mr. Bergstrom are Jewish. Brooks was the one who suggested the pseudonym, which Hoffman immediately liked. The cast of the show flew to New York
to record the episode with Hoffman. Yeardley Smith
, who provides the voice of Lisa, said she grew as an actress after working with Hoffman that day. The Simpsons writer Al Jean
said he remembered that when the audio track of the episode came back, Hoffman's voice was too low on the singing parts. The staff were "petrified" that the singing scenes would not show up on air, so they had Hoffman re-record them when he was in Los Angeles
.
. Mr. Bergstrom reads a line from the 1952 novel Charlotte's Web
to his class. It is implied that this line is the end of the book, but in reality another chapter follows. Vitti said the line was the maximum amount of the book they could feature in the episode without being sued. The staff contacted a relative to the author E. B. White
, but she would not clear the use of the book. When Lisa arrives at Mr. Bergstrom's apartment building, a list of tenants can be seen. One of the names is J. Vitti, for the episode's writer Jon Vitti, and another is J. Kamerman, for then-animator Jen Kamerman
. 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 reference to the famous picture of former President Harry Truman
holding up a copy of a prematurely printed edition of the Chicago Tribune
that proclaimed "Dewey Defeats Truman
", taken the day after his close victory over Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 United States presidential election
.
In its original broadcast, "Lisa's Substitute" finished forty-third in the ratings for the week of April 22–28, 1991, with a Nielsen Rating
of 11.1, equivalent to approximately ten million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. Hoffman has been praised for his guest appearance as Mr. Bergstrom. Entertainment Weekly
named it one of the sixteen greatest guest appearances on The Simpsons. In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times
listed his performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive review from television critics. 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, "Despite a scene-stealing performance from Ms Krabappel, this is Lisa's show. Mr Bergstrom's last message for Lisa is a delightful touch and adds the finishing touch to a wonderful episode." Former TV Squad blogger Adam Finley named "Lisa's Substitute" as one of his top fourteen most touching The Simpsons episodes, and The Simpsons Archive
webmaster Jouni Paakkinen rated the episode as his third favorite. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said that Lisa episodes "tend to be goopy", but "Lisa's Substitute" seemed like "a good show, however". He went on to say, "The show offered many other good moments, and it helped expand the Lisa/Homer relationship neatly. The Bart’s election subplot punctured any sappiness that otherwise might have occurred. [...] 'Lisa's Substitute' offered a fairly solid program." The episode's reference to The Graduate was named the 20th greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
' s Nathan Ditum. Ditum also ranked Hoffman's performance as the 16th best guest appearance in the show's history. Todd VanDerWerff of Slant Magazine
picked the episode as the show's second best, praising its emotion and Hoffman's performance.
"Lisa's Substitute" also received positive reviews from cast and crew members of the show. Bart's voice actress, Nancy Cartwright
, said it is one of her top three episodes together with "Bart Sells His Soul
" and "Bart the Mother
", while writer Al Jean said the episode was his favorite sentimental episode. Dan Castellaneta
, the voice of Homer, named it his favorite episode of the show together with "Simpson and Delilah
" and "Homer the Heretic
". Executive producer James L. Brooks said he thinks "Lisa's Substitute" stands out because it is The Simpsons' "best show" with a message behind it.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 11, 1990 and May 9, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with "Bart Gets an F". Another episode, "Blood Feud" aired during the summer after the official season finale. The show runners for the second production season were Matt...
. It originally aired on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States on April 25, 1991. In the episode, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
's teacher Miss Hoover takes medical leave due to what she thinks is Lyme disease
Lyme disease
Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is the main cause of Lyme disease in the United States, whereas Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii cause most...
, so substitute teacher
Substitute teacher
A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, or other reasons. "Substitute teacher" is the most commonly used phrase in the United States, Canada and Ireland, while supply teacher is the most commonly...
Mr. Bergstrom takes over the class. Lisa finds Mr. Bergstrom's teaching methods inspiring and discovers an entirely new love for learning. When Miss Hoover returns to class, Lisa is devastated to lose her most positive adult role model. Eventually, she realizes that while Mr. Bergstrom was one of a kind, she can find role models in other people, including her father Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
. Meanwhile, Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
runs for class president
Class President
A class president is usually the leader of a student body class, and presides over its class cabinet or organization within a student council, in a grade school class presidents are generally elected by the class, a constituency composed of all students in a grade level.The practice of electing a...
against Martin
Martin Prince
Martin Prince, Jr. is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Russi Taylor. Martin is Bart Simpson's classmate, and is Lisa Simpson's rival in intelligence, as well as Nelson Muntz's favorite target for bullying...
.
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
wrote the episode and Rich Moore
Rich Moore
Rich Moore is an American animation director and a business partner in Rough Draft Studios, Inc., where he serves as Sr. Vice President of creative affairs. He is one of a handful of artists who in the early 90s redefined prime time television animation with his work on The Simpsons...
directed it. Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
–using the pseudonym Sam Etic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
–guest starred in it as Mr. Bergstrom, who was modeled on the physical appearance of Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
, a longtime writer and producer on the show. The episode features cultural references to Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
's film The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
, which starred Hoffman, and the novel Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web is an award-winning children's novel by acclaimed American author E. B. White, about a pig named Wilbur who is saved from being slaughtered by an intelligent spider named Charlotte. The book was first published in 1952, with illustrations by Garth Williams.The novel tells the story...
by E. B. White
E. B. White
Elwyn Brooks White , usually known as E. B. White, was an American writer. A long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine, he also wrote many famous books for both adults and children, such as the popular Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, and co-authored a widely used writing guide, The...
. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen Rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 11.1, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
Plot
Lisa'sLisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
teacher, Miss Hoover, thinks she has come down with Lyme disease
Lyme disease
Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is the main cause of Lyme disease in the United States, whereas Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii cause most...
and is replaced by substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom. Because of his unorthodox teaching methods and friendly nature, Lisa starts falling in love with him.
Lisa runs into Mr. Bergstrom at a museum and is embarrassed when Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
displays his ignorance. Sensing that Lisa is missing something in her relationship with her father, Mr. Bergstrom takes Homer aside to suggest he be a more positive role model. After venting to her mother
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
about Homer ruining her 'one chance' to get to know Bergstrom outside of the classroom, Lisa is given permission to invite him to family dinner, only to be shattered when she finds Miss Hoover back and Mr. Bergstrom gone. She rushes to his apartment and finds him having left for another job. She rushes to the train station to catch him, and confesses to that she will be lost without him. To comfort her, he writes her a note and tells her that if she ever feels alone and like she cannot rely on anybody, its contents are all she needs to know. He then boards the train and departs. It reads, "You are Lisa Simpson
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
."
In a subplot, Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's class prepares to elect a class president
Class President
A class president is usually the leader of a student body class, and presides over its class cabinet or organization within a student council, in a grade school class presidents are generally elected by the class, a constituency composed of all students in a grade level.The practice of electing a...
. Mrs. Krabappel
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel is a fictional character from the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. She is a 4th grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School. Krabappel is the only character Wallace voices on a regular basis.- Profile :...
nominates Martin
Martin Prince
Martin Prince, Jr. is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Russi Taylor. Martin is Bart Simpson's classmate, and is Lisa Simpson's rival in intelligence, as well as Nelson Muntz's favorite target for bullying...
, while Sherri and Terri nominate Bart. During a debate with Martin, Bart tells jokes and wins the class over. Afterwards, certain of Bart's inevitable victory thanks to his popular campaigning, none of the children in his class — including himself — actually voted, giving Martin the victory with just two votes: one from himself, and the other from Wendell Borton.
Devastated by Mr. Bergstrom's departure, Lisa takes her grief out on Homer, calling him a baboon. Marge tells Homer to console Lisa, explaining how her daughter is very hurt emotionally and is in need of her father. Homer enters Lisa's room and finds her crying over her desk. He is uncertain of how to deal with Lisa's sadness, and is uncomfortable seeing his daughter crying. Homer explains to Lisa how he cannot really understand how it feels to lose someone important: everyone he has ever loved and cared about lives with him still. He then alludes to Lisa calling him a baboon, and in a loving manner mimics a monkey, cheering her up. Lisa apologizes to Homer for calling him a baboon, and he accepts the apology. Finding Bart still seething over the election result, Homer cheers him up by reminding him that all the job of class president would have really meant was a lot of extra work with little reward, making Bart feel happy that he lost the election. Finally going by Maggie's
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
room, he places her pacifier in her mouth. Proud that he helped all three of his children, Homer goes to bed with Marge happily that night, stating he is "on the biggest roll" of his life.
Production
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
and directed by Rich Moore
Rich Moore
Rich Moore is an American animation director and a business partner in Rough Draft Studios, Inc., where he serves as Sr. Vice President of creative affairs. He is one of a handful of artists who in the early 90s redefined prime time television animation with his work on The Simpsons...
. According to Vitti, The Simpsons producer James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
contributed more to this episode than he did to any other in the show's history. Vitti said the episode was "very controversial" when it was being made because it "came at a point when the staff were just beginning to realize the comedy potential of the show, but we were trapped with these love stories, and just as the staff were starting to get frustrated with the love stories, along came 'Lisa's Substitute': the biggest, huggiest, warmest and fuzziest of them all."
Mr. Bergstrom was modeled on the physical appearance of Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
, a longtime writer and producer on the show. American actor Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
provided the voice of Mr. Bergstrom. Hoffman was not sure if he wanted to be identified with a cartoon show at the time, like many early guest stars on The Simpsons, and therefore used the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Sam Etic in the closing credits
Closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...
. Sam Etic is a play on the word semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
, alluding to the fact that both Hoffman and Mr. Bergstrom are Jewish. Brooks was the one who suggested the pseudonym, which Hoffman immediately liked. The cast of the show flew to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to record the episode with Hoffman. Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
, who provides the voice of Lisa, said she grew as an actress after working with Hoffman that day. The Simpsons writer Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
said he remembered that when the audio track of the episode came back, Hoffman's voice was too low on the singing parts. The staff were "petrified" that the singing scenes would not show up on air, so they had Hoffman re-record them when he was in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Cultural references
Mrs. Krabappel trying to seduce Mr. Bergstrom is a reference to Hoffman's similar situation in the 1967 film The GraduateThe Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
. Mr. Bergstrom reads a line from the 1952 novel Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web is an award-winning children's novel by acclaimed American author E. B. White, about a pig named Wilbur who is saved from being slaughtered by an intelligent spider named Charlotte. The book was first published in 1952, with illustrations by Garth Williams.The novel tells the story...
to his class. It is implied that this line is the end of the book, but in reality another chapter follows. Vitti said the line was the maximum amount of the book they could feature in the episode without being sued. The staff contacted a relative to the author E. B. White
E. B. White
Elwyn Brooks White , usually known as E. B. White, was an American writer. A long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine, he also wrote many famous books for both adults and children, such as the popular Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, and co-authored a widely used writing guide, The...
, but she would not clear the use of the book. When Lisa arrives at Mr. Bergstrom's apartment building, a list of tenants can be seen. One of the names is J. Vitti, for the episode's writer Jon Vitti, and another is J. Kamerman, for then-animator Jen Kamerman
Jen Kamerman
Jen Kamerman is a former animation director on The Simpsons. She is married and has one son.-Simpsons episodes:She directed the following episodes:Season Eleven*"Kill the Alligator and Run"Season Twelve*"Tennis the Menace"...
. 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 reference to the famous picture of former President Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
holding up a copy of a prematurely printed edition of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
that proclaimed "Dewey Defeats Truman
Dewey Defeats Truman
"Dewey Defeats Truman" was a famously inaccurate banner headline on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948, the day after incumbent United States President Harry S. Truman beat Republican challenger and Governor of New York Thomas E...
", taken the day after his close victory over Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 1948
The United States presidential election of 1948 is considered by most historians as the greatest election upset in American history. Virtually every prediction indicated that incumbent President Harry S. Truman would be defeated by Republican Thomas E. Dewey. Truman won, overcoming a three-way...
.
Reception
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 11.1, equivalent to approximately ten million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. Hoffman has been praised for his guest appearance as Mr. Bergstrom. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
named it one of the sixteen greatest guest appearances on The Simpsons. In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
listed his performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive review from television critics. 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, "Despite a scene-stealing performance from Ms Krabappel, this is Lisa's show. Mr Bergstrom's last message for Lisa is a delightful touch and adds the finishing touch to a wonderful episode." Former TV Squad blogger Adam Finley named "Lisa's Substitute" as one of his top fourteen most touching The Simpsons episodes, and The Simpsons Archive
The Simpsons Archive
The Simpsons Archive, better known as snpp.com or simply SNPP , is a Simpsons fan site that has been online since 1994...
webmaster Jouni Paakkinen rated the episode as his third favorite. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said that Lisa episodes "tend to be goopy", but "Lisa's Substitute" seemed like "a good show, however". He went on to say, "The show offered many other good moments, and it helped expand the Lisa/Homer relationship neatly. The Bart’s election subplot punctured any sappiness that otherwise might have occurred. [...] 'Lisa's Substitute' offered a fairly solid program." The episode's reference to The Graduate was named the 20th greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
picked the episode as the show's second best, praising its emotion and Hoffman's performance.
"Lisa's Substitute" also received positive reviews from cast and crew members of the show. Bart's voice actress, Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
, said it is one of her top three episodes together with "Bart Sells His Soul
Bart Sells His Soul
"Bart Sells His Soul" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network, on October 8, 1995. In the episode, Bart pranks churchgoers by replacing the music to a hymn with a psychedelic rock song, so Reverend Lovejoy forces him and Milhouse...
" and "Bart the Mother
Bart the Mother
"Bart the Mother" is the third episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons, originally airing on September 27, 1998. The episode was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Steven Dean Moore. It was the last full-length episode Cohen wrote for The Simpsons before leaving to work on Futurama...
", while writer Al Jean said the episode was his favorite sentimental episode. Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, the voice of Homer, named it his favorite episode of the show together with "Simpson and Delilah
Simpson and Delilah
"Simpson and Delilah" is the second episode of The Simpsons second season and first aired on October 18, 1990. Homer uses the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant medical insurance plan to buy Dimoxinil, a miracle hair growth formula. Homer grows hair, and is given a promotion at work which allows him...
" and "Homer the Heretic
Homer the Heretic
"Homer the Heretic" is the third episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on FOX in the United States on October 8, 1992. In the episode, Homer decides to forgo going to church and has an excellent time staying home. His behavior quickly attracts the wrath of God, who visits...
". Executive producer James L. Brooks said he thinks "Lisa's Substitute" stands out because it is The Simpsons
External links
- "Lisa's Substitute" at The Simpsons.com