Lisa the Vegetarian
Encyclopedia
"Lisa the Vegetarian" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons
seventh season
. It originally aired on the Fox network
in the United States on October 15, 1995. In the episode, Lisa
decides to stop eating meat after bonding with a lamb at a petting zoo. Her schoolmates and family members ridicule her for her beliefs, but with the help of Apu
, Paul McCartney
, and Linda McCartney
, she commits to vegetarianism
.
Directed by Mark Kirkland
, "Lisa the Vegetarian" is the first full-length episode David S. Cohen
wrote for The Simpsons. David Mirkin
, the show runner
at the time, supported the episode in part because he had just become a vegetarian himself. Dan Castellaneta
, the voice of Homer Simpson is also a vegetarian. Former Beatle
Paul McCartney and his then wife Linda McCartney guest star in the episode. Paul McCartney's condition for appearing was that Lisa would remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series. The episode makes several references to his musical career, and his song "Maybe I'm Amazed
" plays during the closing credits
.
"Lisa the Vegetarian" finished 47th in the ratings for the week of October 9–15, 1995, with a 9.0 Nielsen rating
. It was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. The episode received generally positive reviews from television critics. It has won two awards, an Environmental Media Award
and a Genesis Award
, for highlighting environmental and animal issues.
visits a petting zoo, where Lisa
is enraptured by a cute lamb. That night, Marge
serves lamb chops
for dinner, but Lisa is troubled by the connection between the dish and its living counterpart, and announces that she will no longer eat meat. In response, her brother Bart
and her father Homer
razz her relentlessly. Reaction at school is no better; when Lisa requests a vegetarian alternative to the cafeteria food, Principal Skinner labels her an "agitator." The students are then forced to watch a Meat Council propaganda film
, starring Troy McClure
, which criticizes vegetarianism. Lisa is unimpressed by the film, but her classmates tease her.
Homer and Bart continue to give Lisa a hard time at home, particularly since Homer is ready to host a barbecue, complete with roast pig. Bart and Homer even form a conga line
and sing, "You don't win friends with salad!" On the day of the barbecue, Lisa makes gazpacho
for all the guests as an alternative to meat, but the partygoers laugh in her face. Enraged and deeply hurt, she climbs aboard a riding mower and drives away with the roast pig in tow. Homer and Bart chase her, but she pushes the pig off a slope, and they are too late. The pig rolls through bushes, into a river, and is shot into the air by a dam spillway
's suction.
At home, Homer scolds Lisa for ruining his party, and she rebukes him for serving a meat-based dish. They fight, and she leaves the house, declaring herself to have been the one "in the right." As Lisa walks along, she decides that she can no longer fight the pressure to eat meat, prompting her to grab a hot dog from the grill at the Kwik-E-Mart
and take a bite. However, Apu, himself a vegan
, reveals that she has eaten a tofu
dog. Apu takes Lisa through a secret passageway to the Kwik-E-Mart roof, where they meet Paul and Linda McCartney. The McCartneys explain that they are old friends of Apu from Paul's days in India, and discuss their interest in animal rights. After a brief discussion, Lisa is committed once more to vegetarianism, but she realizes that she should tolerate those who disagree with her views. Inspired, Lisa begins to return home and finds Homer frantically searching for her. She apologizes to Homer, admitting she had no right to ruin his barbecue; he forgives her and offers her a "veggie back" ride home. The final credits play over the still airborne roast pig.
wrote for The Simpsons. His most prominent work for the show to that point had been the "Nightmare Cafeteria" segment in the season six
episode "Treehouse of Horror V
". The idea for "Lisa the Vegetarian" came to him while he was working on another Simpsons script. Cohen could not concentrate on his task because he was waiting for lunch, and on the back of the script he scribbled, "Lisa becomes a vegetarian?" Cohen showed the note to Simpsons writer Brent Forrester
, who liked the idea. Show runner David Mirkin
then approved the story when Cohen pitched it to him. Mirkin had just become a vegetarian himself, and later noted that many of Lisa's experiences in the episode were based on his own.
Writer Bill Oakley
suggested the episode's barbecue scenes. Cohen's first draft contained a more philosophical argument between Lisa and Homer about eating meat, but Oakley told Cohen that the story needed something more specific to serve as the basis of Homer and Lisa's dispute. George Meyer
, a writer known among the Simpsons staff for his "bizarre physical jokes", contributed the idea of the barbecue pig getting caught in the spillway and flying into the air.
who had never appeared on The Simpsons. (John Lennon
died before the show was created, but Ringo Starr
and George Harrison
had guest starred in 1991 ("Brush with Greatness
") and 1993 ("Homer's Barbershop Quartet
"), respectively.) The Simpsons staff wanted to bring McCartney onto the show, and David Mirkin thought "Lisa the Vegetarian" would be an attractive story, since McCartney is a vegetarian himself. McCartney agreed to appear, but requested that Lisa remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series, rather than revert to meat-eating in the next episode. The Simpsons staff promised that she would remain a vegetarian, resulting in one of the few permanent character changes made in the show. McCartney's wife Linda was also recruited to appear in the episode. She told Entertainment Weekly
that the episode was a chance for her and her husband "to spread the vegetarian word to a wider audience." Paul and Linda were both long-time fans of The Simpsons.
Mirkin later said that recording with the McCartneys was one of the most "amazing" experiences of his life. He flew to London and met the couple at Paul McCartney's recording studio, where the McCartneys spent an hour recording their parts. Simpsons creator Matt Groening
was supposed to go with Mirkin to London, but missed his plane. Groening commented that having McCartney and the rest of The Beatles on The Simpsons "was a dream come true for all of us."
Linda McCartney died of cancer at age 56 on April 17, 1998. The Simpsons' season nine
episode "Trash of the Titans
", which aired on April 26, 1998, was dedicated to her memory. Simpsons executive producer Mike Scully
said, "It just seemed like the right thing to do. Everyone here was surprised and saddened by her death."
, who was intrigued by the story because he had not seen many television episodes about vegetarianism. The designs for Paul and Linda McCartney are unusual for The Simpsons in that the characters have brown and blue irises, respectively. Most Simpsons characters simply have black spots in the centers of their eyes.
In one scene of the episode, Homer sprays two bottles of lighter fluid onto his grill, causing viewers to anticipate an explosion when Homer throws a match on it. When he does release the match, however, the grill barely ignites. A similar scene appears in an older episode of The Simpsons, "Treehouse of Horror
", although in that episode, Homer uses a single bottle of lighter fluid and causes an explosion. Mirkin enjoyed the joke enough to reuse parts of it in "Lisa the Vegetarian", adding new twists to further enhance the comedic effect. The old sketches from the "Treehouse of Horror" episode were used to help the animators animate the scene.
. For instance, McCartney tells Lisa that playing his 1970 song "Maybe I'm Amazed
" backwards will reveal a secret recipe for lentil soup. A modified version of the song plays in the final scene, then over the closing credits of the episode; when played backwards, McCartney can be heard reciting the recipe in the song. Mirkin had McCartney record the recipe, which was later added in reverse over the original song. McCartney thought it was "very funny" that the staff wanted to "send up the whole cult thing" of backmasking
on the Beatles' songs. "A secret lentil soup recipe seemed a nice parody of that," he said. One of the backwards snippets says, "Oh, and by the way, I'm alive," a reference to the Paul is dead
theory.
When Lisa, Apu, and the McCartneys gather on the Kwik-E-Mart roof, Apu tells Lisa, "I learned long ago to tolerate others rather than forcing my beliefs on them. You know, you can influence people without badgering them always. It's like Paul's song, 'Live and Let Live'." Paul corrects Apu and says the song's title is actually "Live and Let Die
". In the same scene, Apu refers to himself as the "fifth Beatle
", and Linda alludes to a line in the Beatles' 1969 song "Octopus's Garden
". The McCartneys later ask Lisa if she would like to hear a song, and Apu sings part of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
", to which the McCartneys snap
along.
of 9.0, equivalent to approximately 8.63 million viewing households. The episode was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
, Fox NFL Sunday
, and Melrose Place.
The episode won an Environmental Media Award
in the "Best Television Episodic Comedy" category, which has been awarded every year since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message. The episode has also received a Genesis Award
in the "Best Television Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment" category. The Genesis Award is awarded annually by the Humane Society of the United States
to honor works that raise the public's understanding of animal issues.
"Lisa the Vegetarian" has received positive reviews from television critics and the staff of The Simpsons. Among the show's staff, David Mirkin, Mark Kirkland, Matt Groening and Ian Maxtone-Graham
list it as one of their favorite episodes. In the DVD audio commentary
for the episode, Mirkin called the opening sequence at the petting zoo one of his favorite set pieces
in the show's history. He thought it was "absolutely hilarious", and praised Kirkland for his animation. Mirkin also enjoyed the use of Apu in the episode, because Apu shows Lisa that "the way to get people to change is through tolerance and understanding." Matt Groening considers the joke in which the family forms a conga line one of the "high-points" in the history of The Simpsons.
Television critics praised "Lisa the Vegetarian" for its humor. John Serba of the Grand Rapids Press
named it his favorite episode, "because the tale of Lisa's conversion to vegetarianism has more humorous scenes per square inch than any other episode." The Ventura County Reporter' s Matthew Singer thought it was "overflowing with great individual scenes", particularly Troy McClure's Meat Council propaganda video, which he said "may be the funniest isolated segment in the history of the show." MSNBC
's Patrick Enright, who listed the episode as his second favorite of the series, highlighted the "You don't win friends with salad!" song as "one of those archetypal Simpsons moments, one in which the writers hit a joke so long that it goes from funny to unfunny and back to funny again."
Reviewers of the episode have also praised it for its character development. Todd Gilchrist of IGN
said he thinks the key to The Simpsons' longevity is its "sentimental but not gooey" approach to storytelling and character development. He took "Lisa the Vegetarian" as an example and said: "Lisa sabotages Homer's barbecue, which results in an unceremonious death for his prize pig. But rather than simply punctuating the episode with an iconic image of the porker soaring through the air, the writers actually develop a story into which the joke fits. The comedic effect is actually intensified because we care about the characters, are invested in the story, and primed for a great gag." The Niagara Gazette
' s Phil Dzikiy said that "the character development and storytelling is perfect", noting that the episode was "equally hilarious, touching and satirical".
The McCartneys' guest appearance received mixed reactions from critics. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, called it a "superb" performance. Singer, however, thought their cameo was poorly integrated into the show, and Dzikiy thought it seemed "a little forced". IGN ranked McCartney's performance in this episode, along with Ringo Starr's performance in "Brush with Greatness
", and George Harrison's performance in "Homer's Barbershop Quartet
", as the tenth best guest appearance in The Simpsons' history. They added that "Although none of these appearances were really large, the fact that the most popular band of all time appeared on The Simpsons is a large statement on the popularity and importance of the show." Simon Crerar of Times Online
named Paul and Linda McCartney's performance in the episode as one of the thirty-three "funniest Simpsons cameos ever", and Larry Dobrow and Mike Errico
of Blender
listed it as the eighth best band cameo in the show's history.
", "King-Size Homer
", and "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk
". "Lisa the Vegetarian" was later included in The Simpsons' season seven DVD set, which was released on December 13, 2005. Cohen, Kirkland, Groening, and Mirkin participated in the episode's DVD audio commentary.
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...
seventh season
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
. It originally aired on the Fox network
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 October 15, 1995. 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...
decides to stop eating meat after bonding with a lamb at a petting zoo. Her schoolmates and family members ridicule her for her beliefs, but with the help of Apu
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Apu is the proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, a popular convenience store in Springfield, and a friend of Homer Simpson. He is also...
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, and Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
, she commits to vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
.
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
, "Lisa the Vegetarian" is the first full-length episode David S. Cohen
David X. Cohen
David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
wrote for The Simpsons. David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
, the show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
at the time, supported the episode in part because he had just become a vegetarian himself. 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 Simpson is also a vegetarian. Former Beatle
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
Paul McCartney and his then wife Linda McCartney guest star in the episode. Paul McCartney's condition for appearing was that Lisa would remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series. The episode makes several references to his musical career, and his song "Maybe I'm Amazed
Maybe I'm Amazed
"Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by Paul McCartney that was first released on his McCartney album on 17 April 1970. The studio version from the album has never been released as a single. McCartney dedicated the song to his wife, Linda, who had helped him get through the break-up of The Beatles...
" plays during 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...
.
"Lisa the Vegetarian" finished 47th in the ratings for the week of October 9–15, 1995, with a 9.0 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...
. It was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. The episode received generally positive reviews from television critics. It has won two awards, an Environmental Media Award
Environmental Media Awards
The Environmental Media Awards have been awarded by the Environmental Media Association since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message....
and a Genesis Award
Genesis Awards
The Genesis Awards are awarded annually to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by The Humane Society of the United States, the awards show takes place every March in California...
, for highlighting environmental and animal issues.
Plot
The Simpson familySimpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
visits a petting zoo, where 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...
is enraptured by a cute lamb. That night, Marge
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...
serves lamb chops
Meat chop
A meat chop is a cut of meat cut perpendicularly to the spine, and usually containing a rib or riblet part of a vertebra and served as an individual portion. The most common kinds of meat chops are pork and lamb. A thin boneless chop, or one with only the rib bone, may be called a cutlet, though...
for dinner, but Lisa is troubled by the connection between the dish and its living counterpart, and announces that she will no longer eat meat. In response, her brother 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...
and 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...
razz her relentlessly. Reaction at school is no better; when Lisa requests a vegetarian alternative to the cafeteria food, Principal Skinner labels her an "agitator." The students are then forced to watch a Meat Council propaganda film
Propaganda film
The term propaganda can be defined as the ability to produce and spread fertile messages that, once sown, will germinate in large human cultures.” However, in the 20th century, a “new” propaganda emerged, which revolved around political organizations and their need to communicate messages that...
, starring Troy McClure
Troy McClure
Troy McClure is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He was voiced by Phil Hartman and first appears in the second season episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". McClure is a washed-up actor, usually shown doing low-level work, such as hosting infomercials...
, which criticizes vegetarianism. Lisa is unimpressed by the film, but her classmates tease her.
Homer and Bart continue to give Lisa a hard time at home, particularly since Homer is ready to host a barbecue, complete with roast pig. Bart and Homer even form a conga line
Conga Line
The conga line is a Cuban carnival march that was first developed in Cuba and became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s. The dancers form a long, processing line. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat...
and sing, "You don't win friends with salad!" On the day of the barbecue, Lisa makes gazpacho
Gazpacho
Gazpacho is a cold Spanish/Portuguese tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalucía. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal and parts of Latin America...
for all the guests as an alternative to meat, but the partygoers laugh in her face. Enraged and deeply hurt, she climbs aboard a riding mower and drives away with the roast pig in tow. Homer and Bart chase her, but she pushes the pig off a slope, and they are too late. The pig rolls through bushes, into a river, and is shot into the air by a dam spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
's suction.
At home, Homer scolds Lisa for ruining his party, and she rebukes him for serving a meat-based dish. They fight, and she leaves the house, declaring herself to have been the one "in the right." As Lisa walks along, she decides that she can no longer fight the pressure to eat meat, prompting her to grab a hot dog from the grill at the Kwik-E-Mart
Kwik-E-Mart
The Kwik-E-Mart is a fictional chain of convenience stores in the animated television series The Simpsons. It is a parody of American convenience store chains, such as 7-Eleven and Circle K, and represents many myths and stereotypes of them. It is notorious for its high prices and the poor quality...
and take a bite. However, Apu, himself a vegan
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
, reveals that she has eaten a tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
dog. Apu takes Lisa through a secret passageway to the Kwik-E-Mart roof, where they meet Paul and Linda McCartney. The McCartneys explain that they are old friends of Apu from Paul's days in India, and discuss their interest in animal rights. After a brief discussion, Lisa is committed once more to vegetarianism, but she realizes that she should tolerate those who disagree with her views. Inspired, Lisa begins to return home and finds Homer frantically searching for her. She apologizes to Homer, admitting she had no right to ruin his barbecue; he forgives her and offers her a "veggie back" ride home. The final credits play over the still airborne roast pig.
Writing
"Lisa the Vegetarian" was the first full-length episode David S. CohenDavid X. Cohen
David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
wrote for The Simpsons. His most prominent work for the show to that point had been the "Nightmare Cafeteria" segment in the season six
The Simpsons (season 6)
The Simpsons sixth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994 and May 21, 1995 and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
episode "Treehouse of Horror V
Treehouse of Horror V
"Treehouse of Horror V" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons sixth season and the fifth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series. It premiered on October 30, 1994, and features three short stories called The Shinning, Time and Punishment, and Nightmare Cafeteria...
". The idea for "Lisa the Vegetarian" came to him while he was working on another Simpsons script. Cohen could not concentrate on his task because he was waiting for lunch, and on the back of the script he scribbled, "Lisa becomes a vegetarian?" Cohen showed the note to Simpsons writer Brent Forrester
Brent Forrester
Brent Forrester is an American writer, who wrote several episodes of the animated television sitcom The Simpsons between 1993 and 1997. He has also worked as an executive producer on King of the Hill, and a writer on The Ben Stiller Show, Mr. Show with Bob and David, Undeclared, and The Office...
, who liked the idea. Show runner David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
then approved the story when Cohen pitched it to him. Mirkin had just become a vegetarian himself, and later noted that many of Lisa's experiences in the episode were based on his own.
Writer Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
suggested the episode's barbecue scenes. Cohen's first draft contained a more philosophical argument between Lisa and Homer about eating meat, but Oakley told Cohen that the story needed something more specific to serve as the basis of Homer and Lisa's dispute. George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
, a writer known among the Simpsons staff for his "bizarre physical jokes", contributed the idea of the barbecue pig getting caught in the spillway and flying into the air.
Voice acting
At the time the episode was being written, Paul McCartney was the only living member of the BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
who had never appeared on The Simpsons. (John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
died before the show was created, but Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
and George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
had guest starred in 1991 ("Brush with Greatness
Brush with Greatness
"Brush with Greatness" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 11, 1991. In the episode, Marge revives her high school-era interest in painting by enrolling in an art class after getting encouraged by Lisa...
") and 1993 ("Homer's Barbershop Quartet
Homer's Barbershop Quartet
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of The Simpsons fifth season. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. It features The Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of The Beatles...
"), respectively.) The Simpsons staff wanted to bring McCartney onto the show, and David Mirkin thought "Lisa the Vegetarian" would be an attractive story, since McCartney is a vegetarian himself. McCartney agreed to appear, but requested that Lisa remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series, rather than revert to meat-eating in the next episode. The Simpsons staff promised that she would remain a vegetarian, resulting in one of the few permanent character changes made in the show. McCartney's wife Linda was also recruited to appear in the episode. She told 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...
that the episode was a chance for her and her husband "to spread the vegetarian word to a wider audience." Paul and Linda were both long-time fans of The Simpsons.
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
was supposed to go with Mirkin to London, but missed his plane. Groening commented that having McCartney and the rest of The Beatles on The Simpsons "was a dream come true for all of us."
Linda McCartney died of cancer at age 56 on April 17, 1998. The Simpsons
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
episode "Trash of the Titans
Trash of the Titans
"Trash of the Titans" is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons ninth season and the 200th overall. It originally aired on the Fox network on April 26, 1998...
", which aired on April 26, 1998, was dedicated to her memory. Simpsons executive producer Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
said, "It just seemed like the right thing to do. Everyone here was surprised and saddened by her death."
Directing and animating
The episode was directed by Mark KirklandMark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
, who was intrigued by the story because he had not seen many television episodes about vegetarianism. The designs for Paul and Linda McCartney are unusual for The Simpsons in that the characters have brown and blue irises, respectively. Most Simpsons characters simply have black spots in the centers of their eyes.
In one scene of the episode, Homer sprays two bottles of lighter fluid onto his grill, causing viewers to anticipate an explosion when Homer throws a match on it. When he does release the match, however, the grill barely ignites. A similar scene appears in an older episode of The Simpsons, "Treehouse of Horror
Treehouse of Horror
"Treehouse of Horror" is the third episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 25, 1990. The episode was inspired by 1950s horror comics, and begins with a disclaimer that it may be too scary for children. It is the first of a...
", although in that episode, Homer uses a single bottle of lighter fluid and causes an explosion. Mirkin enjoyed the joke enough to reuse parts of it in "Lisa the Vegetarian", adding new twists to further enhance the comedic effect. The old sketches from the "Treehouse of Horror" episode were used to help the animators animate the scene.
Cultural references
The episode features several references to The Beatles and McCartney's solo careerPaul McCartney (solo)
-1957–1960:On 6 July 1957, when he was aged fifteen, McCartney met Lennon and The Quarrymen at the Woolton fête. At the start of their friendship, Lennon's Aunt Mimi disapproved of McCartney because he was, she said, "working class", and called him "John's little friend"...
. For instance, McCartney tells Lisa that playing his 1970 song "Maybe I'm Amazed
Maybe I'm Amazed
"Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by Paul McCartney that was first released on his McCartney album on 17 April 1970. The studio version from the album has never been released as a single. McCartney dedicated the song to his wife, Linda, who had helped him get through the break-up of The Beatles...
" backwards will reveal a secret recipe for lentil soup. A modified version of the song plays in the final scene, then over the closing credits of the episode; when played backwards, McCartney can be heard reciting the recipe in the song. Mirkin had McCartney record the recipe, which was later added in reverse over the original song. McCartney thought it was "very funny" that the staff wanted to "send up the whole cult thing" of backmasking
Backmasking
Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward...
on the Beatles' songs. "A secret lentil soup recipe seemed a nice parody of that," he said. One of the backwards snippets says, "Oh, and by the way, I'm alive," a reference to the Paul is dead
Paul Is Dead
"Paul is dead" is an urban legend suggesting that Paul McCartney of the English rock band The Beatles died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike....
theory.
When Lisa, Apu, and the McCartneys gather on the Kwik-E-Mart roof, Apu tells Lisa, "I learned long ago to tolerate others rather than forcing my beliefs on them. You know, you can influence people without badgering them always. It's like Paul's song, 'Live and Let Live'." Paul corrects Apu and says the song's title is actually "Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (song)
"Live and Let Die" is the main theme song of the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die and was performed by Paul McCartney & Wings for the movie soundtrack and appears on the soundtrack album. The song was one of Wings' most successful singles, and the most successful Bond theme to that point...
". In the same scene, Apu refers to himself as the "fifth Beatle
Fifth Beatle
The Fifth Beatle is an informal title that various commentators in the press and entertainment industry have applied to persons who were at one point a member of The Beatles, or who had a strong association with the "Fab Four" during the group's existence...
", and Linda alludes to a line in the Beatles' 1969 song "Octopus's Garden
Octopus's Garden
"Octopus's Garden" is a song by The Beatles written by Ringo Starr from their 1969 album Abbey Road....
". The McCartneys later ask Lisa if she would like to hear a song, and Apu sings part of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (song)
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is a song written by Paul McCartney , and first recorded and released in 1967, on the The Beatles' album of the same name. The song appears twice on the album: as the opening track , and as "Sgt...
", to which the McCartneys snap
Snap (fingers)
Snapping one's fingers is the act of creating a cracking/clicking sound with one's fingers. Primarily this is done by building tension between the thumb and another finger and then moving the other finger forcefully downward so it hits the palm of the same hand at a high speed...
along.
Ratings and awards
In its original American broadcast, "Lisa the Vegetarian" finished 47th in the ratings for the week of October 9–15, 1995, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen 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 9.0, equivalent to approximately 8.63 million viewing households. The episode was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, Fox NFL Sunday
FOX NFL Sunday
Fox NFL Sunday is the pregame show for the TV show NFL on Fox. The program is broadcast on Fox television affiliates nationwide. The audio portion of the show is broadcast over the Fox Sports Radio network, distributed by Premiere Radio Networks...
, and Melrose Place.
The episode won an Environmental Media Award
Environmental Media Awards
The Environmental Media Awards have been awarded by the Environmental Media Association since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message....
in the "Best Television Episodic Comedy" category, which has been awarded every year since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message. The episode has also received a Genesis Award
Genesis Awards
The Genesis Awards are awarded annually to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by The Humane Society of the United States, the awards show takes place every March in California...
in the "Best Television Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment" category. The Genesis Award is awarded annually by the Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
to honor works that raise the public's understanding of animal issues.
Critical reviews
Ian Maxtone-Graham
Ian Maxtone-Graham is an American television writer and producer. He has written for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons , and has also served as a co-executive producer and consulting producer for The Simpsons...
list it as one of their favorite episodes. In the DVD audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
for the episode, Mirkin called the opening sequence at the petting zoo one of his favorite set pieces
Setpiece
In film production, a setpiece is a scene or sequence of scenes the execution of which requires serious logistical planning and considerable expenditure of money. The term setpiece is often used more broadly to describe any important dramatic or comedic highpoint in a film or story, particularly...
in the show's history. He thought it was "absolutely hilarious", and praised Kirkland for his animation. Mirkin also enjoyed the use of Apu in the episode, because Apu shows Lisa that "the way to get people to change is through tolerance and understanding." Matt Groening considers the joke in which the family forms a conga line one of the "high-points" in the history of The Simpsons.
Television critics praised "Lisa the Vegetarian" for its humor. John Serba of the Grand Rapids Press
Grand Rapids Press
The Grand Rapids Press is a daily newspaper published in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is the largest of the eight Booth newspapers. It is sold for $.75 daily and $2.00 on Sunday.AccuWeather provides weather content to the Grand Rapids Press....
named it his favorite episode, "because the tale of Lisa's conversion to vegetarianism has more humorous scenes per square inch than any other episode." The Ventura County Reporter
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's Patrick Enright, who listed the episode as his second favorite of the series, highlighted the "You don't win friends with salad!" song as "one of those archetypal Simpsons moments, one in which the writers hit a joke so long that it goes from funny to unfunny and back to funny again."
Reviewers of the episode have also praised it for its character development. Todd Gilchrist of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
said he thinks the key to The Simpsons
Niagara Gazette
The Niagara Gazette is a morning daily newspaper published in Niagara Falls, New York, USA, which covers several towns and villages of Niagara County, including Niagara, and the City of Niagara Falls. It was bought by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., along with other area newspapers such as the...
The McCartneys' guest appearance received mixed reactions from critics. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, called it a "superb" performance. Singer, however, thought their cameo was poorly integrated into the show, and Dzikiy thought it seemed "a little forced". IGN ranked McCartney's performance in this episode, along with Ringo Starr's performance in "Brush with Greatness
Brush with Greatness
"Brush with Greatness" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 11, 1991. In the episode, Marge revives her high school-era interest in painting by enrolling in an art class after getting encouraged by Lisa...
", and George Harrison's performance in "Homer's Barbershop Quartet
Homer's Barbershop Quartet
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of The Simpsons fifth season. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. It features The Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of The Beatles...
", as the tenth best guest appearance in The Simpsons
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...
named Paul and Linda McCartney's performance in the episode as one of the thirty-three "funniest Simpsons cameos ever", and Larry Dobrow and Mike Errico
Mike Errico
Mike Errico is an American singer-songwriter, composer, producer and music supervisor whose acclaimed releases include Wander Away, Songs from Lift, Pictures of the Big Vacation, Tonight I Drink You All, Skimming and All In.-Bio:...
of Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
listed it as the eighth best band cameo in the show's history.
Merchandising
"Lisa the Vegetarian" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 15, 1995. The episode was selected for release in a 2000 video collection of selected episodes titled The Simpsons - Raiders of the Lost Fridge. Other episodes included in the collection set were "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?
"Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?" is the third episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 24, 1999...
", "King-Size Homer
King-Size Homer
"King-Size Homer" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 5, 1995. In the episode, Homer despises the nuclear plant's new exercise program, and decides to gain in order to claim a disability and work at home...
", and "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk
Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk
"Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons third season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 5, 1991. In the episode, Mr. Burns wishes to pursue other interests and therefore decides to sell his power plant to two German investors for $100...
". "Lisa the Vegetarian" was later included in The Simpsons
External links
- "Lisa the Vegetarian" at The Simpsons.com