Moaning Lisa
Encyclopedia
"Moaning Lisa" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons
' first season
, and originally aired February 11, 1990. The episode was written by Al Jean
and Mike Reiss
, and was directed by Wes Archer
. Ron Taylor
guest stars in the episode as Bleeding Gums Murphy. The episode deals with Lisa
's depression and her attempts to sublimate
it by playing her saxophone
. It received positive reviews from television critics.
awakens one morning with a potent case of the blues
. She attempts to exorcise some of her sadness with a burst of "creativity" on her saxophone
, which is unwelcomed by her band teacher Mr. Largo. Her gym teacher, also unsympathetic, has a note sent home to Lisa's parents regarding her refusal to participate in dodgeball
. Homer
and Bart
, meanwhile, are playing a video boxing
game. Undefeated with 48 wins, Bart takes only one round to knock off the head of Homer's boxer.
Homer is unable to comprehend Lisa's existential crisis and is not able to cheer her up. Lisa tries to practice her sax, but Homer complains about the noise. She begins silently working on her fingering, when she hears a saxophone wail in the distance. Leaving through the window, she follows the sound across town to find a jazz man, "Bleeding Gums" Murphy. She joins him in a couple verses of blues
. Marge has a dream about her childhood, remembering when she was unhappy and her mother told her to always smile, because "people know how good of a mommy you have by the size of your smile." Homer, meanwhile, has a nightmare about being beaten by Bart in a boxing match. Lisa's jam session with Bleeding Gums is cut short when Marge pulls up and takes her home.
Homer goes to the local arcade and finds a young boy who is an expert at the video boxing game. Homer convinces the boy to teach him everything he knows. Soon Homer has mastered the game and leaves to finally defeat Bart. Meanwhile, Marge drops Lisa off at school and gives her the same advice she was given by her mother, telling Lisa to smile no matter how she is feeling inside. Lisa tries being friendly and happy, and is immediately taken advantage of by her fellow students and mistreated by Mr. Largo. Furious, Marge pulls Lisa back into the car, apologises for her misguided advice and tells her that she should not hide her feelings, and that her family will be there for her until she feels better. This proves to be what Lisa needed, as she immediately begins to feel better. Marge and Lisa attempt to make an announcement to Homer and Bart, but they are distracted by their video game, which Homer is finally about to win. Just as he is about to land his winning blow, Marge unplugs the TV. Bart takes this opportunity to retire from the game undefeated, much to Homer's discomfort. Marge announces that the family will be going to the local jazz club that night to celebrate Lisa's contentment. There, they watch Bleeding Gums perform a blues song written by Lisa.
The idea for "Moaning Lisa" was suggested by The Simpsons producer James L. Brooks
. He wanted to do an episode where Lisa was sad but she did not know why. The writers also felt that they had done a lot of "jokey" episodes on the show and wanted to try something new that was "really emotional and sweet". The song Lisa sings in this episode later reappeared in expanded form on The Simpsons Sing the Blues
CD.
Mr. Largo, Lisa's music teacher, was partly inspired by a music teacher Matt Groening
had as a kid. The designs of the boxers
in the video game Homer and Bart play were loosely based on Homer and Bart, and the referee in the game was based on a character from Matt Groening's Life in Hell
comic strip. Bleeding Gums Murphy was loosely based on the famous blues musician Blind Lemon Jefferson
. Ralph Wiggum
, Bleeding Gums Murphy, and Jacqueline Bouvier (during Marge's childhood flashback) all make their first appearances on The Simpsons in this episode.
of 13.8. It was the highest rated show on the Fox Network
that week. 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: "Certain scenes of this, the most syrupy of Simpsons episodes, sent viewers raised on the later seasons scurrying to the bathroom. Yes, the final moments may give you goosepimples, and are a world away from the anti-schmaltz normally associated with the series, but there is still much to recommend here. In fact, the Homer-Bart subplot is more successful than the main storyline; Homer's nightmare about their relationship is genuinely disturbing." In a DVD review of the first season, David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 2.5/5 and added: "Lisa develops much of her future personality in this episode. The family dynamic is starting to fall into place, as is the relationship between Homer and Lisa." Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide said in a review that "overall, this was a pretty drab episode" and added that "it had some moments, such as the videogame boxing matches between Homer and Bart, but Lisa lacked the strength at this point to carry an entire show."
". It was later re-released in the US in a collector's edition boxed set of the first three volumes of The Best of The Simpsons collections. It was re-released in the UK as part of VHS boxed set of the complete first season, released in November 1999. The episode's debut on the DVD format was as a part of The Simpsons season one DVD set, which was released on September 25, 2001. Groening, Reiss, Archer, and Jean participated in the DVD's audio commentary
. A digital edition of the series' first season was published December 20, 2010 in the United States containing the episode, through Amazon Instant Video and iTunes
.
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 1)
The Simpsons first season originally aired between December 17, 1989 and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The show runners for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L...
, and originally aired February 11, 1990. The episode was written by 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...
and 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...
, and was directed by Wes Archer
Wes Archer
Wesley Meyer Archer is a television animation director. He was one of the original three animators on The Simpsons' Tracey Ullman shorts and subsequently directed a number of The Simpsons episodes before becoming supervising director at King of the Hill. A...
. Ron Taylor
Ron Taylor (actor)
Ronald James Taylor was an American actor, singer and writer. He grew up in Galveston, Texas and later moved to New York to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After graduating, he began working in musical theater, appearing in The Wiz , before getting his break with the 1982...
guest stars in the episode as Bleeding Gums Murphy. The episode deals with 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 depression and her attempts to sublimate
Sublimation (psychology)
In psychology, sublimation is a mature type of defence mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are consciously transformed into socially acceptable actions or behaviour, possibly converting the initial impulse in the long term...
it by playing her saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
. It received positive reviews from television critics.
Plot
LisaLisa 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...
awakens one morning with a potent case of the blues
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
. She attempts to exorcise some of her sadness with a burst of "creativity" on her saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, which is unwelcomed by her band teacher Mr. Largo. Her gym teacher, also unsympathetic, has a note sent home to Lisa's parents regarding her refusal to participate in dodgeball
Dodgeball
Dodgeball is any of a variety of games in which players try to hit other players on the opposing team with balls while avoiding being hit themselves. This article is about a well-known form of team sport with modified rules that is often played in physical education classes and has been featured...
. 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...
and 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...
, meanwhile, are playing a video boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
game. Undefeated with 48 wins, Bart takes only one round to knock off the head of Homer's boxer.
Homer is unable to comprehend Lisa's existential crisis and is not able to cheer her up. Lisa tries to practice her sax, but Homer complains about the noise. She begins silently working on her fingering, when she hears a saxophone wail in the distance. Leaving through the window, she follows the sound across town to find a jazz man, "Bleeding Gums" Murphy. She joins him in a couple verses of blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
. Marge has a dream about her childhood, remembering when she was unhappy and her mother told her to always smile, because "people know how good of a mommy you have by the size of your smile." Homer, meanwhile, has a nightmare about being beaten by Bart in a boxing match. Lisa's jam session with Bleeding Gums is cut short when Marge pulls up and takes her home.
Homer goes to the local arcade and finds a young boy who is an expert at the video boxing game. Homer convinces the boy to teach him everything he knows. Soon Homer has mastered the game and leaves to finally defeat Bart. Meanwhile, Marge drops Lisa off at school and gives her the same advice she was given by her mother, telling Lisa to smile no matter how she is feeling inside. Lisa tries being friendly and happy, and is immediately taken advantage of by her fellow students and mistreated by Mr. Largo. Furious, Marge pulls Lisa back into the car, apologises for her misguided advice and tells her that she should not hide her feelings, and that her family will be there for her until she feels better. This proves to be what Lisa needed, as she immediately begins to feel better. Marge and Lisa attempt to make an announcement to Homer and Bart, but they are distracted by their video game, which Homer is finally about to win. Just as he is about to land his winning blow, Marge unplugs the TV. Bart takes this opportunity to retire from the game undefeated, much to Homer's discomfort. Marge announces that the family will be going to the local jazz club that night to celebrate Lisa's contentment. There, they watch Bleeding Gums perform a blues song written by Lisa.
Production
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...
. He wanted to do an episode where Lisa was sad but she did not know why. The writers also felt that they had done a lot of "jokey" episodes on the show and wanted to try something new that was "really emotional and sweet". The song Lisa sings in this episode later reappeared in expanded form on The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues is the first album released as an offshoot of The Simpsons. The album contains originally recorded music not featured in the series save for the first verse of the track "Moaning Lisa Blues" which was first featured in the episode "Moaning Lisa", aired February 11, 1990...
CD.
Mr. Largo, Lisa's music teacher, was partly inspired by a music teacher Matt Groening
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....
had as a kid. The designs of the boxers
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in the video game Homer and Bart play were loosely based on Homer and Bart, and the referee in the game was based on a character from Matt Groening's Life in Hell
Life in Hell
Life in Hell is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death...
comic strip. Bleeding Gums Murphy was loosely based on the famous blues musician Blind Lemon Jefferson
Blind Lemon Jefferson
"Blind" Lemon Jefferson was an American blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been titled "Father of the Texas Blues"....
. Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum is a recurring fictional character on the animated series The Simpsons, voiced by Nancy Cartwright. The son of Police Chief Wiggum and a classmate of Lisa Simpson, Ralph is best known as the show's resident oddball, and is noted for his non sequiturs and erratic behavior...
, Bleeding Gums Murphy, and Jacqueline Bouvier (during Marge's childhood flashback) all make their first appearances on The Simpsons in this episode.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Moaning Lisa" finished 34th place in the weekly ratings for the week of February 5–February 11, 1990 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 13.8. It was the highest rated show 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...
that week. 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: "Certain scenes of this, the most syrupy of Simpsons episodes, sent viewers raised on the later seasons scurrying to the bathroom. Yes, the final moments may give you goosepimples, and are a world away from the anti-schmaltz normally associated with the series, but there is still much to recommend here. In fact, the Homer-Bart subplot is more successful than the main storyline; Homer's nightmare about their relationship is genuinely disturbing." In a DVD review of the first season, David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 2.5/5 and added: "Lisa develops much of her future personality in this episode. The family dynamic is starting to fall into place, as is the relationship between Homer and Lisa." Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide said in a review that "overall, this was a pretty drab episode" and added that "it had some moments, such as the videogame boxing matches between Homer and Bart, but Lisa lacked the strength at this point to carry an entire show."
Home release
The episode was released first on home video in the United Kingdom, as part of a VHS release titled The Simpsons Collection; the episode was paired with season one episode "Homer's Odyssey". It was released in the US on the VHS release The Best of The Simpsons, Vol. 2 (1997), paired with "Bart the GeneralBart the General
"Bart the General" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons first season, which premiered on the Fox network on February 4, 1990. The episode deals with Bart's troubles with the bully, Nelson Muntz. Bart chooses to go to war with Nelson uniting the neighborhood children against him...
". It was later re-released in the US in a collector's edition boxed set of the first three volumes of The Best of The Simpsons collections. It was re-released in the UK as part of VHS boxed set of the complete first season, released in November 1999. The episode's debut on the DVD format was as a part of The Simpsons season one DVD set, which was released on September 25, 2001. Groening, Reiss, Archer, and Jean participated in the DVD's 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...
. A digital edition of the series' first season was published December 20, 2010 in the United States containing the episode, through Amazon Instant Video and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
External links
- "Moaning Lisa" at The Simpsons.com