Lisa the Greek

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The Simpsons episode
"Lisa the Greek"

Homer & Lisa watch the football together
Episode no.	49
Prod. code	8F12
Orig. Airdate	January 23, 1992
Show Runner(s)	Al Jean & Mike Reiss
Written by	Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky
Directed by	Rich Moore
Couch gag	Homer accidentally sits on the dog
DVD commentary by	Matt Groening James L. Brooks Al Jean Mike Reiss Julie Kavner Nancy Cartwright Yeardley Smith Jay Kogen Wallace Wolodarsky Rich Moore
SNPP capsule
Season 3 September 19, 1991 – August 27, 1992
Stark Raving Dad Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington When Flanders Failed Bart the Murderer Homer Defined Like Father, Like Clown Treehouse of Horror II Lisa's Pony Saturdays of Thunder Flaming Moe's Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk I Married Marge Radio Bart Lisa the Greek Homer Alone Bart the Lover Homer at the Bat Separate Vocations Dog of Death Colonel Homer Black Widower The Otto Show Bart's Friend Falls in Love Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"Lisa the Greek" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons' third season.

1 Synopsis
2 Trivia
3 Cultural references
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Armed with high-cholesterol snacks, Homer sits down to another Sunday of football. Lisa enters the room to show her dad a shoebox apartment she made for her Malibu Stacy dolls. Homer is not really that interested, though, especially after Denver – on whom he has bet $20 – gives up a quick touchdown.

Lisa complains to Marge, who suggests spending some "quality time" with Homer by taking up his interests. Lisa decides to join her father on the couch, and an annoyed Homer reluctantly agrees. By now, New England is crushing Denver 35-7 and has just forced another Broncos fumble. In the end, Denver loses 55-10, and Homer angrily blames the TV (and sports anchorman "Smooth" Jimmy Apollo) for losing his bet.

Homer decides to try again on the Miami-Cincinnati game and calls a 1-900 "guaranteed pick" service for advice; however, it soon becomes clear the only thing "The Coach" wants is the caller's money. A desperate Homer turns to Lisa to pick a winner, and she picks the Dolphins, and Homer quickly calls Moe's Tavern to place his $50 wager. Lisa questions Homer about the call, and likens sports betting to putting a lot of toppings on ice cream. In the end, the Dolphins win, and Homer and Lisa celebrate. Meanwhile, Marge has taken Bart shopping for new (dorky) clothes, but the bullies taunt him.

Lisa becomes very adept at choosing winners of football games, and Homer cleans up. Homer declares every Sunday "Daddy-Daughter Day." With his new money, he starts buying expensive presents for the family and treating them to fine dining. Marge eventually wants to know where Homer's extra income is coming from and gets the truth, but Homer says it's not really a big deal.

The next day at breakfast, Lisa says she is looking forward to spending the "Daddy-Daughter Day" after Super Bowl XXVI going hiking at Mount Springfield. However, Homer announces he had already made plans with Barney to go bowling, and that "Daddy-Daughter Day" is over until the next football season. Lisa bursts into tears, realizing all Homer wanted was to exploit her prognostic abilities to help him gamble. Marge calls Homer a "very selfish man," and Bart taunts him with the new swearing device that Homer bought for him. Lisa then gives up all the Malibu Stacy toys that Homer bought for her.

Homer realizes he needs to make amends with Lisa, but she is too hurt to even talk with him. In fact, she makes a cryptic prediction as to the winner of the game: If she still loves Homer, Washington will win; if she doesn't, Buffalo. Homer becomes even more anxious over his relationship with Lisa as Super Bowl Sunday approaches. When he hears Lisa mournfully play her saxophone, he leaves for Moe's Tavern to watch the game.

Homer mopes throughout the game, especially after Buffalo gets a 14-7 halftime lead. The game is highlighted by a corny halftime commercial for Duff Beer, an equally silly halftime show and Troy McClure's promo for his new situation comedy, which premieres right after the Super Bowl. In the end, Washington rallies in the second half and scores at the last second to win the game. Homer become happy and Bart proudly says to Lisa that she still loves Homer, in which she agrees.

Homer cancels his bowling date with Barney and – on the Sunday after the Super Bowl – makes good on his promise to go hiking up Mount Springfield with Lisa.

[edit] Trivia

This episode correctly predicted that the Washington Redskins would win Super Bowl XXVI.
When a repeat re-aired the following year on January 28, 1993, days before Super Bowl XXVII, they redubbed the episode to mention the Dallas Cowboys instead of the Washington Redskins. Fortunately, the Cowboys won, making the episode accurate again and continued to be accurate in later years when it was redubbed. In fact, showrunner Al Jean would always bet against Lisa's predictions, causing him to think "Why didn't I take Lisa's advice?". For another re-airing, on September 18, 1994, the same teams were used (they faced each other in Super Bowl XXVIII as well, with the same outcome); the same stadium was used, as well (Pasadena Rose Bowl), despite Super Bowl XXVIII actually being played at the Georgia Dome. Also, "week eight of the NFL" was changed to "week three"; 1994 was the first season of NFL on FOX, as well as the first broadcast during the NFL regular season. The DVD version and some syndicated reruns have the original dialogue, while other syndicated prints use the Dallas-Buffalo references.
César and Ugolin from the episode The Crepes of Wrath in season 1 make a brief cameo appearance near the end.

[edit] Cultural references

Barbie — Malibu Stacy (and all related accessories) are based on the doll franchise.
Bud Bowl — The Duff Bowl is an obvious parody of the Super Bowl advertisements for Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser family of beers.
"Justify My Love" — Homer's comment, "Come on Denver, justify my love!" during the Denver Broncos-New England Patriots game makes use of the title of the Madonna song.
Sports announcers:

Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder — "Smooth" Jimmy Apollo is based on the American sports commentator, and the namesake of this show's title.
Brent Musburger - Brent Gunsilman is based on the American Sports Commentator.

Switch — Troy McClure's new sitcom, Handle with Care (starring a retired cop who resides with a retired convict) is a sitcom patterned after the 1970s series starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner (a detective series about an ex-police officer partnered with a reformed con artist).
Zorba the Greek — The episode title is a reference to the novel and title of the 1964 movie.