Smart and Smarter
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- For the The Suite Life of Zack & Cody episode, see Smart & Smarterer
| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Smart and Smarter" | |
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| Episode no. | 326 |
| Prod. code | FABF09 |
| Orig. Airdate | February 22, 2004 |
| Written by | Carolyn Omine |
| Directed by | Steven Dean Moore |
| Chalkboard | None |
| Couch gag | The family is in bags attached to a dry-cleaning conveyor above the couch. Each member is above their regular place on the couch. |
| Guest star | Simon Cowell as Henry; he also voices himself over the credits |
| Season 15 November 2, 2003 – May 23, 2004 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Smart and Smarter" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' fifteenth season. The episode aired on February 22, 2004.
[edit] Synopsis
The family, after visiting a pancake house, visits Mrs. Wickerbottom's Pre-Nursery School, where Apu and Manjula are sending two of their octuplets. Homer and Marge have a talk with Dr. Hibbert about getting in, and decide to have Maggie go in. However, Maggie fails the initial screening because she cannot talk, until Lisa discovers some traits of intelligence. Homer and Marge make another screening. The results show that not only is Maggie brilliant, but her IQ of 167 is higher than Lisa's IQ of 159. Lisa is no longer considered "the smart one" of the Simpson family. Her attempts to find a new identity, including a goth named Ravencrow Neversmiles, a cheerleader, a rapper, a soccer player, a cowgirl, and even a stand-up comedian, do not work out well.
At home, Lisa teaches Maggie false information. Homer {with the Phonics Frog} and Marge denounce her for trying to sabotage her sister's education. She leaves the house and hides in the Natural History Museum, where there is no chance of Homer and Marge finding her, until Chief Wiggum, Lou and Eddie find her in there. While they are there, Homer, Marge, and Bart are trapped in a model of the human body, and only Maggie can save them. Ironically, after Maggie saves Homer, Marge, and Bart, she no longer has a secret to her intelligence - it turns out Lisa was subconsciously showing her answers. Maggie however plays Lisa's saxophone in the end, showing another sign of intelligence; a worried Lisa reclaims her saxophone and tells her that it's not for babies.
[edit] Trivia
- When Marge walks inside the room angry at Lisa for purposely teaching Maggie the wrong words, along with the whole entire deck of cards she drops in surprise, two of them actually show the words on them, one spelling "Cat" (as seen before), and one spelling "Beer".
- The "You are Lisa Simpson" paper Marge gives Lisa references the episode Lisa's Substitute.
- When Lisa enters the tongue, she is first on the bitter side when she again becomes jealous of Maggie's intelligence. However, in reality the tongue doesn't have specific tastes in specific locations.
- The signs they put up with Lisa's picture say Free Beer.
[edit] Cultural references
- The revelation at the end may refer to the now-famous case of Clever Hans, the amazing "thinking" horse who became a celebrity until a famous psychologist revealed he was bogus.
- There is a small sequence in this episode which is a parody of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, where Lisa imagines pushing Maggie (in a wheelchair) down the stairs
- The title is a reference to Dumb & Dumber, a comedy film starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.
- When they're reviewing the tape there is a reference to the ESPER machine from Blade Runner. The ESPER machine is a voice-commanded device used to manipulate photographs.
- Henry, voiced by Simon Cowell, is an obvious parody of Cowell's role on American Idol and the X Factor (UK).
- Lisa running away to stay in a museum is a reference to the classic children's book "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler".
