"'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" is the sixteenth episode of the fourteenth season of The Simpsons that aired March 30, 2003.[1] The title is a punning reference to the line " 'Scuse me while I kiss the sky" from the song "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix.
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The episode begins with Bart being introduced to Declan Desmond (voiced by Eric Idle), a no-nonsense British filmmaker, whose documentaries are hard-hitting and, sometimes a bit distorted. He shows Bart’s fellow students a clip from one of his documentaries. After the clips are finished, Declan informs the kids that he is now shooting a documentary in Springfield Elementary and wants them all to act as they normally do.
While touring and filming the playground, where Bart is humiliated by Nelson Muntz, Declan is taken by Skinner to a room where Lisa is sitting. While talking about herself, Lisa tips over in her chair, revealing the room to be a storage closet. Unamused by the charade, Declan belittles Lisa as she goes on about the multiplicity of her interests, insinuating that she could neither be happy nor successful juggling too many hobbies or passions. Even though she is hurt by his criticism, Lisa takes it to heart and resolves to find a singular passion to which she can devote herself.
Lisa eventually decides to take up astronomy. She convinces Homer to buy her a telescope, but discovers that light pollution from the city is blocking her view of Venus and Jupiter. After a discussion with Professor Frink, Lisa starts a petition to reduce the city’s light pollution. After gaining enough signatures, Mayor Quimby agrees to turn off the streetlights, leading to a clear view of the stars, at which many people from Springfield marvel.
Meanwhile, Bart is looking for a way to regain his popularity after being humiliated. After seeing Nelson parading around with stolen car hood ornaments, he decides to steal Fat Tony’s hood ornament. Milhouse and Bart are foiled on their first attempt because Quimby has bowed to public pressure to switch the lights back on permanently due to rising crime.
Lisa, still wanting to see the light pollution reduced, and Bart, still wanting to steal Fat Tony’s Hood ornament, take a now sleep-deprived Homer to the Power plant and overload the generators causing a power outage. They are then confronted by the townfolk about the power outage. However, Lisa points out a meteor shower that she knew would happen and wanted to see but could not because of the previous light pollution. The town look on in wonderment while Bart sneaks off and successfully steals Fat Tony’s hood ornament.
The show ends with various documentary style clips from Declan’s planned documentary, which Declan ends by saying he is going to Moe's.