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| {{Infobox Simpsons episode | {{Infobox Simpsons episode | ||
| | image = | |||
| | episode_name = Make Room for Lisa | |||
| | caption = | |||
| | image = ] | |||
| | |
| season = 10 | ||
| | |
| episode = 16 | ||
| | |
| director = ] | ||
| | |
| writer = ] | ||
| | production = AABF12 | |||
| | writer = ] | |||
| | |
| airdate = {{Start date|1999|02|28}} | ||
| | blackboard |
| blackboard = "I do not have ]" (recycled from "]") | ||
| | couch_gag |
| couch_gag = Firemen are using the couch as a net but ] misses and hits the floor. | ||
| | commentary = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>] | |||
| | season = 10 | |||
| | prev = ] | |||
| | next = ] | |||
| }} | }} | ||
| "'''Make Room for Lisa'''" is the sixteenth episode of the ] of the American animated television series '']''. It first aired on ] in the United States on February 28, 1999. The main plot has ] and ] embark on a spiritual journey via a sensory deprivation tank. | |||
| "Make Room for Lisa" was written by ] and was the first full ''The Simpsons'' episode ] directed, having received a co-director credit for "]", for which he directed one scene. The subplot, which involves Marge eavesdropping on phone calls using a baby monitor, was inspired by former showrunners ] and ], who also listened to private phone calls with a monitor. The episode contains references to the American sitcom '']'', and advises children to be accepting of their parents. | |||
| "'''Make Room for Lisa'''" is the sixteenth episode of '']''<nowiki>'</nowiki> ]. The episode aired on ], ]. | |||
| In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.6 million viewers, finishing in 52nd place in the ratings the week it aired. | |||
| __TOC__ | |||
| Following the home video release of ''The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season'', "Make Room for Lisa" received mixed reviews from critics. | |||
| ==Synopsis== | |||
| {{spoiler}} | |||
| ==Plot== | |||
| Homer participates in a ]-sponsored drinking contest at P.J. O'Harrigan's, an Irish pub, and wins the honor of "Sir Drinks-A-Lot". When he comes home, he learns that he must spend more time with the children, as evidenced by what he has done. Lisa suggests that the family go to the travelling ] exhibit sponsored by the ] company OmniTouch, which has ]'s jacket, ]'s chair, and the ], which is ruined when Homer licks off the section that forbids cruel and unusual punishment. Homer is fined $10,000 for licking it off, which he cannot afford, until a prototype Lindsay Naegle (an OmniTouch representative) has a solution to the problem that can benefit both of them: install a transmitting tower in Lisa's room. It annoys Lisa, however, because her room is loaded with the communications equipment that runs the tower. Homer moves Lisa into Bart's room, but is overwhelmed when Bart's noises disrupt her homework. | |||
| <!-- PER MOS:TVPLOT, EPISODE ARTICLES SHOULD HAVE A PLOT SUMMARY OF NO MORE THAN 400 WORDS --> | |||
| ] participates in a drinking contest and wins the trophy and title of "Sir Drinks-A-Lot". Having promised to spend one Saturday a month with the children, he takes ] and ] to Lisa's choice of outing: the traveling ] exhibition sponsored by cell phone company "OmniTouch". Homer ruins one of the exhibits, the ], by reading it with chocolate-covered hands. As he is unable to pay the $10,000 repair bill OmniTouch installs a cellular transmitter on the roof of his house, with the control equipment in Lisa's room. Lisa moves in with Bart where she cannot concentrate on her homework. | |||
| Lisa |
Lisa develops stomach aches and visits ], who suggests either 'harsh ]' or ]. Homer scoffs at the tea Lisa wants and demands the antacids. Lisa snaps at her father for belittling everything she believes in. To placate her, Homer takes her to a ] store where they try out ] and each experience their own spiritual journey. Lisa sees herself from the perspective of figures in her life, eventually realizing that Homer loves her enough to take her to events that he does not personally like just to make her happy. Meanwhile, repo men take away the tank that Homer is in. Homer's journey becomes a real one, as his tank falls out of the back of the van, is mistaken for a coffin and buried, only for the tank to fall into a pipe from which it is washed up onto the beach where ] finds it and returns it to the store. Lisa decides to do something together they both enjoy - a ]. | ||
| In the episode's subplot, ] becomes obsessed with eavesdropping on private calls picked up from the cellular tower on ]'s ]. Bart and ] prank Marge by making her think an escaped convict is breaking into the house. Marge smashes the baby monitor on Milhouse's head and knocks him out. She reluctantly agrees when Bart says the prank was fair punishment for eavesdropping. | |||
| ==Cultural references== | |||
| * The title puns on the classic TV show, '']''. | |||
| * Homer sings '']'' while in the tank, an American number one single by ] in ]. However, by the time the episode premiered in the ] (] ]) a cover version by the Cartoons was in the top ten of the ], giving the song an unintended sense of topicality. | |||
| * When Homer introduces Lisa to her new room and roommate - Bart, he hums the theme from '']'', a TV series from the 1970s, based on a play by ]. | |||
| * Lisa saying the line "Get your stinky paw off me!" parodies the classic line from the ] '']''. | |||
| ==Production== | |||
| * The episode pays homage to the ] episode "Triangle", with Homer falling asleep at work and waking up to music suspiciously like the swing music from "Triangle" and a voice on the radio saying that it is 1939. | |||
| "Make Room for Lisa" was written by ] and was the first full episode ] directed for ''The Simpsons''.<ref name="Scully" /> Nastuk had previously received a credit for "]", which he directed one scene for.<ref name="Kirkland">Kirkland, Mark. (2007). Commentary for "D'oh-in' in the Wind", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' . 20th Century Fox.</ref> "Make Room for Lisa" was also the second episode about Homer and Lisa that Scully wrote for the series, the first one being "]" from the ]. "Make Room for Lisa" was first broadcast on the Fox network in the ] on February 28, 1999.<ref name="Scully">Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "Make Room for Lisa", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' . 20th Century Fox.</ref> When writing the episode, the ''Simpsons'' writing staff debated what to do with Lisa after her room had been rebuilt. Brian Scully eventually pitched that Lisa and Bart would have to share a room together, as it would, according to staff writer ], comment on the feeling of having to share a room with a sibling, and how it would "incredibly suck."<ref name="Selman" /> The writers then wrote the episode around that plot point.<ref name="Selman">Selman, Matt. (2007). Commentary for "Make Room for Lisa", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' . 20th Century Fox.</ref> | |||
| Near the beginning of the episode, Homer takes part in, and wins, KBBL's drinking contest. In the next scene, Homer is seen fallen out of his car, and waken up by Marge. The scene was inspired by Scully's brother ], who, during a date, saw his date's father "drunk and passed out" on her lawn, in the same pose as Homer in the scene.<ref name="Scully" /> The episode's subplot revolves around Marge, who listens to phone calls by picking up their frequencies with a baby monitor. The storyline was based on former ''Simpsons'' showrunners ] and ], who also used to listen to other people's phone calls through airwave signals. At one point in the episode, Marge overhears a conversation between ] and ]. Originally, the conversation would be between two women, but the writers thought it would be "too cliche" to show women gossiping, and changed it to Moe and Lenny instead.<ref name="Deleted">Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "All Deleted Scenes", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' . 20th Century Fox.</ref> While inside the isolation tank, Homer gets bored and starts singing "]" by ] singer ] aka ]. According to Mike Scully, the ''Simpsons'' staff had to pay the song's record company $100 000 for the rights to use the tune in the episode.<ref name="Scully" /> The episode features a "prototype" of what would become the recurring character ], who is voiced by American actress ].<ref name="Selman" /> The character would make her official debut later in the season in the episode "]". | |||
| ==Quotes== | |||
| *'''KBBL Announcer: (possibly either Bill or Marty)''' ''(after playing "]")'' That was ]—or as they're known today, "Men Without Jobs"! | |||
| ==Themes and cultural references== | |||
| *'''Bart:''' Oh, come on. It's only half the work of the divorced dad. <br/>'''Homer:''' Yeah, but it's twice the work of the deadbeat dad! | |||
| Throughout the series, Homer and Lisa's relationship is problematic, as Homer often struggles to understand Lisa, who in many ways is a little girl but who is also smarter than him. Karma Waltonen and Denise Du Vernay analyzed "Make Room for Lisa" in their book ''The Simpsons in the classroom: Embiggening the Learning Experience with the Wisdom of Springfield''. They wrote that in the episode, Homer and Lisa's relationship is badly damaged after Homer allows Lisa's room to be turned into a cell phone tower. When the two enter sensory-deprivation tanks, Lisa has several hallucinations, including one in which she becomes Homer. This experience shows Lisa how she appears from Homer's point of view, and makes her realize that her treatment of Homer is hurtful, as he often participates in activities with her that he does not enjoy. The episode ends with Homer and Lisa watching a demolition derby, which Lisa enjoys because she is spending time with Homer.<ref name="intheclassroom">{{harvnb|Waltonen|Du Vernay|2010|pp=224–225}}</ref> The episode advises children to be accepting of their parents, who "do the best can" to raise them.<ref name="Scully" /> | |||
| *'''Homer:''' Ooh, here's something you like. ''When Animals Attack ]s''.<br/>'''Magician:''' Pick a card, any... ''(a ] attacks the magician)'' Aaugh!<br/>''(Homer laughs)''<br/>'''Lisa:''' That's awful.<br/>'''Homer:''' ''Awful'' entertaining! | |||
| *'''Homer:''' Lisa, what's your favorite movie?<br/>'''Lisa:''' Until you taped over it, '']''.<br/>'''Homer:''' That's right—'']''! So meet your comically mismatched roommate, Bart Simpson! ''(he sings the theme to ''The Odd Couple'')''<br/>'''Bart:''' I'm going to make your life a living hell. | |||
| The American sitcom '']'' has provided much influence for the comedy in ''The Simpsons'', as John Alberti writes in his book ''Leaving Springfield: the Simpsons and the possibility of oppositional culture''. He wrote that the series influence on ''The Simpsons'' is "acknowledged quite openly in the program itself," and used a scene in "Make Room for Lisa" as an example. The scene shows Homer, Bart and Lisa visiting the Smithsonian Exhibition, where a jacket worn by ], a character from another 70's series, '']'', receives more attention from visitors than the ]. It does however catch the attention of Homer, who picks it up and reads it while sitting in a wing chair owned by ], a character from ''All in the Family''. Homer is accosted by two security guards, who assault him using, according to Alberti, "the kind of language we have learned to accept from the erstwhile occupant of that chair ."<ref name="leaving1" /> Homer and the two guards have the following exchange:<ref name="leaving1">{{harvnb|Alberti|2004|pp=86–87}}</ref> | |||
| *'''Maude:''' Oh, Neddy, you almost hit that coffin!<br/>''(the family exits the car)''<br/>'''Ned:''' ''(gasps)'' Leaping Lazarus! Is this what passes for eternal rest these days? Rod, go get Daddy his burying shovel.<br/>'''Rod:''' Yay!<br/>''(Later on, once the family buries the tank...)''<br/>'''Todd:''' You sure buried him deep, Daddy.<br/>'''Ned:''' Not so deep the Lord can't find him—and judge him.<br/>'''Rod:''' This is the best birthday I ever had! | |||
| *'''Lisa:''' I need to stop thinking, starting...now. Hey, it worked! Oh, wait...that's thinking.<br/>'''Homer:''' (in his tank) Boring. | |||
| {{Cquote|SECURITY OFFICER #1: Get out of Archie Bunker's chair. Now! | |||
| *''']:''' (on the phone with ]) Seymour, you were supposed to call me three minutes ago.<br/>'''Principal Skinner:''' Sorry, Mother. I was going through a tunnel and my cell phone wouldn't work.<br/> '''Agnes:''' I don't want you going through tunnels. You know what that symbolizes.<br/> | |||
| HOMER: Relax! I'm just boning up on the old Constitution. | |||
| *'''Bart:''' OK, If you are going to live in my room, you are going to obey my rules. One: I am Bart, thy God. If I am out, the Krusty doll is thy God. If the doll is with me, you will worship the night light. Should the night light be unable to fulfill its duties...<br/>'''Lisa:''' Shut Up!<br/> '''Bart:''' You shut up!<br/>'''Lisa:'''(resigned) This is not going to work.<br/>'''Bart''' No, You shut up! | |||
| *''(Homer's tanks plummets below ground)'' <br/> '''Homer (getting banged around):''' This inner peace stuff is tough on the old coconut. | |||
| SECURITY OFFICER #2: Oh! You're going to regret that, Pinko! | |||
| *'''Homer (after Lisa opens his tank):''' Hi, sweetie. <br/> '''Lisa:''' Hi, Dad! How was it? <br/> '''Homer:''' I went on a wild ride without ever leaving the building! | |||
| *'''Lisa:''' Hey, how come the Smithsonian needs to be sponsored by a cell phone company? <br/> '''Omni lady:''' I can answer that. Uncle Sam needs to spend our tax dollars on the essentials: anti-tobacco programs, pro-tobacco programs, killing wild donkeys, and ]. | |||
| *'''Homer:''' (singing in his relaxing tank) Ooh,eeh,ooh-ah-ah! Ching,chang,walla-walla,bing,bang! Ooh,eeh,ooh-ah-ah! Walla,bing-bang,ching-chang,doo! | |||
| SECURITY OFFICER #1: I'm so sick of people hiding behind the Bill of Rights! | |||
| SECURITY OFFICER #2: Look! He got chocolate on it! | |||
| HOMER: I didn't mean to! Look! | |||
| SECURITY OFFICER #1: Mn-hn. You just licked off the part that forbids cruel and unusual punishment. | |||
| SECURITY OFFICER #2 : Heh heh heh. Beautiful.<ref name="leaving2">{{harvnb|Alberti|2004|p=87}}</ref>}} | |||
| Alberti opines that, rather than denying ''All in the Family''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s influence on ''The Simpsons'', the series writers "mockingly embrace it" by having Homer visually likened to Bunker as he sits on his chair. Alberti also noted that one of the security officer's use of the word "]", a term used for a person who is regarded as sympathetic towards ], is "ironic" as it was used by Bunker, whose chair Homer is sitting in. When the other officer complains about citizens "hiding behind the Bill of Rights", Homer shields himself from the officers blows with the actual manuscript, making the officer's previous statement literal.<ref name="leaving3">{{harvnb|Alberti|2004|pp=87–88}}</ref> | |||
| In the opening scene, Homer overhears a radio broadcast explaining the year 1939 and comes to the mistaken assumption that he somehow traveled back in time, the song "]" by ] is playing. Lenny and Carl bring him back with "]". When Homer is in the ], he is singing "]". | |||
| ==Reception== | |||
| In its original American broadcast on February 28, 1999, "Make Room for Lisa" received a 7.6 rating, according to ], translating to approximately 7.6 million viewers. The episode finished in 52nd place in the ratings for the week of February 22–28, 1999, tied with a new episode of the ] documentary and news program '']''.<ref>{{cite news |title=NBC IN TOP THREE SLOTS IN NIELSEN TV RATINGS |date=March 4, 1999 |page=12D |publisher=John Temple |author=Rocky Mountain News |author-link=Rocky Mountain News }}</ref> On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of ''The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season'' ] box set. Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Ron Hauge, Matt Selman and Mike B. Anderson participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Simpsons-Complete-10th-Season/6758|title=The Simpsons - The Complete 10th Season|publisher=]|access-date=May 30, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019092410/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Simpsons-Complete-10th-Season/6758|archive-date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> | |||
| Following its home video release, "Make Room for Lisa" received mixed reviews from critics. | |||
| Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood of ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'' described the episode as having "two distinct halves, although the second far outweighs the first."<ref name="BBC" /> They added that Homer's adventure in the sensory deprivation tank was "inspired," in its "almost Keystone Kop humour as he gets from point A to point B and so on, finally getting back to point A none the wiser."<ref name="BBC" /> They concluded their review by calling the episode "classic."<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season10/page15.shtml|title=Make Room for Lisa|access-date=May 30, 2011|author=Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood|work=]}}</ref> | |||
| Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a mixed review, and described its main plot as "feeling a bit stale."<ref name="DVDmg" /> He felt that there were already several episodes dedicated to Homer and Lisa's problematic relationship, and that "Make Room for Lisa" "doesn't do much to expand that theme."<ref name="DVDmg" /> However, he described the episode's subplot as "interesting," and wrote "Marge's fascination with intercepted cell phone calls amuses."<ref name="DVDmg" /> He concluded his review by describing the episode as "pretty average."<ref name="DVDmg">{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonten.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season (1998) |date=August 20, 2007 |access-date=May 30, 2011|last=Jacobson |first=Colin |publisher=DVD Movie Guide}}</ref> | |||
| DVD Town's James Plath gave the episode a mixed review as well, calling it "okay."<ref name="dvdtown">{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdtown.com/review/simpsons-the-the-complete-10th-season/dvd/5056 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205073416/http://www.dvdtown.com/review/simpsons-the-the-complete-10th-season/dvd/5056 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |title=Simpsons, The: The Complete 10th Season (DVD) |date=August 17, 2007 |access-date=May 30, 2011 |last=Plath |first=James |publisher=DVD Town }}</ref> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| ;Footnotes | |||
| {{Reflist|2}} | |||
| ;Bibliography | |||
| {{refbegin}} | |||
| * {{cite book | last1 = Waltonen | first1 = Karma |last2=Du Vernay |first2=Denise | title = The Simpsons in the classroom: embiggening the learning experience with the wisdom of Springfield | publisher = McFarland | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-0-7864-4490-8}} | |||
| * {{cite book | last = Alberti | first = John | title = Leaving Springfield: the Simpsons and the possibility of oppositional culture | publisher = McFarland | year = 2004 | isbn = 0-8143-2849-0 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/leavingspringfie00albe }} | |||
| {{refend}} | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| {{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_10#Make_Room_for_Lisa|"Make Room for Lisa"}} | |||
| *{{snpp capsule|AABF12}} | |||
| {{Portal|The Simpsons}} | |||
| *{{imdb episode|id=0781978|episode=Make Room for Lisa}} | |||
| *{{Snpp capsule|AABF12}} | |||
| *{{IMDb episode|id=0781978}} | |||
| {{The Simpsons episodes|10}} | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 23:01, 27 December 2024
16th episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons
| "Make Room for Lisa" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 10 Episode 16 | ||
| Directed by | Matthew Nastuk | ||
| Written by | Brian Scully | ||
| Production code | AABF12 | ||
| Original air date | February 28, 1999 (1999-02-28) | ||
| Episode features | |||
| Chalkboard gag | "I do not have diplomatic immunity" (recycled from "Marge in Chains") | ||
| Couch gag | Firemen are using the couch as a net but Homer misses and hits the floor. | ||
| Commentary | Mike Scully George Meyer Ian Maxtone-Graham Ron Hauge Matt Selman Mike B. Anderson | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| The Simpsons season 10 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Make Room for Lisa" is the sixteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on February 28, 1999. The main plot has Homer and Lisa embark on a spiritual journey via a sensory deprivation tank.
"Make Room for Lisa" was written by Brian Scully and was the first full The Simpsons episode Matthew Nastuk directed, having received a co-director credit for "D'oh-in' in the Wind", for which he directed one scene. The subplot, which involves Marge eavesdropping on phone calls using a baby monitor, was inspired by former showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, who also listened to private phone calls with a monitor. The episode contains references to the American sitcom All in the Family, and advises children to be accepting of their parents.
In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.6 million viewers, finishing in 52nd place in the ratings the week it aired.
Following the home video release of The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season, "Make Room for Lisa" received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
Homer participates in a drinking contest and wins the trophy and title of "Sir Drinks-A-Lot". Having promised to spend one Saturday a month with the children, he takes Bart and Lisa to Lisa's choice of outing: the traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition sponsored by cell phone company "OmniTouch". Homer ruins one of the exhibits, the Bill of Rights, by reading it with chocolate-covered hands. As he is unable to pay the $10,000 repair bill OmniTouch installs a cellular transmitter on the roof of his house, with the control equipment in Lisa's room. Lisa moves in with Bart where she cannot concentrate on her homework.
Lisa develops stomach aches and visits Dr. Hibbert, who suggests either 'harsh antacids' or herbal tea. Homer scoffs at the tea Lisa wants and demands the antacids. Lisa snaps at her father for belittling everything she believes in. To placate her, Homer takes her to a New Age store where they try out sensory deprivation tanks and each experience their own spiritual journey. Lisa sees herself from the perspective of figures in her life, eventually realizing that Homer loves her enough to take her to events that he does not personally like just to make her happy. Meanwhile, repo men take away the tank that Homer is in. Homer's journey becomes a real one, as his tank falls out of the back of the van, is mistaken for a coffin and buried, only for the tank to fall into a pipe from which it is washed up onto the beach where Chief Wiggum finds it and returns it to the store. Lisa decides to do something together they both enjoy - a demolition derby.
In the episode's subplot, Marge becomes obsessed with eavesdropping on private calls picked up from the cellular tower on Maggie's baby monitor. Bart and Milhouse prank Marge by making her think an escaped convict is breaking into the house. Marge smashes the baby monitor on Milhouse's head and knocks him out. She reluctantly agrees when Bart says the prank was fair punishment for eavesdropping.
Production
"Make Room for Lisa" was written by Brian Scully and was the first full episode Matthew Nastuk directed for The Simpsons. Nastuk had previously received a credit for "D'oh-in' in the Wind", which he directed one scene for. "Make Room for Lisa" was also the second episode about Homer and Lisa that Scully wrote for the series, the first one being "Lost Our Lisa" from the previous season. "Make Room for Lisa" was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on February 28, 1999. When writing the episode, the Simpsons writing staff debated what to do with Lisa after her room had been rebuilt. Brian Scully eventually pitched that Lisa and Bart would have to share a room together, as it would, according to staff writer Matt Selman, comment on the feeling of having to share a room with a sibling, and how it would "incredibly suck." The writers then wrote the episode around that plot point.
Near the beginning of the episode, Homer takes part in, and wins, KBBL's drinking contest. In the next scene, Homer is seen fallen out of his car, and waken up by Marge. The scene was inspired by Scully's brother Mike Scully, who, during a date, saw his date's father "drunk and passed out" on her lawn, in the same pose as Homer in the scene. The episode's subplot revolves around Marge, who listens to phone calls by picking up their frequencies with a baby monitor. The storyline was based on former Simpsons showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, who also used to listen to other people's phone calls through airwave signals. At one point in the episode, Marge overhears a conversation between Moe Szyslak and Lenny Leonard. Originally, the conversation would be between two women, but the writers thought it would be "too cliche" to show women gossiping, and changed it to Moe and Lenny instead. While inside the isolation tank, Homer gets bored and starts singing "Witch Doctor" by Armenian-American singer Ross Bagdasarian Sr. aka David Seville. According to Mike Scully, the Simpsons staff had to pay the song's record company $100 000 for the rights to use the tune in the episode. The episode features a "prototype" of what would become the recurring character Lindsey Naegle, who is voiced by American actress Tress MacNeille. The character would make her official debut later in the season in the episode "They Saved Lisa's Brain".
Themes and cultural references
Throughout the series, Homer and Lisa's relationship is problematic, as Homer often struggles to understand Lisa, who in many ways is a little girl but who is also smarter than him. Karma Waltonen and Denise Du Vernay analyzed "Make Room for Lisa" in their book The Simpsons in the classroom: Embiggening the Learning Experience with the Wisdom of Springfield. They wrote that in the episode, Homer and Lisa's relationship is badly damaged after Homer allows Lisa's room to be turned into a cell phone tower. When the two enter sensory-deprivation tanks, Lisa has several hallucinations, including one in which she becomes Homer. This experience shows Lisa how she appears from Homer's point of view, and makes her realize that her treatment of Homer is hurtful, as he often participates in activities with her that he does not enjoy. The episode ends with Homer and Lisa watching a demolition derby, which Lisa enjoys because she is spending time with Homer. The episode advises children to be accepting of their parents, who "do the best can" to raise them.
The American sitcom All in the Family has provided much influence for the comedy in The Simpsons, as John Alberti writes in his book Leaving Springfield: the Simpsons and the possibility of oppositional culture. He wrote that the series influence on The Simpsons is "acknowledged quite openly in the program itself," and used a scene in "Make Room for Lisa" as an example. The scene shows Homer, Bart and Lisa visiting the Smithsonian Exhibition, where a jacket worn by Fonzie, a character from another 70's series, Happy Days, receives more attention from visitors than the Bill of Rights. It does however catch the attention of Homer, who picks it up and reads it while sitting in a wing chair owned by Archie Bunker, a character from All in the Family. Homer is accosted by two security guards, who assault him using, according to Alberti, "the kind of language we have learned to accept from the erstwhile occupant of that chair ." Homer and the two guards have the following exchange:
SECURITY OFFICER #1: Get out of Archie Bunker's chair. Now!
HOMER: Relax! I'm just boning up on the old Constitution.
SECURITY OFFICER #2: Oh! You're going to regret that, Pinko!
SECURITY OFFICER #1: I'm so sick of people hiding behind the Bill of Rights!
SECURITY OFFICER #2: Look! He got chocolate on it!
HOMER: I didn't mean to! Look!
SECURITY OFFICER #1: Mn-hn. You just licked off the part that forbids cruel and unusual punishment.
SECURITY OFFICER #2 : Heh heh heh. Beautiful.
Alberti opines that, rather than denying All in the Family's influence on The Simpsons, the series writers "mockingly embrace it" by having Homer visually likened to Bunker as he sits on his chair. Alberti also noted that one of the security officer's use of the word "pinko", a term used for a person who is regarded as sympathetic towards communism, is "ironic" as it was used by Bunker, whose chair Homer is sitting in. When the other officer complains about citizens "hiding behind the Bill of Rights", Homer shields himself from the officers blows with the actual manuscript, making the officer's previous statement literal.
In the opening scene, Homer overhears a radio broadcast explaining the year 1939 and comes to the mistaken assumption that he somehow traveled back in time, the song "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Benny Goodman is playing. Lenny and Carl bring him back with "The Safety Dance". When Homer is in the Isolation tank, he is singing "Witch Doctor".
Reception
In its original American broadcast on February 28, 1999, "Make Room for Lisa" received a 7.6 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 7.6 million viewers. The episode finished in 52nd place in the ratings for the week of February 22–28, 1999, tied with a new episode of the CBS documentary and news program 48 Hours. On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season DVD box set. Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Ron Hauge, Matt Selman and Mike B. Anderson participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode.
Following its home video release, "Make Room for Lisa" received mixed reviews from critics.
Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide described the episode as having "two distinct halves, although the second far outweighs the first." They added that Homer's adventure in the sensory deprivation tank was "inspired," in its "almost Keystone Kop humour as he gets from point A to point B and so on, finally getting back to point A none the wiser." They concluded their review by calling the episode "classic."
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a mixed review, and described its main plot as "feeling a bit stale." He felt that there were already several episodes dedicated to Homer and Lisa's problematic relationship, and that "Make Room for Lisa" "doesn't do much to expand that theme." However, he described the episode's subplot as "interesting," and wrote "Marge's fascination with intercepted cell phone calls amuses." He concluded his review by describing the episode as "pretty average."
DVD Town's James Plath gave the episode a mixed review as well, calling it "okay."
References
- Footnotes
- ^ Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "Make Room for Lisa", in The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season . 20th Century Fox.
- Kirkland, Mark. (2007). Commentary for "D'oh-in' in the Wind", in The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season . 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Selman, Matt. (2007). Commentary for "Make Room for Lisa", in The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season . 20th Century Fox.
- Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "All Deleted Scenes", in The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season . 20th Century Fox.
- Waltonen & Du Vernay 2010, pp. 224–225
- ^ Alberti 2004, pp. 86–87
- Alberti 2004, p. 87
- Alberti 2004, pp. 87–88
- Rocky Mountain News (March 4, 1999). "NBC IN TOP THREE SLOTS IN NIELSEN TV RATINGS". John Temple. p. 12D.
- "The Simpsons - The Complete 10th Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- ^ Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood. "Make Room for Lisa". BBC. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- ^ Jacobson, Colin (August 20, 2007). "The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season (1998)". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- Plath, James (August 17, 2007). "Simpsons, The: The Complete 10th Season (DVD)". DVD Town. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- Bibliography
- Waltonen, Karma; Du Vernay, Denise (2010). The Simpsons in the classroom: embiggening the learning experience with the wisdom of Springfield. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4490-8.
- Alberti, John (2004). Leaving Springfield: the Simpsons and the possibility of oppositional culture. McFarland. ISBN 0-8143-2849-0.
