All About Lisa
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (October 2008) |
| "All About Lisa" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Season 19 |
| Directed by | Steven Dean Moore |
| Written by | John Frink |
| Original air dates | May 18, 2008 |
| Episode features | |
| Couch gag | The family is dragged onto a computer screen then are put into the recycle bin. |
"All About Lisa"[1] is the twentieth episode and season finale of The Simpsons' nineteenth season, and first aired on May 18, 2008. Lisa Simpson becomes Krusty the Clown's newest assistant and steals his spotlight. She wins Entertainer of the Year at the Springfield Media awards, but is warned that with her sudden fame comes a new attitude towards others and herself.[1] Meanwhile, Homer and Bart bond over their newfound love of coin collecting.[1] The episode features narration by Sideshow Mel.[2] It was written by John Frink and directed by Steven Dean Moore.[1] Drew Carey guest voices as himself, appearing as a guest on Krusty's show.[1]
Plot
The episode opens up to the 38th Annual Springfield Media Awards. Sideshow Mel, narrating the episode, introduces several celebrities from past episodes. Inside the hall, the host of the ceremony gives the Entertainer of the Year Award to the most unlikely person: Lisa Simpson. Mel goes into a detailed explanation of Lisa's history in show business. The episode goes into a flashback, where at Krusty the Clown's 4,000th episode, he decides to hire brand-new "Krustkateers", children who used to star alongside Krusty in his early episodes. Bart tries out for the show and clearly puts on the best performance, but Krusty chooses Nelson Muntz instead, after a romantic liaison with Mrs. Muntz. Lisa, noticing this injustice, decides to go and defend Bart and demands Krusty hire him. However, in a twisted turn of fate, Krusty decides to hire Lisa as his intern instead.
Sideshow Mel says that over the years, assisting Krusty the Clown was perhaps the worst part of show business. Lisa, who is not paid, is frequently bullied by Krusty. After an argument about Nelson's practice for Krustkateers, Krusty fires him. Noticing how Krusty degrades Lisa, Mel tells her that Krusty, despite being humiliated at times, is very conceited, so in order to bear Krusty's rudeness, Lisa must compliment him. Lisa takes Sideshow Mel's advice to heart, and a conceited Krusty finally praises Lisa's assistance. Meanwhile, Bart, miserable for not being a Krustkateer, has Homer comfort him. When noticing all of Krusty's merchandise in Bart's room, the two opt to sell it all to Comic Book Guy, who trades a coin album and a bicentennial quarter for it. Although reluctant, Bart agrees and as a result, Bart and Homer start coin collecting. When the two believe they have filled the entire collection book, they discover a secret coin slot for the rare 1917 "Kissing Lincolns" penny.
On one of Krusty's shows, Krusty struggles to entertain the audience, Lisa, in a last ditch attempt to make Krusty "look better," decides to step into the show. After pushing Krusty off the diving board, the entire audience laughs at Krusty and praises Lisa, while in narration, Sideshow Mel shows Lisa's mind is swept with fame and fortune. Later, at Krusty's retreat, Krusty is visited by his agent, who informs him to watch out for Lisa, as Lisa's popularity may steal his spotlight. Krusty is informed that his network executives are interested in taking one of his workers to develop him into a star of his own television show. Krusty, surprised, immediately hurries back to the set of his show to discover Lindsey Naegle hiring Lisa, dressed as a clown, to be the lead role on Krusty's show, renaming it The Lisa Show. An overnight success, Sideshow Mel warns Lisa not to overdo her pride. Krusty, however, is relegated to a local late-night talk show.
Bart and Homer head to an coin auction house, where Mr. Burns is seen buying all coins. The Kissing Lincolns is up for bid, and despite Homer bidding all he had and even more, Mr. Burns wins again. Mr. Burns refuses to give Homer the penny, prompting Homer to ask for change for a nickel. What Mr. Burns does not know, however, is that he had unintentionally given away the Kissing Lincolns. The flashback concludes, and Lisa is shown proudly accepting her award. In her dressing room, Mel asks if he could speak to her for a moment. A now conceited Lisa agrees, and Mel takes her to a hall of previous people who had won the Entertainer of the Year Award like Lisa, none of whom ever went on to achieve fame or fortune. One of these is Mel himself. Lisa realizes that she needs to get out of the business while she still can. She runs back out on stage and calls Krusty up on stage, giving him a chance to be in the spotlight again. The episode ends with Krusty regaining his reputation and finally making viewers laugh.[3][1][2]
Cultural references
The episode's title and plot as well as certain elements and scenes are references to the film All About Eve.[2][4] The Krustkateers are a reference to the Mouseketeers from The Mickey Mouse Club. The comic book Radioactive Man vs. Muhammad Ali is a parody of the 1978 comic book Superman vs. Muhammad Ali.
Reception
Robert Canning of IGN said the episode lacked the normal spark and was an average season finale. He also criticized the premise of the main plot for being identical to that of "Bart Gets Famous". Although he gave it a lackluster review, he said Homer's storyline, despite being a "time filler", had more laughs. He gives the episode a final 5.8.[4] In its original run, the episode was watched by 6.11 million, which makes it the fifth lowest watched episode in the history of The Simpsons after "Mona Leaves-a", "No Loan Again, Naturally", "Gone Maggie Gone", and "Lisa the Drama Queen".[5] At the Springfield Showbiz Awards, the MC's quote, "We now come to our final award: Entertainer of the Year. An award so prestigious that it recently won the 'Award of the Year' Award at the 2007 Awardie Awards," was nominated for Best Quote of the Week.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Fox unleashes a May sweeps to remember". FoxFlash. 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c "TVGuide listing for "All About Lisa"". TVGuide. 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Recapist recaps "All About Lisa"". Recapist. 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "IGN: All About Lisa Review; Lisa becomes a star in this season finale". IGN. 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Simpsons Channel | Your Source For Simpsons News
- ^ "Soundbites: Pick the Week's Best". Entertainment Weekly. 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
