Lisa's Rival
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"Lisa's Rival" is the second episode of The Simpsons
Synopsis
Lisa feels as if she's going to have to work a little bit more now that a new student, Allison Taylor (voiced by Winona Ryder), has arrived at Springfield Elementary. Allison is as smart or smarter than Lisa, younger (having skipped a grade) and like Lisa, a young master of the saxophone.
A secondary story arc follows Homer after he encounters and then steals hundreds of pounds of sugar he finds at the site of a truck accident.
Regardless, Lisa tries to be her friend, though she battles her envy and jealousy. It comes to a climax during Springfield Elementary's annual "Diorama-rama", a competition in which the students build dioramas. Allison chose and constructed her project early: a scene from The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe. With Bart's help and prodding, Lisa decides to sabotage Allison's entry by switching Allison's diorama with a one containing a rotten cow's heart. When Principal Skinner not only criticizes the diorama but begin to question Allison's overall qualifications, Lisa's guilt overcomes her and she confesses to the switch.
Ironically, Lisa and Allison lose to Ralph Wiggum, whose diorama consisted of a box of Star Wars action figures, objects of sentimental value to Principal Skinner. In the end Lisa and Allison put aside their differences and become friends as they walk away, picking up Ralph along the way to hang out with them after he accidentally trips and breaks his action figures (saying two of his more well known lines, "I bent my Wookiee," and "My cat's breath smells like cat food.").
Quotes
- Marge: I'm telling you, she's more scared of you than you are of her.
Lisa: You're thinking of bears, Mom. - Homer: "In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women." (a reference to a Tony Montana quote from Scarface)
- Skinner: Our foreign exchange student Üter has chosen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (lifts up the box) Wait, this is just an empty box.
Üter (his hands and mouth covered in chocolate): I begged you to see mine first! I begged you! - Bart (into tape recorder): Note: next year, order fewer cards.
- Bart: I did tip off the Feds as to the whereabouts of our good friend Milhouse.
(cut to Milhouse being held at gunpoint in a hydroelectric dam, à la The Fugitive)
Milhouse: I'm telling you, I didn't do anything.
Agent (Tommy Lee Jones): I don't care.
(Milhouse turns around, looks down, takes a breath, and jumps off the dam)
Milhouse: Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! (hits churning water at bottom) My glasses! - Lisa: I never made Miss Hoover 'Yowee'.
- Sherri: Look, it's Bart!
Milhouse: And he's doing stuff!
Skinner: Bart, stop creating a diversion and get out of here! - Principal Skinner: What do you think?
Miss Hoover: I think it's lunchtime. - Ralph Wiggum: My cat's name is Mittens.
- Ralph Wiggum: I beat the smart kids! I beat the smart kids!
- Ralph Wiggum: I bent my Wookiee.
- Lisa: Ralph, would you like to play Anagrams with us?
Allison: We take proper names and rearrange them to form a description of that person.
Ralph: My cat's breath smells like cat food.
Trivia
- According to the DVD audio commentary for the episode, the Northridge earthquake occurred during the production of this episode. It also notes that Conan O'Brien, who by this time had left the show, suggested having an episode about a rival for Lisa (though it was only the basic concept and not the story line that came from O'Brien).
- Although Allison is seen very often after this episode, she never has a distinct speaking role again. She does have a minute role in Lard of the Dance though.
- The episode references the movie The Fugitive in the scene where Milhouse is thought to be a criminal on America's Most Wanted. Later, Milhouse is at the end of a drainpipe on the top of a dam being gunned down by an FBI agent resembling Tommy Lee Jones
- The episode also references the backup artists of popular music groups. Known as "The Second Best Band" the band includes Art Garfunkel, Jim Messina, John Oates, and Lisa Simpson. The song they play is called "Born to Runner-up", a reference to the popular song, "Born to Run".
- Homer's "In America" speech while guarding his sugar pile is a direct reference to Scarface.
- Lisa has a scene similar to the main character of Edgar Allen Poe's story, The Tell-Tale Heart.
Stuff you may have missed
- Bart reads Bad Boys Life magazine, which advertises Laramie Jrs. on the back cover.
- Marge reads, Love In The Time of Scurvy.
- Bart is using a cellular phone at the beginning of the episode.
- Allison has a picture of Bleeding Gums Murphy in her room.
- After Milhouse jumps into the raging waterfall, and shouts, "My glasses!", his glasses are taped together and cracked.
External links
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