Smoke on the Daughter

Infobox Simpsons episode
episode_name = Smoke on the Daughter


image_caption = Lisa inhales second-hand smoke.
episode_no = 415
prod_code = KABF08
airdate = March 30, 2008
show runner = Al Jean
writer = Billy Kimball
director = Lance Kramer
guest_star =
blackboard =
couch_gag = Wile E. Coyote paints a fake couch on the wall which the Simpsons run into.
season = 19

"Smoke on the Daughter" is the fifteenth episode of "The Simpsons"' nineteenth season. It was broadcast on March 30, 2008,cite news | title = Primetime Listings (March 23 - March 30)| publisher = FoxFlash | date = 2008-03-07 | url = http://www.foxflash.com/div.php/main/page?aID=1z4&ID=88 | accessdate=2008-03-07] and was written by Billy Kimball, and directed by Lance Kramer. Lisa becomes a ballerina at an academy and discovers her natural talent is enhanced by second hand cigarette smoke. Meanwhile, Homer shows Bart his secret room where he has secretly been making beef jerky and is torn when a family of raccoons steal it. During the first broadcast, the episode was watched by 7.10 million people. [http://www.simpsonschannel.com/ Simpsons Channel | Your Source For Simpsons News ] ]

Plot

After the 2008 Springfield Book Night, Marge, sees a commercial for a ballet academy, and reveals to Lisa that she had always wanted to become a ballet dancer. Lisa encourages Marge to follow her dream, and she auditions for Chazz Busby's ballet academy. Busby lets Marge pass, but remains bitter about her performance.

Meanwhile, Homer takes Bart to the basement and introduces him to his secret room, the "jerkytorium", a room in which Homer has been making beef jerky. When Marge dances poorly, Busby throws her out. When Lisa argues his decision, Busby notices Lisa's posture is perfect for a ballerina. He asks if Lisa would join his ballet class, and Marge interrupts, accepting the offer on Lisa's behalf. No matter how hard she practices, Lisa soon turns out to be terrible. While on break, a ballerina asks Lisa if she would like to smoke, claiming it improves their performances. Horrified, Lisa rejects the cigarette. Lisa says that fresh air is better, but inadvertently inhales a large amount of the cigarette's smoke. When the break is over, Lisa enters the studio and performs better than ever, and deduces that second hand smoke is what makes her excel.

Homer brings Apu to his "jerkytorium", and he and Bart are shocked to discover it is completely empty. Homer discovers that a family of raccoons has made off with his jerky. That night, Lisa hallucinates of a cigarette-smoked shaped older version of her, who convinces her to continue smoking. Outside her window, Homer and Bart lay a trap to capture the raccoons, but fail. While driving Lisa to ballet practice, Marge—who is proud of having a ballerina as a daughter—starts glowing about how she sees herself in Lisa and Lisa begins to suspect that Marge is living out her dream through her.

Homer follows one of the raccoons into the family's home under a tree stump, and can not bring himself to attack the family because he sees they are a loving family that resembles his own. At the studio, Lisa's dancing falters and she anxiously waits for the break. When the break does come, she finds out that it is windy outside, so all the smoke begins to blow away. She realizes her only other alternative is to actually smoke a cigarette, and picks one up; right before she smokes it, Homer—alarmed and shocked—arrives to steal it out of her hand. Angry, he goes to tell Marge, but discovers she is so proud of Lisa. Homer can not bear to destroy Marge's happiness. He does, however, order Lisa to quit cigarettes, and decides to get Bart to keep an eye on her.

When Bart informs Homer that Lisa is still addicted to smoke, Homer creates a plan involving one of the raccoons. On the night of the big ballet recital, the raccoon breaks into the changing room and steals all the cigarettes. On stage, all the ballerinas soon go out of control, and Lisa tells the appalled audience that ballet is something America has forced onto children, and quits, prompting Busby to also quit. Marge also learns not to live her dreams through her child.

Cultural references

*The episode's title references Deep Purple's 1972 song, "Smoke on the Water".
*The name of the character Chazz Busby is a reference to the famous director and choreographer of musicals Busby Berkeley.

*Angelica Button (who originally appeared in "The Haw-Hawed Couple") parodies the "Harry Potter" series.cite web|last=Keller|first=Richard|title=The Simpsons: Smoke on the Daughter|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/03/30/the-simpsons-smoke-on-the-daughter/|accessdate=2008-03-31]

*When Bart raises his head out of the pile of leg warmers in the smoke outside, the song "The End" by The Doors is heard, mirroring a sequence in the film "Apocalypse Now".

*After Lisa quits ballet and rejects Busby, he puts on a bowler hat and struts out of the theater to the song "On Broadway", referencing a dance sequence in "All That Jazz".

*Flanders crosses out the words "darn", "gosh" and "heck" out of the "Hardy Boys" books.

*The couch gag is a reference to the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner series.cite news|url=http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/863/863186p1.html|title=The Simpsons: "Smoke on the Daughter" Review|accessdate=2008-04-04|date=2008-03-31|publisher=IGN|author=Robert Canning]

*Lisa also mentions an episode of "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody", although, the episode she mentioned was not a real one.

*Homer and Bart use a Powerpoint presentation to try to impress Apu to buy their jerky.

*The Simpsons watch "". In a parody of the character's dramatic pre-credits statements, Horatio Caine explains a person's ability to commit murder from a long distance by saying, "Maybe, he reached out... and killed someone" and puts his sunglasses. This is immediately followed by a "Won't Get Fooled Again"-esque scream.
*After Bart solves the "mystery", Homer switches the channel to ET.

Reception

The episode was watched by 7.10 million people; the number is not considered to be accurate, as the episode was broadcast on a special time (according to commercials). Richard Keller of TV Squad stated that he enjoyed the week's episode, but commented that it "wasn't as strong as the previous two." Robert Canning of IGN thought that the episode was good and that it "started off very, very strongly" but commented that it seemed to lose its comedic pace as it progressed. He particularly enjoyed the episode's couch gag, stating that "It was a great reminder of the early, innocent days of cartoon comedy but with a modern "Simpsons" twist". He gave the episode a 7.2/10.

References