All About Lisa

Infobox Simpsons episode
episode_name = All About Lisa


image_caption = The episode's promotional image featuring Krusty the Clown, Lisa, and Drew Carey.
episode_no = 420
prod_code = KABF13
airdate = May 18, 2008
show runner = Al Jean
writer = John Frink
director = Steven Dean Moore
guest_star = Drew Careycite news | title = Fox unleashes a May sweeps to remember | publisher = FoxFlash | date = 2008-04-15 | url =http://www.foxflash.com/div.php/main/page?aID=1z2z1z25z1z8&ID=4087 | accessdate =2008-04-15]
chalkboard =
couch_gag = On a computer screen, the family is dragged into the recycle bin and erased.
season = 19"All About Lisa" 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. Meanwhile, Homer and Bart bond over their newfound love of coin collecting. The episode features narration by Sideshow Mel.cite news | title = TVGuide listing for "All About Lisa" | publisher = TVGuide | date = 2008-05-09 | url =http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=100521&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=7723638 | accessdate =2008-05-09] It was written by John Frink and directed by Steven Dean Moore. Drew Carey guest voices as himself, appearing as a guest on Krusty's show.

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 not to the most expected, but to the most unlikely person: Lisa Simpson. In narration, Sideshow Mel explains that this award could generally change Lisa's view on life. For this, 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. In narration, Sideshow Mel says that at the time, Lisa did not know the whole world of "showbiz", but she was about to find out about the challenge of the business world.

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. As a result, Bart and Homer start coin collecting, and have collected numerous coins for their collection. However, when the two believe they have filled the entire collection book, a surprise awaits: a secret coin slot for the rare 1917 "Kissing Lincolns" penny.

On one of Krusty's shows, Krusty struggles to entertain the audience as Mr. Teeny, Krusty's source of comedy, was stuck in traffic. Lisa, in a last ditch attempt to make Krusty "look better," decides to step into Mr. Teeny's role. 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. At that exact moment, Krusty receives a call from Mr. Teeny informing him that Krusty's 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 late-night talk show "Last Gasp with Krusty the Clown".

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 book is finally full, and in narration, Sideshow Mel says this moment bonded Homer and Bart.

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 - including Sideshow Mel himself. He says "applause is an addiction, just like heroin or checking your e-mail," and that one will do anything to get more. 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.cite news | title = Recapist recaps "All About Lisa" | publisher = Recapist | date = 2008-05-19 | url =http://www.recapist.com/2008/05/19/the-simpsons-all-about-lisa-episode-1920-season-finale | accessdate =2008-05-19]

Cultural references

The episode's title and plot as well as certain elements and scenes are references to the film "All About Eve".cite news | title = IGN: All About Lisa Review; Lisa becomes a star in this season finale. | publisher = IGN | date = 2008-05-19 | url =http://tv.ign.com/articles/874/874921p1.html | accessdate =2008-05-19] The Krustkateers are a reference to the Mouseketeers from The Mickey Mouse Club.

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. In its original run, the episode was watched by 6.11 million, which makes it the second lowest watched episode in the history of "The Simpsons" after "Mona Leaves-a". [ [http://www.simpsonschannel.com/ Simpsons Channel | Your Source For Simpsons News ] ] 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.cite news | title = Soundbites: Pick the Week's Best | publisher = Entertainment Weekly | date = 2008-05-22 | url =http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20201827,00.html | accessdate =2008-05-22]

References