Lost Our Lisa
Encyclopedia
"Lost Our Lisa" is the twenty-fourth episode of the ninth season
of The Simpsons
. It originally aired May 10, 1998 on Fox
. The episode contains the last appearance of character Lionel Hutz
. When Lisa learns that Marge cannot give her a ride to the museum and forbids her to take the bus, she tricks Homer into giving her permission. After Lisa gets lost, Homer goes looking for her and the two end up visiting the museum together. The episode is analyzed in the books Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation
, The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh!
and The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
, and received positive mention in I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide.
and Milhouse
decide to visit a joke shop. Marge
and Lisa
plan a trip to the Springsonian Museum so they can see the Egyptian Treasures of Isis exhibit and the Orb of Isis
. Marge learns she has to take Bart to a doctor instead, since he has accidentally superglued various novelty items to his face. Since this is Lisa's last chance to see the exhibit, she phones Homer
to ask him if she can take the bus. He seems uncertain, which prompts her to trick him into letting her take the bus.
Lisa takes bus 22. Having not passed the museum for a long time, she asks the driver if the bus is bus 22. She learns that she is riding bus 22-A and is on the wrong bus. She has to get off at the last stop, which is in the middle of nowhere. During his lunch break at work, Homer has a conversation with Lenny and Carl. He tells them that he let Lisa ride the bus alone. Lenny and Carl point out the error of his judgment, and Homer leaves work to go look for her. He heads to the museum and ends up in downtown Springfield
. He cannot find her in the large crowd of people. He buys a bunch of balloons and gives them to a city worker, so that he can use his cherrypicker to get up higher. Homer and Lisa spot each other, but the vehicle's wheels creak backwards and it rolls down a hill. After scraping his head under a tunnel and smashing into some traffic lights, it slides off the edge of a pier at the harbor into a river. Lisa tells the drawbridge
operator to close the bridge so Homer can grab on. His head is caught between the two closing halves and he survives with nothing more than a few tire marks across his forehead.
Meanwhile, Bart's novelties get removed by Dr. Hibbert with "terror sweat". Marge and Bart return home, thinking Lisa is crying in her bedroom. Marge tells him to apologize to her, much to the anger of Bart. But Bart hears no response from Lisa's empty room, thinking she is not talking to him. With Homer and Lisa re-united, he tells her that it is all right to take risks in life. The two decide to go to the museum after all, by illegally entering since it is now closed. While there, they make a fascinating discovery that the Orb of Isis is a music box which had gone overlooked by scientists and museum staff. Lisa concludes that what her father said about risks was right – until the alarm goes off and guard dogs chase them out of the building.
and he would ask his parents if he could take the bus to Springfield, Massachusetts
and they finally agreed to let him one day. The production team faced several challenges during development of this episode. The animators had to come up with a special mouth chart to draw Bart's mouth with the joke teeth in. The pile of dead animals in the back of Cletus's
truck originally included dead puppies, but the animators thought it was too sad, so they removed them. Mike Scully used to write jokes for Yakov Smirnoff
so he called him up to get the signs in Russian. Dan Castellaneta
had to learn proper Russian pronunciation so he could speak it during the chess scene in which he voiced the Russian chess player.
In the season 9 DVD release of the episode, The Simpsons animators use a telestrator
to show similarities between Krusty and Homer in the episode. This episode contains the last showing of character Lionel Hutz. He is seen standing at the bus stop with Lisa, but does not speak. Due to Phil Hartman
's death, the recurring characters of Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure
were retired.
, Chris Turner cites Lisa's experiences on the bus as an example of "satirical laughs scored at the expense of Lisa's idealism". "Lost Our Lisa" is cited in The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
along with episodes "Lisa the Iconoclast
", "Lisa the Beauty Queen
", and "Lisa's Sax
"; in order to illustrate Homer's "success bonding with Lisa".
In The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh!
, the authors utilize statements made by Homer in the episode to analyze the difference between heuristic
and algorithmic decision-making. Homer explains to Lisa, "Stupid risks are what make life worth living. Now your mother, she's the steady type and that's fine in small doses, but me, I'm a risk-taker. That's why I have so many adventures!" The authors of The Psychology of The Simpsons interpret this statement by Homer to mean that he "relies on his past experiences of taking massive, death-defying risks and winding up okay to justify forging ahead in the most extreme circumstances".
of 7.8, equivalent to approximately 7.6 million viewing households. It was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
, Ally McBeal
, and King of the Hill
.
Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood write positively of the episode in their book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide: "A smashing episode, loads of good jokes and clever situations ... and best of all, Lisa working intelligently. The teaming up of father and daughter has rarely been more enjoyable and lovely. Gives you a warm feeling." A review of The Simpsons season 9 DVD release in the Daily Post
notes that it includes "super illustrated colour commentaries" on "All Singing, All Dancing
" and "Lost Our Lisa".
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. It originally aired May 10, 1998 on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. The episode contains the last appearance of character Lionel Hutz
Lionel Hutz
Lionel Hutz is a recurring character from the animated television series The Simpsons. He was voiced by Phil Hartman, and his first appearance was in the season two episode "Bart Gets Hit by a Car". Due to the death of Hartman, his final speaking role was in the episode "Realty Bites"...
. When Lisa learns that Marge cannot give her a ride to the museum and forbids her to take the bus, she tricks Homer into giving her permission. After Lisa gets lost, Homer goes looking for her and the two end up visiting the museum together. The episode is analyzed in the books Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation
Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation
Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation is a non-fiction book about The Simpsons, written by Chris Turner and originally published on 12 October 2004 by Random House...
, The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh!
The Psychology of The Simpsons
The Psychology of The Simpsons: D'oh! is a non-fiction book analyzing psychology themes in the television series The Simpsons. It contains content from several contributors, including psychologists, counselors and school therapists. The book was edited by Alan S. Brown, Ph.D., and Chris Logan, and...
and The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J...
, and received positive mention in I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide.
Plot
On a teacher conference day off from school, BartBart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Milhouse
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
decide to visit a joke shop. Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
plan a trip to the Springsonian Museum so they can see the Egyptian Treasures of Isis exhibit and the Orb of Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
. Marge learns she has to take Bart to a doctor instead, since he has accidentally superglued various novelty items to his face. Since this is Lisa's last chance to see the exhibit, she phones Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
to ask him if she can take the bus. He seems uncertain, which prompts her to trick him into letting her take the bus.
Lisa takes bus 22. Having not passed the museum for a long time, she asks the driver if the bus is bus 22. She learns that she is riding bus 22-A and is on the wrong bus. She has to get off at the last stop, which is in the middle of nowhere. During his lunch break at work, Homer has a conversation with Lenny and Carl. He tells them that he let Lisa ride the bus alone. Lenny and Carl point out the error of his judgment, and Homer leaves work to go look for her. He heads to the museum and ends up in downtown Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
. He cannot find her in the large crowd of people. He buys a bunch of balloons and gives them to a city worker, so that he can use his cherrypicker to get up higher. Homer and Lisa spot each other, but the vehicle's wheels creak backwards and it rolls down a hill. After scraping his head under a tunnel and smashing into some traffic lights, it slides off the edge of a pier at the harbor into a river. Lisa tells the drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
operator to close the bridge so Homer can grab on. His head is caught between the two closing halves and he survives with nothing more than a few tire marks across his forehead.
Meanwhile, Bart's novelties get removed by Dr. Hibbert with "terror sweat". Marge and Bart return home, thinking Lisa is crying in her bedroom. Marge tells him to apologize to her, much to the anger of Bart. But Bart hears no response from Lisa's empty room, thinking she is not talking to him. With Homer and Lisa re-united, he tells her that it is all right to take risks in life. The two decide to go to the museum after all, by illegally entering since it is now closed. While there, they make a fascinating discovery that the Orb of Isis is a music box which had gone overlooked by scientists and museum staff. Lisa concludes that what her father said about risks was right – until the alarm goes off and guard dogs chase them out of the building.
Production
Writer Mike Scully came up with the idea for the plot because he used to live in West Springfield, MassachusettsWest Springfield, Massachusetts
The Town of West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,391 at the 2010 census...
and he would ask his parents if he could take the bus to Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
and they finally agreed to let him one day. The production team faced several challenges during development of this episode. The animators had to come up with a special mouth chart to draw Bart's mouth with the joke teeth in. The pile of dead animals in the back of Cletus's
Cletus Spuckler
Cletus Delroy Spuckler is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Hank Azaria. Cletus is Springfield's resident hillbilly stereotype. He is very messy and is usually portrayed wearing a white sleeveless shirt and pair of blue jeans.- Biography :Cletus was...
truck originally included dead puppies, but the animators thought it was too sad, so they removed them. Mike Scully used to write jokes for Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis , better known as Yakov Smirnoff, is a Ukrainian-born American comedian, painter and teacher. He was popular in the 1980s for comedy performances in which he used irony and word play to contrast life under the Communist regime in his native Soviet Union with life in the...
so he called him up to get the signs in Russian. Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
had to learn proper Russian pronunciation so he could speak it during the chess scene in which he voiced the Russian chess player.
In the season 9 DVD release of the episode, The Simpsons animators use a telestrator
Telestrator
A telestrator is a device that allows its operator to draw a freehand sketch over a moving or still video image. The telestrator is most famously recognized in sports and weather broadcasts to diagram and analyze sports plays or incoming weather patterns. The talent typically draws on a...
to show similarities between Krusty and Homer in the episode. This episode contains the last showing of character Lionel Hutz. He is seen standing at the bus stop with Lisa, but does not speak. Due to Phil Hartman
Phil Hartman
Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
's death, the recurring characters of Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure
Troy McClure
Troy McClure is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He was voiced by Phil Hartman and first appears in the second season episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". McClure is a washed-up actor, usually shown doing low-level work, such as hosting infomercials...
were retired.
Themes
In his book Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a GenerationPlanet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation
Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation is a non-fiction book about The Simpsons, written by Chris Turner and originally published on 12 October 2004 by Random House...
, Chris Turner cites Lisa's experiences on the bus as an example of "satirical laughs scored at the expense of Lisa's idealism". "Lost Our Lisa" is cited in The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J...
along with episodes "Lisa the Iconoclast
Lisa the Iconoclast
"Lisa the Iconoclast" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 18, 1996. In the episode, Springfield's bicentennial approaches, and Lisa writes an essay on town founder Jebediah Springfield...
", "Lisa the Beauty Queen
Lisa the Beauty Queen
"Lisa the Beauty Queen" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 15, 1992. In the episode, Homer enters Lisa into a beauty pageant to boost her confidence. Lisa is runner-up, but gains the title of Little Miss...
", and "Lisa's Sax
Lisa's Sax
"Lisa's Sax" is the third episode of The Simpsons ninth season and originally aired on the Fox network on October 19, 1997 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. In the series' sixth flashback episode, it is explained how Lisa got her saxophone...
"; in order to illustrate Homer's "success bonding with Lisa".
In The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh!
The Psychology of The Simpsons
The Psychology of The Simpsons: D'oh! is a non-fiction book analyzing psychology themes in the television series The Simpsons. It contains content from several contributors, including psychologists, counselors and school therapists. The book was edited by Alan S. Brown, Ph.D., and Chris Logan, and...
, the authors utilize statements made by Homer in the episode to analyze the difference between heuristic
Heuristic
Heuristic refers to experience-based techniques for problem solving, learning, and discovery. Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution, where an exhaustive search is impractical...
and algorithmic decision-making. Homer explains to Lisa, "Stupid risks are what make life worth living. Now your mother, she's the steady type and that's fine in small doses, but me, I'm a risk-taker. That's why I have so many adventures!" The authors of The Psychology of The Simpsons interpret this statement by Homer to mean that he "relies on his past experiences of taking massive, death-defying risks and winding up okay to justify forging ahead in the most extreme circumstances".
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Lost Our Lisa" finished 45th in ratings for the week of May 4-10, 1998, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 7.8, equivalent to approximately 7.6 million viewing households. It was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
, and King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
.
Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood write positively of the episode in their book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide: "A smashing episode, loads of good jokes and clever situations ... and best of all, Lisa working intelligently. The teaming up of father and daughter has rarely been more enjoyable and lovely. Gives you a warm feeling." A review of The Simpsons season 9 DVD release in the Daily Post
Liverpool Daily Post
The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is a morning paper...
notes that it includes "super illustrated colour commentaries" on "All Singing, All Dancing
All Singing, All Dancing
"All Singing, All Dancing" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons ninth season and originally aired on the Fox network on January 4, 1998. In it, the fourth clip show aired by The Simpsons, Homer claims he hates singing, so Marge shows family videos of musical numbers from the previous seasons...
" and "Lost Our Lisa".
External links
- "Lost Our Lisa", at The Simpsons.com