Make Room for Lisa
Encyclopedia
"Make Room for Lisa" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons
' tenth season
. It first aired on the Fox network
in the United States
on February 28, 1999. In the episode, while visiting the Smithsonian expedition, Homer Simpson
meets a businesswoman who convinces him to build a cell phone tower in the Simpsons house, making it take up Lisa's room. Lisa is forced to share Bart's room, but the stress of living in the same room as Bart gives her stomach aches. Homer and Lisa decide to visit a New Age store, where the owner convinces them to go on a spiritual journey by lying in a sensory deprivation tank for a prolonged amount of time.
"Make Room for Lisa" was written by Brian Scully
and was the first full The Simpsons episode Matthew Nastuk
directed, having received a co-director credit for "D'oh-in in the Wind
", for which he directed one scene. The episode's subplot, which revolves around Marge listening in on phone calls using a baby monitor, was inspired by former showrunners Bill Oakley
and Josh Weinstein
, who also listened to private phone calls with a monitor. The episodes contains references to the American sitcom All in the Family
, and advises children to be accepting of their parents. On its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.6 million viewers, finishing in 52nd place in the ratings the week it aired. Following the home video release of The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season, "Make Room for Lisa" received mixed reviews from critics.
participates in a KBBL-sponsored drinking contest at P.J. O'Harrigan's, an Irish pub, and wins the trophy and title of "Sir Drinks-A-Lot
". Once sober, Marge
reminds Homer of his promise to spend one Saturday a month with the children. Much to Homer's chagrin, Bart
traded his turn to choose with Lisa
for her dessert, and Lisa suggests that the family go to the traveling Smithsonian Institution
exhibit. Homer attempts to punish Bart for giving his turn to Lisa by forbidding him to have any dessert, but this backfires when Bart makes another deal to give his turn to Lisa in exchange for her dessert again, much to Homer's discomfort. They arrive at the exhibit, which is sponsored by a cell phone company called OmniTouch, has Abraham Lincoln
's hat, the Fonz's jacket, Archie Bunker
's chair, and the Bill of Rights
, which is ruined when Homer reads it with chocolate-covered hands. In an attempt to lick it clean he licks off the section that forbids cruel and unusual punishment. (When Homer sticks his tongue out shortly after this incident, the writing he licked off is shown on his tongue, but curiously not in reverse as it should have been). Homer is unable to pay the $10,000 repair bill and so Omnitouch installs a cellular transmitter
on the roof of his house, with the control equipment in Lisa's room. Lisa is moved in with Bart, but she is overwhelmed when Bart's made up rules and noises distract her from her homework.
When Lisa develops stomach aches, she visits Dr. Hibbert who suggests that Lisa explore alternative therapies. The owner of a local New Age
store introduces Homer and Lisa to water-filled sensory deprivation tanks
, in which they will experience their own spiritual journey. On her journey, Lisa sees herself from Homer's perspective, reprimanding him for snoring during a ballet recital. Lisa realizes that despite his boorish personality, Homer loves Lisa enough to take her to events and places that he does not personally like just so she can be happy. Meanwhile, a pair of repo men start to clean out the store, taking the tank that Homer is in. Homer's "journey" becomes a real one, as his tank falls out of the back of the van. Mistaken by the Flanders' as a coffin, they bury him, only for the tank to fall through the soil and into a pipe where it is washed up onto the beach. Chief Wiggum finds it and returns it to the store. Lisa decides to go and do something they both enjoy: watching a demolition derby
together.
In the subplot, Maggie's baby monitor
receives transmission from the cellular tower. Rather than report this to Omnitouch, Marge
becomes obsessed with eavesdropping
on private calls. Eventually Bart and Milhouse
play a prank on Marge by making her think that an escaped convict was attempting to break into the house. Marge smashes the baby monitor on Milhouse's head when he opens the door, knocking him out, but when Marge scolds Bart for the prank, he rebukes that it was a fair punishment for eavesdropping, to which Marge reluctantly agrees.
and was the first full episode Matthew Nastuk
directed for The Simpsons. Nastuk had previously received a credit for "D'oh-in In the Wind
", which he directed one scene for. "Make Room for Lisa" was also the second episode about Homer and Lisa that Scully wrote for the series, the first one being "Lost Our Lisa
" from season 9
. "Make Room for Lisa" was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States
on February 28, 1999. When writing the episode, the Simpsons writing staff debated what to do with Lisa after her room had been rebuilt. Brian Scully eventually pitched that Lisa and Bart would have to share a room together, as it would, according to staff writer Matt Selman
, comment on the feeling of having to share a room with a sibling, and how it would "incredibly suck." The writers then wrote the episode around that plot point.
Near the beginning of the episode, Homer takes part in, and wins, KBBL's drinking contest. In the next scene, Homer is seen fallen out of his car, and waken up by Marge. The scene was inspired by Scully's brother Mike Scully
, who, during a date, saw his date's father "drunk and passed out" on her lawn, in the same pose as Homer in the scene. The episode's subplot revolves around Marge, who listens to phone calls by picking up their frequencies with a baby monitor. The storyline was based on former Simpsons showrunners Bill Oakley
and Josh Weinstein
, who also used to pick up listen to other people's phone calls through airwave signals. At one point in the episode, Marge overhears a conversation between Moe Szyslak
and Lenny Leonard. Originally, the conversation would be between two women, but the writers thought it would be "too cliche" to show women gossiping, and changed it to Moe and Lenny instead. While inside the isolation tank, Homer gets bored and starts singing "Witch Doctor" by Armenian-American
singer David Seville. According to Mike Scully, the Simpsons staff had to pay the song's record company $100 000 for the rights to use the tune in the episode. The episode features a "prototype" of what would become the recurring character Lindsey Naegle, who is voiced by American actress Tress MacNeille
.
The American sitcom All in the Family
has provided much influence for the comedy in The Simpsons, as John Alberti writes in his book Leaving Springfield: the Simpsons and the possibility of oppositional culture. He wrote that the series influence on The Simpsons is "acknowledged quite openly in the program itself," and used a scene in "Make Room for Lisa" as an example. The scene shows Homer, Bart and Lisa visiting the Smithsonian Exhibition, where a jacket worn by Fonzie
, a character from another 70's series, Happy Days
, receives more attention from visitors than the Bill of Rights
. It does however catch the attention of Homer, who picks it up and reads it while sitting in a wing chair owned by Archie Bunker
, a character from All in the Family. Homer is accosted by two security guards, who assault him using, according to Alberti, "the kind of language we have learned to accept from the erstwhile occupant of that chair [Bunker]." Homer and the two guards have the following exchange:
Alberti opines that, rather than denying All in the Family' s influence on The Simpsons, the series writers "mockingly embrace[s] it" by having Homer visually likened to Bunker as he sits on his chair. Alberti also noted that one of the security officer's use of the word "pinko
", a term used for a person who is regarded as sympathetic towards communism, is "ironic" as it was used by Bunker, whose chair Homer is sitting in. When the other officer complaints about citizens "hiding behind the Bill of Rights," Homer shields himself from the officers blows with the actual manuscript, making the officer's previous statement literal.
, translating to approximately 7.6 million viewers. The episode finished in 52nd place in the ratings for the week of February 22–28, 1999, tied with a new episode of the CBS
documentary and news program 48 Hours
. On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season DVD
box set. Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Ron Hauge, Matt Selman and Mike B. Anderson participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode.
Following its home video release, "Make Room for Lisa" received mixed reviews from critics. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide described the episode as having "two distinct halves, although the second far outweighs the first." They added that Homer's adventure in the sensory deprivation tank was "inspired," in its "almost Keystone Kop humour as he gets from point A to point B and so on, finally getting back to point A none the wiser." They concluded their review by calling the episode "classic." Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a mixed review, and described its main plot as "feeling a bit stale." He felt that there were already several episodes dedicated to Homer and Lisa's problematic relationship, and that "Make Room for Lisa" "doesn’t do much to expand that theme." However, he described the episode's subplot as "interesting," and wrote "Marge’s fascination with intercepted cell phone calls amuses." He concluded his review by describing the episode as "pretty average." DVD Town's James Plath gave the episode a mixed review as well, calling it "okay." Digital Entertainment News' Jake MacNeill described it as a "retread" of earlier episodes, and considered it to be one of the season's worst episodes.
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...
The Simpsons (season 10)
The tenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between August 23, 1998 and May 16, 1999. It contains twenty-three episodes, starting with "Lard of the Dance". The Simpsons revolves around a working class family that...
. It first aired on the Fox network
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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on February 28, 1999. In the episode, while visiting the Smithsonian expedition, Homer Simpson
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...
meets a businesswoman who convinces him to build a cell phone tower in the Simpsons house, making it take up Lisa's room. Lisa is forced to share Bart's room, but the stress of living in the same room as Bart gives her stomach aches. Homer and Lisa decide to visit a New Age store, where the owner convinces them to go on a spiritual journey by lying in a sensory deprivation tank for a prolonged amount of time.
"Make Room for Lisa" was written by Brian Scully
Brian Scully
Brian Scully is an American television writer and producer.Scully initially worked as a TV salesman before eventually getting a job writing on Out of This World...
and was the first full The Simpsons episode Matthew Nastuk
Matthew Nastuk
Matthew Nastuk is an animation director on The Simpsons. He started directing during the tenth season, and has since directed over a dozen episodes and continues to direct today.-Season Ten:...
directed, having received a co-director credit for "D'oh-in in the Wind
D'oh-in in the Wind
"D'oh-in In the Wind" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1998. In the episode, Homer Simpson travels to a farm owned by Seth and Munchie, two aged hippies who were friends with Homer's mother...
", for which he directed one scene. The episode's subplot, which revolves around Marge listening in on phone calls using a baby monitor, was inspired by former showrunners Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
and Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the...
, who also listened to private phone calls with a monitor. The episodes contains references to the American sitcom All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, and advises children to be accepting of their parents. On its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.6 million viewers, finishing in 52nd place in the ratings the week it aired. Following the home video release of The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season, "Make Room for Lisa" received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
HomerHomer 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...
participates in a KBBL-sponsored drinking contest at P.J. O'Harrigan's, an Irish pub, and wins the trophy and title of "Sir Drinks-A-Lot
Sir Mix-a-Lot
Anthony Ray , better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an emcee and producer based in Seattle, Washington. The founder of the Nastymix record label, he debuted in 1988 with Swass...
". Once sober, 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...
reminds Homer of his promise to spend one Saturday a month with the children. Much to Homer's chagrin, Bart
Bart 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...
traded his turn to choose with 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...
for her dessert, and Lisa suggests that the family go to the traveling Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
exhibit. Homer attempts to punish Bart for giving his turn to Lisa by forbidding him to have any dessert, but this backfires when Bart makes another deal to give his turn to Lisa in exchange for her dessert again, much to Homer's discomfort. They arrive at the exhibit, which is sponsored by a cell phone company called OmniTouch, has Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's hat, the Fonz's jacket, Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
's chair, and the Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
, which is ruined when Homer reads it with chocolate-covered hands. In an attempt to lick it clean he licks off the section that forbids cruel and unusual punishment. (When Homer sticks his tongue out shortly after this incident, the writing he licked off is shown on his tongue, but curiously not in reverse as it should have been). Homer is unable to pay the $10,000 repair bill and so Omnitouch installs a cellular transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
on the roof of his house, with the control equipment in Lisa's room. Lisa is moved in with Bart, but she is overwhelmed when Bart's made up rules and noises distract her from her homework.
When Lisa develops stomach aches, she visits Dr. Hibbert who suggests that Lisa explore alternative therapies. The owner of a local New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
store introduces Homer and Lisa to water-filled sensory deprivation tanks
Isolation tank
An isolation tank is a lightless, soundproof tank inside which subjects float in salt water at skin temperature. They were first used by John C. Lilly in 1954 to test the effects of sensory deprivation. Such tanks are now also used for meditation and relaxation and in alternative medicine. The...
, in which they will experience their own spiritual journey. On her journey, Lisa sees herself from Homer's perspective, reprimanding him for snoring during a ballet recital. Lisa realizes that despite his boorish personality, Homer loves Lisa enough to take her to events and places that he does not personally like just so she can be happy. Meanwhile, a pair of repo men start to clean out the store, taking the tank that Homer is in. Homer's "journey" becomes a real one, as his tank falls out of the back of the van. Mistaken by the Flanders' as a coffin, they bury him, only for the tank to fall through the soil and into a pipe where it is washed up onto the beach. Chief Wiggum finds it and returns it to the store. Lisa decides to go and do something they both enjoy: watching a demolition derby
Demolition derby
Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...
together.
In the subplot, Maggie's baby monitor
Baby monitor
A baby monitor, also known as a baby alarm, is a radio system used to remotely listen to sounds made by an infant. The transmitter unit, equipped with a microphone, is placed near to the child. It transmits the sounds the baby makes by radio waves to a receiver unit with a speaker carried by, or...
receives transmission from the cellular tower. Rather than report this to Omnitouch, 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...
becomes obsessed with eavesdropping
Eavesdropping
Eavesdropping is the act of secretly listening to the private conversation of others without their consent, as defined by Black's Law Dictionary...
on private calls. Eventually Bart 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....
play a prank on Marge by making her think that an escaped convict was attempting to break into the house. Marge smashes the baby monitor on Milhouse's head when he opens the door, knocking him out, but when Marge scolds Bart for the prank, he rebukes that it was a fair punishment for eavesdropping, to which Marge reluctantly agrees.
Production
"Make Room for Lisa" was written by Brian ScullyBrian Scully
Brian Scully is an American television writer and producer.Scully initially worked as a TV salesman before eventually getting a job writing on Out of This World...
and was the first full episode Matthew Nastuk
Matthew Nastuk
Matthew Nastuk is an animation director on The Simpsons. He started directing during the tenth season, and has since directed over a dozen episodes and continues to direct today.-Season Ten:...
directed for The Simpsons. Nastuk had previously received a credit for "D'oh-in In the Wind
D'oh-in in the Wind
"D'oh-in In the Wind" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1998. In the episode, Homer Simpson travels to a farm owned by Seth and Munchie, two aged hippies who were friends with Homer's mother...
", which he directed one scene for. "Make Room for Lisa" was also the second episode about Homer and Lisa that Scully wrote for the series, the first one being "Lost Our Lisa
Lost Our Lisa
"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...
" from season 9
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...
. "Make Room for Lisa" was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on February 28, 1999. When writing the episode, the Simpsons writing staff debated what to do with Lisa after her room had been rebuilt. Brian Scully eventually pitched that Lisa and Bart would have to share a room together, as it would, according to staff writer Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
, comment on the feeling of having to share a room with a sibling, and how it would "incredibly suck." The writers then wrote the episode around that plot point.
Near the beginning of the episode, Homer takes part in, and wins, KBBL's drinking contest. In the next scene, Homer is seen fallen out of his car, and waken up by Marge. The scene was inspired by Scully's brother Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
, who, during a date, saw his date's father "drunk and passed out" on her lawn, in the same pose as Homer in the scene. The episode's subplot revolves around Marge, who listens to phone calls by picking up their frequencies with a baby monitor. The storyline was based on former Simpsons showrunners Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
and Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the...
, who also used to pick up listen to other people's phone calls through airwave signals. At one point in the episode, Marge overhears a conversation between Moe Szyslak
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
and Lenny Leonard. Originally, the conversation would be between two women, but the writers thought it would be "too cliche" to show women gossiping, and changed it to Moe and Lenny instead. While inside the isolation tank, Homer gets bored and starts singing "Witch Doctor" by Armenian-American
Armenian-American
Armenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...
singer David Seville. According to Mike Scully, the Simpsons staff had to pay the song's record company $100 000 for the rights to use the tune in the episode. The episode features a "prototype" of what would become the recurring character Lindsey Naegle, who is voiced by American actress Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
.
Themes and cultural references
Throughout the series, Homer and Lisa's relationship is problematic, as Homer often struggles to understand Lisa, who in many ways is a little girl but who is also smarter than him. Karma Waltonen and Denise Du Vernay analyzed "Make Room for Lisa" in their book The Simpsons in the classroom: Embiggening the Learning Experience with the Wisdom of Springfield. They wrote that in the episode, Homer and Lisa's relationship is badly damaged after Homer allows Lisa's room to be turned into a cell phone tower. When the two enter sensory-deprivation tanks, Lisa has several hallucinations, including one in which she becomes Homer. This experience shows Lisa how she appears from Homer's point of view, and makes her realize that her treatment of Homer is hurtful, as he often participates in activities with her that he does not enjoy. The episode ends with Homer and Lisa watching a demolition derby, which Lisa enjoys because she is spending time with Homer. The episode advises children to be accepting of their parents, who "do the best [they] can" to raise them.The American sitcom All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
has provided much influence for the comedy in The Simpsons, as John Alberti writes in his book Leaving Springfield: the Simpsons and the possibility of oppositional culture. He wrote that the series influence on The Simpsons is "acknowledged quite openly in the program itself," and used a scene in "Make Room for Lisa" as an example. The scene shows Homer, Bart and Lisa visiting the Smithsonian Exhibition, where a jacket worn by Fonzie
Fonzie
Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom Happy Days . He was originally a secondary character, but eventually became the lead...
, a character from another 70's series, Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, receives more attention from visitors than the Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
. It does however catch the attention of Homer, who picks it up and reads it while sitting in a wing chair owned by Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
, a character from All in the Family. Homer is accosted by two security guards, who assault him using, according to Alberti, "the kind of language we have learned to accept from the erstwhile occupant of that chair [Bunker]." Homer and the two guards have the following exchange:
Alberti opines that, rather than denying All in the Family
Pinko
Pinko is a term for a person regarded as being sympathetic to communism, though not necessarily a Communist Party member.The term has its origins in the notion that pink is a lighter shade of red, the color associated with communism...
", a term used for a person who is regarded as sympathetic towards communism, is "ironic" as it was used by Bunker, whose chair Homer is sitting in. When the other officer complaints about citizens "hiding behind the Bill of Rights," Homer shields himself from the officers blows with the actual manuscript, making the officer's previous statement literal.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on February 28, 1999, "Make Room for Lisa" received a 7.6 rating, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, translating to approximately 7.6 million viewers. The episode finished in 52nd place in the ratings for the week of February 22–28, 1999, tied with a new episode of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
documentary and news program 48 Hours
48 Hours (TV series)
48 Hours is a documentary and news program broadcast on the CBS television network since January 19, 1988. The program originally presented documentaries of various events related to a particular subject occurring within a 48-hour period, and is credited as one of the first to air a "reality show"...
. On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
box set. Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Ron Hauge, Matt Selman and Mike B. Anderson participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode.
Following its home video release, "Make Room for Lisa" received mixed reviews from critics. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide described the episode as having "two distinct halves, although the second far outweighs the first." They added that Homer's adventure in the sensory deprivation tank was "inspired," in its "almost Keystone Kop humour as he gets from point A to point B and so on, finally getting back to point A none the wiser." They concluded their review by calling the episode "classic." Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a mixed review, and described its main plot as "feeling a bit stale." He felt that there were already several episodes dedicated to Homer and Lisa's problematic relationship, and that "Make Room for Lisa" "doesn’t do much to expand that theme." However, he described the episode's subplot as "interesting," and wrote "Marge’s fascination with intercepted cell phone calls amuses." He concluded his review by describing the episode as "pretty average." DVD Town's James Plath gave the episode a mixed review as well, calling it "okay." Digital Entertainment News' Jake MacNeill described it as a "retread" of earlier episodes, and considered it to be one of the season's worst episodes.
External links
- "Make Room for Lisa" The Simpsons.com