Lisa's First Word

Infobox Simpsons episode
episode_name = Lisa's First Word


image_caption= Toddler Bart and Baby Lisa.
episode_no = 69
prod_code = 9F08
airdate = December 3, 1992
show runner = Al Jean & Mike Reiss
writer = Jeff Martin
director = Mark Kirkland
blackboard = "Teacher is not a leper"cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season4/page11.shtml|title=Lisa's First Word|accessdate=2008-01-19|author=Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian |date=2000|publisher=BBC]
couch_gag = The family forms a chorus line, which turns into a large production number.
guest_star = Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie
commentary = Matt Groening
Al Jean
Jeff Martin
Mark Kirkland
season = 4"Lisa's First Word" is the tenth episode of "The Simpsons"' fourth season, which was originally broadcast on December 3, 1992. It was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. The episode is notable for containing the first canon word spoken by Maggie Simpson, who was voiced by Elizabeth Taylor. It is the second of three separate episodes chronicling the births of the Simpson children. It comes after the third season episode "I Married Marge" (about Bart), and is followed by the sixth season episode "And Maggie Makes Three".

Plot

When Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa try unsuccessfully to get Maggie to speak, Marge decides to tell story of Lisa's first word.

In March 1983, Homer, Marge, and a young Bart are living in the Lower East Springfield district. One day, Marge announces to Homer and Bart that she is pregnant with another baby. When asked what he thinks, Bart imagines a new brother whom he can use as a scapegoat for his own misbehavior. Marge suggests to Homer that with their family expanding, they need a bigger house. Homer and Marge try to look for houses, and find a perfect house on Evergreen Terrace and buy it with a $15,000 down payment from the sale of Grampa Simpson's house.

In 1984, Bart is two-years old, the Simpsons move into their new Evergreen Terrace home, with the Flanders family as neighbors. Bart turns two years old, and for the first time, he watches "Krusty the Clown", as well as The "Itchy & Scratchy" Show. Krusty also begins a promotion for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games with his Krusty Burger chain, the promotion is a scratch-and-win game in which people scratch off the name of the event from the game card and if the U.S. wins a gold medal in that chosen event, that person would win a free Krusty Burger. However, the game cards are rigged so they only contain events in which the Soviet Union typically performed strongly. But when the USSR boycott the Olympics, Krusty loses $44 million and Homer receives a steady supply of Krusty Burgers.

Bart is now asked to give up his crib so it can become the new baby's. Bart refuses, so Homer builds Bart a new bed shaped like a maniacal clown, which terrifies Bart into a state of insomnia. Marge thinks that the baby is coming, and she and Homer go to the hospital, leaving Bart with the Flanders family. Bart returns home and is scared until Homer asks him to see Lisa, to whom Bart takes an immediate dislike. Everyone, except Bart, agrees that she is a beautiful baby. Later, Bart does bad things to Lisa — such as cutting all of her hair with household scissors, sticking stamps on her and putting her in a mailbox, and putting her through the Flanders' doggy door — and is punished each time by being put in the corner. He blames Lisa for his problems and packs his toys into a hobo's bindle, about to run away for good until Lisa says her first word, "Bart." Bart discovers that Lisa can talk, and loves him and appears to accept her as his little sister. Homer, however is secretly disappointed that none of his kids said "daddy".

However, back in present day, the flashback ends and we see Bart and Lisa fighting. Homer takes Maggie to bed, commenting on how kids learn to talk back as soon as they learn to talk. As he puts Maggie to bed, Homer wishes that Maggie never says a word. As soon as Homer leaves the room, Maggie removes her pacifier, utters the word "Daddy", and falls asleep.

Production

Maggie's voice is provided by Elizabeth Taylor, who would also voice herself in the episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled", which also aired in season four. While promoting the episode, the producers initially did not reveal who the voice of Maggie would be, prompting speculation as the identity of the actress. [cite news|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311750,00.html|title=Face to Face: Maggie Simpson |accessdate=2008-01-19|author=Lisa Schwarzbaum |date=1992-09-11|publisher="Entertainment Weekly"] Although it was only one word, Taylor had to record the part numerous times before the producers were satisfied. [cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2007/05/04/2007-05-04_at_film_fest_de_niros_lashed_picture_sho-2.html|title=In the Fox family, they live in fear of a Bart attack|author=George Rush and Joanna Rush Molloy |accessdate=2008-07-31|date=2007-05-04|publisher="New York Daily News"]

The FOX censors wrote a note concerning Homer's line, "Bart can kiss my hairy, yellow butt!" after Marge tells Homer that Bart might be jealous of baby Lisa, citing that the line is considered "coarse," due to the fact that Bart was two during the flashback.cite book| last = Turner| first = Chris| title =| page =20| id = ISBN 0-679-31318-4]

Cultural references

The "Springfield Shopper" headline from the day Lisa was born ("MONDALE TO HART: WHERE'S THE BEEF?") uses the currently popular advertising slogan for Wendy's. Although "where's the beef?" was intended to be a slogan for Wendy's, it gained popularity in jokes and also in political slogans. Homer sings the Cyndi Lauper song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" as he is walking home from work. The Olympic promotion by Krusty Burger is loosely based on a similar "scratch-and-win" promotion by McDonalds in which McDonald's visitors could win a Big Mac, french fries, a soft drink, or even a cash prize up to $10,000 if Team USA won a medal in the visitor's listed event. McDonald's lost millions on the promotion, as happened to Krusty.

Reception

The episode contains Maggie's first word spoken in the normal continuity of the series. Elizabeth Taylor's performance as Maggie was named the 13th greatest guest spot in the history of the show by IGN.cite web|url=http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/730/730566p1.html|title=Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances|accessdate=2008-08-19|date=September 5, 2006|author=Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian|publisher=IGN] When asked to pick his favorite season out of "The Simpsons" seasons one through twenty, Paul Lane of the "Niagara Gazette" picked season four and highlighted "Brother from the Same Planet" and "Mr. Plow" which he called "excellent", along with "the sweetly funny" "Lisa's First Word", and "Homer the Heretic". [cite news | last =Dzikiy | first =Phil | coauthors =Paul Lane | title =Television: 20 years - A 'Simpsons' extravaganza | work =Niagara Gazette | date =September 25, 2008 ]

"Can't sleep, clown will eat me"

"Lisa's First Word" is the source of Bart's meme "Can't sleep, clown will eat me".

Inspired by an event in Simpsons writer Mike Reiss' childhood, young Bart does not want to give up sleeping in the crib to make way for his newborn sister. Noticing Bart's affection for Krusty the Clown, Homer decides to build a clown-themed bed to please his son. However, because of Homer's poor handicraft skills, the bed takes on a sinister appearance and frightens Bart, especially in the darkened room. In his first night in the new bed, far from "laughing himself to sleep", Bart imagines that the face on the headboard of the bed is coming to life, intoning with sinister glee, "If you should die before you wake...", before collapsing into evil cackling. The next morning, Bart is curled up into the fetal position on the floor next to the sofa downstairs, repeatedly uttering the phrase "can't sleep, clown'll eat me..."

The catchphrase inspired the Alice Cooper song "Can't Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me" from the 2001 album "Dragontown". [cite news|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/AT/lib00059,117508302B023D18.html|title=Some pop culture creations demonize the red-nosed men |accessdate=2008-01-19|date=2007-02-15|publisher=Atlanta Journal-Constitution] The phrase has since found its way into popular use. [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7191721.stm|title=Why are clowns scary? |author=Finlo Rohrer|accessdate=2008-01-19|date=2008-01-16|publisher=BBC News]

References

External links

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