Simpsons Review: "Lisa the Greek"

One of the many, many things I love about the Super Bowl is the heavy promotion for the big game. That promotion often includes shows airing episodes centering on the Super Bowl, and The Simpsons was definitely no stranger to this. The long-running series brought up the Super Bowl quite a bit during their run, which began in 1989--during the San Francisco 49ers' run to winning Super Bowl XXIV. This review is about the first of these occasions, one of my favorite episodes, "Lisa the Greek."

It's Sunday, and for Homer J. Simpson, that means only one thing: football. With a day full of NFL action set to begin, Homer's at his favorite position: seated on the sofa surrounded by his loved ones... which are all covered with salt. Marge, per usual, warns Homer that those snacks aren't good for his heart. Homer, per usual, dismisses the concerns, and responds to a potential slight attack in his blood vessel by having a sip of beer. Now, simply enjoying the game isn't enough for Homeboy. No, he's one of those who just has to put some stakes on the game.

Homer watches the pregame and decides to bet on the Broncos against the Patriots, and calls up Moe to place said bet. Within seconds, Denver's down 7-0. The show did this a lot: they made fun of the Broncos so many times. At the time, the Broncos were the unlucky losers; kept getting to Super Bowls and weren't winning. As Homer's fretting over the Broncos getting blasted, Lisa appears and attempts to show off a project, but Homer's focus is solely on the game. Lisa frets over Homer not showing any interest in her, and Marge suggests having a common bond with her father. So Lisa watches the game with Homer, who is upset that Denver lost. His attempts to get in a bet for the Dolphins/Bengals game fall flat, so he turns to Lisa, who says Miami will win, and places a $50 bet.

In a slight B story, Marge takes Bart clothes-shopping: despite his immense protests. Bart had every good reason to not want to go clothes shopping, and it's because Marge picks out the absolute dorkiest clothes and embarrasses him at every turn. As for the bet, the Dolphins win, and so does Homer:

"Fifty big ones!"

Lisa: "Fifty big ones?"

Homer: "Uh-oh."

So Homer explains the concept of gambling to Lisa, who is excited to let Marge know about his good fortune. Homer advises Lisa not to tell Marge, because, "Your mother has this crazy idea that gambling is wrong, even though they say it's OK in the Bible." I severely doubt that. So it's their little secret for now, and Bart's wearing his new clothes... and hiding from bullies looking to pound him.

As the season progresses, Homer and Lisa spend every Sunday (officially dubbed "Daddy-Daughter Day") watching football, and placing bets after Lisa makes her predictions--which always come true. I do find it a tad interesting that Monday games aren't mentioned, but in any event, both parties are elated. Homer's happiness is due to Lisa's correct predictions helping him out with his betting, while Lisa is happy to be spending time with her father. The victorious bets result in lavish dinners, and gifts for the family, but Marge wants to know how Homer's able to afford all of this.

Homer comes clean and tells Marge that he and Lisa have been betting on games all season, which gets him chewed out, as he should be. Homer finds no problems with this arrangement, but on the following morning, Lisa voices her plans to herself and Homer to climb Mount Springfield on the Sunday after the Super Bowl (which was Super Bowl XXVI at that time). However, as shown earlier in the episode, Homer made plans to go bowling with Barney on that day, and informs Lisa of said plans.

"What about Daddy-Daughter Day?!" Lisa exclaims.

Homer's response: "Don't worry, the next football season is seven months away."

With those words, Lisa is heartbroken; having come to the realization that Homer basically used Lisa to help him win his bets. We then see Lisa dreaming that she's a grown adult who has been three-times divorced and has become quite the gambling addict ("I've been gambling since I was eight, and I've been hocking jewelry since I was 12"). In a grand show of rebellion against what she had been part of for over 20 weeks, Lisa decides to give away the Malibu Stacy toys that were purchased as a result of the bets. As for Homer, he enters and tries to make amends with Lisa, and reminds her of all of the time they spent together, and it works out for the pair... until Homer actually asks Lisa who he should bet on in the big game.

Instead of giving the usual answer, Lisa somewhat screws with Homer, originally saying that Washington will win, but later adding that her anger at her father would actually cause her to want Homer to lose whatever bet he makes, adding that she "would bet the farm on Buffalo." Homer tries once more to get a definitive answer:

"Complete this sentence: Daddy should bet all his money on..."

Lisa's answer: "I don't know."

Lisa set the stakes: If she loved her father, Washington. If she didn't, Buffalo. Lisa's mournful playing of her sax drives Homer to head to Moe's to watch the game, meanwhile, Bart's also watching and tells Lisa, "You-Hate-Dad (Buffalo) is up by a touchdown" at halftime (in actuality, Washington was up 17-0 by then). Homer's pleading for Washington to win, as the biggest stakes in the world were on the line: his daughter's love. Finally, Washington wins the Super Bowl, and Homer cheers louder than he ever did all season. Moe reminds Homer that he didn't win any money. Homer's response:

"Money comes, and money goes, but what I have with my daughter can last for another eight years."

At episode's end, it's a week after the Super Bowl, and Homer fulfills his promise to Lisa to climb Mount Springfield. "Lisa the Greek," the 14th episode of the show's third season, aired on Fox on January 23, 1992--three days before Super Bowl XXVI was played, and won by Washington. This was one of my favorite episodes of the show for many reasons. For one, football, especially the Super Bowl, is mentioned. Secondly, betting is referenced. I always love episodes where characters actually gamble, mainly because of how crazy they get. This one was definitely no exception, especially the concept of Lisa getting every game prediction right, including the Super Bowl. Moe being the bookie was also an added bonus, especially his annoyance over Homer's hot streak.

As mentioned before, this was the first time that The Simpsons did a Super Bowl-centric episode, but it wouldn't be the last. The next one, "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday," aired on the day of Super Bowl XXXIII: January 31, 1999--which was also the same day that a show called Family Guy premiered. Oh, and the team that won Super Bowl XXXIII? The show's former favorite punching bag: the Denver Broncos.

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