“Truth is beauty! Beauty truth, sir!” – Rommelwood Cadet
“They’re discussing poetry! Oh, we never do that at my school.” – Lisa Simpson
“But the truth can be harsh and disturbing! How can that be considered beautiful?” – Rommelwood Teacher
“He sure sucked the fun out of that poem.” – Marge Simpson
Happy 20th Anniversary to “The Secret War of Lisa Simpson!” Original airdate 18May 1997.
charliesweatpants.com
(The crotch really does wear out too fast.)
Today, this scene would end with some one screaming and jumping/thrown out of a window.
lol at the (civilian) writing
Never noticed that before…
Lisa wanted to attend the military school because she thought she could get a better education there rather than at the Springfield Elementary School. But unfortunately the episode forgot about the premise immediately and turned into a “Bart helps Lisa to overcome her problems blah blah blah …”.
I like this episode, but you can definitely tell that by season 8 things were already starting to fall apart.
What you mean? The premise was that she wanted to be more challenged, but then discovered it was TOO challenging; she went from one extreme to another. They didnt forget about the premise?
TBH this episode feels not as smooth as other Season 8 episodes. It starts with Bart about to be sent to a military school, then the Lisa-related plot came from nowhere, and then it turned into the ultimate challenge crap… As Charlie said in the Crazy Noises post for this episode, they have this huge target (military schools) and they barely exploited it.
I’m not particularly exigent: to me the idea of getting a better education compared to SES is enough of a motivation for Lisa to join the military school. But she wanted to get a better education in poetry, literature and such, she didn’t give a shit about learning fighting techniques or how to use weapons. So why did she stay in the school? Was she actually learning more poetry and literature other than military stuff? We don’t know, because the episode forgot about it.
So is this the last 20th anniversary post, or are you planning to commemorate Seasons 9 and onward as well?
He should probably call it quits after Season 9, since that’s where the REAL decay starts to overwhelm any good parts that are remaining. Also would tie in nicely with how Seinfeld also called it quits with Season 9, even though that’s interestingly a show I know he’s not really that fond of.
BTW, by “REAL decay” I was thinking of after Season 9, a.k.a. Seasons 10 and 11, although you could definitely argue for Season 9 as well. And I don’t think anybody would argue against Season 9 being of lesser quality than Season 8.
Been thinking about that. Haven’t decided what to do. There are a lot of good Season 9 episodes, but it’s gonna be hard to wish a happy anniversary to Principal and the Pauper (among others).
Can you at least acknowledge the fact that season 9 was a mixed bag of good and bad episodes? And that while some may be outlandish and not at all like the earlier episodes, it’s better than the shitty episodes that are on right now? Is that too much to acknowledge? Oh, wait, look who I’m talking to. Of course it is.
Besides, I’ve always said the last episode of The Simpsons should have been the one where Homer floods the town with garbage and everyone leaves for a new Springfield location because, in most normal sitcoms, the final episode usually consists of a family (or any kind of ensemble group) leaving their house and moving on with their lives (that may or may not be covered in a spin-off series or future revival). In something like “The Simpsons”, they can take that to a ridiculous extreme and have everyone in town leave for greener (and less trash-flooded) pastures while two American Indians cry over the desecration of their land. Hey, if Brickleberry (a hated animated sitcom) can end with something as nuts as cows taking over the world, then a once-loved animated sitcom like The Simpsons can end on that wacky note as well.
You should probably read the Crazy Noises posts on series 9 episodes; they reflect pretty much the opinion of your first paragraph. It was noticeably different and undeniably getting worse, but with as many good episodes as bad and nowhere near as bad as the flavourless mush of the current show.