Episode 6 - Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
29 March 2012
Synopsis: Homer discovers he has a knack for handling the awkward break-ups of other couples. So he begins charging $100 to end people’s relationships. Lisa discovers a love for crosswords and soon becomes obsessed. At the Crosswords Championships, Homer uses his money to bet on Lisa. But when she reaches the final she confesses that she always sabotages her own happiness. So Homer bets against her and she loses. When she finds out she changes her name to Lisa Bouvier. To make it up to her Homer sends her a message through the New York Times crossword with help from its editor Will Shortz.
The Good: This is a classic Simpsons tale (see The Bad). Homer disappoints Lisa but wins her affections back. The story is logical enough and a few jokes hit their mark. Homer telling Marge “I'm going to a hardcore gay club and won't be home until three in the morning!” is one of those nice thoughtless statements of his. Some classic Simpsons satire is the mournful presentation for words which were removed from the dictionary this year (as you might see for those who have died). And of course Homer gambling leads to some fun moments (see Best Joke) including the statement “She won and like any prudent gambler I know when to walk away – never!”
Lisa being good at crosswords is a natural fit for her character. Marge’s way of getting Homer to see the moral implications of his break-up service is clever. She simply asks him to consider what would have happened if she had used such a service while having doubts about him. Having seen him push her to the limits of doubt a hundred times this is an effective line and the shot of him staying awake worrying about it is ideal to allow it to sink in. Lisa realising Homer has money because he had bought new shoe laces is a nice line. Any joke about the Simpson’s never-changing wardrobe will hit the mark.
The Bad: For some new animated comedy or silly sit com this would be a decent episode. But for a show as seasoned as The Simpsons, they need to do better. This story is very similar to “Lisa the Greek” (episode 314 made in 1992!). Then Homer gambled on football games using Lisa to pick the winners. She did it because it allowed her to bond with him. When he broke a promise to her it ruined his enjoyment of the football, teaching him a lesson about what she meant to him and he won back her love by keeping his promise after all. This episode doesn’t compare favourably.
The moral of the story is the same and yet the build-up isn’t. Homer’s break-up story isn’t connected to Lisa’s love of crosswords so stitching them together isn’t remotely as effective as the football gambling story was. Instead here the moral is thrown in at the end and instead of keeping a promise Homer simply apologises for a mistake. It’s doesn’t have remotely the same emotional resonance. Instead of resonance the producers take a short cut and have a celebrity cameo from Will Shortz and Merl Reagle. It’s one of those cheap, dumb endings. How did Homer get in touch with them exactly? Why did they help? I know no one will care much but that’s the point. It’s been sixteen years and we don’t care as much about these characters anymore. We’ve seen it all already. Change the show or retire it please.
Best Joke: Homer announces to the bar of gamblers that he is going to bet all his winnings against his daughter and earns their disdain. When he collects his winnings the bartender hands them over saying “Here’s your money, drenched in your daughter’s tears.” Homer coolly replies “You know for a bartender-bookie you’re awfully judgemental.”
The Bottom Line: By keeping The Simpsons going we are going to see more recycled plots like this. It’s a disservice to how good the show was to keep this going. For those who haven’t watched every Simpsons episode this is decent entertainment.
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