Moaning Lisa - Season 1, Episode 6

And all that JazzChalk Board: I will not instigate revolution

In Season one, episode six, Moaning Lisa, the episode starts off with Lisa depressed looking at her self in the bathroom mirror, but what could a little girl really be depressed about?  As an over advanced eight year old, she is depressed about the world’s problems.  Lisa is too sad to eat her lunch, to join in on the food fight and to play dodge ball in PE.  She even had a note sent home from her principal concerned.

Lisa tells Homer that she cannot be happy when there is so much suffering in the world, so Marge decides to draw Lisa a bath, since that always cheers her up, good ole’ bath time.  After the bath, Lisa is still depressed.  She starts to play the blues on her saxophone, but Homer comes upstairs to tell her to stop the racket.  She hears another sax player outside and travels miles and miles to find who is playing – it is none other than “Bleeding Gums” Murphy.

Meanwhile Marge and Homer are fast asleep in their bed dreaming of good parenting.  Marge is dreaming of her mom telling her the bigger the smile she has at school, the more people know how great of a mom she has, while Homer is dreaming about Bart beating him up boxing.  Both parents feel guilty about their parenting.

Bleeding Gums Murphy and little Lisa have a jam session in the middle of the night.  Marge follows her ears to where they are playing and takes Lisa away from her jam session, upsetting her even more.

To cheer Lisa up, Bart prank calls Moe’s Tavern asking for “Jaque Strap”, Lisa is not amused.  Marge takes Lisa to band practice and tells her she needs to smile today whether she feels like it or not. “Well, it doesn’t matter how you feel inside, you know, its what shows up on the surface that counts.  That’s what my mother taught me.  Take all your bad feelings and push them down, all the way down, past your knees until you are almost walking on them, and then you’ll fit in and you’ll be invited to parties and boys will like you and happiness will follow.”  Lisa throws on a fake smile, and all the boys talk to her.  Marge then realizes that she made a mistake; she wants Lisa to be however it is that she wants to be, happy or sad. 

Meanwhile Homer has been practicing his video game fighting skills because he no longer wants Bart to beat him.  Just as Homer is about to finish off Bart, Marge pulls the TV plug so that everyone can listen to Lisa’s family fun idea – to go see Bleeding Gums Murphy play at the club.  When they get there he is singing Lisa’s blues song and the Simpson family enjoys it (all but Homer).

Favorite quotes from this episode: 

*Mr. Largo, the music teacher, “Lisa, LISA SIMPSON, Lisa there is no room for crazy bebop in My Country Tis of Thee”

 *Marge to Bleeding Gums Murphy, “Nothing personal, I just fear the unfamiliar.” (I love this quote because I feel like that explains most Americans or people in general)