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Difference between revisions of "Moaning Lisa"

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{{episode
+
{{Tab}}
|image=Moaning Lisa.jpg
+
{{EpisodePrevNext|Bart the General|The Call of the Simpsons}}
|productionCode=7G06
+
{{Quote|I'm too sad.|[[Lisa Simpson]]}}
|originalAirdate=11/2/90
+
{{Episode
|blackboardText=I Will Not Instigate Revolution
+
|name= Moaning Lisa
|couchGag=The Simpsons pile on to the couch, Maggie pops up in the air and Marge catches her.
+
|image= Moaning Lisa.jpg
|specialGuestVoices=[[Ron Taylor]] as [[Bleeding Gums Murphy]]
+
|number= 6
|Written By=[[Al Jean]] & [[Mike Reiss]]
+
|season=1
|Directed By=
+
|snumber=6
 +
|prodcode= 7G06
 +
|airdate= February 11, [[1990]]
 +
|blackboard= "I will not instigate revolution"
 +
|couchgag= The Simpsons pile on to the couch, Maggie pops up in the air and Marge catches her.
 +
|showrunner1= James L. Brooks
 +
|showrunner2= Matt Groening
 +
|showrunner3= Sam Simon
 +
|writer= [[Al Jean]]<br>[[Mike Reiss]]
 +
|director= [[Wes Archer]]
 +
|DVD features=yes
 
}}
 
}}
{{Nominated}}
 
"'''Moaning Lisa'''" is the sixth episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''. The episode deals with [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]]'s [[clinical depression|depression]] and her attempts to [[sublimation (psychology)|sublimate]] it by playing her [[saxophone]].
 
  
==Plot==
 
[[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] awakens one morning with a potent case of the blues. Her teacher notices her sadness and sends a note home to her parents. [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] and [[Bart Simpson|Bart]], meanwhile, are playing a video boxing game. Undefeated with forty-eight wins, Bart takes only one round to knock off the head of Homer's boxer. While Homer is down for the count, [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] gives him the note from Lisa's teacher. Nothing her parents say can bring Lisa out of her depression.
 
  
Hearing distant music, Lisa sneaks out of her room to follow it. She finds a soulful saxophone player, [[Bleeding Gums Murphy]], playing some hard blues. Murphy teaches Lisa how to express her sadness on the sax.
+
"'''Moaning Lisa'''" is the sixth episode of [[season 1]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on February 11, [[1990]]. The episode was written by [[Al Jean]] and [[Mike Reiss]] and directed by [[Wes Archer]].
  
Afterwards, Marge drops off Lisa at school and tells her to smile no matter what she feels inside. She later sees Lisa hiding her true feelings and classmates taking advantage of her and tells Lisa that it is best to be herself. When Lisa hears this, she feels happy again.
+
== Synopsis ==
 +
{{Desc|[[Lisa]] meets a new friend, Bleeding Gums Murphy, a jazz musician who helps her cope with the blues. Meanwhile, [[Bart]] and [[Homer]] duke it out in video game boxing.}}
  
Meanwhile, Homer takes lessons from a local video game wizard for a rematch with his son. Just as he starts to win, Marge unplugs the TV to announce Lisa's recovery. Seizing the opportunity to maintain his undefeated status as boxing champ, Bart gleefully announces retirement from the ring. Afterwards, the Simpsons visit a jazz club to hear Bleeding Gums Murphy sing a blues number written by Lisa.
+
== Plot ==
 +
The episode starts with a sad Lisa staring at herself in the mirror in the bathroom while Homer pounds on the door waiting for his turn. Later in the kitchen before work, Homer searches for his keys, while Bart and Lisa eat breakfast before school. Lisa finds the keys still in the front door. Marge only has two cupcakes for Homer, Bart and Lisa; Lisa defers the cupcakes to Homer and Bart. She's clearly depressed. During band practice at school, the band plays terrible while Lisa jams away expertly with her saxophone much to the dislike of the band teacher [[Mr. Largo]]. At lunch during a food fight, Lisa does nothing but sit and look sad. During gym class while playing [[dodgeball]], Lisa doesn't move and gets pummeled by dodgeballs, all while looking sad. After school in the living room, Bart and Homer play a boxing video game called'' [[Super Slugfest]]''. Homer suffers his 49th loss at the hands of Bart while [[Marge]] walks in and shows Homer a note from school about Lisa.
  
 +
The note's a progress report from [[Principal Skinner]] informing Homer and Marge Lisa was too sad to play dodgeball at school. Homer attempts to discover the cause of Lisa's sadness, and Lisa tells Homer she wonders if the world will be any different if she didn't exist. When Homer clearly can't come up with a good quick answer, Marge tells Lisa to take a hot bath, and Homer tells Bart to vacuum the floor. When Lisa's done with her bath, she walks into the living room where Bart's still vacuuming and isn't happy about it. [[Maggie]] sits by herself on the couch watching Bart and Lisa. In an effort to see who Maggie likes more, both Bart and Lisa coax her to each other. Instead, Maggie chooses the TV. Later, Homer and Bart are playing Super Slugfest again where Bart easily wins again, and Homer blames the loss on Lisa's loud saxophone playing. Homer goes up to Lisa's room to yell at her. Lisa agrees to just practice on playing the notes without blowing into the saxophone. After Homer leaves the room, Lisa hears a saxophone playing off in the distance outside her window and leaves the house to find the source. Lisa walks through the town at night and discovers a man playing a saxophone alone on a bridge overpass. Back at the Simpson house, everyone's asleep and Marge dreams about her childhood.
  
 +
In the dream, Marge is a sad little girl, and, before going out to play her mother tells her to make sure she smiles. Homer also has a dream he's trapped inside the boxing video game with Bart. Bart K.O.'s Homer, and he wakes up screaming from his nightmare. Marge expresses her concern with Lisa's sadness to Homer. Meanwhile Lisa's jamming with the man who introduces himself as Bleeding Gums Murphy. Lisa and Bleeding Gums play the blues together, and he tells Lisa he plays at a club called the Jazz Hole when a worried Marge, after realizing Lisa's gone, shows up to bring her home.
  
==Trivia==
+
Homer watches a news report in the living room when he discovers [[Barney's Bowlarama]] burned down. He runs in the kitchen to tell Marge the bad news, but Marge is fretting over Lisa. Bart enters the kitchen, and Marge tells him to find Lisa,act nice to her, and cheer her up. Bart finds Lisa and, in an effort to cheer her up, he plays a prank phone call on Moe, Lisa isn't amused. Cut to Homer walking into the local video arcade. Homer seeks advice on Super Slugfest from [[Howie]] at the arcade. After some time, Homer feels he learned enough tricks to defeat Bart. Meanwhile, Marge takes Lisa to band practice, and, on the way Marge tells Lisa to smile and keep her true feelings inside so she can fit in with the other kids. Marge drops off Lisa in front of the school and observes Lisa fake smiling and interacting with the other kids. Marge sees she reduced Lisa to a child without opinion or complaint.  
*Lisa brushes her teeth with Glum Toothpaste.
 
*Lisa's school band is practicing the song My Country, 'Tis of Thee, however it should be noted that it is also God Save the Queen which is the British National Anthem.  
 
*Lisa finds Bleeding Gums Murphy on the same bridge Homer was going to jump off of in order to commit suicide.  
 
*Prank Call number 2: Bart calls Moe's Tavern and asks for Jacque, last name Strap. Moe's response: When I find you I am going to gut you like a fish and drink your blood. Moe's hair is now gray.  
 
*At the Noise Land Video Arcade, the games include Eat My Shorts, PAC-RAT II, Itchy vs. Scratchy, Escape from Grandma's House, and Robert Goulet Destroyer.
 
*This is the first appearance of Ralph Wiggum.
 
  
==Cultural references==
+
Mr. Largo comes out of the school to gather the children in for practice and tells Lisa he hopes he doesn't hear any more creativity from her again today. This makes Marge realize the error of her ways, and she quickly does a tire squealing u-turn, snatches Lisa and drives away. In the car, Marge apologizes and tells Lisa it's okay to be sad and she should always be herself no matter what. Lisa's now once again happy. Back at the house, Bart and Homer are playing Super Slugfest again, and this time Homer puts Bart on the ropes and dominates the fight. Marge walks in to make an announcement, but Homer's too busy winning to listen. Much to Homer's dismay, Marge pulls the plug on the video game to gain his attention. Bart announces he retired from the world of video game boxing undefeated. Marge tells the family Lisa has a fun idea for everyone. Cut to the club, [[The Jazz Hole]], where the family listens to Bleeding Gums play a [[Moanin' Lisa Blues|blues song written by Lisa]].
{{ListGenBot-SourceStart|SimpsonsCultural|SimpsonsCulturalS01}}
 
*The episode title is a play on [[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s painting the ''[[Mona Lisa]]''.
 
*"The Jazz Hole" may be a reference to New York City jazz club "[[Birdland]]" which is in a basement, named for saxophonist [[Charlie Parker]]. It may also be a play on words; the archaic spelling for "jazz' is "jass" ("The Jass Hole").
 
*The background noise of the arcade is the music from the [[Tetris]] arcade machine.
 
*Lisa's school band is practicing "[[My Country, 'Tis of Thee]]", the patriotic American song, based on the melody of the British national anthem "[[God Save the Queen]]". [[Springfield Elementary School#Dewey Largo|Mr. Largo]] says to Lisa, "There's no room for crazy [[bebop]] in My Country, 'Tis of Thee."
 
*The controllers being used on Bart's video game system resemble [[Atari 2600]] joysticks, but the graphics on the TV would suggest a newer model console. Also the game being played, Slugfest, is quite similar to the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo]] game [[Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!]].
 
  
==Episode Quotes==
+
== In other languages ==
:'''[[w:Bart Simpson|Bart]]''': I didn't do it. No one saw me do it. No one can prove anything.
+
{{LanguageBox
 +
|fr=yes
 +
|frName=Ste Lisa Blues
 +
|frTrans=St. Lisa Blues
 +
|qu=yes
 +
|quName=Les blues de Lisa
 +
|quTrans=The blues of Lisa
 +
|de=yes
 +
|deName=Lisa bläst Trübsal
 +
|deTrans=Moping Lisa<br />''lit. "Lisa blows her sorrows"''
 +
|es=yes
 +
|esName=El blues de la Mona Lisa
 +
|esTrans=The blues of Mona Lisa
 +
|la=yes
 +
|laName=La depresión de Lisa
 +
|laTrans=Lisa's Depression
 +
|it=yes
 +
|itName=Lisa sogna il blues
 +
|itTrans=Lisa dreams of the blues
 +
|br=yes
 +
|brName=A Lisa Tristonha
 +
|brTrans=The Upset Lisa
 +
|hu=yes
 +
|huName=Lisa és a világfájdalom
 +
|huTrans=Lisa and the weltschmertz
 +
|jp=yes
 +
|jpName=リサのブルース
 +
|jpTrans=Lisa's Blues
 +
}}
  
<hr width=50%/>
+
{{Images|ep=yes}}
:'''Mr. Largo''': Lisa, there's no room for crazy bebop in "My Country 'tis Of Thee!"
+
{{Season 1}}
:'''[[w:Lisa Simpson|Lisa]]''': But, Mr. Largo, that's what "My Country" is all about.
 
:'''Mr. Largo''': What?
 
:'''Lisa''': I'm wailing out for the homeless family living out of its car. The Iowa farmer, whose land has been taken away by unfeeling bureaucrats. The West Virginia coal miner, coughing up his...
 
:'''Mr. Largo''': Well, that's all fine and good, but Lisa, none of these unpleasant people are going to be at the recital next week.
 
 
 
<hr width=50%/>
 
:'''[[w:Marge Simpson|Marge]]''': It doesn't matter how you feel inside, you know. It's what shows up on the surface that counts. Take all your bad feelings and push them down, all the way down, past your knees, until you're 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.
 
 
 
<hr width=50%/>
 
:'''Bart''': In the red trunks, with the record of 48 wins and no losses, the undisputed champ of this house, battling Bart Simpson! Whoopee! Woo-woo-woo! And, in the lavender trunks, with a record of zero wins and 48 defeats, oh, correction: ''humiliating'' defeats - all of them by knockout...
 
:'''[[w:Homer Simpson|Homer]]''': Must you do this every time?
 
:'''Bart''': Homer "The Human Punching Bag" Simpson.
 
 
 
<hr width=50%/>
 
:'''Bart''': Is Jock there?
 
:'''[[w:Moe Szyslak|Moe]]''': Who?
 
:'''Bart''': Jock, last name Strap.
 
:'''Moe''': Hold on. ''[calling out]'' Jock Strap! Hey, guys, I'm looking for a Jock Strap!
 
 
 
<hr width=50%/>
 
:'''[[w:Bleeding Gums Murphy|Bleeding Gums Murphy]]''': My friends call me "Bleeding Gums."
 
:'''Lisa''': Eugh! How'd you get a name like that?
 
:'''Bleeding Gums Murphy''': Well, let me put it this way. You ever been to the dentist?
 
:'''Lisa''': Yeah.
 
:'''Bleeding Gums Murphy''': Not me. I suppose I should go to one, but I got enough pain in my life as it is.
 
 
 
<hr width=50%/>
 
:'''Bleeding Gums Murphy''': The blues isn't about making yourself feeling better, it's about making other people feel worse.
 
 
 
<hr width=50%/>
 
:'''Bleeding Gums Murphy''': You know you play pretty well for someone with no real problems.
 
 
 
<hr width=50%/>
 
:'''Marge''': Lisa, get away from that jazzman! ''[to Bleeding Gums]'' Nothing personal. I just fear the unfamiliar.
 
 
 
<hr width=50%/>
 
:''[Lisa is singing a blues song she wrote]''
 
:I got a bratty brother
 
:He bugs me every day
 
:And this morning my own mother
 
:She gave my last cupcake away
 
:My dad acts like he belongs
 
:He belongs in the zoo
 
:I'm the saddest kid in grade number two
 
 
 
<hr width=50%/>
 
:'''Bart''': Sorry Dad, women and children first ''[slams door]''
 
:'''Homer''': What?! ''[keeps pounding door as Bart laughs]''
 
 
 
==characters==
 
* [[Homer Simpson]]
 
* [[Marge Simpson]]
 
* [[Bart Simpson]]
 
* [[Lisa Simpson]]
 
* [[Maggie Simpson]]
 
* [[Jacqueline Bouvier]]
 
* [[Snowball II]]
 
* [[Dewey Largo]]
 
* [[Brunella Pommelhorst]]
 
* [[Lewis]]
 
* [[Richard]]
 
* [[Wendell]]
 
* [[Sherri]]
 
* [[Terri]]
 
* [[Janey]]
 
* [[Martin Prince]]
 
* [[Howard]]
 
* [[Bleeding Gums Murphy]] (First Appearance)
 
* [[Moe Szyslak]]
 
* [[Barney Gumble]]
 
* [[Sam|Sam the Barfly]]
 
* [[Larry|Larry the Barfly]]
 
 
 
==Locations==
 
* [[742 Evergreen Terrace]]
 
* [[Springfield Elementary School]]
 
* [[The Jazz Hole]]
 
* [[Noiseland Video Arcade]]
 
 
 
==products==
 
* [[Glum Toothpaste]] (First Appearance)
 
 
 
==References==
 
<references />
 
  
==External Links==
+
[[Category:1990]]
*[http://www.snpp.com/episodes/7G06.html Episode capsule on "Simpsons Archive"]
+
[[Category:Lisa episodes]]
*{{imdb episode|id=0701178|episode=Moaning Lisa}}
+
[[Category:Episodes written by Al Jean]]
 +
[[Category:Episodes written by Mike Reiss]]
 +
[[Category:Episodes directed by Wes Archer]]
  
{{Season 1}}
+
[[de:Lisa bläst Trübsal]]
[[Category:Episodes]]
+
[[sv:Moaning Lisa]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
 
[[pt:A Lisa tristonha]]
 

Latest revision as of 13:16, March 28, 2024

Season 1 Episode
005 "Bart the General"
006
"Moaning Lisa"
"The Call of the Simpsons" 007
"I'm too sad."
Lisa Simpson
"Moaning Lisa"
Moaning Lisa.jpg
Episode Information
Episode number: 6
Season number: S1 E6
Production code: 7G06
Original airdate: February 11, 1990
Chalkboard gag: "I will not instigate revolution"
Couch gag: The Simpsons pile on to the couch, Maggie pops up in the air and Marge catches her.
Showrunners: James L. Brooks
Matt Groening
Sam Simon
Written by: Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Directed by: Wes Archer
DVD features


"Moaning Lisa" is the sixth episode of season 1 of The Simpsons. It originally aired on February 11, 1990. The episode was written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss and directed by Wes Archer.

Synopsis[edit]

"Lisa meets a new friend, Bleeding Gums Murphy, a jazz musician who helps her cope with the blues. Meanwhile, Bart and Homer duke it out in video game boxing."


Plot[edit]

The episode starts with a sad Lisa staring at herself in the mirror in the bathroom while Homer pounds on the door waiting for his turn. Later in the kitchen before work, Homer searches for his keys, while Bart and Lisa eat breakfast before school. Lisa finds the keys still in the front door. Marge only has two cupcakes for Homer, Bart and Lisa; Lisa defers the cupcakes to Homer and Bart. She's clearly depressed. During band practice at school, the band plays terrible while Lisa jams away expertly with her saxophone much to the dislike of the band teacher Mr. Largo. At lunch during a food fight, Lisa does nothing but sit and look sad. During gym class while playing dodgeball, Lisa doesn't move and gets pummeled by dodgeballs, all while looking sad. After school in the living room, Bart and Homer play a boxing video game called Super Slugfest. Homer suffers his 49th loss at the hands of Bart while Marge walks in and shows Homer a note from school about Lisa.

The note's a progress report from Principal Skinner informing Homer and Marge Lisa was too sad to play dodgeball at school. Homer attempts to discover the cause of Lisa's sadness, and Lisa tells Homer she wonders if the world will be any different if she didn't exist. When Homer clearly can't come up with a good quick answer, Marge tells Lisa to take a hot bath, and Homer tells Bart to vacuum the floor. When Lisa's done with her bath, she walks into the living room where Bart's still vacuuming and isn't happy about it. Maggie sits by herself on the couch watching Bart and Lisa. In an effort to see who Maggie likes more, both Bart and Lisa coax her to each other. Instead, Maggie chooses the TV. Later, Homer and Bart are playing Super Slugfest again where Bart easily wins again, and Homer blames the loss on Lisa's loud saxophone playing. Homer goes up to Lisa's room to yell at her. Lisa agrees to just practice on playing the notes without blowing into the saxophone. After Homer leaves the room, Lisa hears a saxophone playing off in the distance outside her window and leaves the house to find the source. Lisa walks through the town at night and discovers a man playing a saxophone alone on a bridge overpass. Back at the Simpson house, everyone's asleep and Marge dreams about her childhood.

In the dream, Marge is a sad little girl, and, before going out to play her mother tells her to make sure she smiles. Homer also has a dream he's trapped inside the boxing video game with Bart. Bart K.O.'s Homer, and he wakes up screaming from his nightmare. Marge expresses her concern with Lisa's sadness to Homer. Meanwhile Lisa's jamming with the man who introduces himself as Bleeding Gums Murphy. Lisa and Bleeding Gums play the blues together, and he tells Lisa he plays at a club called the Jazz Hole when a worried Marge, after realizing Lisa's gone, shows up to bring her home.

Homer watches a news report in the living room when he discovers Barney's Bowlarama burned down. He runs in the kitchen to tell Marge the bad news, but Marge is fretting over Lisa. Bart enters the kitchen, and Marge tells him to find Lisa,act nice to her, and cheer her up. Bart finds Lisa and, in an effort to cheer her up, he plays a prank phone call on Moe, Lisa isn't amused. Cut to Homer walking into the local video arcade. Homer seeks advice on Super Slugfest from Howie at the arcade. After some time, Homer feels he learned enough tricks to defeat Bart. Meanwhile, Marge takes Lisa to band practice, and, on the way Marge tells Lisa to smile and keep her true feelings inside so she can fit in with the other kids. Marge drops off Lisa in front of the school and observes Lisa fake smiling and interacting with the other kids. Marge sees she reduced Lisa to a child without opinion or complaint.

Mr. Largo comes out of the school to gather the children in for practice and tells Lisa he hopes he doesn't hear any more creativity from her again today. This makes Marge realize the error of her ways, and she quickly does a tire squealing u-turn, snatches Lisa and drives away. In the car, Marge apologizes and tells Lisa it's okay to be sad and she should always be herself no matter what. Lisa's now once again happy. Back at the house, Bart and Homer are playing Super Slugfest again, and this time Homer puts Bart on the ropes and dominates the fight. Marge walks in to make an announcement, but Homer's too busy winning to listen. Much to Homer's dismay, Marge pulls the plug on the video game to gain his attention. Bart announces he retired from the world of video game boxing undefeated. Marge tells the family Lisa has a fun idea for everyone. Cut to the club, The Jazz Hole, where the family listens to Bleeding Gums play a blues song written by Lisa.

In other languages[edit]

Language Name Translation
Germany.png Deutsch "Lisa bläst Trübsal" Moping Lisa
lit. "Lisa blows her sorrows"
Spain flag.png Español "El blues de la Mona Lisa" The blues of Mona Lisa
Hispanic America.gif Español "La depresión de Lisa" Lisa's Depression
France.png Français "Ste Lisa Blues" St. Lisa Blues
Flag of Quebec.svg.png Français "Les blues de Lisa" The blues of Lisa
Italy Flag.png Italiano "Lisa sogna il blues" Lisa dreams of the blues
Brasil Flag.png Português "A Lisa Tristonha" The Upset Lisa
Hungary flag.png Magyar "Lisa és a világfájdalom" Lisa and the weltschmertz
Flag of Japan.png 日本語 "リサのブルース" Lisa's Blues


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Moaning Lisa".
Season 1 Episodes
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire Bart the Genius Homer's Odyssey There's No Disgrace Like Home Bart the General Moaning Lisa The Call of the Simpsons The Telltale Head Life on the Fast Lane Homer's Night Out The Crepes of Wrath Krusty Gets Busted Some Enchanted Evening