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Difference between revisions of "This Little Wiggy"

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki
 
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{{episode
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{{for2|the quest in [[The Simpsons: Tapped Out]]|This Little Wiggy (Tapped Out quest)}}
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{{quote|People will see me paired up with a doofus. You have no idea what that's like.|[[Bart Simpson]]}}
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{{Episode
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|originalAirdate=March 22, 1998
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|image=This Little Wiggy.png
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|blackboardText=
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|number=196
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|Episode Number=196
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|season=9
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|couchGag=Bart spray paints the family onto the couch and signs it with [[El Barto]].
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|snumber=18
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|Show Runner=[[Mike Scully]]
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|prodcode=5F13
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|specialGuestVoices=[[Phil Hartman]] as [[Troy McClure]]
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|airdate=March 22, [[1998]]
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|Written By=[[Dan Greaney]]
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|blackboard=I was told not to do this
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|Directed By=[[Neil Affleck]]
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|couchgag=Bart spray paints the family onto the couch and signs it with [[El Barto]].
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|guests=[[Phil Hartman]] as [[Troy McClure]]
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|showrunner1= Mike Scully
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|writer=[[Dan Greaney]]
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|director=[[Neil Affleck]]
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|DVD features=yes
 
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"'''This Little Wiggy'''" is the eighteenth episode of [[Season 9]]. It was broadcast on March 22, 1998. The episode was written by [[Dan Greaney]] and directed by [[Neil Affleck]].
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"'''This Little Wiggy'''" is the eighteenth episode of [[season 9]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the one-hundred and ninety-sixth episode overall. It originally aired on March 22, [[1998]]. The episode was written by [[Dan Greaney]] and directed by [[Neil Affleck]]. It guest stars [[Phil Hartman]] as [[Troy McClure]].
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==Synopsis==
 
  
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Taking pity on the hapless [[Ralph Wiggum]], [[Marge]] pairs him with [[Bart]]. But his association with Ralph quickly turns out to be more beneficial than burdensome when Bart learns that his father holds the master key to every store in [[Springfield]]. [[Phil Hartman]] guest stars.
+
== Synopsis ==
 +
{{Desc|Taking pity on the hapless [[Ralph Wiggum]], [[Marge]] pairs him with [[Bart]]. But his association with Ralph quickly turns out to be more beneficial than burdensome when Bart learns that his father holds the master key to every store in [[Springfield]].}}
  
 
== Plot ==
 
== Plot ==
−
A remote controlled robot informs the students of [[Springfield Elementary School]] about the newly opened [[Springfield Knowledgeum]], where the family decides to go to later. There, Bart wanders off and walks into an exhibit of the planet [[wikipedia:Mars|Mars]]. There he meets Ralph, who is in the process of being pushed into a giant ear by Nelson and his gang of bullies. When Ralph is freed by a center employee, Marge and [[Chief Wiggum]] are there to meet him. Marge observes that Ralph has a vivid imagination and realizes that he has no friends to play with; she arranges for Ralph to spend time with Bart.
+
At [[Springfield Elementary School]], [[Principal Skinner]] comes into the fourth grade classroom to introduce a special guest, [[Robby the Automaton]]. Robby talks about the [[Springfield Knowledgeum]] and invites the students to go there. [[Bart]] then noticed the [[robot controller]] outside and throws an apple at him, knocking him out of the tree. The loss of control makes Robby go crazy and he starts to strange Skinner, which excites the kids.
  
−
Bart is unhappy with the arrangement, but later exploits it when he discovers Ralph's father has a police [[wikipedia:Master_key|master key]] capable of opening any door in Springfield. Bart and Ralph thus steal the key and decide to enter several closed stores at night. After encountering Nelson and his gang, the boys go to the unused Morningwood [[wikipedia:Penitentiary|penitentiary]]. When Ralph objects because he is afraid, Bart takes the key and intends to go on without him. However when the bullies turn against him, Bart is made to feel how he made Ralph feel ("I hope the irony isn't lost on you Simpson," Nelson remarks). Bored with them, the bullies leave - but not before tossing the key into the penitentiary. Ralph and Bart go in after it, in the process activating an old electric chair to melt a [[wikipedia:Wedding_cake|wedding cake]] doll.
+
The [[Simpson family]] then visit the Knowledgeum where they play with all the interactive exhibits that are there. When Bart is skateboarding on the [[Mars]] exhibit, [[Ralph]] gets in his way and Bart gets hurt. The bullies then come along and shove Ralph into a giant ear. After Ralph is gotten out, [[Chief Wiggum]] tells [[Marge]] that Ralph is always getting stuck in things. Marge then suggests that Ralph could use a friend. Later, as Bart is trying to leave the house, Marge tells him that he has a play date with Ralph, to Bart's dismay. Bart quickly gets sick of Ralph getting his sticky fingers all over Bart's toys and tells him to go play hide and seek alone. Marge then makes Bart take Ralph outside.
  
−
Afterwards at the Simpsons home, Bart and Ralph learn the penitentiary will once again be used by the town. Unaware that the power is active, Mayor Quimby straps himself into the electric chair in a publicity attempt. Unable to warn Mayor Quimby by telephone that he may be electrocuted, Ralph points out to Bart that [[Lisa]] can probably figure out a way to warn the Mayor. She decides to launch a small [[wikipedia:Model_rocket|model rocket]] with a warning message attached and aims it toward the penitentiary. The rocket is blown off-course and crashes through [[Mr. Burns]]' office window. Mr. Burns reads the note, and realizes that the penitentiary has been receiving free power for over thirty years; he responds to it by shutting off the penitentiary's power. When the power goes out, the mayor is in the middle of being electrocuted, but survives. In the aftermath, the Simpsons congratulate Ralph, pointing out that even Lisa could not solve the problem. Lisa is at first baffled that she received no credit for having thought of the solution and implementation, but she is reminded by Bart that it is rare for Ralph to be useful or praised, and that he needs a little credit. Lisa then joins in the praising. As Ralph enjoys the praise, his imaginary friend the [[wikipedia:Leprechaun|Leprechaun]] (who he mentions to Bart when visiting Ralph's home) appears on his shoulder and congratulates him, before telling Ralph to burn the house down and everyone inside it. Wearing his trademark vacant smile, Ralph nods in agreement. <ref name="book">{{cite book|last=Gimple |first=Scott|title=[[The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued]] |year=1999 |publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|id=ISBN 0-06-098763-4|pages=p. 33}}</ref><ref name="officialsite">[http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/0918.htm "This Little Wiggy"] ''The Simpsons.com''. Retrieved on October 25, [[2007]]</ref>
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The bullies come along the road in a stolen parking enforcement vehicle when Bart shoves Ralph into a bush to keep the bullies from seeing that he was with Bart. After the bullies leave, Bart and Ralph go back to the [[Wiggum house]] and Ralph shows Bart around his back garden before they go back to his room to play. Bart then asks Ralph where all the cool police equipment is kept and Ralph shows Bart Chief Wiggum's closet full of police files, guns and riot gear. As Chief Wiggum returns home, Bart and Ralph hide in the closet. Wiggum then hurts himself trying to apprehend a possible criminal in his house but is relieved to find that it's Bart and Ralph. When Chief Wiggum finds out that Bart is on a play date with Ralph, he's happy as Ralph has a friend then gives the two of them riot gear to play with. He then hangs the police master key on the bedpost, which interests Bart when he finds out what it is.
  
 +
Back at the Simpson house, Homer and Marge are trying to record answer phone messages. Bart tells Marge that he is having a sleepover with Ralph, which makes Marge happy as Bart's found something he likes about Ralph. That night, Bart and Ralph steal the master key and head into town, going to the toy store and a bakery. They then encounter the bullies again who are excited to find that Ralph has the master key. Bart takes them all to the [[Morningwood Penitentiary]] prison to break in, but Ralph gets scared. The bullies tell Bart to hurry up so Bart takes the master key from Ralph and tells him to go home, which Ralph won't do without the key. Ralph then falls into a muddy puddle and when Bart decides to help Ralph, he gets pushed in too. [[Nelson]] then throws the key through a window in the prison and the bullies leave whilst Ralph and Bart go in to find the key.
  
−
==References==
+
In the prison, a rat steals the key and takes it to a locked room. Bart and Ralph retrieve the key and go inside to find it's the electric chair room. They mess around with the chair, turning it back on, and frying a wedding cake topper before the [[Morningwood guard|guard]] shouts for them and they leave. The next day, [[Mayor Quimby]] decides to fake a test of the electric chair, assuming that it's still off. Bart and Ralph panic about this and they tell Lisa, who sets up Bart's model rocket to fire at the prison to warn them that the chair is on. However, the rocket goes off course and crashes into the [[Springfield Nuclear Power Plant]] where [[Mr. Burns]] and [[Smithers]] read the note. Upon finding that the prison has been getting free electricity for 30 years, Burns shuts the power to the prison off as Mayor Quimby is getting friend by the chair. The chair was turned off before anything too bad happened to him and the family all celebrate, cheering on Ralph whose idea it was to ask Lisa. After this, the [[leprechaun]] tells Ralph to burn down the house and everyone in it.
−
<references/>
 
  
 +
== Production ==
 +
Executive producer [[Mike Scully]] approached [[Dan Greaney]] to write an episode about Marge making Bart be friends with Ralph. It was mainly done as a team effort despite Greaney being credited as the writer.<ref name="Greaney">{{Com|Greaney, Dan|This Little Wiggy|Ninth|(2006).}}</ref> Scully gave the idea to Greaney because he likes the character of Ralph<ref name="Scully">{{Com|Scully, Mike|This Little Wiggy|Ninth|(2006).}}</ref> and Greaney likes writing in the child mindset.<ref name="Greaney"/> Ralph's lines are often hard to write because they have to get the right tone for Ralph.<ref name="Meyer">{{Com|Meyer, George|This Little Wiggy|Ninth|(2006).}}</ref>
 +
 +
The robot Robby the Automaton comes from a time Dan Greaney, whilst working for ''{{W|USA Today}}'', was at a baseball game and a robot was trying to lead everyone in singing "{{W|Take Me Out to the Ball Game}}". The crowd started throwing their food at the robot as it wasn't received well. The robot operator was also attacked by kids.<ref name="Greaney"/> The Knowledgeum is based on similar museums that Mike Scully visited, including one that had velcro walls.<ref name="Scully"/> Bart messing around with Frink's computer without knowing what it was doing is based on behavior that Greaney saw at the {{W|Exploratorium}} in [[San Francisco]].<ref name="Greaney"/>
 +
 +
The line where Ralph says he saw a leprechaun who told him to burn things was made before the writers had the ending in mind.<ref name="Scully"/> The ending with the leprechaun was added after the animatic.<ref name="Groening">{{Com|Groening, Matt|This Little Wiggy|Ninth|(2006).}}</ref> During storyboarding, director [[Neil Affleck]] acted out the scene of Chief Wiggum rolling around in pain so they animators would know how to draw it.<ref name="Greaney"/> Originally, the episode didn't see Lisa helping Bart and Ralph to save Mayor Quimby. Bart, Ralph and Homer originally worked together to come up with a plan.<ref name="Greaney"/>
 +
 +
== Reception ==
 +
Les Chappell on {{W|The A.V. Club}} said that the fact that the episode not only focuses on Ralph but also Bart is what makes it so interesting. He praised the relationship between Bart and Ralph when they were alone. Chappell however doesn't consider the episode a "classic", saying that he felt the third act of the episode "stumbles a bit" and that the final act seemed "almost clumsy", saying that it was "a crisis introduced for the sake of crisis".<ref>[https://tv.avclub.com/the-simpsons-returns-to-the-unbearable-lightness-of-bei-1798185791 The A.V. Club - "The Simpsons returns to the unbearable lightness of being Ralph Wiggum"]</ref>
 +
 +
As of September 2022, the episode has a 7.9 rating on {{W|IMDb}}.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0779677/ IMDb - "This Little Wiggy"]</ref>
 +
 +
== In other languages ==
 +
{{LanguageBox
 +
|de=yes
 +
|deName=Der merkwürdige Schlüssel
 +
|deTrans=The strange key
 +
|br=yes
 +
|brName=Um Novo Amigo
 +
|brTrans=A New Friend
 +
|es=yes
 +
|esName=El pequeño Wiggy
 +
|esTrans=Little Wiggy
 +
|la=yes
 +
|laName=Gorgorito
 +
|laTrans=Little Wiggy
 +
|fr=yes
 +
|frName=La Clé magique
 +
|frTrans=The Magic Key
 +
|qu=yes
 +
|quName=La Clé magique
 +
|quTrans=The Magic Key
 +
|it=yes
 +
|itName=Il Winchesterino
 +
|itTrans=The Wiggy
 +
|jp=yes
 +
|jpName=ラルフとバートはお友達
 +
|jpTrans=Ralph and Bart are friends
 +
}}
 +
 +
== References ==
 +
{{Reflist}}
 +
 +
{{Images|ep=yes}}
 
{{Season 9}}
 
{{Season 9}}
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[[Category:Season 9]]
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[[Category:Episodes]]
 
 
[[Category:1998]]
 
[[Category:1998]]
 
[[Category:Ralph episodes]]
 
[[Category:Ralph episodes]]
 
[[Category:Bart episodes]]
 
[[Category:Bart episodes]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Dan Greaney]]
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[[Category:Episodes directed by Neil Affleck]]
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[[sv:This Little Wiggy]]

Latest revision as of 13:42, September 26, 2024

Season 9 Episode
← 195 "Lisa the Simpson"
196
"This Little Wiggy"
"Simpson Tide" 197 →
For the quest in The Simpsons: Tapped Out, see This Little Wiggy (Tapped Out quest).
"People will see me paired up with a doofus. You have no idea what that's like."
―Bart Simpson
"This Little Wiggy"
This Little Wiggy.png
Episode Information
Episode number: 196
Season number: S9 E18
Production code: 5F13
Original airdate: March 22, 1998
Chalkboard gag: I was told not to do this
Couch gag: Bart spray paints the family onto the couch and signs it with El Barto.
Guest star(s): Phil Hartman as Troy McClure
Showrunner: Mike Scully
Written by: Dan Greaney
Directed by: Neil Affleck
DVD features


"This Little Wiggy" is the eighteenth episode of season 9 of The Simpsons and the one-hundred and ninety-sixth episode overall. It originally aired on March 22, 1998. The episode was written by Dan Greaney and directed by Neil Affleck. It guest stars Phil Hartman as Troy McClure.

Synopsis[edit]

"Taking pity on the hapless Ralph Wiggum, Marge pairs him with Bart. But his association with Ralph quickly turns out to be more beneficial than burdensome when Bart learns that his father holds the master key to every store in Springfield."


Plot[edit]

At Springfield Elementary School, Principal Skinner comes into the fourth grade classroom to introduce a special guest, Robby the Automaton. Robby talks about the Springfield Knowledgeum and invites the students to go there. Bart then noticed the robot controller outside and throws an apple at him, knocking him out of the tree. The loss of control makes Robby go crazy and he starts to strange Skinner, which excites the kids.

The Simpson family then visit the Knowledgeum where they play with all the interactive exhibits that are there. When Bart is skateboarding on the Mars exhibit, Ralph gets in his way and Bart gets hurt. The bullies then come along and shove Ralph into a giant ear. After Ralph is gotten out, Chief Wiggum tells Marge that Ralph is always getting stuck in things. Marge then suggests that Ralph could use a friend. Later, as Bart is trying to leave the house, Marge tells him that he has a play date with Ralph, to Bart's dismay. Bart quickly gets sick of Ralph getting his sticky fingers all over Bart's toys and tells him to go play hide and seek alone. Marge then makes Bart take Ralph outside.

The bullies come along the road in a stolen parking enforcement vehicle when Bart shoves Ralph into a bush to keep the bullies from seeing that he was with Bart. After the bullies leave, Bart and Ralph go back to the Wiggum house and Ralph shows Bart around his back garden before they go back to his room to play. Bart then asks Ralph where all the cool police equipment is kept and Ralph shows Bart Chief Wiggum's closet full of police files, guns and riot gear. As Chief Wiggum returns home, Bart and Ralph hide in the closet. Wiggum then hurts himself trying to apprehend a possible criminal in his house but is relieved to find that it's Bart and Ralph. When Chief Wiggum finds out that Bart is on a play date with Ralph, he's happy as Ralph has a friend then gives the two of them riot gear to play with. He then hangs the police master key on the bedpost, which interests Bart when he finds out what it is.

Back at the Simpson house, Homer and Marge are trying to record answer phone messages. Bart tells Marge that he is having a sleepover with Ralph, which makes Marge happy as Bart's found something he likes about Ralph. That night, Bart and Ralph steal the master key and head into town, going to the toy store and a bakery. They then encounter the bullies again who are excited to find that Ralph has the master key. Bart takes them all to the Morningwood Penitentiary prison to break in, but Ralph gets scared. The bullies tell Bart to hurry up so Bart takes the master key from Ralph and tells him to go home, which Ralph won't do without the key. Ralph then falls into a muddy puddle and when Bart decides to help Ralph, he gets pushed in too. Nelson then throws the key through a window in the prison and the bullies leave whilst Ralph and Bart go in to find the key.

In the prison, a rat steals the key and takes it to a locked room. Bart and Ralph retrieve the key and go inside to find it's the electric chair room. They mess around with the chair, turning it back on, and frying a wedding cake topper before the guard shouts for them and they leave. The next day, Mayor Quimby decides to fake a test of the electric chair, assuming that it's still off. Bart and Ralph panic about this and they tell Lisa, who sets up Bart's model rocket to fire at the prison to warn them that the chair is on. However, the rocket goes off course and crashes into the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant where Mr. Burns and Smithers read the note. Upon finding that the prison has been getting free electricity for 30 years, Burns shuts the power to the prison off as Mayor Quimby is getting friend by the chair. The chair was turned off before anything too bad happened to him and the family all celebrate, cheering on Ralph whose idea it was to ask Lisa. After this, the leprechaun tells Ralph to burn down the house and everyone in it.

Production[edit]

Executive producer Mike Scully approached Dan Greaney to write an episode about Marge making Bart be friends with Ralph. It was mainly done as a team effort despite Greaney being credited as the writer.[1] Scully gave the idea to Greaney because he likes the character of Ralph[2] and Greaney likes writing in the child mindset.[1] Ralph's lines are often hard to write because they have to get the right tone for Ralph.[3]

The robot Robby the Automaton comes from a time Dan Greaney, whilst working for USA Today, was at a baseball game and a robot was trying to lead everyone in singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". The crowd started throwing their food at the robot as it wasn't received well. The robot operator was also attacked by kids.[1] The Knowledgeum is based on similar museums that Mike Scully visited, including one that had velcro walls.[2] Bart messing around with Frink's computer without knowing what it was doing is based on behavior that Greaney saw at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.[1]

The line where Ralph says he saw a leprechaun who told him to burn things was made before the writers had the ending in mind.[2] The ending with the leprechaun was added after the animatic.[4] During storyboarding, director Neil Affleck acted out the scene of Chief Wiggum rolling around in pain so they animators would know how to draw it.[1] Originally, the episode didn't see Lisa helping Bart and Ralph to save Mayor Quimby. Bart, Ralph and Homer originally worked together to come up with a plan.[1]

Reception[edit]

Les Chappell on The A.V. Club said that the fact that the episode not only focuses on Ralph but also Bart is what makes it so interesting. He praised the relationship between Bart and Ralph when they were alone. Chappell however doesn't consider the episode a "classic", saying that he felt the third act of the episode "stumbles a bit" and that the final act seemed "almost clumsy", saying that it was "a crisis introduced for the sake of crisis".[5]

As of September 2022, the episode has a 7.9 rating on IMDb.[6]

In other languages[edit]

Language Name Translation
Germany.png Deutsch "Der merkwürdige Schlüssel" The strange key
Spain flag.png Español "El pequeño Wiggy" Little Wiggy
Hispanic America.gif Español "Gorgorito" Little Wiggy
France.png Français "La Clé magique" The Magic Key
Flag of Quebec.svg.png Français "La Clé magique" The Magic Key
Italy Flag.png Italiano "Il Winchesterino" The Wiggy
Brasil Flag.png Português "Um Novo Amigo" A New Friend
Flag of Japan.png 日本語 "ラルフとバートはお友達" Ralph and Bart are friends

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Greaney, Dan (2006). Commentary for "This Little Wiggy", in The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Scully, Mike (2006). Commentary for "This Little Wiggy", in The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season.
  3. ↑ Meyer, George (2006). Commentary for "This Little Wiggy", in The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season.
  4. ↑ Groening, Matt (2006). Commentary for "This Little Wiggy", in The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season.
  5. ↑ The A.V. Club - "The Simpsons returns to the unbearable lightness of being Ralph Wiggum"
  6. ↑ IMDb - "This Little Wiggy"


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "This Little Wiggy".
Season 9 Episodes
The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson • The Principal and the Pauper • Lisa's Sax • Treehouse of Horror VIII • The Cartridge Family • Bart Star • The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons • Lisa the Skeptic • Realty Bites • Miracle on Evergreen Terrace • All Singing, All Dancing • Bart Carny • The Joy of Sect • Das Bus • The Last Temptation of Krust • Dumbbell Indemnity • Lisa the Simpson • This Little Wiggy • Simpson Tide • The Trouble with Trillions • Girly Edition • Trash of the Titans • King of the Hill • Lost Our Lisa • Natural Born Kissers
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