Difference between revisions of "Lisa's Date with Density"

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"Lisa's Date With Density" is an episode from the eighth season of The Simpsons.

Synopsis

At Springfield Elementary School, Superintendent Chalmers visits Principal Skinner to show off his newly purchased car – a 1979 Honda Accord – but becomes distraught when he discovers the car's hood ornament missing. Principal Skinner orders a search of everyone's lockers, and it is soon determined that Nelson Muntz is the culprit. As punishment, Nelson is forced to apologize and then help Groundskeeper Willie with chores around the school campus.

In music class, Lisa is caught looking outside the window at Nelson attempting to help Groundskeeper Willie, and is given detention. After school, she continues to watch Nelson ... and develops a huge unrequited love crush on the bully.

Lisa lets Nelson know how she feels about him by attempting to pass a love note in class; however, Lisa speaks up only after Nelson has seriously injured Milhouse, thinking the note came from him. Lisa is resolved to reform Nelson into a model student. She changes his appearance by taking him to the Wee Monsieur (where he is dressed in a sweater and slacks) and giving him a new hairdo. The two later share a kiss during their date at the Springfield Observatory.

However, the influence of Nelson's friends – Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney – proves to win out when they convince him to throw spoiled coleslaw at Principal Skinner's house. Skinner immediately fingers the juvenile delinquents as suspects, and they flee. Nelson takes refuge with Lisa, proclaiming his innocence. Lisa believes him, until Nelson unwittingly lets slip the truth. Lisa realizes that Nelson is always going to be Nelson and ends their relationship, much to the relief of an overjoyed Milhouse.

In the subplot, Chief Wiggum arrests a confidence trick scam artist for telemarketing fraud. Homer witnesses the arrest and sees the discarded autodialer in a nearby Dumpster trash bin. Homer takes the autodialer home to use for tele-panhandling.

Homer ends up annoying most of Springfield with his "Happy Dude" confidence trick scam, and it isn't long before Chief Wiggum catches him. Instead of confiscating the autodialer and taking Homer into custody, Wiggum gives him a citation and asks him to bring the autodialer with him to his court hearing. Homer does just that, and is ordered to apologize to everyone he had scammed. Using the autodialer, he apologizes ... and then asks for more money!

Cultural references

• The episode title is both a reference to the 1985 Robert Zemeckis film Back to the Future, where George McFly mixes up the words "destiny" and "density", and a play on the phrase "Date with destiny".

• Homer's doughnut is made up of 13 M&M's (5 brown, 4 light orange, and 4 yellow), 3 Jolly Ranchers, a Twizzler, and a Mounds bar on it.

• When Nelson is playing the guitar, he does a move similar to Angus Young's (and Chuck Berry's) "Duck Walk." He also mimicks Pete Townshend's "Windmill."

• At one point, Lisa says that Milhouse likes "Vaseline on toast," a possible reference to the song "She Don't Use Jelly" by the psychedelic alt-rock band The Flaming Lips - "She'll make ya toast/she don't use butter/she don't use cheese/she don't use jelly/or any of these/she uses Vaseline."

Trivia

• Maggie doesn't appear in this episode.
• In the promos for this episode, there is a scene where Lisa and Nelson ride a bike together. This isn't in the episode proper.
• It is revealed that Janey has a crush on Milhouse, and Uter has a crush on Janey.
• Lisa's first love gets her first love in this episode, even though in Lisa's Wedding, the fortune teller said Hugh Parkman would be her first love (although this may have been a lie) and in Dude, Where's my Ranch, Lisa said Luke was her first love.

Goofs

• There is a continuity error in this episode. In Lisa's music class, there is a wide shot of the entire class. Uter sits next to Milhouse Van Houten in this shot. However, in the next shot, its Ralph Wiggum. In a following shot of the entire class, once again from the front, and it's Üter again. They both replace each other in the same seat (ie: Ralph is nowhere to be found in the shots with Üter and vise versa.)
• The hole in Nelson's locker appears to be increasing in size.
• After discovering the missing "H", Skinner refers to Nelson as Bart when telling him to return the items he stole.

Homer's "Happy Dude" confidence trickscam

"Greetings, friend. Do you wish to look as happy as me? Well, you've got the power inside you right now. So use it. And send $1 to Happy Dude, 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield. Don't delay; eternal happiness is just $1 away!"

After he is arrested, Homer replaces the above with the following.

"Greetings friend, this is Homer Simpson, aka, Happy Dude. The courts have ordered me to call everyone, and apologize for my telemarketing scam...I'm sorry. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, send $1 to Sorry Dude, 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield. You have the power!"

Lines from this episode have been used as a teaser for many scavenger hunts!