Last Tap Dance in Springfield
Template:Unreferenced Template:Infobox Simpsons episode
"Last Tap Dance in Springfield" is the twentieth episode of the eleventh season of The Simpsons and the second one written by (then) showrunner Mike Scully's wife, Julie Thacker. It aired on May 7, 2000.
Plot
On a trip to the mall, Homer sees an optometrist to get his eyes examined, and at the same time, Marge and Lisa find items for a camping trip Bart is going to take. Marge sees a marquee for the film Tango de La Muerte and she and Lisa decide to see it. Lisa identifies with the main female character, a bookworm named "Lisabella" whom the Tango champion asks to be his partner. This interests Lisa, who wants to take dance lessons. She eventually does and chooses tap dance, but her hopes of being a dancer are crushed when it turns out she can not dance. Worse yet, her teacher, "Little" Vicki Valentine, makes her a curtain puller in an upcoming recital.
Meanwhile, Bart and Milhouse sneak out of their camping trip after seeing that Nelson is also going to the camping. They decide to hide in the mall and spend a week there, stealing toys and filling their stomachs with candy and cookie dough. This prompts Chief Wiggum to do an investigation of the shenanigans at the mall, which Wiggum at first thinks is caused by a giant rat. He then releases a puma inside the mall to catch the rat, but Bart and Milhouse use a ball of yarn to distract the puma. Chief Wiggum, seeing the a piece of yarn hanging from the puma's mouth think it's the rat's tail and decides the case is closed.
Lisa's recital is coming up, and she has a problem. That is, until Professor Frink attaches a device to her shoes, making them automatically tap at any percussive sound. She becomes a star at the show, but when the audience applauds her, her shoes go out of control. She is later exposed, and at Homer and Marge's suggestion, decides to be a playwright instead, choosing to write a play about people coming to terms with things (and to "load it up with lots of swears" in the vein of David Mamet). The credits is shown in a black and white style.
Cultural references
- ACME Corporation — Chief Wiggum uses rat traps (to catch whom he thinks is the culprit of the mall vandalism) from the same company Wile E. Coyote patronized.
- Jaws — Wiggum's remark about being "crazy about the safety of the public" is taken from the 1975 thriller.
- Korg and Moog synthesizer — The "MORG" synthesizer at Stan's Keyboards (a store at Springfield Mall) combines the brand names of the synthesizer and keyboard.
- Last Tango in Paris — The episode title is a play on the movie.
- RoboCop — The "Cyborganizer" show Homer watches is a spoof of the 1980s science fiction-police movie.
- Shirley Temple — Former child actress Lil' Vicki Valentine is based on Temple.[1] Like Temple, Valentine has remained active in her profession since a series of childhood movies. Other Temple references:
- "On the Good Ship Lollipop" — "Spaceship Lollipop" is a parody.
References
External links
