Desperately Seeking Lisa/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Credits

Quotes

	Season 36 Episode References
← 770 "The Yellow Lotus"	771 "Desperately Seeking Lisa"	"Shoddy Heat" 772 →

Cultural references

• The episode title is a reference to the 1985 comedy-drama film Desperately Seeking Susan.
• The episode is an homage to Martin Scorsese's black comedy After Hours. Actress Rosanna Arquette plays the protagonist role of Marcy Franklin in After Hours and is also the fake Susan in Desperately Seeking Susan. Many elements from After Hours can be seen throughout this episode, including the chase involving Lisa and the use of songs from the film's soundtrack.
• Bart started to watch the TV series Mad Men when The Krusty the Clown Show was in reruns. He says that Marge and Lisa are "fighting like Don Draper and Pete Campbell after they lost their Lucky Strike account". Draper and Campbell are two of the main characters of Mad Men working at Sterling Cooper advertising agency, while the cigarette company Lucky Strike was one of the agency's most crucial and longstanding clients.
• The movement Allegro from Mozart's Symphony in D major "No. 45" is heard while Lisa travels to Capital City. This composition is also heard in the ending of After Hours.

The Fearless Girl facing the gorilla parodies the real-world Fearless Girl, which was once located in front of the Charging Bull. Many other references to New York City are seen throughout the episode

• The Erotic Sudoku book that Selma was doing references the 69 sex position, with all the boxes filled with 6s and 9s.
• Capital City parodies New York City:
  • The Large Central Station's name and facade resemble that of the Grand Central Station.
  • The Museum of Modern Museums, which Lisa mentions, is a reference to the Museum of Modern Art.
  • The Prussian Coffee Room parodies the Russian Tea Room. A cup with the Prussian eagle and a lid hinting a pickelhaube can be seen on the app.
  • The Unidentified State Building is a reference to the Empire State Building.
  • The "Highbrow Artists Parade" has the style of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade annual parade in New York City. The artists recreated include William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Salvador Dalí and James Joyce.
  • The statue of the fearless girl facing down the gorilla that symbolizes fossil fuels and wasteful fast food packaging is a parody of the bronze sculpture Fearless Girl which was originally located facing down the Charging Bull, which depicts financial optimism and prosperity, but was later removed due to complaints.
• Lisa uses Oogle on her phone, a parody of Google.
• The busy street full of signs parodies Times Square:
  • Blocko Store is a parody of a Lego Store.
  • Mojitoville parodies Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, with one of their resorts located at Times Square.
  • P.F. Thong's is a parody of the casual dining restaurant chain P. F. Chang's.
  • Forever 41 is a parody of fashion retailer Forever 21.
  • n&n's Store is a parody of M&M's World.
  • An in-universe The Simpsons Store is seen, with the show logo.
  • The revival of Stop the Planet of the Apes I Want to Get Off parodies the Broadway revival Stop the World – I Want to Get Off.
• The cowboy sign on the Laramie Cigarettes Smokehouse Grill and the cowboy waiter are references to the Marlboro Man.
• Patty and Selma order "Cigs in Blanket", "Philly Wheeze Steak", "Vape Suzette" and "Phlegm Brûlée" parodies of Pigs in a blanket, Philly Cheese Steak, Crêpes Suzette and Crème brûlée, respectively.
• Julian saw on Facebook that Patty and Selma were coming to Capital City.
• Julian has a book of poetry by Sylvia Plath.
• Julian occasionally writes reviews on Airbnb.
• Freaks of the 'Field is a reference to the Freaks in a Field festival.
• Katya's loft is located at NoHoSoGoBloJoTo (North of Hobart Street, South of Gordon Avenue and Below Joseph Torrance Expressway), a pun on the famous neighborhood of SoHo (South of Houston Street). Since the 1970s, SoHo has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries.
• Cranberry: The Ocean Spray Juice-ical is a reference to the Ocean Spray brand of cranberry juice drinks. B. J. Novak stars in it as the Bog.

People outside of the hotel are dressed in costumes of Goofy, Charlie Brown, Pikachu and Shrek

• The people outside of the hotel are dressed in costumes of Goofy, Charlie Brown, Pikachu and Shrek. Julian mentions Pikachu.
• "Bull in the Heather" by Sonic Youth plays during the montages and the credits.
• In the montage, the artists and Lisa jumping the turnstile of the Capital City Metro parody Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) trying to turnstile jump the New York City Subway in After Hours.
• A man reads Tropic of Cancer, a novel by Henry Miller, hinting the beginning of After Hours when Paul and Marcy meet.
• One of the exhibits at the Museum of Loft-Based Transgressive Progressivism is of Jesus Christ inside the Kool-Aid Man.
• According to the banner, the show Roach by Tracy Letts is "a Kafkaesque reimagining of The Metamorphosis". The Metamorphosis, however, is one of Franz Kafka's already-surreal best-known works. The subtitles refer to the character in the show as "Gregor Samsa", who is the main character of The Metamorphosis.
  • It is referenced in the episode that Tracy Letts has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and two Tony Awards, one for Best Play and another for Best Actor in Play.
• Tracy Letts imagines a play starting at a Dave & Buster's.
• Julian refers to the Upper East Side as the "forbidden zone". The Upper East Side is the most affluent neighborhood in New York City.
• Lacey Van Aster mentions seducing Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.
• Art pieces of Lisa in the Museum of Lisa the Thieving Poseur include parodies and references to:
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat's use of neo-expressionism, as in Untitled.
  • Balloon Dog sculpture series by Jeff Koons.
  • Ohhh...Alright... by Roy Lichtenstein, using the Ben Day process.
  • Keith Haring's figures. One of the figures has a hole in its torso, as seen in Pop Show I.
  • Faces by Kenny Scharf.
  • Lisa "Thief" with the style of Shepard Fairey's Barack Obama "Hope" poster.
  • The Scream by Edvard Munch.
  • A pop art version of Lisa looking sideways like Girl with a Pearl Earring with the phrase "The Devil Wears Pearls", a reference to the film The Devil Wears Prada.
  • Lisa's face in cubism, pioneered by Pablo Picasso.
  • Lisa's head with a big nose in a cage parodies The Nose by Alberto Giacometti.
  • Self Portrait (1986, purple) by Andy Warhol.
• Lisa runs by a statue that resembles the Alamo.
• "I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside" is one of the ringtones heard on the ringtones documentary.
• Superintendent Chalmers mentioned playing Pickleball, a fast-growing racket sport.
• "Pay to Cum" by Bad Brains plays in Chalmers and Ms. Hoover's hotel room. The song is also part of After Hours soundtrack.
• The Fearless Girl statue is a gift from Goldman Sachs, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company.
• Lisa goes through an arch that parodies the Washington Square Arch.
• One of the balloons is American writer and novelist Joan Didion.
  • When he thinks he has captured Lisa, Julian calls her John Gregory "Donne", a pun on writer John Gregory Dunne, who usually collaborated with his wife Joan Didion.
• Julian calls Katya "second-rate" Cindy Sherman.
• Tracy Letts tells Katya that if there was a gun in the first act, he'd shoot her right now. This is a reference to the narrative principle of Chekhov's gun.

Trivia

• The Prussian Tea Room is another parody of the Russian Tea Room after the Russian Tea House. ("From Russia Without Love")

Continuity

• Ms. Hoover seems to be either cheating on or having divorced from Gil Gunderson. ("Habeas Tortoise")
• A Blocko Store is seen. ("The D'oh-cial Network")
• An n&n's Store is seen. ("Mad About the Toy")
• Stop the Planet of the Apes I Want to Get Off is playing at a theater. ("A Fish Called Selma")
• A P.F. Thong's branch is seen. ("From Beer to Paternity")
• David Byrne is seen walking around Capital City.("Dude, Where's My Ranch?")
• Laramie Cigarettes uses a cowboy in their advertisements. ("Dancin' Homer")

← Season 35 Season 36 References Upcoming episodes →
Aired
Bart's Birthday • The Yellow Lotus • Desperately Seeking Lisa • Shoddy Heat • Treehouse of Horror XXXV • Women in Shorts • Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes • Convenience Airways • Homer and Her Sisters
Disney+ Specials
O C'mon All Ye Faithful • The Past and the Furious • Yellow Planet
Unscheduled
The Man Who Flew Too Much • The Last Man Expanding • Estranger Things • Men Behaving Manly • Keep Chalm and Gary On • Bad Boys... for Life?
Unknown Production Code
The Beautiful Shame • Marge and Homer and Moe and Maya • Abe League of Their Moe • P.S., I Hate You