Loan-a Lisa
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"Loan-a Lisa"
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Episode Information
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- "My first job! Tonight, I'm having peanut butter and jelly. No more PB or J for me."
- ―Nelson Muntz
"Loan-a Lisa" is the second episode of season 22.
Contents
Synopsis
When Grampa gives each member of the family a portion of his savings, Lisa invests in Nelson's brand-new business venture, but soon realizes that her friend's instant success might lure him away from the classroom. Worried that his judgment might be clouded, Lisa introduces Nelson to Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, only to find out that he too dropped out of school. But when Nelson's business suddenly takes a sharp turn, Lisa teaches her friend that education is invaluable.
Plot
After watching an episode of Itchy and Scratchy, the Simpsons arrive at the Springfield Retirement Castle to see Grampa. Grampa decides to give everyone their inheritance before he dies, which turns out to only be $50 each. Each member of the family spends their differently. Marge buys a handbag that she thinks is for $50 but it turns out to be for $500 and the label was just bent. Helen Lovejoy and Bernice Hibbert goad her into buying it and she does.
When she reveals the price to Homer, he is shocked. He does, however, take Marge out to a fancy restaurant, Asia de Cuba. After the waitress sees Marge's handbag, she moves them from a bad table by the toilets to a window table with a great view of Springfield. After avoiding many hazards that could get her bag dirty, a single drop of sauce gets on it. Marge takes back the bag and gets a full refund, despite the dirt. This gives Homer an idea. They buy expensive things, use them, and return them.
Meanwhile, Lisa is looking on the Internet for where to invest her $50. She sees a website about micro transactions, with Muhammad Yunus doing a speech about it, and she finds that Nelson has a business, Snot Wheels, in which Lisa invests in. After this investment, the business picks up and Nelson ends up making loads. Nelson reveals he want to leave school and when Lisa tells Principal Skinner that Nelson is paying $11 per hour, he goes to work for Nelson.
Homer invites Lenny and Carl around to have a party, although everything is boxed up or unusable due to the fact they want to return it. When they do return everything, Homer gets caught by Chris Hansen and is filmed for his TV show, To Catch a Credit Whore and Homer runs away.
Lisa takes Nelson to a entrepreneurs expo in the hopes that one of them will inspire him to stay in school. Unfortunately the first one they meet Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook who reveals that he, Bill Gates and Richard Branson all left school and became successful, by stark contrast the janitor at the convention not only attended Harvard but graduated with honors, this totally destroyed Lisas argument. This convinces Nelson to leave school even more. However, his bike business fails when all bikes fell apart as he was using water soluble glue and he goes out of business and decides to stay at school.
Lisa and Nelson go to a roller-skating rink and hold hands "as support" and knock people over, including Mark Zuckerberg.
Production
The episode was written by Valentina L. Garza and directed by Matthew Faughnan. Mark Zuckerberg guest stars. The episode was broadcast two days after the theatrical release of The Social Network, a film based on Zuckerberg's founding of Facebook.
Reception
Rowan Kaiser called the episode "amazing" and said "spending time with The Simpsons tends to make me happy, and nothing about this episode was particularly terrible". He gave the episode a B- the second highest rated grade after American Dads, "100 A.D." and beating The Cleveland Show episode "Cleveland Live!" and the Family Guy episode, "Excellence in Broadcasting". TV Squad's Brad Tachek gave the episode a positive review as well saying "Tonight's episode wasn't quite as good as last week and just about as preachy, but it was still a good example of what makes 'The Simpsons' great."
Gallery
- Promo-zuckerberg.jpg
Promotional picture featuring Mark Zuckerberg
- Loan-a Lisa promo.jpg
Second promotional picture featuring Muhammad Yunus
