Haw-Haw Land

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	Season 29 Episode
← 627 "Gone Boy"	628 "Haw-Haw Land"	"Frink Gets Testy" 629 →

"Haw-Haw Land"

Episode Information Episode number: 628 Season number: S29 E10 Production code: XABF03 Original airdate: January 7, 2018 Title screen: "2017" Grampa is being lifted up, while "2018" Maggie is falling down with a parachute Guest star(s): Ed Sheeran as Brendan Beiderbecke Showrunner: Al Jean Written by: Tim Long Miranda Thompson Directed by: Bob Anderson

"Haw-Haw Land" is the tenth episode of broadcast season 29 of The Simpsons and the six hundred twenty-eighth episode overall. It originally aired on January 7, 2018. The episode was written by Tim Long and Miranda Thompson and directed by Bob Anderson. It guest stars Ed Sheeran as Brendan Beiderbecke.

Synopsis

When the Simpsons go to a STEM Conference, Lisa falls for a crooning jazz pianist named Brendan Beiderbecke. However, Brendan isn't the only one after Lisa's heart. Meanwhile, Bart discovers that he has an affinity for chemistry.

Plot

Traffic on a Springfield freeway has ground to a halt after a crash involving several trucks. The people of Springfield come out of their cars and sing "Another Springfield Day". Meanwhile, the Simpsons are driving to the STEM Conference for Lisa, who is very excited to attend. At the STEM Conference, Bart is shocked that Lisa came for fun because he thought she had a booth there. Lisa becomes so excited while walking around that she starts to feel intoxicated from excitement, so Marge suggests that she find somewhere to sit down. Meanwhile, a chemical engineer sees that Bart is bored and shows him his booth on the science of goo. After seeing the engineer cause a small explosion, Bart becomes impressed and interested in chemistry. In the hotel bar, Lisa is lying down on a couch when she hears someone playing the piano. This turns out to be Brendan Beiderbecke, who sings "Crazy Fling" to Lisa. Lisa becomes smitten with Brendan and talks to him, finding out that he is 11 and is moving to Springfield Elementary School.

Back at home, Bart and Milhouse are playing with chemicals to make "elephant toothpaste", a pink foam substance. Meanwhile, Lisa and Brendan practice music in the garage, which annoys Homer. At school the next day, Lisa shows Brendan around when Nelson interrupts them. Nelson begins to get jealous of Brendan and the attention Lisa is showing him, but Lisa says that whatever they had, it's in the past. Later, on the playground, the school bullies trip Brendan, only for him to start singing "I'm Tripping for You", impressing Lisa and the other schoolgirls.

That night, Homer is sleeping while Marge is unable to sleep because Lisa and Brendan are practicing music. Marge tells Homer that Bart's teacher said he has a flair for chemistry, which makes Homer and Marge feel uneasy because they think he's up to something. The next day, Homer goes to find out what Bart is doing, thinking he might be making drugs, despite Bart's assurances that he isn't doing anything wrong. Meanwhile, Lisa and Brendan go on a date to Phineas Q. Butterfat's Ice Cream Parlor. However, their date is interrupted by Nelson and the bullies. Nelson serenades Lisa with "My Funny Valentine", which impresses her despite his poor singing voice. The next day at school, Lisa talks to Groundskeeper Willie about the two boys trying to win her heart. Meanwhile, Superintendent Chalmers' tongue is burned by sulfuric acid, which was put into the teachers' vodka.

Brendan tries to serenade Lisa once again, but is interrupted by Nelson, who has taken the family washboard to play for her. After his mother takes it home again, Brendan mocks Nelson, saying that he couldn't believe it was a choice Lisa had to make. After school, Ralph runs up to Lisa to tell her that Nelson and Brendan are fighting, and he's going home to get Chief Wiggum's gun to arrest them. Lisa runs up to the two boys, and Nelson impresses her once again by revealing that he read a book for her. Meanwhile, the school talent show is coming up. Milhouse helps Bart prepare to take part with a chemistry show, and Lisa prepares to take part by playing her saxophone. Homer and Marge plan to go and watch because they still think Bart is up to something.

At the talent show, Nelson gets ready to perform. Lisa imagines what her life with Nelson would be like before he goes on stage to boos because he tells the audience that he's the school bully. After his performance, Brendan gets ready to perform, but he's immediately disqualified because he's not supposed to be attending the school as he lives in West Springfield. Brendan and Lisa realize this means they won't be able to see each other anymore, and Brendan leaves. Nelson then tells Lisa that he's glad she didn't choose him because he had been playing jazz instead of doing his reps, and his reps had never let him down. As everyone starts to leave the room, Mr. Largo tells them there's still one act to go: Bart. However, when Bart gets ready to perform, Chief Wiggum, Lou, and Eddie arrive to arrest him, thinking he was the one who put sulfuric acid in Chalmers' vodka and that he was going to harm everyone with chemistry at the show. Bart tells them that he's innocent, and Marge believes him, so she offers to pour the chemicals for him to prove that she trusts him. The chemicals produce a range of colors and effects and impress the audience. Willie admits to being the one who put the acid in the vodka in an attempt to kill Principal Skinner. After Bart's show, Marge hugs Bart, saying she never doubted him. The chemicals then explode into elephant toothpaste foam, filling the school.

After the talent show, Marge apologizes directly to the viewers because the episode was supposed to be a parody of Moonlight, not La La Land. Homer says that none of them have seen Moonlight, and Marge tells him they have it on DVD at home. Homer says that they could watch X-Men: Apocalypse instead, and everybody agrees with him.

Production

Writer Tim Long wanted to write an episode with Nelson singing, saying it was one of his "longheld Simpsons dreams." Long said that Nelson is a "deceptively soulful character," and felt moved after hearing him singing "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" in the season 16 episode "Sleeping with the Enemy".

In the press release, George Takei was reported to appear as himself. However, he wasn't in the final episode, for unknown reasons.

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Reception

In its original release, "Haw-Haw Land" was watched by 6.95 million viewers, earning a 2.8 rating and a 9 share, making it Fox's highest-rated show of the night.

Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C+ rating. He stated that "Pegging an episode of The Simpsons directly to a specific pop cultural target requires a whole lot more imagination to pull off than "Haw-Haw Land" can muster," and said that "you have to bring a lot more to the enterprise than is on display" in order to "do a parody of a lavish Hollywood musical love story." Perkins also felt that Bart's B-plot was excessive, saying it "shoehorns another whole episode’s-worth of plot."

Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode a 3.5/5 rating. He ended his review by saying that "Marge’s natural lie-detector would go off if I wrote that I loved this episode," and that "It was sweet and predictable, but it kept the gags at a steady pace, with not much really standing out."

As of February 2026, "Haw-Haw Land" has a 6.5 rating on IMDb.

Gallery

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Promo videos

• Lisa has her sights set on a new boy in town on Twitter
• Lisa Has A Dream That She Was Married To Nelson at YouTube
• Nelson & His Crew Raid The Ice Cream Store at YouTube

Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Haw-Haw Land".

← Season 28 Season 29 Episodes Season 30 →

The Serfsons • Springfield Splendor • Whistler's Father • Treehouse of Horror XXVIII • Grampy Can Ya Hear Me • The Old Blue Mayor She Ain't What She Used to Be • Singin' in the Lane • Mr. Lisa's Opus • Gone Boy • Haw-Haw Land • Frink Gets Testy • Homer Is Where the Art Isn't • 3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage • Fears of a Clown • No Good Read Goes Unpunished • King Leer • Lisa Gets the Blues • Forgive and Regret • Left Behind • Throw Grampa from the Dane • Flanders' Ladder

← Season WABF Production season XABF Episodes Season YABF →

Mr. Lisa's Opus • Gone Boy • Haw-Haw Land • Frink Gets Testy • Homer Is Where the Art Isn't • 3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage • No Good Read Goes Unpunished • Fears of a Clown • Forgive and Regret • King Leer • Lisa Gets the Blues • Left Behind • Throw Grampa from the Dane • Flanders' Ladder • Heartbreak Hotel • Treehouse of Horror XXIX • My Way or the Highway to Heaven • Baby You Can't Drive My Car • Bart's Not Dead • From Russia Without Love • Werking Mom • Krusty the Clown