Moe'N'a Lisa
Encyclopedia
"Moe'n'a Lisa" is the sixth episode of the The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

' eighteenth season
The Simpsons (season 18)
The Simpsons 18th season aired from September 10, 2006 to May 20, 2007. The season contained seven hold-over episodes from the season 17 production line. Al Jean served as the Showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season....

, and first aired on November 19, 2006. Lisa aides Moe in discovering his inner-poet and he gains swift popularity and recognition from a group of successful American authors, when Lisa helps to get his poetry published. However, Lisa is crushed when Moe enjoys his newfound success with famous writers and fails to credit Lisa for her assistance in his poetry. It was written by Matt Warburton
Matt Warburton
Matt Warburton is an American television writer currently working on The Simpsons. In reference to Warburton, Current show runner Al Jean once joked that the show now has a writer younger than Bart...

 and directed by Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...

. The episode guest stars J. K. Simmons
J. K. Simmons
Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television as Dr. Emil Skoda in NBC's Law & Order , Assistant Police Chief Will Pope in TNT's The Closer, neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz, on film as J...

 as the voice of J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...

, while Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...

, Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...

, Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....

, and Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen is an American novelist and essayist. His third novel, The Corrections , a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...

 make cameos as themselves. During its first airing, the episode gained 9.31 million viewers, beating the previous episode.

Plot

Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...

 awakens to find numerous reminders of "Don't Forget" all over the house (written on his stomach, Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper is a recurring character in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons...

 and Snowball II's flanks and in Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...

's alphabet cereal.) Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...

 reminds the family they are to watch Grampa in the Senior Olympics, and Homer groans about it, thinking that this is what he was supposed to remember. Right after the family leaves, Moe leaves a message on the answering machine reminding Homer that today is the day for Moe's big birthday fishing trip. At the Senior Olympics, in the stands, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...

 feverishly writes in a book explaining that she has a dilemma; she must interview a "Fascinating Springfielder" and write a report, yet she has not found a suitable person to interview. A while later, the Simpsons have grown weary of not seeing Grampa win any events, but after mistaking Groundskeeper Willie
Groundskeeper Willie
William McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...

 as the Grim Reaper, Grampa wins the hurdles race. Arriving home, Homer spots a sullen Moe on his doorstep, and remembers the fishing trip. Homer and the family successfully manage to sneak inside the house, avoiding Moe. But several hours later, Moe still waits for Homer outside and while the family tries to hide.

A brick with a painfully emotional note from Moe attached suddenly smashes through the window. Lisa comments on what a tormented soul Moe must be, and suddenly she realizes that he would be a great subject for her "Fascinating Springfielder" assignment. Moe tries to hitchhike a ride home in the rain outside the Simpson house, as Lisa approaches him and asks if she can write her report about him. Moe is taken aback by the idea of someone is actually interested in his life and he cheerfully agrees to Lisa's request. Moe questions why Lisa would want to interview him and she explains that she suspects somewhere deep inside of Moe is an artist's soul. Over Moe's walls are sticky notes which all contain Moe's many emotions, and Lisa realizes that if they were all put together, they could become a work of poetry. Lisa arranges some of the notes and fragments into a coherent structure and Moe marvels at Lisa's creation, which she titles: "Howling at a Concrete Moon."

Despite receiving a poor grade on her report, Lisa sends Moe's poem in to American Poetry Perspectives, a publication for notable American poetry. Editor J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...

 (J. K. Simmons
J. K. Simmons
Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television as Dr. Emil Skoda in NBC's Law & Order , Assistant Police Chief Will Pope in TNT's The Closer, neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz, on film as J...

) approves Moe's poem, and places it on the cover of the next issue. Author Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...

 calls Moe, inviting him to the fictional Wordloaf Literary Conference in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, to honor his writing abilities. Moe agrees to go, as long as Lisa accompanies him. Arriving at the Wordloaf, Wolfe approaches Moe and proclaims his awe and respect of Moe's poetry, and asks where he came up with the brilliant title of his poem. Moe, about to explain that Lisa helped him, is interrupted by author Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...

, who explains that the titles for 1876
1876 (novel)
Gore Vidal's 1876 is the third historical novel in his Narratives of Empire series. It was published in 1976 and details the events of a year described by Vidal himself as "probably the low point in our republic's history."...

and Burr
Burr (novel)
Burr , by Gore Vidal, is a historical novel challenging the traditional iconography of United States history via narrative and a fictional memoir of Aaron Burr. Burr was variously the third US vice president, a US Army officer in and combat veteran of the Revolutionary War, a lawyer and a U.S....

were derived from the price of gas and an Eskimo Pie
Eskimo Pie
Eskimo Pie is a brand name for a chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar wrapped in foil, the first such dessert sold in the United States. It is now marketed by Nestlé, owners of Dreyer's of the Western United States, and Edy's of the Eastern United States...

 advertisement respectively. Members of Wordloaf immediately shun Vidal. Wolfe asks Moe the question a second time as Lisa eagerly awaits to hear her recognition from Moe. However, upon seeing what happened to Vidal, Moe recants and explains that he came up with the title of the poem himself. Lisa is crushed, but Moe, Wolfe and the other authors head outside for a hay ride, while laughing and cheering, causing Lisa further emotional pain.

The next day, Moe joins authors Tom Wolfe, Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen is an American novelist and essayist. His third novel, The Corrections , a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...

, and Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....

, as members of a panel, to answer questions in front of fans. An audience member asks the panel where their inspiration came from for being writers. After the other members of the panel address the question, Moe says the only book he has ever read is "Superhounds," a book on greyhound betting. The audience takes this as a joke. However, Lisa, who is in the audience, raises her hand and presses the question again, insisting that there must be someone who believed in him when no one else did. Moe hesitates before answering the question and then flatly tells Lisa that there was not anyone that inspired him. Lisa is upset that Moe will not give her recognition, and despite her protests, Tom Wolfe ends the panel discussion, letting Moe off the hook. A depressed Lisa walks out of the discussion hall, rejecting a family tour of Vermont. As the family takes off for their tour, a somber Lisa sits alone on a park bench. Moe approaches Lisa, and asks her to write a poem for speech at the Festival's farewell dinner. Lisa denies his request, calling him a jerk and she leaves him standing alone. For this, Moe pulls out some scrap notes from his hotel room home, and tries to construct a poem himself.

Homer and Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...

 spot Lisa sitting alone on the porch of an old cabin. While sobbing, Lisa explains to them what Moe has done, and Bart and Homer quickly run off to exact revenge for her. That night, at the dinner honoring Moe, Moe gives his speech. At the lectern, Moe begins reading his poems. However, the crowd begins to murmur, as they realize that the new poems that Moe is reading are just the information from an elevator warning sign and a channel guide. The door opens in the back of the dining hall and Moe stops in mid-sentence as he sees a sad and bitter Lisa walk through. Moe suddenly comes to his senses and in an original poem of his own, he credits Lisa for her influence and friendship. Lisa is touched by Moe's words and she forgives him. Just then, Homer calls out from a catwalk above Moe, telling him that he never should have made Lisa cry. Homer and Bart tip over a giant drum of maple syrup intended for Moe, but the extremely thick syrup flows so slowly out of the drum that Moe has plenty of time to get away before the syrup reaches him. The episode ends with Moe and Lisa walk out of the dining hall, hand in hand.

The credits roll as a scene plays out, featuring Homer taste-testing maple syrup at a roadside stand in the same fashion as a wine taster would taste wine.

Production

The writers of the episode first started with the idea of Moe as Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...

 and then teamed him with Lisa. The episode guest stars authors Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...

, who says The Simpsons "is the only show of any sort that I watch on television"; Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen is an American novelist and essayist. His third novel, The Corrections , a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...

 and Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....

, who recorded their lines together; and Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...

, who admits that he is not a regular watcher of the show. In one version of the script, Wolfe, Chabon and Franzen were all killed by a giant boulder. Although the guest stars recorded lines for this part of the episode, the scene was cut from the final version.

Cultural references

  • The title of the episode is a reference to Leonardo da Vinci
    Leonardo da Vinci
    Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

    's painting Mona Lisa
    Mona Lisa
    Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...

    . It is the second of four episodes to parody the title, after "Moaning Lisa
    Moaning Lisa
    "Moaning Lisa" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons first season, and originally aired February 11, 1990. The episode was written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, and was directed by Wes Archer. Ron Taylor guest stars in the episode as Bleeding Gums Murphy. The episode deals with Lisa's depression and...

    " and before "Mona Leaves-a
    Mona Leaves-a
    "Mona Leaves-a" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons nineteenth season, and was first broadcast on May 11, 2008. The episode features the death of Homer's mother, Mona Simpson. Homer is reunited with his mother, Mona, but isn't willing to forgive her for all the times she left him as a child...

    ", and "Loan-a Lisa
    Loan-a Lisa
    "Loan-a Lisa" is the second episode of The Simpsons twenty-second season. The episode aired October 3, 2010. It guest starred Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Hansen and Muhammad Yunus...

    ".
  • The editor J. Jonah Jameson
    J. Jonah Jameson
    John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...

     is based on the Spider-Man
    Spider-Man
    Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...

     character and is voiced by J. K. Simmons
    J. K. Simmons
    Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television as Dr. Emil Skoda in NBC's Law & Order , Assistant Police Chief Will Pope in TNT's The Closer, neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz, on film as J...

     who plays him in the film series.
  • When walking to Moe's hotel, the character Eloise
    Eloise (books)
    Eloise is the name of the protagonist in a series of children's books written by Kay Thompson and illustrated by Hilary Knight.Eloise is a six-year-old girl who lives in the "room on the tippy-top floor" of the Plaza Hotel in New York with her Nanny, her pug dog Weenie, and her turtle Skipperdee. A...

     is referenced and shown.
  • Thomas Pynchon
    Thomas Pynchon
    Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...

     and John Updike
    John Updike
    John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....

     are shown seated at the Wordloaf dinner to stage left of the lectern.
  • Michael Chabon
    Michael Chabon
    Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....

     claims that Jonathan Franzen
    Jonathan Franzen
    Jonathan Franzen is an American novelist and essayist. His third novel, The Corrections , a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...

     fights like Anne Rice
    Anne Rice
    Anne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...

    .
  • The Wordloaf Literary Conference is a spoof of the famous Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
    Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
    The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is a writers' conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont...

     held at the Bread Loaf Inn near Middlebury, Vermont.
  • When Moe lies to the writers and ditches Lisa, the Black Eyed Peas
    The Black Eyed Peas
    The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...

     song "Let's Get It Started
    Let's Get It Started
    "Let's Get It Started", , appears on The Black Eyed Peas' 2003 album Elephunk. It is the fourth single from the album...

    " plays on a stereo.

Reception

Dan Iverson of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

rates it a 7.3. He quotes this episode made up for the previous one. He praises all the guest voices in their appearances, though mainly Tom Wolfe's.
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