{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = | caption = | season = 3 | episode = 14 | director = [[Rich Moore]] | writer = * [[Jay Kogen]] * [[Wallace Wolodarsky]] | production = 8F12 | airdate = {{Start date|1992|01|23}} | guests = * [[Phil Hartman]] as Smooth Jimmy Apollo and [[Troy McClure]] | couch_gag = [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] accidentally sits on [[Santa's Little Helper]]. | commentary = * [[Matt Groening]] * [[James L. Brooks]] * [[Al Jean]] * [[Mike Reiss]] * [[Julie Kavner]] * [[Nancy Cartwright]] * [[Yeardley Smith]] * [[Jay Kogen]] * [[Wallace Wolodarsky]] * [[Rich Moore]] | prev = [[Radio Bart]] | next = [[Homer Alone]] }} "'''Lisa the Greek'''" is the fourteenth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 3|third season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in the United States on January 23, 1992. In the episode, [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] bonds with [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] when he discovers her ability to pick winning [[American football|football]] teams. When Lisa learns her father is only using her talent to help him gamble, she thinks he does not care for her.
The episode was written by [[Jay Kogen]] and [[Wallace Wolodarsky]], and directed by [[Rich Moore]]. The episode was written to satirize the ''Simpsons'' staff members' "love affair with gambling, particularly on football".<ref name="Jean"/> "Lisa the Greek" references both the [[Super Bowl]] and the [[National Football League]] (NFL). It aired only days before [[Super Bowl XXVI]], and correctly predicted that the [[Washington Redskins]] would win.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a [[Nielsen rating]] of 14.2, and was the highest-rated show on Fox the week it aired.
==Plot== When [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] complains to [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] that [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] does not share her interests, Marge suggests doing something he likes, so Lisa watches a televised [[American football|football]] game with him. After being cheated by a premium rate betting advice [[Hotline|hotline]], a desperate Homer asks Lisa to pick a winner. She picks the [[Miami Dolphins]], so Homer calls [[Moe's Tavern]] to place a $50 bet. Homer and Lisa celebrate the Dolphins' victory.
Meanwhile, Marge arranges a Mother-Son Day with [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] by taking him clothes [[Shopping|shopping]]. She forces him to try on unfashionable clothes and humiliates him by flinging open the fitting room door, causing Sherri and Terri and the other customers to laugh at him in his underwear. Bart spends the rest of the day locked in the car to avoid getting beaten up by bullies for Marge’s poor fashion choices while Marge herself remains oblivious.
Since Lisa is adept at picking winning teams, Homer declares every [[Sunday]] during football season Daddy-Daughter Day. Lisa sustains her winning streak for eight weeks, earning Homer more money as the [[Super Bowl]] approaches. Homer buys his family [[Cost|expensive]] gifts and meals with his gambling earnings. When Lisa asks Homer if they can go hiking the Sunday after the [[Super Bowl]], he tells her that Daddy-Daughter Days are over until next football season. Lisa realizes that Homer only wanted her to help him gamble and does not treasure her company.
After a [[Nightmare|nightmare]] in which her childhood [[Sports betting|sports betting]] with Homer caused her to grow up to become a [[Problem gambling|compulsive gambler]], Lisa, feeling unappreciated and betrayed, gives away all the toys Homer bought her with his betting stash. She decides to tell Homer who will win the game, but she warns him that she is so distraught she might unconsciously want him to lose. She makes a cryptic prediction: if she still loves him, [[Washington Commanders|Washington]] will win; if she does not, then [[Buffalo Bills|Buffalo]] will. As Homer anxiously watches the game at Moe's, Washington scores at the last second and wins. Overjoyed that Lisa still loves him, Homer cancels his bowling date with [[Barney Gumble|Barney]] and goes hiking with Lisa the next weekend.
==Production== [[File:Al Jean by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|[[Al Jean]] enjoys working on Homer–Lisa episodes. |alt=A man with glasses and a red shirt is sitting in front of a microphone.]]
The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Rich Moore. According to [[showrunner]] [[Al Jean]], it was designed to satirize the staff members' "love affair with gambling, particularly on football".<ref name="Jean">{{cite video |people=Jean, Al |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Greek" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Kogen, Wolodarsky, Jean, [[George Meyer]], [[Sam Simon]], and [[James L. Brooks]] were all frequent gamblers.<ref name="Wolodarsky">{{cite video |people=Wolodarsky, Wallace |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Greek" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Many of the staff members were also football fans, particularly Kogen and Wolodarsky.<ref name="Kogen"/> In "Lisa the Greek", the writers wanted to further develop Lisa's character, and so they decided to make it about Lisa's relationship with her father.<ref name="Kogen">{{cite video |people=Kogen, Jay |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Greek" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
Kogen commented that Lisa and Marge episodes "tend to be the better episodes", because they are more thought-out and have more emotional depth. However, they are harder to write than other episodes because they are "less jokey". The writers therefore made the decision to replace Marge's role with Homer, who tends to be funnier than Marge.<ref name="Kogen"/> Jean commented that because he has a daughter, Homer–Lisa episodes are easier for him to write and he "always want[s] to work on them".<ref name="Jean"/> Moore said they are his favorite episodes to direct, because "the two most opposite characters in the cast finding some kind of common ground [...] That was always interesting."<ref name="Moore">{{cite video |people=Moore, Rich |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Greek" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> In one scene, Homer makes Lisa sit on the end of the sofa so she will not interrupt the game. [[Yeardley Smith]], the voice of Lisa, recalls that many people at the [[table-read]] thought Homer was "too harsh" in the scene, but it ended up being included in the episode anyway.<ref name="Yeardley">{{cite video |people=Yeardley, Smith |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Greek" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
==Cultural references== "Lisa the Greek" references both the [[Super Bowl]] and the [[NFL]].<ref name="Carman"/> The episode aired just days before [[Super Bowl XXVI]] and correctly predicted that the [[Washington Redskins]] would defeat the [[Buffalo Bills]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Plenty of hype on road to Super Bowl |last=Nelson |first=John |date=January 23, 1992 |work=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |page=13D}}</ref> When a repeat of the episode re-aired the following year (only days before Super Bowl XXVII), the staff [[Dubbing (filmmaking)|redubbed]] it to mention the [[Dallas Cowboys]] instead of Washington; the Cowboys won, making the episode accurate once again. It continued to be accurate through [[Super Bowl XXIX]] and Jean commented that he would always bet against Lisa's predictions, causing him to think "Why didn't I take Lisa's advice?" when he lost.<ref name="Jean"/> As Lisa studies football at the Springfield library, she goes through the [[card catalog]] and finds an entry on [[Phyllis George]], an American sportscaster.<ref name="book"/> The title of the episode refers to the American [[bookie]] and sports commentator [[Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder]].<ref name="Jean"/> "Smooth" Jimmy Apollo is based on Snyder and Brent Gunsilman is based on [[Brent Musburger]]. The program on which Apollo and Gunsilman appear, ''Inside Football Today'', is based on the [[CBS]] pregame show ''[[The NFL Today]]'', which featured Musburger, George, and Snyder as co-hosts and panelists (Musburger from 1975-1990, George from 1975-1978 and again from 1980-1983, and Snyder from 1976-1988); the program's intro with a defensive player decapitating the ball carrier on a [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] gridiron is based on the intro for ''The NFL Today'' used between 1983 and 1988. The [[Duff Beer|Duff]] Bowl commercial that airs during [[List of Super Bowl halftime shows|halftime]] is a reference to [[Bud Bowl]] ads for [[Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)|Budweiser]].<ref name="Jean"/>
In addition to the football references, the episode references ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'' (1979). Homer tells Moe, who keeps his wallet in his boot, "I used to hate the smell of your sweaty feet. Now it's the smell of victory," a play on Kilgore's line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like victory."<ref name="book">{{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |authorlink=Matt Groening |editor1-first=Ray |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-link=Ray Richmond |editor2-first=Antonia |editor2-last=Coffman |title=[[The Simpsons episode guides#The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family|The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family]] |edition=1st |year=1997 |location=New York |publisher=[[HarperPerennial]] |lccn=98141857 |ol=433519M |oclc=37796735 |isbn=978-0-06-095252-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/simpsonscomplete00groe/page/78 78] |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}} }}.</ref> In a Super Bowl pregame interview about his new television show, celebrity [[Troy McClure]] says that he plays "Jack Handle, a retired cop who shares an apartment with a retired criminal. We're the original Odd Couple!", referencing the television show ''[[The Odd Couple (1970 TV series)|The Odd Couple]]''.<ref name="book"/> His new sitcom, ''Handle with Care'' (starring a retired cop who resides with a retired convict) is a sitcom patterned after the 1970s series ''[[Switch (American TV series)|Switch]]'' starring [[Eddie Albert]] and [[Robert Wagner]], a detective series about an ex-police officer partnered with a reformed con artist. With his gambling winnings Homer buys Marge a bottle of perfume, [[Meryl Streep]]'s Versatility. The bottle is shaped like an [[Academy Award]].<ref name="book"/>
==Reception== [[File:Yeardley Smith 2012.png|thumb|left|upright|[[Yeardley Smith]] received a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for her performance in the episode.]]
In its original American broadcast, "Lisa the Greek" finished 27th in the ratings for the week of January 18–24, 1992, with a [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] of 14.2, equivalent to approximately 13 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on Fox that week.<ref name=Ratings>{{cite news |title=What we watch, what we don't... |work=[[Austin American-Statesman]] |page=13 |date=January 31, 1993}}</ref> Yeardley Smith, received a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance|Outstanding Voice-Over Performance]] in 1992 for her performance in the episode.<ref name="PTE">{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |title=Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search |publisher=Emmys.org |access-date=2009-02-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715011545/http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |archive-date=2009-07-15 }}</ref><ref name="44th">{{cite news |title=Briefing–'Simpsons' score big in Prime-Time Emmys |date=1992-08-03 |page=L20 |newspaper=[[Daily News of Los Angeles]]}}</ref> "Lisa the Greek" is one of [[Dan Castellaneta]]'s favorite episodes along with season two's "[[Lisa's Substitute]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=Insider favorites |date=May 18, 2007 |work=[[RedEye]] |publisher=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=50}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.sunjournal.com/2007/05/19/simpsons-insiders-pick-favorite-episodes/ |title='Simpsons' insiders pick their favorite episodes |last=Justin |first=Neal |date=May 20, 2007 |work=[[Star Tribune]]|via=Lewiston Sun-Journal|access-date=2022-01-15}}</ref>
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. John Carman of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' called it his favorite episode of the show.<ref name="Carman">{{cite news |title=TV Guide Missed Some Great Shows |last=Carman |first=John |date=June 30, 1997 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |page=E1}}</ref> [[Gary Russell]] and [[Gareth Roberts (writer)|Gareth Roberts]],<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv51/garyrussell.html|title=Gary Russell: From Peladon to Placebos|author=Preddle, Jon|date=June 1997|magazine=Time Space Visualiser|issue=51|access-date=20 August 2020|publisher=The New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club|quote=I've just done my first non-fiction book, Oh No It's A Completely Unofficial Simpsons Guide for Virgin, co-authored with Gareth Roberts which has, to be frank, been more of a nightmare than it needed to be [the book was published as I Can't Believe It's An Unofficial Simpsons Guide, with Gary and Gareth writing under the pseudonyms Warren Martyn & Adrian Wood].}}</ref> wrote that "it's nice to see [Homer] and Lisa getting along so well for once."<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page14.shtml |title=Lisa the Greek |access-date=2009-07-07 |last1=Martyn |first1=Warren |author-link1=Gary Russell |last2 = Wood |first2=Adrian |author-link2=Gareth Roberts (writer) |year=2000 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed rated the episode a 5{{nbsp}}(of 5) and commented that "any football fan will love this episode, but the reason why it is so good is the relationship between Homer and Lisa. The two truly are a father and daughter to one another, causing both laughter and touching emotion in the audience."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=6129 |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season |last=Meyers |first=Nate |date=June 23, 2004 |publisher=Digitally Obsessed |access-date=2009-06-06 |archive-date=2016-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313103432/http://digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?id=6129 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict said "Lisa the Greek" is "a chance for Homer and Lisa to bond under less than ideal, but always amusing, circumstances. Oddly, for a show relying on actual events like the Super Bowl to guide its plotline, it doesn't have [a] retread feeling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason3.php |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season |last=Gibron |first=Bill |date=December 15, 2003 |publisher=DVD Verdict |access-date=2009-06-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629194944/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason3.php |archive-date=June 29, 2009 }}</ref> DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson, however, did not think the episode developed Lisa's and Homer's relationship, but it "tosses in some good pokes at the NFL and the culture that surrounds the sport".<ref name="Jacobson">{{cite web |url=http://dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonthree.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (1991) |last=Jacobson |first=Colin |date=August 21, 2003 |publisher=DVD Movie Guide |access-date=2009-06-06}}</ref> Jacobson added that although the episode "echoes the neglectful father theme seen not long ago in '[[Lisa's Pony]]', the show doesn't feel like just a retread. [...] It's not a classic, but it remains an above average program."<ref name="Jacobson" />
The ''[[San Jose Mercury News]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Daniel Brown said NFL gambling "seems to be a [[The Simpsons#Production|crew]]-wide addiction, which is why 'Lisa the Greek' is filled with sophisticated gags about [[point spread]]s and [[bookie]]s".<ref>{{cite news |title=Eat My Sports - A Retrospective |last=Brown |first=Daniel |date=July 22, 2007 |work=[[San Jose Mercury News]] |page=1C}}</ref> The ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'' named it seventh best episode of the show with a sports theme.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sports and The Simpsons |date=November 26, 2002 |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |page=C–2}}</ref>{{clear}}
''[[The Globe and Mail]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Liam Lacey noted the similarities between the episode and [[Imagine That (film)|''Imagine That'']] (2009) in a review of the film. He said the "message in each case is about the dangerous confusion of love and money. Naturally there's a turning point [...] where the child begins to wonder whether her father really loves her or just her profitable talent."''<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/imagine-that/article1178045/ |title=Imagine That |last=Lacey |first=Liam |date=June 17, 2009 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |access-date=2009-07-24}}</ref>''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_3#Lisa_the_Greek|Lisa the Greek}} {{Portal|The Simpsons}} *{{snpp capsule|8F12}} *{{IMDb episode |id=0768557 |episode=Lisa the Greek}}
{{The Simpsons episodes|3}}
{{Good article}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lisa The Greek}} [[Category:The Simpsons season 3 episodes]] [[Category:1992 American television episodes]] [[Category:Television episodes written by Wallace Wolodarsky]] [[Category:American football mass media]] [[Category:Television episodes written by Jay Kogen]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Rich Moore]]