Lisa the Greek

Plot

Lisa complains to Marge that Homer never gets involved with her interests. Marge suggests that Lisa take an interest in something her father does, so she decides to join Homer on the couch while he is watching football on television. After being ripped off by premium rate betting advice hotlines, a desperate Homer turns to Lisa to pick a winner. She picks the Miami Dolphins, prompting Homer to call Moe's Tavern to place his $50 bet. In the end, the Dolphins win, and Homer and Lisa celebrate. Meanwhile, Marge takes Bart shopping for new clothes that the bullies taunt him for.

Lisa becomes adept at choosing winners of football games, and Homer declares every Sunday during football season Daddy-Daughter Day. Lisa remains perfect in her picks for eight weeks, earning her father more and more money as the Super Bowl approaches. With his new money, Homer starts buying expensive presents for the family and treating them to fine dining. When Lisa asks Homer if they can go hiking the Sunday following the Super Bowl, he tells her that Daddy-Daughter Days are over until next football season. Lisa realizes that all Homer wanted was to exploit her prognostic abilities to help him gamble. Completely heartbroken, Lisa gives away all the toys Homer bought for her.

Homer realizes he needs to make amends with Lisa, but she is too hurt to even talk with him. Homer briefly cheers her up, but shows that he still only wants to win a bet. She agrees to tell Homer who she thinks the winner will be, but she fears that she may be so distraught that she subconsciously wants Homer to lose his bet, leading her to a cryptic prediction: if she still loves Homer, Washington will win; if she does not, Buffalo. As a nervous Homer watches the game at Moe's Tavern, Washington scores at the last second to win the game. Homer becomes happy and Bart tells Lisa that she still loves Homer, in which she agrees. Homer cancels his bowling date with Barney and—on the Sunday after the Super Bowl—makes good on his promise to go hiking with Lisa.

Production

The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Rich Moore. According to show runner Al Jean, it was designed to satirize the staff members' "love affair with gambling, particularly on football." Kogen, Wolodarsky, Jean, George Meyer, Sam Simon, and James L. Brooks were all frequent gamblers. Many of the staff members were also football fans, particularly Kogen and Wolodarsky. 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.

Kogen commented that Lisa and Marge episodes "tend to be the better episodes", because they are more thought-out and have more emotional depth to them. 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. 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." 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." In one scene, Homer makes Lisa sit on the end of the sofa so that 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.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "Lisa the Greek" finished 27th in the ratings for the week of January 18–24, 1992, with a Nielsen rating of 14.2, equivalent to approximately 13 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. Lisa's voice actor, Yeardley Smith, received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992 for her performance in the episode. "Lisa the Greek" is one of The Simpsons cast member Dan Castellaneta's favorite episodes along with "Lisa's Substitute" from season two.

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. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote that "it's nice to see [Homer] and Lisa getting along so well for once." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 5/5 rating 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." 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.

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." 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." The San Jose Mercury News's Daniel Brown said NFL gambling "seems to be a crew-wide addiction, which is why 'Lisa the Greek' is filled with sophisticated gags about point spreads and bookies." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named it seventh best episode of the show with a sports theme.