FEATURE:
A Great Escape
IMAGE CREDIT: FOX
I will pop out a feature that doesn’t necessarily relate to music. Rather than this being a look at what is happening in the music world, I wanted to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of my favourite episode of The Simpsons, Lisa the Vegetarian, which was originally broadcast in the U.S. on 15th October, 1995. It is the fifth episode in the seventh season of The Simpsons. In the episode, Lisa decides to stop eating meat after bonding with a lamb at a petting zoo. Her schoolmates and family members ridicule her for her beliefs, but with the help of Apu as well as Paul and Linda McCartney, she commits to vegetarianism. Directed by Mark Kirkland, Lisa the Vegetarian is the first full-length episode David S./X. Cohen wrote for The Simpsons. David Mirkin, the showrunner at the time, supported the episode in part because he had just become a vegetarian himself. Former Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Linda guest star in the episode; their condition for appearing was that Lisa would remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series. I have grabbed a little bit from Wikipedia and, actually, the fact that Paul and Linda McCartney is in the episode makes it musical in my book! In its original broadcast, Lisa the Vegetarian was watched by 14.6 million viewers. Many can debate which is the best episode of The Simpsons and, if you look at features like this, and this, and this, then there is a bit of a different-looking top-twenty.
I love the first episode, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, of 1989 where the down-on-their luck family adopt a dog, Santa’s Little Helper, after he was tossed out of the racing track for being too slow. By Season Seven, there was no show sharper and stronger than The Simpsons. Look at the episode before Lisa the Vegetation, Bart Sells His Soul, and the one after, Treehouse of Horror VI, and it is not only incredibly funny writing, but there is emotion and heft! Bart Sells His Soul, obviously, looks at the soul, religion and the self, and Lisa the Vegetarian puts vegetarianism and animal rights under the microscope. If you have not got Disney+ then you can subscribe and get access to all the classic episodes of The Simpsons. Maybe I am getting a bit nostalgic but, as some of its very best episodes are celebrating big anniversaries, I wanted to mark a quarter-century of my favourite episodes – one that, happily, also includes my favourite-ever songwriter! I have written a Simpsons feature to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary last year, and I have also discussed the importance of music in the show. I think the cultural importance of The Simpsons is undeniable, and its golden runs of episodes between the first and tenth seasons ranks alongside the finest comedy ever. Lisa the Vegetarian holds a special place in my heart, as it has that perfect balance of comedy and heart. There are hilarious scenes where Lisa is wrestling with her new-found vegetarianism, and Homer and the family do not understand. Rather than cave in, she is given some great guidance by Apu, Linda and Paul McCartney and, whilst Homer searches for Lisa after the two clash heads, there is a sweet moment where they bond at the end.
Although Lisa the Vegetarian does not boast of the classic musical numbers – apart from the little bit of You Don’t Win Friends with Salad -, the humour is exquisite! It is no surprise that others rank the episode so high. Digital Spy ranked Lisa the Vegetarian at number-fourteen in 2017:
“After bonding with a lamb at a petting zoo, Lisa decides to become a vegetarian, much to the horror of her meat-loving dad. What follows is a battle of words between the two Simpsons, which peaks when she ruins his BBQ by sending his prize pig airborne. But thanks to Paul and Linda McCartney (who only agreed to appear if Lisa would remain a vegetarian forever), she learns to accept other people's beliefs and reconciles with Homer via a "veggie back" ride home.
Best moment:
The Simpson family: "You don't win friends with salad! You don't win friends with salad! You don't win friends with salad!"
In 2016, Den of Geek put Lisa the Vegetarian at number-twenty-eight in their feature - and they had some very positive and passionate words to say:
“An incredibly funny episode here, but also one with a well-delivered message. Lisa’s burgeoning vegetarianism is played for laughs throughout, but at the episode’s climax the message of tolerance and understanding rings clear. There are so many choice bits in this episode it’s hard to know where to begin. To this day, I can’t hear the word salad without humming “you don’t win friends with salad” in my head. Then there’s Troy McClure’s unforgettable Meat Council video, perhaps the very finest of all his segments, remember, “If a cow ever got the chance, he’d eat you and everyone you care about.”
Then there’s also Homer’s confusion over what animal his various meats all come from “the same ‘magical’ animal”, as well as his determined chase to rescue his suckling pig after Lisa shoves it away. The jokes come thick and fast and the conflict between Homer and Lisa works perfectly. The closing sequence in which father and daughter reconcile is sweet and also cuttingly funny as Lisa says to her dad, “I still stand by my beliefs. But I can’t defend what I did. I’m sorry I messed up your barbeque.” To which Homer memorably replies, “I understand honey. I used to believe in things when I was a kid”.
I think, at an increasingly hard and frustrating time, a lot of people are revisiting classic comedy and some of the shows they grew up around. I first saw The Simpsons in the early-1990s, and it was a huge part of my life for many years. I have a long list of episodes that I hold in high esteem, but none climb quite as high as Lisa the Vegetarian. As it is twenty-five today (in the U.S.), I wanted to salute one of the funniest episodes of television, and, to me, a huge highlight of the long-running animation show! The Simpsons has played an important role in my life and, right now, I am watching back at many of the classic episodes, in addition to the new ones coming out. It is hard to imagine that episodes like Lisa the Vegetarian are twenty-five but it is! I am going to lift a glass of wine and cook a special Linda McCartney dinner to celebrate my favourite episode…
OF The Simpsons.