The Simpsons

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Lisa Marie Simpson, voiced by Yeardley Smith, is the eight year old child of Homer and Marge, and is the sister of Bart and Maggie.

Lisa is an intelligent eight year old girl, who exceeds the standard achievement level of children her age. She is also the moral center of her family. In her upbringing, Lisa lacks parental involvement of Homer and Marge, which leads to hobbies such as a playing saxophone and guitar, riding and caring for horses, and interest in advanced studies. In school Lisa's popularity is affected by those who view her as a geeky overachiever, which leaves her with only a few friends. Lisa Simpson is a smart, witty, independent girl who focuses on her goals and strives to reach her potential, and at age 8 she is already a member of MENSA with an IQ of 159. Lisa's political convictions are generally leftist and rather liberal. She is a vegetarian, and a supporter of the Free Tibet movement.

In The Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was more of a "female Bart" and was equally mischievous. As the series progressed, Lisa began to develop into a more intelligent and more emotional character with "Krusty Gets Busted" being one of the first episodes where her true intelligence is fully shown.

In 2001 Lisa received a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" at the Environmental Media Awards. "Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode from the seventh season, won both an Environmental Media Award for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" and a Genesis Award for "Best Television Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment". Lisa was also listed at number 11 in TV Guide's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time." In Japan, the broadcasters of the series found they were able to turn the apparent viewer dislike of the series around by focusing marketing attention on Lisa. Lisa's well-intended but ill-fated struggles to be a voice of reason and a force of good in her family and city struck a chord with the Japanese.

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Featured Episode

"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is the ninth episode of the second season, airing on December 20, 1990. It is an acclaimed episode which dealt with censorship issues and allowed the writers to have a lot of Itchy & Scratchy cartoons, which many fans had been clamoring for. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and was the first episode directed by Jim Reardon. Alex Rocco makes his first of three appearances as Roger Meyers.

Plot

Maggie hits Homer on the head with a mallet after seeing Itchy do the same to Scratchy. Marge forbids Bart, Lisa, and Maggie from watching cartoons, after she blames The Itchy & Scratchy Show for Maggie's actions. Marge writes a letter to the producers of the show asking them to tone down their violence. In response, Roger Meyers, Jr.—the CEO of Itchy & Scratchy International—writes a letter to Marge, calling her a "screwball". She says that she will show them "what one screwball can do".

The family pickets outside the Itchy & Scratchy studios, forming SNUH, and her protest gains momentum, and more people join the group. Marge appears on Kent Brockman's show, Smartline, suggesting that Itchy & Scratchy be made less violent. Eventually, a new short airs, but Bart, Lisa, and other kids across Springfield reject the cleaned-up show, going outside to do wholesome childlike things.

Meanwhile, Michelangelo's David goes on a coast-to-coast tour of the U.S. and the members of SNUH urge Marge to protest the sculpture, insisting that the sculpture is offensive and unsuitable. However, Marge argues that the sculpture is a masterpiece. Deciding that it is wrong to censor one form of art but not another, she was forced to give up her protest, much to her dismay.

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Featured Picture

• The promotional image for "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind"