Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words

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"Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words"
Couch gag
In a reference to the Vesuvius eruption, the family sits on a bench dressed in togas, and is covered in volcanic ash.
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"Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words" is the sixth episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 16, 2008. In the episode, Lisa discovers that she has a talent for solving crossword puzzles, and she enters a crossword tournament. Lisa's feelings are hurt when she discovers that Homer bet against her in the championship match.

The episode was inspired by

Scott Thompson has a cameo as Grady, a character he first voiced in "Three Gays of the Condo". Reagle created all of the crossword puzzles that appear in the episode and as a promotion for the episode, a special Simpsons-related message (dedicated to this episode) that appeared in The New York Times
Sunday crossword on November 16, 2008.

The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, and finished fourth in its timeslot during its initial airing on Fox, with a 3.9

Nielsen rating
.

Plot

Superintendent Chalmers hands her a pamphlet for the Crossword City Tournament. Meanwhile, at Moe's, Edna Krabappel offers to buy a beer for anyone who breaks up with Principal Skinner for her. Homer ends their relationship and decides to take a second job in which he helps break up romantic relationships. Grady, one of his old roommates, calls Homer and asks him to break up Grady's and his boyfriend's relationship because he found a new and "better" man in Duffman
. Homer successfully manages to break up the couple. After making a good deal of money, he dreams that he is pestered by the "ghosts" of the jilted lovers and thus quits the trade.

At the crossword tournament, Homer bets his money from his breakup business on Lisa and wins big. However, upon hearing Lisa saying that she is wary of the final round, he bets on the other finalist,

New York Times
, with his apology to Lisa hidden in the clues and solution. The two of them make up.

Production

The episode was written by Tim Long, and directed by Nancy Kruse. James L. Brooks got the inspiration for the episode from the 2006 documentary Wordplay which chronicles the national crossword puzzle championships, and he thought that Lisa should go to a championship in the episode.[2][3] Will Shortz and Merl Reagle, who both starred in the documentary, appear in the episode.[4] "We felt both Will and Merl were very compelling, off-the-beaten-track personalities [in Wordplay], who would fit into our universe very well", Brooks said.[1]

Shortz was the first guest star the producers of The Simpsons approached.

Scott Thompson has a cameo in the episode as Grady, a character that he first voiced in the season 14 episode "Three Gays of the Condo".[5]

The episode features three musical montages: the sequence of Homer helping couples to break up features "Farewell to You, Baby" by Carl Martin, Homer's gambling on Lisa's puzzle solving is set to "Word Up!" by Cameo and "Fanfare for the Common Man" plays in the background of the montage of words removed from the dictionary.[6]

Promotion

In order to promote this episode, guest stars Reagle and Shortz collaborated with the episodes' writer Tim Long to create a hidden Simpsons-related message (dedicated to this episode) that appeared in

National Public Radio's Sundays Puzzle on November 16, 2008, what they had won.[7]

Reception

On the night it aired, the episode was watched by 8.5 million viewers and had a 3.9

Nielsen rating and a 13 share of the audience, narrowly beating an episode of 60 Minutes featuring Barack Obama in the demographic.[10]

Writers Guild of America Award in the animation category for writing the episode.[11]

The episode received generally positive reviews from critics.

Robert Canning of

throwaway jokes in the episode that he felt worked well, "but the episode as a whole failed to grab me. As stated, there are a number of episodes that already fit this mold, and most of those are far superior."[12]

Daniel Aughey of TV Guide thought the episode provided a "healthy balance" of humor, story and heart. "Exactly what makes a great Simpsons episode!" Aughey would have liked to see Homer's storyline explored as an A story in its own episode rather than cut short as a C story.[13]

Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict thought the puzzle-solving storyline was "a lot of fun", both for its references to the "highly entertaining" documentary Wordplay and the jokes it inspired. He thought the one problem with the final part of the storyline was that it took away from what could have been "one of the best Lisa-centric episodes in a long time. Marrying her bookish sensibilities with cruciverbal skills is an inspired idea. They should have done more with it. At the very least, it would have left more screentime for Will Shortz and Merl Reagle."[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Rizzo, Frank (November 9, 2008). "Puzzler Merl Reagle On 'The Simpsons'". Newsday. Archived from the original on November 23, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Seibel, Nickolas (November 14, 2008). "UA alum gets animated". Arizona Daily Wildcat. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "20 Across: Yellow Animated Family..." Fox Flash. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  4. ^ Shroder, Tom (April 6, 2008). "Editor's Note". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
  5. ^ "Another Simpsons character outed as gay". Queensland Pride. November 2008. Archived from the original on December 27, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  6. ISBN 978-0-00-738815-8
    .
  7. ^ "Sure Bet You'll Know". National Public Radio. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  8. ^ Mitovich, Matt (November 17, 2008). "Ratings: Obama Is a Winner for 60 Minutes". TV Guide. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  9. ^ Hibberd, James (November 17, 2008). "Obama interview sets '60 Minutes' record". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Seidman, Robert (November 17, 2008). "UPDATED-Sunday Ratings: CBS Wins with NFL and Obama, NBC with Romo, Fox with Family Guy". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  11. ^ "2009 Writers Guild Awards Television, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation Nominees Announced". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. December 9, 2008. Archived from the original on December 12, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  12. ^ Canning, Robert (November 17, 2008). "The Simpsons: "Homer And Lisa Exchange Cross Words" Review". IGN. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  13. ^ Aughey, Daniel (November 17, 2008). "The Simpsons Episode Recap: "Homer And Lisa Exchange"". TV Guide. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  14. ^ Asperschlager, Erich (November 17, 2008). "The Simpsons 20.6: "Homer And Lisa Exchange Cross Words"". TV Verdict. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2008.

External links

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