My Sister, My Sitter
"My Sister, My Sitter" | ||
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Couch gag The living room is on a ship being tossed by a stormy ocean. The Simpsons, decked out in raingear, run to the couch, but get washed away by a large wave.[1] | | |
Commentary | Matt Groening Josh Weinstein Molly Weinstein Simon Weinstein Yeardley Smith Jim Reardon George Meyer | |
"My Sister, My Sitter" is the seventeenth episode of the
The episode was written by Dan Greaney and directed by Jim Reardon. The script was written to focus on the relationship between Bart and Lisa and the episode has further been used to discuss the difficulties in letting children babysit themselves. The episode received mostly positive reviews.
Plot
Inspired by
Inspired by the success of
Bart's pranks anger Lisa so much that she lunges at him, causing him to fall down the stairs, dislocating his shoulder and leaving a large bump on his head. Bart realizes if Lisa fails to take him to a nearby hospital, her reputation as a babysitter will be ruined. To make his condition worse, Bart locks himself in his room and repeatedly bangs his head against the door, eventually knocking himself unconscious.
Lisa tries to call for an ambulance, but the 9-1-1 operator refuses to assist her due to Bart's earlier prank calls. Lisa considers asking
Frantic, Lisa tries to wheel Bart and Maggie to the hospital. After encountering Chief Wiggum whilst he is on patrol, she loses control of the wheelbarrow, and it rolls down a cliff into a muddy river — in front of aghast onlookers at the Squidport. The crowd assumes Lisa is on drugs, has murdered Bart, and is about to drown the caged Maggie, and accuse her of bad babysitting.
Later, Bart, whose injuries have been treated, apologizes to Lisa for causing the ordeal and ruining her babysitting business. She forgives him, but feels bad for being called the "World's Worst Babysitter". Much to her delight, she receives babysitting requests from Hibbert and Ned, who brush off accusations against Lisa of her supposed attempt on Bart's life because they cannot find any other sitters.
Production and themes
The episode was directed by Jim Reardon and written by Dan Greaney.[1] Like numerous preceding episodes, "My Sister, My Sitter" deals with the relationship between Bart and Lisa. Greaney specializes in writing Bart and Lisa episodes from the perspective of a kid.[2] Elaine E Sutherland, who is a member of the Law Society of Scotland's Family Law Sub-Committee and Professor of Child and Family Law at the Law School, Stirling University, used the episode to describe the potential problems of letting one of your kids babysit the rest. While one child may be mature enough to babysit, it is not certain that the other kids accept the babysitter's authority.[3] According to Alan S. Brown and Chris Logan, the writers of the book The Psychology of the Simpsons: D’oh!, the episode is an example of how feminine anger rarely solves the problem on The Simpsons. “Here, Lisa’s rage and ongoing frustration contribute to her difficulty in making good decisions about what to do with her emotion,” they write.[4] Keeping with the babysitter theme, there are cultural references to The Baby-Sitters Club: Lisa reads book #14 - The Formula Formula, while Janey is on book #20 - The President's Baby Is Missing.[1]
The idea of revamping the waterfront came from cities like
Reception
In its original broadcast, "My Sister, My Sitter" finished 47th in ratings in a tie with
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called it "a clever episode, if a little disjointed — the two stories don't gel as well as normal."[1]
Tim Raynor of DVDTown.com said that the episode "is full of the usual, fun antics that you would expect from Bart or any of the other dumb Simpsons."[10]
DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said that "the segments in which Lisa babysits the various kids in town are a delight" and that the episode "mixes wacky moments with reality as it places Lisa in a logical position. Her conflict with Bart creates realism and also brings out the comedy."[11]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "My Sister, My Sitter". BBC. Archived from the original on April 10, 2004. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
- ^ a b c Weinstein, Josh (2006). Commentary for "My Sister, My Sitter". The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Sutherland, Elaine (August 11, 2011). "Elaine Sutherland: A parent's guide to choosing who looks after baby". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ISBN 1-932100-70-9.
- ^ a b Turner 2004, p. 106.
- ^ Turner 2004, p. 385.
- ^ Gross, Daniel (August 11, 2003). "Arnold's Bad Business". Slate. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ^ Groening, Matt (2006). Commentary for "My Sister, My Sitter". The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "Prime-time ratings". The Orange County Register. March 5, 1997. p. F02.
- ^ Raynor, Tim (August 21, 2006). "Simpsons, The: The Complete 8th Season (DVD)". DVDTown.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
- ^ Jacobson, Colin (January 5, 2006). "The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season (1995)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
- Bibliography
- OCLC 55682258.