Moe'N'a Lisa
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"Moe'N'a Lisa" is the sixth episode of the eighteenth season of The Simpsons, which originally aired on November 19, 2006. It was written by Matt Warburton and directed by Mark Kirkland.
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The episode starts off with Homer waking up with a remember string. He also has "DON'T FORGET" written in mirror writing on his chest, and there are various other "DON'T FORGET" messages, including Maggie's cereal, which spelled out "DON'T FORGE" until she coughs up the "T." Trying to remember what it is he's supposed to remember, he ends up going to the Senior Olympics with his family; it is revealed that Homer has forgotten he had promised Moe he would take him fishing for his birthday. Grampa reminisces about his encounter with Adolf Hitler at the 1936 Olympics (at which he accidentally saved Hitler's life), and he manages to win a medal while running from Groundskeeper Willy, whom he mistakes for the Grim Reaper. Lisa complains she can't find anyone interesting enough on whom to write a report.
The Simpson family returns home at night to find Moe waiting for them outside their door. Sneaking into their own house, they receive a message from Moe saying that Homer had betrayed him. Impressed by the emotional depth of the letter, Lisa decides to do her report on Moe. At Moe's hotel room (where he lives) Lisa discovers Moe has been writing his random thoughts on post-it notes. She arranges them and gives them a title of her own invention, and sends it to a poetry journal where it becomes a smash hit, and he is acclaimed as a Charles Bukowski-like poet.
Moe is invited to the "Wordloaf", a writer's convention in Vermont, by Tom Wolfe (who voices himself). While driving there, Homer avoids drinking and driving by driving only between sips of beer. Moe and the Simpsons finally arrive at the convention while being pursued by the police of every state in New England. At the convention, Moe mingles among noted authors Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal, Michael Chabon and Jonathan Franzen. After Gore Vidal is ejected from the gathering when he reveals he took the titles of his various books from things he saw, as opposed to creating the title himself "as any true author does", Moe takes credit for the poem's name saying it was a solo effort. Meanwhile, Moe realizes he cannot arrange his fragments into poems without Lisa. Ultimately, he delivers a poem at the convention revealing Lisa's contribution.
According to an article written while the episode was being recorded, Tom Wolfe, Michael Chabon and Jonathan Franzen were all supposed to be killed by a giant boulder. This ending was cut from the episode because none of the three are dead. As well, several lines were cut from the Chabon/Franzen fight, such as Franzen shouting "Ah, my trademark glasses!"[1]
- The title of the episode is a pun on the Mona Lisa as well as a take on the title of the season one episode "Moaning Lisa".
- The fast-talking publisher who approves of Moe's poetry is a caricature of the Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson from Spider-Man. J. K. Simmons, who plays Jameson in the Spider-Man films, voices the character. At the end of the episode, he demands photos (then poems) about Spider-Man. The rhyme scheme he mentions is Petrarchan, an Italian sonnet style dating back to the 13th century.
- Thomas Pynchon can be seen at the Wordloaf, wearing a paper bag over his head as he did in his two previous appearances on The Simpsons. John Updike is also present, sitting next to Pynchon. This episode originally aired two days before the release of Against the Day, Pynchon's first work published in nine years.
- Wordloaf is a parody of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.
- When Moe is shooting at the geese, a building closely resembling Middlebury College's McCardell Bicentennial Hall is visible in the background. (Middlebury is the host of the Bread Loaf conference.)
- Homer and Bart visit the Vermont Teddy Bear Company where they have made bears that looked like Lisa and Moe.
- The scene where the Crazy Old Man jumps off the high-dive board spoofs the intro to The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
- At the Wordloaf building, there is a picture of Snoopy writing a novel on top of his doghouse, which is a common theme in Peanuts.
- The Song "Let's get it started" by The Black Eyed Peas is used in this episode.