An alien drinks beer on the couch and escapes through a trap door before the family can sit down (TV version); The family dances along with elephants and various circus performers (DVD version).

DVD
commentary

Matt Groening
Al Jean
Frank Mula
Wes Archer
David Silverman

Season 4
September 24, 1992 – May 13, 1993

"Kamp Krusty"
"A Streetcar Named Marge"
"Homer the Heretic"
"Lisa the Beauty Queen"
"Treehouse of Horror III"
"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie"
"Marge Gets a Job"
"New Kid on the Block"
"Mr. Plow"
"Lisa's First Word"
"Homer's Triple Bypass"
"Marge vs. the Monorail"
"Selma's Choice"
"Brother from the Same Planet"
"I Love Lisa"
"Duffless"
"Last Exit to Springfield"
"So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show"
"The Front"
"Whacking Day"
"Marge in Chains"
"Krusty Gets Kancelled"

List of all The Simpsons episodes

Seasons
1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20

"I Love Lisa" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of The Simpsons, in which the dim-witted and socially-awkward Ralph Wiggum plays a prominent role.

1 Plot
2 Production
3 Cultural references
4 Reception
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Plot

On Valentine's Day in Springfield, Lisa's class begins constructing paper mailboxes for all the cards they are about to receive. When Ralph gets no cards and begins to cry, Lisa hastily gives him a card out of sympathy (the card reads "I choo-choo-choose you" and has a picture of a train, much to Ralph's delight). Ralph immediately cheers up, and develops a romantic interest in his classmate.

Ralph begins to annoy Lisa at every turn, following her home and discussing his medical maladies. Lisa tries to escape the situation, but Ralph uses his position as the police chief's son to get her tickets to Krusty's upcoming 29th Anniversary Special, as well as a leading part for himself in a President's Day Pageant in which Lisa also stars. In a dramatic upset, Ralph had received the role of George Washington in a segment about that president's life, beating out an obviously more talented classmate (who complains to no avail). Conveniently, Lisa as Martha Washington will be Ralph's "wife" (mainly because Chief Wiggum blackmailed Ms. Hoover into giving them those roles for the pageant by placing a boot on her car).

With Homer having convinced Lisa that nothing can go wrong at Krusty's show, Lisa and Ralph go together. On live air, Krusty begins interviewing audience members, and Ralph takes the opportunity to declare that Lisa is the love of his life and that he intends to marry her. Lisa finally loses her temper and angrily tells Ralph they are not boyfriend and girlfriend, that she never liked him, and that the only reason she gave him a valentine was because she felt sorry for him.

Ralph is humiliated and hurt, and Lisa soon regrets her actions, particularly after Bart replays the incident on videotape, pinpointing the exact moment where Ralph's heart breaks. Ralph bemoans his situation to his father, but the only way Chief Wiggum can respond is to break out Homer's tail light during a traffic stop, only to realize he could get in serious trouble after Homer points it out.

On the night of the play, Lisa tries to apologize to Ralph, but all he tries to do is focus on his role. Surprisingly, perhaps under the influence of the incident with Lisa, Ralph proves to be a very good actor, inspiring the school bullies to study American history. He even moves Groundskeeper Willie to tears beginning to cry. The play ends with an animatronic Mount Rushmore singing "From sea to shining sea" and tells the audience "Don't forget to try our orange drink."

Afterward, Ralph signs autographs and greets well-wishers. Lisa also approaches, and gives him a new card, reading "Let's bee [be] friends." Ralph accepts the offer. Chief Wiggum watches his son and Lisa sitting together on the swings over the music of the "Monster Mash" on the radio.

[edit] Production

One-time Simpsons writer Michael Carrington (who co-wrote the episode Homer's Triple Bypass) guest stars as Krusty's sideshow sidekick from the 1970s Sideshow Raheem.
Al Jean, (show runner for this episode), really did receive a Valentine from a girl in third grade that read "I Choo-choo-choose you." Subsequently, his wife had it inscribed on his wedding band.
In Principal Skinner's flashback, he is sitting in a PBR somewhere in Da Nang. On an oil drum next to him are a manila envelope and a photograph of Colonel Kurtz, in obvious reference to Apocalypse Now. According to DVD commentary, an actual Vietnam veteran called the writers and complained about the sequence where Skinner remembers his best friend being shot in Vietnam while sending a Valentine to his girlfriend.

[edit] Cultural references

The scene of Chief Wiggum sitting behind Krusty the Clown at an adult movie theater and Krusty thinking he is about to be arrested is a reference to Paul Reubens' arrest for masturbating at a Sarasota, Florida, pornographic movie theater.
Krusty sings The Doors song "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" during his look-back to the 1970s, and he also mimics the stage antics that Jim Morrison was known for, as well as his obesity.
The episode title is a reference to the classic situation comedy I Love Lucy.
Tying into a reference to The Terminator, Bart and Milhouse act out a scene depicting John Wilkes Booth's shooting of Abraham Lincoln, with Milhouse playing the part of the 16th president and Bart playing an Arnold Schwarzenegger-inspired Booth. Bart botches the scene when he says the line, "Hasta la vista, Abie!" a reference to the Terminator's oft-quoted remark.
Backstage, Ralph sits in a wheelchair with a cigarette holder, wearing a pair of glasses and smiles, mimicking Franklin D. Roosevelt. Bart's remark, "I am not a butt!" is a play on Richard Nixon's 1973 speech in which he declared, "I am not a crook!"
Bart paints crude statements on candy hearts, parodying the love-type messages seen on the Valentine's day Sweethearts.
In a clip, Krusty dumps snow on Robert Frost while reading "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." When Frost objects, "we discussed this, and I said no!" he is still speaking in the same meter as the poem.