[7.5/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Pretty good! This episode would start a miniature trend of putting Lisa into the guise of old musical characters, and it works well. Making her the star of an Evita-esque power struggle within Springfield Elementary pays good dividends.
Granted, it’s not much, but the time-worn story of an idealist being corrupted by the system, only to strike back when she realizes what her compalcy has led to, works as a spine for “The President Wore Pearls.” It’s not especially deep, but there’s some good cause and effect throughout the episode, with even the initial budget-based casino night debacle in the opening having relevance as things proceed. Likewise, the songs aren’t up there with The Simpsons’ best, but they’re cute and have a few good lines, which is all I ask for from latter-day Simpsons.
The humor’s even pretty solid here! There’s only one truly awful gag (about the Romani), and everything else is a chuckle at worst and a good laugh at best. The dynamic among the various teachers, especially Chalmers, Skinner, and Willie is a winner here. And the spoofing of school elections and government administration goes well too.
The only weird part is Homer. In an episode with no real B-plot, the closest thing is the continuing bouts of Homer’s lunacy, from going too far in implying Nelson is gay, to imagining what it’d be like to be married to a businessman. They’re all basically manatee gags, but by god, the sheer silliness of them won me over eventually.
Overall, this is a minor gem in the midst of a rougher patch for the show (despite the lack of a real ending), and you can see why the show would return to this concept in the future.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-12-30T18:27:39Z
[7.5/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Pretty good! This episode would start a miniature trend of putting Lisa into the guise of old musical characters, and it works well. Making her the star of an Evita-esque power struggle within Springfield Elementary pays good dividends.
Granted, it’s not much, but the time-worn story of an idealist being corrupted by the system, only to strike back when she realizes what her compalcy has led to, works as a spine for “The President Wore Pearls.” It’s not especially deep, but there’s some good cause and effect throughout the episode, with even the initial budget-based casino night debacle in the opening having relevance as things proceed. Likewise, the songs aren’t up there with The Simpsons’ best, but they’re cute and have a few good lines, which is all I ask for from latter-day Simpsons.
The humor’s even pretty solid here! There’s only one truly awful gag (about the Romani), and everything else is a chuckle at worst and a good laugh at best. The dynamic among the various teachers, especially Chalmers, Skinner, and Willie is a winner here. And the spoofing of school elections and government administration goes well too.
The only weird part is Homer. In an episode with no real B-plot, the closest thing is the continuing bouts of Homer’s lunacy, from going too far in implying Nelson is gay, to imagining what it’d be like to be married to a businessman. They’re all basically manatee gags, but by god, the sheer silliness of them won me over eventually.
Overall, this is a minor gem in the midst of a rougher patch for the show (despite the lack of a real ending), and you can see why the show would return to this concept in the future.