The Secret War of Lisa Simpson
"The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" is the twenty-fifth episode and the season finale of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 18, 1997. Bart gets sent to a military academy as punishment for bad behavior. While visiting the academy, Lisa sees that the school is far more challenging than hers and she decides that she wants to attend as well. It was directed by Mike B. Anderson, written by Richard Appel and featured Willem Dafoe in a guest spot as the school's commandant.[1]
"The Secret War of Lisa Simpson"
Season 8
Episode 25
4F21
May 18, 1997
The living room is shown upside down. The Simpsons sit down, but fall to the floor (the true ceiling).[1]
Plot[edit]
After a day watching mind-numbing videos in class, Lisa worries that her education is not challenging enough. Bart's class goes on a field trip to the Springfield Police Department, where Bart finds a room with several megaphones. By placing them all end-to-end and speaking into one, he amplifies his voice enough to create a sonic shock wave that shatters all the glass in Springfield. Chief Wiggum suggests sending Bart to military school to correct his behavior. Under the ruse they are going to Disneyland, Homer and Marge drive the kids to Rommelwood Military School; while visiting a poetry class, Lisa decides to enroll as well in order to experience the challenge she seeks. Homer and Marge reluctantly agree to her plan and depart, ignoring Bart's pleas to let him come home.
As the school's first female cadet, Lisa is assigned a barracks to herself, angering the corps of cadets. After she and Bart endure hazing, Bart is eventually accepted by the other cadets and distances himself from his sister. Lonely, Lisa considers going home, but decides to see it through. As the school year comes to a close, the Commandant reveals the final test for the students: the "Eliminator", a hand-over-hand crawl across a rope suspended high above thorn bushes. Lisa fears she will not be able to complete the task, but Bart helps her train in secret.
On the day of the test, Lisa is the last to cross the Eliminator. She loses her grip on the rope and is in danger of falling as the cadets jeer her, but Bart cheers her on and she successfully completes the task. The other cadets vow to make the rest of the semester unbearable for Bart, but realize that their graduation ceremony is only three hours away. The Commandant awards Lisa a medal engraved "For Satisfactory Completion of the Second Grade". Homer and Marge drive Lisa and Bart to the dentist's office, once again under the false pretense of going to Disneyland.
Merchandise[edit]
The episode was one of four in 1999 released on a VHS (Re-released on DVD in 2005) called Bart Wars focused on crosses between The Simpsons and Star Wars. However, one critic wrote that with this episode and "Marge Be Not Proud" and "Dog of Death," both of which are also on the DVD, the "Star Wars connection" is "tangential at best."[8]