Lisa the Iconoclast

This is a dandy example of one of the better Simpsons episodes. I give it a ten.

Lisa takes the fore in this one, doing some Nancy Drew style detective work looking for clues to the history of Springfield.

A bit of trivia: Donald Sutherland, guest star of this episode, once portrayed a character named Homer Simpson. That Homer Simpson was a frustrated and doomed everyman in the film, The Day of the Locust (1975) based on the 1939 Nathaniel West novel of the same name.

No apparent relation to our cartoon dimwit, though only Matt Groening would know for sure. The Day of the Locust is considered a seminal American novel. According to Wikipedia, Groening says in a 1990 interview he got the name for his Homer from that book/film. But then again, Matt's own father was named "Homer" too.

In the lead up to Springfield's bicentennial celebration, Lisa discovers something disturbing.

This is one of my favourite episodes.

The plot is exceptionally good, with an intriguing backstory for Jebadiah Springfield told in a series of fun reveals from Lisa's historical detective arc.

Lisa is used fantastically well by the writers to drive the plot, along with Homer as the perfect comic foil. I love Donald Sutherland's cameo as the curator.

Most importantly the humour is right up my street, blending great historical satire with the right amount of silliness to make something both clever and very funny. There several memorable and quotable lines.

It's the bicentennial of Springfield and its founder is being praised. But Lisa comes upon evidence that the guy was a pirate and a cad. But delivering the message is hard to do because of an adoring populace. Donald Sutherland makes an appearance as the curator of the local museum.