History Recap / TheSimpsonsS1E6MoaningLisa

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: This episode helped set [[DivergentCharacterEvolution Lisa apart from being a female Bart]] as a more introspective, soulful and creative type. But later episodes she became more of an overachiever obsessed with school grades and social causes, with her apparent issues with depression shown in this episode rarely, if ever, shown again.

* CharacterizationClickMoment: Lisa for the large part in the early shorts and episodes was just a slightly more savvy version of [[BrattyHalfPint Bart]]. This episode established a more precocious, self-aware, and melancholy side to her (as well as her passion for jazz music), that would slowly transform into the insecure TVGenius characterisation she had in seasons after.

* FictionalVideoGame: ''Super Slugfest'', a boxing game that Homer becomes obsessed with beating Bart at; it has arcade and console versions (the latter with single button UsefulNotes/Atari2600-style controllers). At the Noiseland Video Arcade, there are six unnamed arcade cabinets in a lobby area; a red cabinet and green cabinet visible on the wall across the entrance doors; a blue arcade cabinet on the right wall; an unseen cabinet at the lower right corner of the arcade; an aquamarine cabinet at the right of the entrance; a blue cabinet, red cabinet, and yellow cabinet at the left of the entrance; pink, green, and orange cabinets on the left wall, leading up to the change booth; an area to the right of the change booth with a blue, pink, and yellow-orange cabinet; on the wall opposite the change booth, an orange cabinet, a pink-orange cabinet, and a yellow-orange ''Eat My Shorts''; a semi-circle area with a green arcade cabinet, ending in -"H the" and -"rels", an aquamarine cabinet, a pink cabinet starting with "Capt." and ending in "-sy", possibly "Noisy", a blue ''Pac Rat'', a green ''Itchy Vs Scratchy'', a red cabinet, a blue cabinet through an area past an archway, and to the right of the archway, yellow ''Freeway!'', pink ''Escape from Grandma's House II'', an orange cabinet, and ''Time Wasters'', with a blue and yellow decal, played by Sherri and Terri Mackleberry, which is the unseen game to the right of the change booth, but is on the wrong wall; in an area further to the right of the change booth, "in the corner", a sequence of a blue ''Pac Rat'', red ''Nuclear Winter'', green ''Robert Goulet Destroyer'', blue ''Escape from Grandma's House'', yellow ''Eat My Shorts'', pink Itchy Vs Scratchy, blue Pac Rat, and orange ''Time Waster'' (in other shots, the sequence is preserved, but both ''Pac Rat'' games change to ''Pac Rat II''), and the arcade version of regular ''Slugfest''.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Both Homer and Marge are shown to be incredibly neglectful in this episode. Homer cares more about a video game and the fact that the bowling alley is closing down than his daughter’s depression. While Marge tells Lisa to [[StepfordSmiler suppress her sadness and smile]] because it makes her look better. At least, Marge learned the error of her ways.
** Though it also falls under CompletelyMissingThePoint because while Marge tells Lisa not to suppress her feelings, she states that she will do it for both of them.

** Issues with depression have no easy answers, nor do they have an obvious cause that can be addressed directly. Lisa sings about her annoyance with her Homer and Bart, but even she admits she doesn't really know why she's sad.

* HardTruthAesop: Marge tells Lisa to shove down her sad feelings and [[StepfordSmiler fit in by always smiling no matter what]] because that's what her mother taught her even though it made her miserable, but she changes her tune once she sees Lisa smiling through the regular pains of her day within a few seconds of getting to school: bullying from other kids and derision from teachers who won't let her express herself in her music. Marge then tells her to just feel however she wants and her family will be there for her regardless, with the lesson ending up "Learn the difference between parenting and parroting, because parents can be wrong in ways that will destroy their children emotionally."

* NightmareSequence: Homer dreams about engaging in an actual boxing match with Bart. Bart mercilessly beats him and gives him a ReasonYouSuckSpeech as he does it; with Homer [[CatapultNightmare waking up screaming]] just as Bart finishes him off with a huge windmill punch.

-->'''Bart''': AND ''PATHETIC!'' (''winds up for his finishing punch'')

* NightmareSequence: Homer dreams about engaging in an actual boxing match with Bart. Bart mercilessly beats him.

* SpecialGuest: Creator/RonTaylor as "Bleeding Gums" Murphy

* ItsAllAboutMe: Both Homer and Marge are shown to be incredibly neglectful in this episode. Homer cares more about a video game and the fact that the bowling ally is closing down than his daughter’s depression. While Marge tells Lisa to [[StepfordSmiler suppress her sadness and smile]] because it makes her look better. At least, Marge learned the error of her ways.

* * EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: Ralph Wiggum first appears in this episode, but he's just a regular kid instead of TheDitz he would become.[[note]]WordOfGod says that Ralph was originally going to be a tough, boorish kid and he would basically be a miniature version of Homer.[[/note]]

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Ralph Wiggum first appears in this episode, but he's just a regular kid instead of TheDitz he would become.[[note]]WordOfGod says that Ralph was originally going to be a tough, boorish kid and he would basically be a miniature version of Homer.[[/note]]

* MisplacedRetribution: Lisa is in such a depressed state that the school takes notice and sends a note home to her parents, and even then out of worry rather than her being in trouble. Homer's so used to Bart being in trouble with the school instead that, in response, he punishes his son anyway by making him vacuum the entire house, despite Bart not doing anything wrong. Bart understandably is less than pleased with this and also makes sure to vacuum up a deck of Homer's playing cards in retaliation.

* SpecialGuest: RonTaylor as "Bleeding Gums" Murphy

* ShoutOut:
** Video games: [[VideoGame/PunchOut Mike Tyson's Punch Out]] takes center stage, as "Super Slugfest" is patterned directly off the legendary game. Other games in the arcade are "Eat My Shorts" (an early ''Simpsons'' Shout Out), Itchy & Scratchy and "Pac Rat" (a parody of VideoGame/PacMan).

* FictionalVideoGame: ''Super Slugfest'', a boxing game that Homer becomes obsessed with beating Bart at; it has arcade and console versions (the latter with single button Atari2600-style controllers). At the Noiseland Video Arcade, there are six unnamed arcade cabinets in a lobby area; a red cabinet and green cabinet visible on the wall across the entrance doors; a blue arcade cabinet on the right wall; an unseen cabinet at the lower right corner of the arcade; an aquamarine cabinet at the right of the entrance; a blue cabinet, red cabinet, and yellow cabinet at the left of the entrance; pink, green, and orange cabinets on the left wall, leading up to the change booth; an area to the right of the change booth with a blue, pink, and yellow-orange cabinet; on the wall opposite the change booth, an orange cabinet, a pink-orange cabinet, and a yellow-orange ''Eat My Shorts''; a semi-circle area with a green arcade cabinet, ending in -"H the" and -"rels", an aquamarine cabinet, a pink cabinet starting with "Capt." and ending in "-sy", possibly "Noisy", a blue ''Pac Rat'', a green ''Itchy Vs Scratchy'', a red cabinet, a blue cabinet through an area past an archway, and to the right of the archway, yellow ''Freeway!'', pink ''Escape from Grandma's House II'', an orange cabinet, and ''Time Wasters'', with a blue and yellow decal, played by Sherri and Terri Mackleberry, which is the unseen game to the right of the change booth, but is on the wrong wall; in an area further to the right of the change booth, "in the corner", a sequence of a blue ''Pac Rat'', red ''Nuclear Winter'', green ''Robert Goulet Destroyer'', blue ''Escape from Grandma's House'', yellow ''Eat My Shorts'', pink Itchy Vs Scratchy, blue Pac Rat, and orange ''Time Waster'' (in other shots, the sequence is preserved, but both ''Pac Rat'' games change to ''Pac Rat II''), and the arcade version of regular ''Slugfest''.

''And this morning my own mother gave my last cupcake away.''\\

-->'''Bart''': Hey.
-->'''Lisa''': I don't want your pity.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Both Homer and Marge are shown to be incredibly neglectful in this episode. Homer cares more about a video game and the fact that the bowling ally is closing down than his daughter’s depression. While Marge tells Lisa to [[StepfordSmiler suppress her sadness and smile]] because it makes her look better. At least Marge learned the error of her ways.
** Though it also falls under CompletelyMissingThePoint because while Marge tells Lisa not to suppress her feelings she states that she will do it for both of them.
* MisplacedRetribution: Lisa is in such a depressed state that the school takes notice and sends a note home to her parents, and even then out of worry rather than her being in trouble. Homer's so used to Bart being in trouble with the school instead that in response he punishes his son anyway by making him vacuum the entire house, despite Bart not doing anything wrong. Bart understandably is less than pleased with this and also makes sure to vacuum up a deck of Homer's playing cards in retaliation.