Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS7E25SummerOf4Ft2

Go To

1[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/summer_of_4_ft_2_promo.jpg]]
2
3'''Original air date:''' 5/19/1996
4
5'''Production code:''' 3F22
6
7On the last day of school, no one bothers to sign Lisa's yearbook, making her feel depressed about her lack of true friends and, during a trip to Flanders' beach house, Lisa decides to ditch her nerdy persona and be one of the cool kids, which makes her popular with some local teenagers (one of which is voiced by guest star Creator/ChristinaRicci). Meanwhile, Homer goes to the beachside Kwik-E-Mart to buy some illegal fireworks.
8----
9!!Tropes featured:
10* AbandonedCatchphrase: {{Lampshaded}} by Marge when Bart objects to Lisa's use of "Don't have a cow, man."
11-->'''Marge:''' Oh, you haven't said that in four years. Let Lisa have it!
12* AngryCollarGrab: Lisa does this to Bart when confronting him over revealing her true geeky nature to her new friends out of jealousy.
13* AttentionWhore: Bart can't handle a situation in which Lisa is liked and he isn't. In fact, he's disliked precisely because her new friends can tell that he's this.
14* BewareTheNiceOnes: Lisa may have been restrained, but she gets absolutely ''vicious'' with Bart the day after he showed her new friends her yearbook. When he smugly "apologises" in a backhanded way the next morning, she yanks him by his shirt, hisses at him over what he'd done, and was prepared to do something horrible to him with a bottle of honey before Marge comes back into the room.
15* BeYourself:
16** Marge's motherly advice to Lisa about her lack of friends. Lisa, who figures being herself is the ''reason'' she has no friends, tries the opposite, and makes herself into some beatnik. However, her intellectual nature still shines through, but her beach friends actually appreciate Lisa's lessons on nature and [[TooDumbToLive why you can't drink seawater]].
17** Bart snidely tries to mock Lisa with this trope the morning after he outs her. [[RageBreakingPoint It backfires on him to the point where he almost gets honey squirted in his eyes.]]
18* BehindTheBlack: Bart and Lisa have a conversation, and then snarled threats, with Milhouse out of shot the entire time, only showing up when Marge re-enters the room.
19* BigBrotherBully: Bart to possibly [[KickTheDog his nastiest degree]]. Rather than be happy that Lisa is making friends, he is upset they treat him like a nerd and that Lisa is co-opting his catchphrases, and tries to sabotage Lisa's relationship.
20* BlindWithoutEm: Bart takes Milhouse's glasses to use as makeshift binoculars, after which Milhouse mistakes a horseshoe crab for a dog.
21* BorrowedCatchphrase: Lisa infuriates Bart by using all his phrases and lingo to impress her friends.
22* {{Bowdlerise}}: The entire sequence of Homer going to the beachside Kwik-E-Mart to score fireworks and [[CoverUpPurchase covering his tracks by ordering]] a bunch of risque personal hygiene and sexual items[[note]]big box of condoms, porno mag, two enemas, some panty shields, and a bottle of Old Harper[[/note]] was cut in the UK and Australia, but the scene in which Marge picks through the bag and says, "Ew, Homer, I don't know what you have planned tonight, but count me out" was ''not'' edited. In the Italian dub the scene is kept in, but the box of condoms is replaced with one of glycerin suppositories[[note]][[DubInducedPlotHole the box still says "condoms" on it, however]][[/note]].
23* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Homer tries to buy illegal fireworks from a Kwik-E-Mart and they're the least suspicious item on the list, despite being the only illegal one, parodying a similar scene in ''Film/AmericanGraffiti''.
24-->'''Homer:''' Yeah, um, give me one of those porno magazines, a large box of condoms, a bottle of Old Harper, a box of panty shields, some illegal fireworks, and one of those disposable enemas. Eh, make it two.
25* BrickJoke:
26** At the beginning of the episode, Lisa gets annoyed at herself for wanting to bring a microscope to the beach. [[FreezeFrameBonus At the end of the episode, Ben writes "next year, bring your microscope" in her yearbook.]]
27** Homer shoves his illegal firework into the dishwasher, causing it to start oozing a black sludge. A few scenes later, Marge can be seen furiously scrubbing at the dishes, trying to get it off. Later on, the family eats off the broken plates anyway.
28* CaptainObvious: When the Simpsons arrive at Ned's beach house they find that he's labeled ''everything'' for their convenience, down to a "Put food in me" sign on the fridge. [[NotSoAboveItAll Even Marge thinks it's a little much]]:
29-->'''Marge:''' ''(seeing that each individual section of an ice cube tray has a note that says "Fill me")'' Well, ''duh!'' With ''what,'' Ned?! ''([[TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat she lifts one of the notes to find a note reading "With water" underneath]])''
30* ChaosWhileTheyreNotLooking: Lisa becomes furious at Bart for revealing her true geeky nature to her new beach friends. In one scene, when Marge leaves the room, Lisa grabs Bart by his collar and prepares to pour honey into his eyes, only to put everything back the second she reenters.
31* ChekhovsBoomerang: Bart shows the yearbook to Lisa's friends twice: once to show them that she is a nerd (which apparently makes them abandon her) and once off-screen later on so they can sign it.
32* ChekhovsGun: Lisa's copy of the Springfield Elementary yearbook, "Retrospecticus", is brought out by Bart when he needs to provide proof of Lisa's hard-core nerdiness to her new friends.
33* TheChewToy: Milhouse, and he really does nothing to deserve any of it.
34* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
35** Milhouse flips out when the school bell rings, and rushes off. Mrs. Krabappel thanks the rest of the class for remembering that Summer break starts at the ''end'' of school.
36** As Lisa complains about how friendless she is, she points out that even Gore Vidal's kissed more boys than she has. Marge, not getting her point, states that "boys kiss girls".
37* ComicBookTime: Marge says that Bart hasn't said "Don't have a cow" in four years, which would make him six years old last time he said it, which he wasn't.
38* ContinuityNod: [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E20BartOnTheRoad Once again]] a grammar rodeo is mentioned.
39* CouchGag: The couch ejects a sheet of paper like a fax machine that has a screenshot of the family.
40* CoverupPurchase: Homer wants to buy fireworks to celebrate Independence Day but the family are holidaying in a state where the sale of fireworks is illegal. He finds a store which looks like it stocks fireworks below the counter, and tries to make the order as nonchalant as possible by also buying a porno magazine, a large box of condoms, a bottle of alcohol, some panty shields and 2 disposable enemas, spoofing the "bottle of Old Harper" scene from ''Film/AmericanGraffiti''. As Marge unpacks his shopping bag later she tells him "[[NoodleImplements I don't know what you've got planned later]], but count me out."
41* DeathGlare: The ''entire'' fourth grade class gives Martin one, having worked out pretty easily he's the police's spy in the class.
42* DiabolusExMachina: Just ''how'' likely was it that Lisa's yearbook would've been left in the car for the entire timeframe of the last school day to leaving for their trip for Bart to produce when he'd wanted to embarrass her?
43* DidntThinkThisThrough: The beach kids decorate the family car for Lisa as a sign that they still view her as a friend, but fail to note that ''Homer'' would react differently to what they've done. Marge also notes it would've been sensible to make sure the shells they used were clean first. Also, as objects have been glued over the side mirrors and headlights, the car is now incredibly dangerous -- possibly even illegal -- to drive at night.
44* {{Doorstopper}}: [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] with the fictional Creator/GoreVidal book "Tome".
45* EscalatingWar: Lisa is left livid over Bart seemingly destroying her relationship with her new friends, leading to a back and forth at the beach carnival. After she is humiliated when they take their war to the bumper cars, Lisa loses interest and walks off depressed, and Bart undergoes a JerkassRealization.
46* FirstFriend: Lisa considers Erin to be this.
47-->'''Lisa:''' My first real friend!...ship bracelet!
48* FunnyBackgroundEvent: As Lisa and her new friends are talking, Erin says her mom would by this point show up trying to give them rice squares and lemonade, as Marge enters doing exactly that, only to immediately turn around and leave without them ever noticing.
49* GratuitousLatin: The Springfield Elementary yearbook is titled "Restrospecticus". More evidence that everybody in the editing team (especially Lisa) are a bunch of hopeless nerds.
50* GreenEyedMonster: Bart becomes very jealous of Lisa's newfound popularity. It culminates in him showing Lisa's friends her yearbook, revealing her nerdy, unpopular nature.
51* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Bart sees Lisa with Erin and the other kids, then tries to swoop in and impress them with his skateboarding so they'll become his friends instead. Erin and the rest aren't impressed by how hard he tries and by the slingshot in his back pocket (Erin: Who does he think he is, [[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS Dennis the Menace]]?), allowing Lisa to call him "Her dorky brother" as payback for trying to steal her new friends.
52* IJustWantToHaveFriends:
53** This episode focuses on Lisa's isolation from the rest of her classmates, sparking her voyage to remake herself.
54** Meanwhile Bart, who already is popular in their home ground, is left disgruntled when he can't impress Lisa's friends and is stuck with Milhouse throughout the vacation (Lisa had expected he'd try to steal them from her and convinced them he was an annoying dork).
55* IdenticalStranger: The local Kwik-E-Mart owner at the beach looks and sounds like Apu, only he looks Sikh (has a beard and a turban) rather than Hindu.
56* JerkassHasAPoint: "Friends" who ditched Lisa after finding out about her nerdy history would hardly have been worth keeping. Luckily, all Bart's cruel stunt does is prove them to be better people than Bart and Lisa took them for.
57* KickTheDog:
58** Apparently no-one in Springfield Elementary signs Lisa's yearbook, including the other members of the yearbook committee.
59** Bart steals from Rod's piggybank, despite the hand-written note ''pleading'' Bart not to do so.
60* LogoJoke: The Gracie Films jingle is redone with a saxophone and marimbas.
61* MaliciousSlander: Lisa tries to ward Bart off from stealing her new friends by telling them he's just a goony dork. Played with since it's revealed they aren't really averse to bookworms and likely just sided with Lisa because they thought Bart was an annoying showoff.
62* MoodWhiplash: The episode switches constantly between zany comedy and heartfelt moments. The ultimate example is Lisa discovering that her new friends don't shun her, and actually show their friendship by decorating Homer's car with seashells. Lisa is overjoyed...until Homer comes out and yells:
63-->'''Homer''': Sweet merciful crap! My car!
64* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Bart seemingly ruins Lisa's relationship with her beach friends, and the two spar. After Bart wins and Lisa is further humiliated and despondent, Bart realises how low he has sunk, and makes up for it by having them sign her yearbook.
65* NegativeContinuity: Lisa talks about Erin being her first real friend, despite previously befriending both [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E15ILoveLisa Ralph]] and [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E2LisasRival Allison]] in their respective episodes. This is even more glaring given the latter can be seen handling the yearbooks with her.
66* NiceGuy: Erin and her friends avoid KidsAreCruel and are pretty nice people. When they learn Lisa's unpopular nature, rather than shun and bully her, they decorate the family car in seashells (which turns pear-shape when Homer catches them and a flock of seagulls peck at the car when they drive home), sign her yearbook, and tell her that they don't mind -- and actually like -- that she's a brainy girl.
67* NoodleImplements: Marge finding all the embarrassing sexual and personal hygiene stuff in the grocery bag, thinking he's planning some kinky night with her that she wants nothing to do with (though a later scene that shows Marge [[DidYouJustHaveSex smiling]] has led viewers to believe that Homer really did use the panty shields, condoms, enemas, Old Harper, and porno mags for a sexual night with Marge).
68* NotSoInnocentWhistle: How Homer leaves the beach house after accidentally using the illegal firework to blow up the dishwasher and back up the sink.
69* ObfuscatingStupidity: Lisa initially tries to hide her bookworm side towards Erin and her friends.
70* ObviousJudas: InUniverse -- when Lou says that Bart's class has an informant that tells the police about truants, everybody instantly turns on [[TeachersPet Martin]].
71* OhCrap: After snidely rubbing salt in Lisa's wounds by invoking BeYourself almost sees Lisa physically blind him with honey, Bart is left flinching in genuine terror from her.
72* OverlyLongName: The Flanders' beach house is at Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport.
73* PoliceAreUseless: Averted, the police actually manage to catch Milhouse when he rushes out of school (admittedly because Martin seemingly tipped them off) and Homer when he tries to leave the house wearing a welcome mat as makeshift pants.
74* RageBreakingPoint: The morning after Bart outs her as a super-nerd and her friends appear to walk away in disgust, Bart tries to (somewhat mockingly) tell Lisa that the lesson of what he did is "BeYourself". Lisa grabs him by the collar, [[ShutUpHannibal calls him out]] and nearly tortures him with honey in revenge before Marge walks in.
75* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Lisa, quietly but furiously, blows up at Bart for (apparently) sabotaging her relationship with her friends.
76-->'''Bart:''' ''[Snidely]'' Hey, Lise. I guess my little yearbook stunt ''was'' pretty rough, but it did teach you a lesson. It's ''important'' to be yourself.\
77''[Marge leaves the room; the very second she's gone, Lisa violently grabs Bart and yanks him into her face, brandishing a bottle of honey threateningly]''\
78'''Lisa:''' ''[[[TranquilFury Cold, vicious hiss]]]'' I know '''''exactly''''' who I am. I am the sister of a ''rotten'', jealous, '''''MEAN''''' little sneak! ''You cost me my only friends''! '''''You've ruined my life!'''''
79* RoleSwapPlot: At school, Lisa can't get anybody to sign her yearbook while Bart has a line for signatures. While they're on vacation, Lisa reinvents herself (with no small debt to Bart) and her new friends see Bart as a tryhard. It turns out he can't handle being the unpopular one.
80* SkewedPriorities: Homer shoves the M-320 firework into the refrigerator to contain the explosion, then yanks it back out to avoid destroying the beer inside.
81* SpeakingLikeTotallyTeen: Erin's friends, which is how Lisa's able to figure out they're kids. After all, only kids would be that incoherent.
82* SpecialGuest: Creator/ChristinaRicci as Erin.
83* SpitefulSpit: Bart and Lisa both attempt this at each other while on a fairground ride. It just ends up twirling onto Milhouse in both cases.
84* StuffBlowingUp: The exploding M-320 takes out the dishwasher and causes black slime to back up into the sink.
85* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
86** When the family gets to the Flanders' beach house, Lisa and Homer have both forgotten their swimming clothes. While she and Marge go shopping for clothes, Homer decides to make impromptu trunks with the welcome mat and duct tape. He immediately gets in trouble with the police for indecent exposure.
87** Lisa's friends decorate the family station wagon with seashells in tribute to her. Whilst she is touched and finds the gesture incredibly sweet, Homer (the car's owner) is horrified when he comes by and sees the result. Also the kids didn't clean the shells prior to gluing them on, so the car finds itself swarmed by seagulls attracted to the dead and decomposing sea creatures inside the shells as it leaves.
88* TakeThat: Marge's tone when she mentions ''Newsweek'' dubbed Springfield "America's crud bucket" shows she doesn't think highly of their opinion.
89* TotallyRadical: Bart complains about Lisa using his old "Don't have a cow man" catchphrase to his mom. Marge retorts he doesn't even use it anymore.
90* TranquilFury: During the confrontation with Bart, Lisa never raises her voice above a quiet hiss -- but that quiet hiss leaves no room for doubt about how utterly, unprecedentedly, volcanically '''''pissed''''' she is at Bart. What makes this better is that while she's hissing, she has a honey bottle positioned over his head and is about to squeeze honey onto his face. When Marge enters the room, Lisa puts the bottle down, releases Bart, and goes back to quietly eating, all within roughly half a second, leaving Bart visibly unnerved.
91* TrueCompanions: Lisa and Erin, sealed by the friendship bracelet, and her and her other friends decorating Homer's car in Lisa's honor.
92* YankTheDogsChain: Lisa is ostracized at school for being nerdy, then finally makes some new friends by posing as a beatnik until Bart outs her in front of them, for which she gives him a well-deserved [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech tongue-lashing]].

Top