The other day they had a Lisa double-shot during the usual 5PM block.
First up was:
She of Little Faith
To be honest I haven't seen this episode since it premiered and I am sorely disappointed in myself. This is a fantastic episode! I give it 5/5, and it goes onto my top 10 list for Lisa episodes. The interplay between Lisa and the rest of the family, especially as they try to bribe her back to Christianity hits so close to home it hurts. I too have become rather disillusioned with the religion forced upon me in early childhood, finding alot of the same issues with it that Lisa does with her own. I haven't made the leap to buddism quite yet, but I may have to take a closer look at its message.
That soul-crushing moment when even Maggie joins the fray and Lisa sees Lovejoy in the background saying 'Lick it... lick it...' was so good I could have sworn I was watching an episode from the first 5 seasons or so. But it ended nicely and when Lisa starts asking for the pony, Clip-clop, I couldn't stop laughing.
This was followed shortly by another episode I haven't seen in years...
Bye Bye Nerdie
Another fantastic episode, it gets 4.5/5. The thing that struck me about this episode is, it is one of the few possible situations where they can portray Lisa as the object of bullying and not outrage the crowd beyond reason. Making the bully a girl as well was a good move. The animation in this one was very peculiar, the shot to Lisa's face in particular almost looked as smooth as the movie, and when Francine throws her into the locker the expression on her face is so realistic... all in all a fantastic episode, as I already said. The only thing that keeps it from being perfect is my sympathies towards Lisa. (I squirmed when she kept getting beat up...)
Oh, and that little scene with Nelson and the bullies? *as Krabbaple* Hah! Perfect! The scene that followed it shortly was really funny, where Lisa swabs Dreadrick Tatum with the nerd sweat and Nelson couldn't stop himself from punching the large man and eventually giving him a wedgie.
Nelson- "No! I'm sooo sorry! Please don't hit me!"
Tatum- "You leave me little recourse."
