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The Serfsons
Springfield Splendor
Whistler's Father

Springfield Splendor is the second episode of Season 29. (Originally in production as the final episode of Season 28).

Synopsis[]

Marge and Lisa turn Lisa's sad experience into a successful graphic novel-turned-Broadway show, but they struggle with creative differences and egos.

Full Story[]

After Lisa has a recurring dream about anxiety involving the lockers at Springfield Elementary, Homer and Marge plan to seek a therapist. Due to Homer having used all their insurance-covered counseling sessions for stupid reasons, they take her to see a shrink-in-training at Springfield Community College.

There, a therapist student suggests that Lisa make a sketch of her typical day. Back at home, Lisa is frustrated because of her bad drawings, so Marge helps with her drawing while she explains her feelings. Lisa takes the drawings to the college, but loses them on the steps. Comic Book Guy's wife Kumiko collects them and sells them at The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop as a graphic novel called "Sad Girl." Lisa and Marge initially complain to Comic Book Guy and Kumiko. But when they see that people are buying the books, Lisa is happy and prevents Kumiko from burning them. Marge and Lisa get commissioned by Kumiko to do a sequel, and they bond with each other.

At the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con, a panel is held by Roz Chast, with Alison Bechdel and Marjane Satrapi, but the public lauds Lisa and hurts Marge's feelings by not wanting to listen to her talk about her drawing sketches. When Marge tells Lisa she wants more credit, Lisa becomes defensive and they have an argument which ends with the pair dissolving their partnership.

At that moment, they meet a theatrical director named Guthrie Frenel, who has come by the house and wants to make an avant-garde Broadway show of the books. When the play is released, it is developed by Guthrie that focuses on Marge's work and makes a point of giving Lisa/Sad Girl as little mention as possible. Lisa is miserable and talks it over with the therapist, getting an analogy on parenting that is inspired by the therapist having just had a baby after an affair with her faculty advisor.

At the premiere of Frenel's play, Marge finally observes that the play is terrible and also insulting to Lisa, and feels bad about it. She draws Lisa's face on a spotlight and shines it on the stage, provoking Guthrie, which causes a chain reaction that ruins the show.

At the Springfield Sardi's, Guthrie checks on the reviews of the disaster while Bart is drawing mustaches on caricature pictures.

During the closing credits, Marge presents Maggie her comic "The Adventures of Sad Girl's Mom." Maggie is disappointed with it, while Marge still thinks that the cartoon is good.

Citations[]

Season 28 Season 29 Episodes Season 30
The SerfsonsSpringfield SplendorWhistler's FatherTreehouse of Horror XXVIIIGrampy Can Ya Hear MeThe Old Blue Mayor She Ain't What She Used to BeSingin' in the LaneMr. Lisa's OpusGone BoyHaw-Haw LandFrink Gets TestyHomer Is Where the Art Isn't3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a MarriageFears of a ClownNo Good Read Goes UnpunishedKing LeerLisa Gets the BluesForgive and RegretLeft BehindThrow Grampa from the DaneFlanders' Ladder
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