Little Girl in the Big Ten

Season 13, Episode 20, Aired
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Episode Summary

Lisa is failing gym. So that she won't fail and lose the Springfield Elementary the only accreditation they have, Principal Skinner gets Lisa a private coach. After seeing a vision of President Kennedy, Lisa is inspired to give gymnastics her best shot. While Bart is spending time with Grandpa he gets bitten by a Chinese mosquito. Lisa finds out that her fellow gymnastics students are actually college age, and rather than be embarrassed by her real age, she lets them think she is college age as well. Bart is diagnosed with "Panda virus" which makes him contagious, so Dr. Hibbert puts him in a plastic bubble for a week. Meanwhile Lisa has started hanging out with college age students at a coffee house listening to Robert Pinsky read his poetry. Bart starts using his plastic bubble to rescue nerds from the bullies. Some of those nerds follow Lisa when they think she is up to something. They find her at college analyzing "Itchy and Scratchy" cartoons and Milhouse exposes her. Embarrassed she leaves and back at home, she gets in trouble for going to college (16 credit hours worth) and her fellow grade school students won't relate with her anymore. She gets advice from Bart on how to win them back, which she does by making a splash on the cake created for Seymour Skinner Day.moreless
8.3
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Great
108 votes
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Cast & Crew

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  • Julie Kavner

    Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier

  •

    Harry Shearer

    Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers, Kent Brockman, and others

  •

    Dan Castellaneta

    Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, and others

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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  • perfect

    10
    "Perfect"
    By futuramarama, Nov 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    lisa befriends two college girls who think she is in college. what will happen when the truth comes out? will lisa still be friends with them? bart gets sick and must remain in a plastic bubble because he is highly contagious. can bart adapt to being bubble boy of Springfield?

    good episode, one of the best of season 13. a lot of funny lines and two interesting concepts make me one happy viewer. my overall grade for this episode is a very easy and well earned A+, simply a great episode that made me want to see how it endsmoreless

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    2 2

  • Lisa pretends to be a teen and barts the bubble boy!

    8.5
    "Great"
    By exterminator25, Oct 12, 2010 Report Abuse
    In this episode, Lisas failing gym, so she gets a private tutor to help with her gym grade. Later, two teenagers think Lisas also a teen so lisa plays along. Lisa finds it hard to lead a double life. One time, Millhouse, Poindexter (or whatever his name is) and Martin follow Lisa and spoil her secret. Meanwhile, when Bart gets a mosquito bite, Bart has to be sealed inside a plastic bubble. Lisa is sad cos no one wants to be her friend, so Bart helps her and together, they play a prank on skinner at his 40th or 30th year. Its okay, good to see Lisa and Bart help each other.moreless

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    0 1

  • Lisa pretends to be in college and Bart is stuck in a bubble!

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Hornets3, Oct 12, 2010 Report Abuse
    This episode was just hilarious bottem line. It had so many great gags like Bart asking Abe to take him to the hospital and Abe sayinf "Finally we r doing something I want to do!" My favorite line of the whole show was when Homer says, "Bart take a bath (while sticking a hose in his bubble), and go to bed (rolls Bart down the hallway. Now that is what we call good parenting. I'm going to Moe's!" This episode will keep you in stiches from start to sinish definately watch this episode, and you wont be disappointed. A .moreless

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    0 1

  • Good episode, but the "B" Plot made this episode so hilarious!!!

    8.3
    "Great"
    By Iverson82094, Jan 18, 2008 Report Abuse
    Lisa befriends some college girls who are unaware of her age. At home with their heady intellectualism and always seeking acceptance, Lisa pretends to be enrolled at their school. She spends most her time on campus while going to great lengths to avoid having her cover blown. When the truth is finally revealed however, she realizes that her old life suited her just fine.

    Meanwhile, Bart is relegated to living in a bubble when he's bitten by a contagious mosquito. The story with Bart in the bubble was alot funnier than the story about Lisa acting just like a College Student.moreless

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    0 0

  • Not bad at all. Give it a watch.

    8.1
    "Great"
    By JohnnySeidz, Jul 17, 2006 Report Abuse
    Not bad at all! It was good the way the two separate stories linked in together at the end. That always makes a good episode.

    Okay, to start the episode we have Lisa failing at gym again, so she is sent to the "I Am Lugash" gym (Lugash was introduced in Children of a Lesser Clod). Most of this was funny, however, I didn't like the way Lisa woke up after passing out - it was like a manga cartoon, which isn't very fitting for The Simpsons.

    Next, Bart gets bitten by a mosquito, getting the panda virus, and must live in a bubble. At first I thought this was a stupid storyline, but it turned out to be quite funny. The only thing I didn't understand is why Bart came to the rescue of all the nerds, because he hates them (although, I suppose he does not like the bullies either).

    Meanwhile, Lisa fitted in very well with her college friends. Much of this storyline was good, but not great. However, the ending was great. Overall, this episode was good.

    moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • According to this episode, Principal Skinner has been an intern principal for 20 years. Edit
    • Continuity: The gym teacher says that Coach Lugash "defected into East Germany." But in the episode "Children of a Lesser Clod," Lugash is said to have escaped from East Germany by cartwheeling over the Berlin Wall. Edit
    • In the part with the Itchy and Scratchy cartoon, you see Itchy pour the butter on the toast and Scratchy's eyes are no where to be seen but in the next shot, Itchy's takes a bite out of one of Scratchy's eyes. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • It is revealed in this episode that Moleman is 80 years old. Edit
    • The Itchy and Scratchy episode's production code was DABF06 which is really the production code for an episode of The Simpons entitled "The Bart Wants What it Wants". Edit
    • Blackboard Joke: None. Couch Gag: Two teenagers are making out on the couch when the family enters the room. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Lisa: (thinking) Wow, I'm actually passing as a college student! And they don't have a Blue's Clue! Whoa, gotta age it up a bit... Edit
    • Marge: (About Bart) What's wrong with him, doctor? It can't be mange. I just had him dipped! Edit
    • Homer: I was trying to throw Bart over the roof, and he got stuck in this tree. Marge, where's my pellet gun? Marge: In the tree! Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Man in Cafe: Open your minds for the Coltrane of the quatrain. He was comparing Robert Pinsky to legendary jazz musician John Coltrane. Edit
    • Lisa (to herself): I'm passing as a college student, and they don't have a Blue's clue. Oops, gotta age it up. A quick reference to the children's TV show "Blue's Clues" and its star Blue, the blueberry-spotted dog. Edit
    • When Lisa begins her switch from elementary school goody-goody to a cool college girl after leaving the school grounds, the "Pink Panther" theme, by Henry Mancini, from the 1963 film (as well as the cartoon series from 1964 to 1980) can be heard playing. When the three boys sneak through the college, a slight imitation of the theme is heard then. Edit

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