Bye Bye Nerdie

Lisa then tests the poindextrose extracted from the nerds on famous boxer Drederick Tatum by putting it on his clothes when he visits the school.

The episode was produced as part of the twelfth season of The Simpsons (2000–01) and was written by writing partners John Frink and Don Payne.

[1] "Bye Bye Nerdie" was the first episode of the show directed by Lauren MacMullan, who joined the staff of The Simpsons following the cancellation of the short-lived television series Mission Hill, which was created by former Simpsons writers and executive producers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein on which she worked as a supervising director and designer.

[2] American actress and stand-up comedian Kathy Griffin guest starred in the episode as the bully Francine.

[3] MacMullan designed this new character herself and tried to make her seem like a professional bully by having her carry her lunch box with her all the time like a briefcase.

According to The Simpsons show runner Mike Scully, when the staff members worked on the episode they decided to include a lot of observations they had made about how it is like to be the new student in school.

"[5] The subplot of Homer entering the childproofing business was inspired by an instance when a salesman visited Payne and his pregnant wife to see if their home was safe for children.

Staff members Mike Scully, Don Payne, Lauren MacMullan, Tim Long, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Yeardley Smith, and Steven Dean Moore participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode.

"[7] Mac McEntire of DVD Verdict cited the scene in which the children imagine what kind of person the new student is as the greatest moment in the episode.

She presents her data at a conference with luminaries including former surgeon general C. Everett Koop, a scene in which we find the true purpose of a science pole.

This scene and the episode as a whole has been used by mathematicians Sarah J. Greenwald of Appalachian State University and Andrew Nestler of Santa Monica College in mathematics classes to teach students about the number pi (π).