They Saved Lisa's Brain
"They Saved Lisa's Brain" is the twenty-second and penultimate episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons.
When Mayor Quimby later flees Springfield, the group takes control of the town, hoping to improve the lives of Springfieldians through the rule of the smartest.
"They Saved Lisa's Brain" was directed by Pete Michels and written by Matt Selman, although the idea for the episode was pitched by former staff writer George Meyer.
The Simpsons staff wanted Hawking to guest-star because they needed someone who would be smarter than all of Springfield's Mensa members, and because they had heard that he was a fan of the show.
The episode features references to Star Trek, painter Vincent van Gogh and architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and mentions the theory of the universe being toroidal, meaning shaped as a doughnut.
Although Hawking stated that he enjoyed guest-starring on The Simpsons, he also mentioned that his cameos made many people mistake him for a fictional character.
Lisa joins the local Mensa chapter, alongside Principal Skinner, Comic Book Guy, Dr. Hibbert, Professor Frink, and Lindsay Naegle.
After being bullied out of their reserved gazebo at a park by drunks and Chief Wiggum, they fear that Springfield's quality is poor because the city's stupidest residents have power over their civic institutions.
Their implemented ideas, including the adoption of metric time and the removal of green lights from stoplights to ease traffic congestion, elevate Springfield above East St. Louis on the list of America's 300 Most Livable Cities.
Various schemes and their wildly unpopular plans, aired at a public meeting, including the banning of certain sports and the imposition of limits on procreation similar to the act of pon farr from Star Trek, further expose the rifts inside the group.
The Springfield townspeople, wishing power would revert to idiots, surround the intellectuals in an angry mob and bring an end to Mensa's rule.
The name of the pudding was inspired by a brand of pies called Aunt Freshly, which the Simpsons writers usually ate at the time.
[1] Naegle is voiced by Tress MacNeille, who Selman described as a "huge asset" to the series, and stated that she "breathes life" into the character.
According to executive producer and current showrunner Al Jean, Hawking was asked to guest-star because "we [they] were looking for someone much smarter than all the Mensa members [in Springfield]", and so they "naturally thought of him".
[1] Bill Mann of The Press Democrat argued that Hawking was chosen to guest star in order to boost the series' ratings during the May "sweeps".
The only note that Hawking gave regarding the script was that he did not want to be portrayed as drunk in the episode's last scene, in which he is discussing astronomy with Homer in Moe's tavern.
of Homer, William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J. Skoble wrote that "They Saved Lisa's Brain" in detail explores "the possibility of a utopian alternative to politics as usual in Springfield".
They described "They Saved Lisa's Brain" as an "epitome" of The Simpsons' diverse comedic humor, and wrote that it can be "enjoyed in two levels", as both "broad farce" and "intellectual satire".
At the same time, the episode is "filled" with what they described as "subtle cultural allusions", such as the design of Mensa group's locale, which is based on the house of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
: What The Simpsons Can Teach Us About Physics, Robots, Life and the Universe, Paul Halpern wrote that in mathematics, a "donut-shape", the three-dimensional generalization of a ring, is referred to as a torus.
[12] In its original American broadcast on May 9, 1999, "They Saved Lisa's Brain" received a 6.8 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 6.8 million viewers.
Wilmore, a former writer on the television comedy The PJ's, had been asked by Scully to participate in a practical joke, in which he would play the mayor of East St. Louis and confront Selman about his controversial statement.
[15] On August 7, 2007, "They Saved Lisa's Brain" was released as part of The Simpsons – The Complete Tenth Season DVD box set.
Mike Scully, Matt Selman, Ron Hauge, Rich Appel, Marc Wilmore and Pete Michels participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode.
[20] Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a mixed review, writing "I like the fact that 'Brain' pokes some fun at Mensa, one of the more smug, self-congratulatory groups to be found.
"[26] Writing for IGN, Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson and Brian Zoromski placed Hawking at number sixteen on their list "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances".
[28] An action figure based on Hawking's appearance in The Simpsons has been produced, with the figurine's computer screen reading "If you're looking for trouble, you've found it", a line from "They Saved Lisa's Brain".
"[29] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Peter Hutchison argued that Hawking "feels he is sometimes not properly recognised for his contribution to our understanding of the universe.
