[The long of it]
Even before it began, "She of Little Faith" got me thinking. Would Lisa actually abandon her religion to convert to Buddhism? I wondered how far would she go. Perhaps she would don some robes, and take up residence in a temple. Would she switch back to her old religion by the time the show ended? The writers wouldn't keep her in that strange new religion, would they? And what did that trepidation say about me, since Buddhism is just as legitimate a faith as Judaism, Christianity, and Hinduism (or "Miscellaneous," as Rev. Lovejoy once put it)? Yes, this was one of the most thought-provoking episodes ever. And then the show actually began.
It's ironic that a show involving Buddhism, which is often thought of as being an intellectually deep religion, treats Lisa's crisis of faith in a shallow manner. Disillusioned by the Church of Springfield's newfound commercialism, Lisa goes on a spiritual quest to find a faith uncorrupted by worldly concerns. She settles on Buddhism. So far, so good. The problem is, she doesn't get to do this until the third act. The show touches on some of the ramifications of Lisa's decision -- the family is shocked, they try to woo Lisa back to Christianity, she tries to defend her new beliefs -- but it has to hustle through them too quickly. We get some of the essential story elements, like Marge emphasizing the fun of family Christmas rituals, but not the nuances that make "The Simpsons" so engaging. There are hardly any scenes of Lisa practicing her new faith, for example. And wouldn't it have been interesting to see Lisa make some newbie mistakes, something that tested her devotion to Buddhism? Maybe she could have tried to convert *them* -- it would have been interesting to see the Simpsons attend a Buddhist service to try to get an idea what their daughter was going on about. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time to explore avenues like these.
So perhaps the root problem of the show is in pacing. The whole first act is used to set up the premise. Homer and Bart try their hand at model rocketry. One of the missiles flies out of control, and starts a fire that guts the First Church of Springfield. The second act focuses on rebuilding the Church. To gain needed funds, Rev. Lovejoy accepts Mr. Burns's advice to sell advertising space on the church walls. The crass commercialism turns off Lisa, who decides to leave the Church and find a new path to God. The Buddhism, as I mentioned, doesn't arrive until the third act. Oops!
You might think I'm arguing to excise the first act and get to the main story quicker, but I'm reluctant to make that point. Frankly, the first act had most of the funny scenes. The corny 50's science fiction movie opening the show is a good parody (which hopefully isn't lost on everyone born after 1952). Homer and Bart launch a cartoonishly smart hamster on one of their rockets, and there are some nice homage scenes to space exploration movies, even if I can't name which ones. When Homer accidentally destroys the church, Marge tells him it's the worst thing he's ever done. Homer answers, "You've said that so much it's lost all its meaning." It's all good stuff. Whenever a subplot is entertaining and too long, I suspect that it should be its own story, and that's the case here. Rather than dump the material, it should have been incorporated into another show where, say, Homer and Bart enter a model rocketry competition. It would have been a good just-for-laughs show. Meanwhile, Lisa-as- Buddhist could have gotten the more detailed treatment it deserves.
Executive Producer Al Jean mentioned in an interview that he was going to try to smarten Homer up a little. It might be working. Sure, Homer might not be able to assemble a working rocket, but he knows just who to farm the work out to. And he had the foresight to come up with a backup plan (albeit a humorously inept one) for when a rocket flew off course. He isn't a jerkass, either. I liked the way Homer came off in this episode. Marge, on the other hand, seemed too pushy although you could make a case for this being in-character for her, based on her actions in "Lisa the Skeptic (5F05)." I dunno; she was always a hard character to define.
As long as Al Jean was getting rid of unwelcome recent trends, how about the one where celebrity guests play themselves, and where they come to Springfield for no apparent reason? Richard Gere was admittedly a good choice for this show and he has some funny lines. But, gee, he's a pretty good actor -- do you think he could have handled *playing someone else*? He could have provided much the same advice to Lisa if he were the monk assigned to Springfield's temple, and the appropriate casting would have seemed like a clever in-joke to those who know about Gere's background.
So Jean's first show to hit the airwaves isn't a "Simpsons" Nirvana. As imperfect episodes go, though, it's imperfect in a promising way. It isn't unfunny, or gross, or immature. It, essentially, tried to have too much. And as any good Buddhist (like Lisa!) can tell you, trying to possess too much will only lead to trouble.
[The short of it]
"She of Little Faith" is a thought provoking show -- until it actually begins. The root problem might lie in the pacing. The setup is funny, but takes so long that by the time we get to Lisa's conversion, the show has only enough time to explore it in a rushed and shallow fashion. The rocket subplot probably should have been a show unto itself. On the other hand, Homer comes off nicely here. Richard Gere has some good lines, but it would have been better if he had played a role, rather than himself. A promising episode, but ultimately it isn't "Simpsons" Nirvana. (C+)
[DYNs]
... Maggie was nowhere to be seen in the couch gag? (That doesn't happen very often, does it?) ... Homer's credit card number is 5783653434107109? ... Homer's flossing loosens a tiny chunk of food? ... little bits of stained glass continue to fall out of the broken windows as Ms. Neagle talks? ... Rev. Lovejoy didn't have the ad on his robe during the services? (Maybe he didn't sign the deal, after all) ... *Patty* knows about the urinal ice? [shudder]
[Reference]
"Whip It" (song) - Homer's flossing ditty is sung to the tune of this Devo song
"High Flight" (poem) - Homer's "surly bonds of gravity" speech riffs on this poem by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
The Flying Dutchman (maritime legend) - ad for the Frying Dutchman restaurant seen
"Let's Get Physical" (song) - ad for Let's Get Fiscal financial services seen
"Spartacus" (movie) - ad for Sportacus sports store seen
Pep Boys (auto-parts chain store) - ad for Zip Boys seen
"The Last Supper" (painting) - becomes one of those novelty photo backgrounds
Doubting Thomas (phrase, from the New Testament, I think) - Lisa called a "pouting Thomas" on the God-Cam
The 'Noid (ad character) - shows up to make a sermon on "deliciousness"
Zagat's Guide to Restaurants - now they've branched into world religion
Bed, Bath & Beyond (home accessories chain store) - Bed, Bath, and Baha'i
Whiskey a Go-Go (nightclub (?)) - Whiskey a God God
Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ - Church of the Latter Day Druids
Spider-Man (comic book) - Ned refers to his "Satan Sense;" compare with Spidey's "Spider Sense" when danger approaches
[Previous Episode References]
[9F19] Luke Perry says, "My face! My beautiful face!" (cf. "My eyebrows, my beautiful eyebrows!") [1F02], [BABF06] Helpful college nerds appear [9F14] Hamsters' cannibalizing their young mentioned [7F12] Gulp 'N Blow seen [9F06], [AABF21] The Frying Dutchman seen [CABF04] Let's Get Fiscal seen [5F03] Sportacus seen [3F04] Zip Boys seen [5F06] Tough-as-nail realtor Cookie Kwan advertises at the church [CABF01] Omni-Pave seen [5F10], [BABF22] Soul-searching walk past neon signs [9F10] Description apparently leading to Jesus ends up with someone else [2F15] Botched escape in a cloud of smoke [3F24] "Short Shorts" song heard
[FFF]
Tonight's FFF brought to you by Neagle Promotions, Inc.!
Model rocket box:
ORBIT [R]
KING [O]
[C]
[kid] [K]
[E]
[T]Makeshift window coverings, from left to right:
- Adam, Eve, and the serpent in Eden
- Moses parting the Red Sea
- The Crucifixion
- Noah's ArkAd on Lovejoy's robe:
FATSO'S
HASH HOUSEAds in the initial pan around the sanctuary:
BUZZ GULP THE FRYING DUTCHMAN
COLA 'N KWIK-E-MART
BLOW ALL YOU CAN EAT LET'S GET FISCAL
------------------ SPORTACUS
FINANCIAL PLANNING SPORTING GOODSMoney exchange booth:
$ MONEY CHANGER $
Jumbo-Tron:
GODCAM
[image of Lisa]
"POUTING THOMAS"Rotating ads:
SPRINGFIELD COOKIE KWAN [picture of]
BELL [logo] REALTOR [ Ms. Kwan ] Watch
Ally McBeal
It's Great!Other ads seen around the church:
OMNI-PAVE KBBL
TALK RADIOPaul Reiser book:
PAUL REISER
[ Reiser as an ]
[an Orthodox Jew]RELIGIONHOOD
Lisa's comparative religion book:
ZAGAT'S
------------
GUIDE
TO
WORLD
RELIGIONSSigns on Lisa's walk:
BED, BATH & Whiskey
B A H A ' I a God God of
Church the AMISH
Latter Day
D R U I D S SPRINGFIELD
BUDDHIST
TEMPLEMeditation warning sign:
MEDITAION
IN
PROGRESS[Personal Comments & Observations]
Tired of the hypocrisy, corruption, one-upmanship, and constant panhandling found in most Western religions? Well, my friend, Buddhism may be the answer for you! At least, it was the answer for a lot of disaffected young Americans searching for spiritual enlightenment.
Enlightenment, of course, is what Buddhism is all about. It dates back to the sixth century BCE when its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, had a revelation: The best way to achieve inner peace was to practice a program of meditation, kindness towards others, and personal modesty. By not giving in to mundane earthly desires like lust, materialism, and BMW ownership, Buddhists strive to reach Nirvana, a moment when you reach perfect spiritual knowledge. (I think. Nirvana has always sounded vaguely-defined to me, perhaps because words *can't* describe it very well.) There's more, a lot more, to the religion. If you want to hear it from people who actually know what they're talking about, you could try some of the newsgroups dedicated to it like <alt.religion.buddhism> and its subgroups, <uk.religion.buddhism>, or <talk.religion.buddhism>.
Buddhism's back-to-basics concentration on the spirit has gained it followers here in the West. Some converts drop their old religion entirely, and practice Buddhism in the same way people in the religion's traditional home territory do. Other people don't really convert, but adapt what they see as the best aspects of Buddhism into their own religion. Some, like Lisa, take a compromise approach. They are primarily Buddhists, but participate in other religions as well. (Evidently, you're allowed to do this, since religion in Asia is generally a non-exclusive thing.)
Richard Gere, by the way, probably is the most famous *American* Buddhist. Like Lisa, he's an idealist; the kind of guy who might use an awards ceremony to drum up support for a free Tibet, or a fund- raiser to push for peace between America and Afghanistan. What he's doing in Springfield is anyone's guess. Perhaps the universe arranged for him to be there to show Lisa the way.