Capsule Submission: The President Wore Pearls (EABF20)

Capsule Submission: The President Wore Pearls (EABF20) S P O I L E R

S
P
A
C
E
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Preview from tvguide.com Simpsons The President Wore Pearls 30 mins.

Lisa is made to look like Eva Peron in this loose parody as faculty members undermine her student-body presidency. Michael Moore has a cameo, addressing striking students at Springfield Elementary. Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria.

Preview from snpp.com 8:00 � The President Wore Pearls (EABF20) "Don't cry for me, kids of Springfield!"; Michael Moore guest voices as himself when newly-elected school president Lisa leads a student revolt which turns into something very similar to the musical Evita (and that bit in quotes is supposed to be from a song from the episode, at least according to Entertainment Weekly magazine)

Thought of the Day: Living on the East Coast is really annoying for watching Fox. I want to watch KOTH or the Simpsons. Instead I get to see a bunch of NFL has beens talking football talk. Fox gets money from showing these shows. Why do they have to show KOTH "in progress"?!? They already renewed the show for next season! I guess I should not expect much from a channel that browbeats the liberal estate while at the same time showing temptation island and the simple life.

Simpsons Thought:

Saved by the Bell reference. Sweet� except that never happened on Saved by the Bell. Way to do some research people.

Why is Michael Moore on the Simpsons. I am a bleeding heart leftist, but why does a guy like him have to be the show. His Bowling for Columbine was all over the place and did not say anything. He stages scenes so they are not even real documentaries. He just oversimplifies from the leftist perspective. Ok maybe I am still pissed about the football thing.

Love the "Don't cry for me Argentina" references. Andrew Weber is hopefully proud for that one. Too bad Y. Smith is not a good singer.

Does anyone else want the lisa for president poster? The design on it is too cool.

Allison seems to be hanging around Springfield Elementary a lot during this episode.

Magnet schools are publicly funded, so why do people have the perception that they are like little Ivy League schools?

Review: Ok, this is an episode that parallels Evita with a schoolyard strike. It sounds like it should be really good. Well, I guess it is hard to implement something that complex on the small screen. I don't know� Maybe the musical numbers just do not have the same effect on me that they once did. But this episode was definitely an "eh" episode. Grade: C+

Stephen wrote:

It's from the Evita Broadway musical. Here's the original cast recording:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002ORP/ref=ase_ imaginationcom/002-1898433-8697617?v=glance&s=music

The design looks a little like Lisa's hair.

Rattlesnake-in-the-mailbox reference:

In the 1970s there was a well-known drug rehab center called Synanon, which used controversial psychological techniques to wean addicts off illegal substances. A print reporter wrote an expose of their tactics, which led Synanon's leader to put a live rattler in the journalist's mailbox. Turned out that was against the law.

-- Andrew

Stephen wrote:

In the off-chance that you're serious:

Er... that was the joke. After the casino is destroyed, Martin mentions off-the-cuff that he should've known it would end up like that, because it happened on "Saved By The Bell".

(Andrew Lloyd Webber.)

Because they have greater endowments from alumni who end up being more successful than their non-magnet counterparts, and the disparity in quality is particularly strong in educational systems with chronic budget problems. Compare, say, a run-of-the-mill New York City high school, in a run-of-the-mill brick building with run-of-the-mill facilities, versus the well-endowed Stuyvesant High School, which is practically a college campus.

In their effort to parody "Evita", they simply wrote some really bad music with awkward lyrics and even more awkward pauses where the underscoring drones on until another character sings. I hate that. (Exception: Lisa's campaign song, which was cute.) I missed the credits; did Alf Clausen write the songs in this one?

--  wb

Warren Bloom wrote:

He wrote the music; Dana Gould is credited for the lyrics, but I imagine that much like episodes' "written by" credits, not 100% of the lines were his.

That is true in that case, but in the case of the Magnet schools I know (ones in Nashville, Atlanta, and Charleston), if they are not just part of a larger high/middle/elementary school (which is the case for the most part in Atlanta), they look just like a regular high/middle/elementary school. The main one in Charleston is on the site of a former navy base, so I am sure there is not much beauty to that one. I just think it might give viewers the impression that there are great educational opportunities and amenities in public school for the academically gifted. I dont think that is always the case. Granted some great people have come from magnet programs, but the case of Stuyvesant seems special because they have an exceptionally large population to draw from and there may be a larger alumni giving rate as a function of several factors unique to the school.