If I were to make a list of my most precious disks- not whole DVD box-sets, but individual disks- disk 3 of The Simpsons season 3 would be near the top. Every episode there is a classic- Radio Bart, Lisa the Greek, Homer Alone, Bart the Lover, Homer at the Bat, and finally, my absolute favourite season 3 episode, Separate Vocations.
What makes this one the best? This won't come as a surprise to anyone who's been following my reviews (if, indeed, any one has been), but it's Lisa all the way. This is also a Bart episode, though, and I like Bart. Here we see them switching roles- Lisa's the rebel, Bart's the goody goody. I like it because we get to see how Lisa has a bit of a dark side, and it comes out in a believable way. While Bart is encouraged to pursue a career in law enforcement, Lisa's guidance counsellor tells her to stay at home, which shocks the ambitious girl. She goes to a music school to determine whether she can play the sax professionally, and is told she can't. Crushed, she gives up on the sax. All of this reflects how school really can limit and discourage you, and when Lisa writes in her journal that she's lost all hope, it's a sad moment. Her humour becomes snarky ("Why don't you join the band?" she asks Marge) and she engages in vandalism, gives up on schoolwork, and tells the teacher to "shove it." On the other hand, she turns down trying a cigarette; I guess the writers decided her smoking would be taking this a step too far.
The episode is consistently funny given Mrs. Krabappel's bitterness, the wolves, the police officers' "clubs", Chief Wiggum, and Bart as a hall monitor. And when Bart takes the bullet for Lisa's worst prank, we see not only an opportunity for things to go back to normal at the end of the episode, but also a touching portrait of their brother-sister love. This is one of the 15 best episodes of the series.
What makes this one the best? This won't come as a surprise to anyone who's been following my reviews (if, indeed, any one has been), but it's Lisa all the way. This is also a Bart episode, though, and I like Bart. Here we see them switching roles- Lisa's the rebel, Bart's the goody goody. I like it because we get to see how Lisa has a bit of a dark side, and it comes out in a believable way. While Bart is encouraged to pursue a career in law enforcement, Lisa's guidance counsellor tells her to stay at home, which shocks the ambitious girl. She goes to a music school to determine whether she can play the sax professionally, and is told she can't. Crushed, she gives up on the sax. All of this reflects how school really can limit and discourage you, and when Lisa writes in her journal that she's lost all hope, it's a sad moment. Her humour becomes snarky ("Why don't you join the band?" she asks Marge) and she engages in vandalism, gives up on schoolwork, and tells the teacher to "shove it." On the other hand, she turns down trying a cigarette; I guess the writers decided her smoking would be taking this a step too far.
The episode is consistently funny given Mrs. Krabappel's bitterness, the wolves, the police officers' "clubs", Chief Wiggum, and Bart as a hall monitor. And when Bart takes the bullet for Lisa's worst prank, we see not only an opportunity for things to go back to normal at the end of the episode, but also a touching portrait of their brother-sister love. This is one of the 15 best episodes of the series.
