One Beatle Changed ‘The Simpsons’ Forever

The big picture

• The appearance of Paul McCartney as a guest
  The Simpsons
  he ensured that Lisa remained a vegetarian to spread the message of animal rights.
• Other guest stars on the show, such as Michael Jackson, had unique conditions for their appearances.
• The show has made several predictions come true, such as McCartney's influence on Lisa's vegetarianism.

When a TV series has been on the air for a while, there are bound to be continuity errors. The Big Bang Theory had Leonard (Johnny Galecki) explain to Howard (Simon Helberg) as the elevator has been out of service for two years, only for a later episode to show that Howard was there to witness the original explosion that actually put it out of service five years earlier. So what's a show like The Simpsons— soon to close its 35th season — about continuity? By not dealing with it at all. No matter how many times Homer (Dan Castellaneta) has brought Springfield to the brink of nuclear annihilation, the following week it returns to Sector 7G. Maggie has the same pacifier she's been wearing since the beginning, so does Bart (Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (Yeardley Smith) are perpetually at Springfield Elementary, never to move on to Springfield Junior High (there's even another school in Springfield?

Despite this, there is one change that has taken place that is quite unique, and is one of the few that has to do with the titular family itself. It's been running since 1995, and the engine behind it is none other than the living legend and former Beatle, Paul McCartney.

'Lisa the Vegetarian' changes the status quo on 'The Simpsons'

“Lisa the Vegetarian,” the fifth episode of The Simpsons The seventh season begins with the family visiting a fairy-tale themed amusement park, Storytown Village, and Lisa is captivated by the adorable lambs at the zoo. They arrive home and settle down to dinner with an untimely feast of lamb chops. Lisa can't eat any of it as she keeps hearing the painful whistle of the zoo lamb. margin (Julie Kavner) offers Lisa's rump roast, chicken breast, and even hot dogs, but to no avail:Lisa can't stop thinking about what living creatures were like in the past, so she decides to become a vegetarian.

Later, Homer decides to host a barbecue, and Lisa brings gazpacho as an alternative. After being ridiculed by the meat-loving attendees, Lisa grabs a mower and makes off with Homer's roast pig, which she pulls down a slope before Homer and Bart can stop her. Back home, Homer and Lisa get into a heated argument that ends with Lisa storming out of the house, angry and hurt that her family doesn't respect her new lifestyle.

Grandpa (Hank Azaria) then confides in Lisa and tells her that he serves tofu dogs at the Kwik-E-Mart, and has for a long time. He accompanies Lisa to the roof garden, where she meets Paul and Linda McCartney, who are also vegetarians. They teach Lisa that it is okay to have her own opinions, but that she must tolerate the opinions of others in return. lesson learned, Lisa returns home, apologizes, but declares that she will remain a vegetarian.

Paul McCartney is the reason for Lisa's vegetarianism

From that point on, Lisa was a vegetarian, with only one controversial exception where she ate a Scotch egg (she spat it out and was filled with “deep regret”, so it doesn't count). While it certainly fits the character, why this particular trait made it into the continuity is strange, that is, until you hear the story behind it. When “Lisa the Vegetarian” was being written, McCartney was the only living member of The Beatles who had not appeared on the show. Ringo Starr starred in 1991's “Brush with Greatness,” and wrote to Marge to thank her for her portrait of him, decades after receiving it. George Harrison it was in the classic 1993 episode, “Homer's Barbershop Quartet,” which was full of Beatles references from start to finish. McCartney was high on his guest star and showrunner wish list, David Mirkin, thought the episode would appeal to McCartney, as he himself was a vegetarian. McCartney agreed to appear, but on the condition that Lisa remains a vegetarian for the rest of the series.

The staff agreed and McCartney was on board. They also invited Linda McCartney to appear, and she jumped at the chance, seeing the episode as an opportunity for her and Paul to “spread the vegetarian word to a wider audience”. Not only did Paul and Linda appear, but Paul used the episode to poke fun at long-standing rumors of his “death” and the practice of masking hidden messages. On the show, Paul tells Lisa: “Linda and I feel very strongly about animal rights. In fact, if you play 'Maybe I'm Surprised' backwards, you'll hear a recipe for a really ripped lentil soup.” . But with the help of producers, he played one of the best guest star gags in the show's historyrecording his lentil soup recipe, which was then reversed and played during the closing credits, with McCartney adding: “Oh, and by the way, I'm alive.”

McCartney gave his reasoning for the request, saying, “We were a little concerned that she would be a vegetarian for a week and then Homer would talk her into eating a hot dog.” And although the writers were tempted, Lisa remains a vegetarian, true to her word. Hank Azaria gave a reason why he thinks they haven't, saying that: “Probably the writers haven't because they made that vow to Sir Paul. No, you don't break the knight's vow. As we learned from game of thronesyou do so at your own risk.” As recently as 2020, Mirkin confirmed that McCartney still checks out“and he's always surrounded by nine or 10 lawyers, so it's pretty scary.”

Paul McCartney is not the only guest star of 'The Simpsons' who had specific conditions for his appearance

Paul McCartney's condition for his guest appearance The Simpsons may have altered the course of the show in the future, but she's not the only guest star who has placed conditions on her appearances on the show. Dustin Hoffmanwho played a substitute teacher, Mr. Bergstrom, in season 2, asked that his real name not be used in the credits and suggested “Sam Etic” as a pseudonym. Bette Midler requested that her anti-trash campaign be promoted for her appearance, which the writers obliged by making her an anti-trash vigilante in “Krusty Gets Kancelled”. Stephen Hawking he only had one request for his first appearance, and by showrunner, Al Jean, “He said at one point he didn't want to be drunk on screen. That was the only note we got from him. He didn't mind having a beer with Homer at Moe's. [in the end of “Lisa’s Brain”]but no more.”

The weirdest thing, though, might be Michael Jackson's appearance in the first episode of Season 3, “Stark Raving Dad,” a famous episode missing from Disney+. Due to legal restrictions, Jackson could not appear under his real name and was credited as “John Jay Smith”. His record label wouldn't allow him to sing on the show, a problem given the show-closing “Happy Birthday Lisa” duet with Bart, forcing the show to bring out a Jackson impersonator named Kipp Lennon to sing the song instead. This means that “Happy Birthday Lisa” was sung by Lennon impersonating Jackson, while Jackson played a character named Leon Kompowsky who was thought to be Jackson, with Jackson playing the part under the pseudonym John Jay Smith . Yes, it was a lot.

The Simpsons is available to watch on Disney+ in the US

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