The 10 Best Lisa-Centric Simpsons Episodes, According To IMDb

She might not be the face of The Simpsons, but Lisa has certainly let her presence be felt a fair few times over the thirty-year run the yellow family has maintained. She is the antithesis of everything Bart and Homer stand for, with firm left-wing politics and intelligence way beyond her years.

There aren’t as many Lisa-centric episodes as there are Homer, for example, but some of them are truly brilliant. We have used IMDb to rank all of her best episodes.

10 Moaning Lisa (7.6)

In season one, we didn’t know a lot about Lisa. The show was very much wrapped around its poster boy, Bart Simpsons, leaving Lisa to be ridiculed and comically clever. ‘Moaning Lisa’ first introduced us to her tender, emotional side in episode six.

This episode sees her explore a sadness she doesn’t understand and is our first introduction to Bleeding Gums Murphy. In the end, it’s her incredible gift for the ‘saxomophone’ that allows her to break through her sadness.

9 Lisa The Beauty Queen (7.8)

Season four is an absolute goldmine for brilliant Simpsons. In fact, it doesn’t really have a bad moment, and as such, is often considered to be one of the best seasons of television ever. ‘Lisa The Beauty Queen’ sees a huge transformation in Lisa’s character, as she ditches plainness and intelligence for a shot at beauty after Homer finds a passion for increasing her confidence. It doesn’t quite work, and Lisa uses her newfound power to provide incessant public service announcements, despite being forced into a role as the new symbol for Laramie Cigarettes.

8 Lisa’s Pony (7.9)

Lisa had always wanted a pony. Despite the fact that she frequently turned her nose up at the material world and the idea of consumerism, the craving for a pony was always in the back of her mind.

In a desperate attempt to fix what he thinks is a failed relationship between him and Lisa, Homer buys her what she always dreamed of. Obviously, in classic Simpsons fashion, it doesn’t go very well.

7 Lisa’s Date With Destiny (7.9)

Nelson Muntz is a strange one. Sometimes, he is a character sitting in the background ready to pop out and laugh at Bart when something terrible happens, with apparently no concept of remorse or empathy. Then other episodes, such as ‘Lisa’s Date With Destiny’, he is shown to be strangely kind-hearted and troubled. He and Lisa begin to date in this episode, with Nelson becoming well-groomed and polite, before Lisa finds out she can never truly change him.

6 The Secret War Of Lisa Simpson (7.9)

An iconic tour de force of the characters of Lisa and Bart, developing both of them with incredible poise, with almost no input from Homer and Marge. Bart is forced into military school, while Lisa signs up voluntarily. The two face challenges, with Bart eventually finding favor amongst the other students, while we are told the rather depressing story of how Lisa fails to fit in. It’s funny, but ends up turning into more of a hard-hitting drama at times.

5 Homer vs. Lisa And The 8th Commandment (8.0)

There has always been a complex division between Homer and Lisa. They both very much care for and love each other deeply, each wanting the other to be happy, but they just don’t understand how the other works.

Homer has no grasp of Lisa’s intelligent morality, while Lisa can’t get her head around Homer’s stupid selfishness. This episode sees Lisa worried that Homer will go to Hell after stealing cable TV, and really delivers in those classic season two laugh out loud moments.

4 Lisa Vs. Malibu Stacy (8.2)

Saxophones, ponies and Malibu Stacy. Lisa’s three biggest downfalls. She has been obsessed with the Barbie-parody for about as long as the show itself has been around, and ‘Lisa Vs. Malibu Stacy’ exposed her to the behind the scenes world. She tracks down the creator of Malibu Stacy and they create Lisa Lionheart, a feminist doll who will influence girls positively. It’s a heartfelt ambition from the spiky-headed eight-year-old and even though it doesn’t quite go to plan, it only makes us love Lisa more.

3 Lisa’s Wedding (8.3)

The first of many episodes that took us into a world of Simpsons future showed us Lisa getting married. Of course, this future is revealed to be fake when various different flash-forwards show her living completely different lives with completely different people, but still.

Its 8.3 rating is reflected by the fact that it became the third episode of the show to win a Primetime Emmy award.

2 I Love Lisa (8.4)

Plucked from the very heart of The Simpsons at its absolute finest, ‘I Love Lisa’ is a truly iconic episode which has spawned meme after meme after meme. While Lisa might have once fallen for Nelson, she has certainly never fallen for Ralph. Not only does he “choo-choo choose” her, but he buys her a Malibu Stacy convertible and brings her as his guest to the Krusty The Clown show. “You can actually see the moment when his heart rips in half,” says Bart, and he isn’t wrong. This is Lisa at her most vulnerable, torn between letting down the lovely Ralph and staying true to her own feelings.

1 Lisa’s Substitute (8.5)

Just 19 episodes into season two and The Simpsons was able to land one of their most impressive cameos of all time. Dustin Hoffman plays Mr. Bergstrom, Lisa’s substitute teacher.

There is a bit of a weird dynamic going on, with Lisa basically falling in love with him, but Bergstrom is simply a brilliant teacher of a caliber Lisa had never previously experienced. When he had to leave at the end, we all shed a tear with Lisa as she was forced to return to a life of mediocre education she deserved so much better than.