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"The Dad Who Knew Too Little" is the eighth episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 12, 2003. In the episode, Homer disappoints Lisa on her birthday when he gives her a thoughtless present. He realizes that he knows little about her and decides to hire private detective Dexter Colt to spy on her. Colt compiles a report about Lisa that helps Homer bond with his daughter. However, Colt soon demands to be paid $1000, which Homer refuses. In retaliation, Colt vandalizes an animal research lab and steals all the animals, leaving behind several clues that implicate Lisa. Homer and Lisa go on the run as fugitives end up at a circus, where they meet Colt. He tries to kill Homer, but Lisa saves him and Colt is arrested.

Plot

Bart and Lisa are watching television and they see a commercial for a personal diary, the Turbo Diary, which does not allow anyone but its owner to read it. If anyone else tries to open the diary, it gives that person an electric shock. Lisa, tired of Bart reading her diary, asks Homer and Marge to get her the Turbo Diary for her birthday and they agree. The next day, Homer and Bart go to the mall to get the diary for Lisa. Homer gets sidetracked and when they finally go to the toy store, all the diaries are sold out. On Lisa's birthday, Bart gives her a laser pointer. Homer gives Lisa a personalized film he made for her. She is disappointed that she did not get the diary she wanted, nevertheless she watches the film, which is a story about Lisa as a sheriff in a Western setting. The dialog in the film helps Lisa realize that Homer knows absolutely nothing about her. She runs upstairs crying, making Homer feel bad.

The next day, Homer gets an idea from Moe to hire Dexter Colt, a private detective, to find out facts about Lisa so he can appear to know things about her. Colt begins to spy on Lisa and build up information to produce a report. Using the report, Homer starts to bond with Lisa by playing the songs that she likes and going to a protest against animal testing at a research lab. Homer and Lisa's relationship is good again as she feels he does know her after all. Homer goes to see Dexter Colt to thank him for all his work. When Colt gives him a bill for $1000, Homer refuses to pay the incredible amount. Colt swears revenge as Homer runs off into the night.

The next morning, Lisa, Homer, and Bart are watching the news. They see that someone has vandalised the research lab and stolen all the animals. Chief Wiggum says that, based on the clues collected, Lisa Simpson is the main suspect. Lisa says she is innocent and Homer knows she has been framed by Colt. Homer and Lisa escape as a fugitives and disguise themselves. While on the run, Homer confesses about the report and Colt to Lisa, and she becomes angry with him once more. The police track Homer and Lisa to a motel but they escape again and find themselves at a circus. There they find all the stolen animals, and it seems Dexter sold them to the circus as a petting zoo and sideshow attractions. Colt shows up and chases Homer into a hall of mirrors. As Colt is about to kill Homer, Lisa shows up. Colt wonders how she heard them, and Homer says that Lisa's hearing is very good and that one day when she was very young, she had heard him quietly sobbing in the closet. Lisa, impressed that Homer actually remembered something about her, flashes Colt in the eye with the laser pointer that Bart gave her, temporarily blinding him. Later, Colt is arrested and Lisa is exonerated, and Homer finally gets her the personal diary she wanted.

Production

"The Dad Who Knew Too Little" was written by Matt Selman and directed by Mark Kirkland as part of the fourteenth season of The Simpsons (2002–03). Elliott Gould guest starred in the episode as himself, appearing at length in the beginning, and has a neighborly brawl with Krusty (his son has been bitten by Krusty's tame chimp).

Release

The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 12, 2003. On December 6, 2011, "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" was released on Blu-ray and DVD as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Fourteenth Season. Staff members Al Jean, Matt Selman, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Carolyn Omine, Matt Warburton, Mark Kirkland, and David Silverman, as well as cast member Yeardley Smith and former Simpsons guest star "Weird Al" Yankovic, participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode.

In February 2004, "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" won a Writers Guild of America Award in the "Animation" category for its script. Other nominations in that category included the Simpsons episodes "Moe Baby Blues" and "My Mother the Carjacker", both from 2003, and episodes of Futurama, King of the Hill, and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. In his review of the fourteenth season, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented: "How many times will the series go to the 'Homer neglects Lisa and gets in trouble' well? Many, and the result is usually the same: mediocrity and sentimentality. 'Little' proves to be no less predictable than its brethren, though the private detective angle adds some mirth. Still, it’s an unexceptional episode that feels like one we’ve already seen many times."

In the episode, Homer's e-mail was said to be chunkylover53@aol.com. Episode writer Matt Selman registered the e-mail and received thousands of messages after the episode aired. He responded to some of them in the character of Homer, but gave up after being swamped with e-mails.

References

1. ^ Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1–20. HarperCollins. 2010. pp. 667–711. ISBN 9780594045052.
2. Valdivia, Victor (2011-12-22). "The Simpsons: The Fourteenth Season". DVD Verdict. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
3. Lambert, David (2011-09-28). "The Simpsons - Finalized Box Art, Details and Extras for 'The Complete 14th Season' DVDs, Blu-rays". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
4. ^ Jacobson, Colin (2011-12-16). "The Simpsons: The Complete Fourteenth Season (2002)". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
5. "Awards Winners". Writers Guild of America. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
6. "Writers Guild Award winners named". USA Today. 2004-02-23. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
7. ^ "Simpsons scoop script nominations". BBC News. 2004-01-20. Retrieved 2012-08-26. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
8. "Simpsons fans get e-mails from Homer". BBC News. 2003-01-30. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
9. Leyden, John (2008-07-14). "Homer Simpson's email address hacked". The Register. Retrieved 2008-09-10. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

• "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" at The Simpsons.com
• "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" at IMDb

• The Simpsons (season 14) episodes
• 2003 television episodes