Bye Bye Nerdie

Kathy Griffin as Francine
Jan Hooks as Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon

"Bye Bye Nerdie" is the sixteenth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 11, 2001. In the episode, after Lisa becomes the target of a female bully named Francine, she discovers a scientific reason as to why bullies pick on nerds and demonstrates her findings at a science conference. Meanwhile, Homer goes into the childproofing business, causing baby-injury-related businesses to go in decline.

John Frink and Don Payne wrote "Bye Bye Nerdie" and their original idea for the episode saw Lisa being sent to juvenile hall after accidentally punching Principal Skinner when she was attempting to punch Francine. "Bye Bye Nerdie" was the first The Simpsons episode directed by Lauren MacMullan, who also made the design for Francine. Actress and comedian Kathy Griffin guest starred in the episode as this new bully character.

"Bye Bye Nerdie" has received generally positive reviews from critics and it was listed among "The Top Ten science moments in The Simpsons" by the editorial staff of Nature. Around 8.8 million American homes tuned in to watch the episode during its original airing, and in 2009 it was released on DVD along with the rest of the episodes of the twelfth season.

On an ordinary day at Springfield Elementary, Lisa attempts to make friends with a new girl, Francine (who is much larger and tougher than Lisa), but Francine beats up Lisa severely. Even attempting to share an interest in Malibu Stacy does not work since the doll that Francine has turns out to be Lisa's, which she then ruins. Lisa attempts to hire the school bullies (Nelson, Dolph, Jimbo, and Kearney) to protect her, but they refuse since girls fight dirtier than boys (and boys tend to be more vulnerable to falling in love). It is up to Lisa to investigate by herself the reason why Francine is targeting her.