Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
| "Homer And Lisa Exchange Cross Words" | |
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| The Simpsons episode | |
Promotional image featuring Merl Reagle, Homer, Lisa, and Will Shortz.
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| Episode no. | 426 |
| Directed by | Michael Polcino |
| Written by | Tim Long |
| Showrunner(s) | Al Jean |
| Production code | KABF19 |
| Original air date | November 16, 2008 |
| Couch gag | In a reference to the Vesuvius eruption, the family sits on a bench dressed in togas, and is covered in volcanic ash. |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Merl Reagle as himself |
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Season 20 episodes
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| Seasons | |
Merl Reagle as himself
Will Shortz as himself
Scott Thompson as Grady
"Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons' twentieth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 16, 2008. In the episode, Lisa discovers that she has a talent for solving crossword puzzles, and she enters a crossword tournament. Lisa's feelings are hurt when she discovers that Homer bet against her in the championship match.
The episode was inspired by Patrick Creadon's 2006 documentary Wordplay, and was written by Tim Long, and directed by Nancy Kruse. Crossword puzzle creators Merl Reagle and Will Shortz guest star as themselves in the episode while Scott Thompson has a cameo as Grady, a character he first voiced in "Three Gays of the Condo". Reagle created all of the crossword puzzles that appear in the episode and as promotion for the episode, a special Simpsons-related message (dedicated to this episode) that appeared in The New York Times Sunday crossword on November 16, 2008. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, and finished fourth in its timeslot during its initial airing on Fox, with a 3.9 Nielsen rating.
Bart and Lisa start a lemonade stand, but it is quickly closed due to them not having a vending permit. They get in line at the licensing bureau, only to find that the long line is standing still due to the clerk doing a crossword puzzle. Impatient, Lisa completes the puzzle herself, only to find herself addicted to the puzzles. Eventually, she becomes so obsessed with them that Superintendent Chalmers hands her a pamphlet for the Crossword City Tournament. Meanwhile, at Moe's, Edna Krabappel offers to buy a beer for anyone who breaks up with Principal Skinner for her. Homer ends their relationship, and decides to take a second job in which he helps break up romantic relationships. Grady, one of his old roommates, calls Homer and asks him to break up Grady's and his boyfriend's relationship because he found a new and "better" man in Duffman. Homer successfully manages to break up the couple. After making a good deal of money, he dreams that he is pestered by the "ghosts" of the jilted lovers and thus quits the trade.
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