Little Big Mom

Elwood Edwards as Virtual Doctor

"Little Big Mom" is the tenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 2000. In the episode, while the rest of the Simpson family goes skiing, Marge remains at the ski lodge due to her fear of skiing, only to break her leg from a falling clock. As a result, while hospitalized, Marge leaves Lisa to take care of the house. Bart and Homer refuse to help out with the chores, so in an attempt to motivate them, Lisa pulls a prank on them by making it look like they have leprosy. The episode includes a guest appearance from Elwood Edwards, and features several references to Lucille Ball and her television work.

When Marge is cleaning out the attic and looking for old things to send away to charity, Homer refuses to let her, prompting Marge to look at all the junk she is trying to get rid of. She shows Homer several skis he never used since buying them after the Nagano Olympics. To spite Marge, he decides to use them, so the family go on a skiing trip. When they are there, Marge decides that she wants to avoid skiing or snowboarding for fear of injury. Ironically, she winds up breaking her leg at the ski lodge when a loose-hanging clock falls on it. She goes to the hospital, and Dr. Hibbert declares that she must stay there until her cast is removed.

In the meantime, Lisa offers to take her place, making a structured plan for Homer and Bart to do some of the chores, which Lisa chooses through a chore hat. Unfortunately, Homer and Bart refuse to do any chores, and when Lisa finally prods them into doing some work, they do so in an extremely apathetic and ineffective manner. Marge is enjoying her time in the hospital, due to getting a massage, among other things. The lazy lifestyles of Homer and Bart have taken their toll on the house, which is now a disorganized, filthy hovel with trash everywhere, and with Lisa struggling to make ends meet. She even calls Marge and asks if she can return, but Marge, who enjoys the lifestyle of lying all day in bed not working, lies to Lisa saying she is still too injured to come back. Lisa, angered and desperate for answers, sees the ghost of Lucille Ball, who has an idea to get revenge. She suggests that she pull a clever trick on Homer and Bart while they are asleep. She does just that, and using green poster paint and oatmeal on the men, she tricks them into thinking that they have leprosy.