Last Tap Dance in Springfield
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"Last Tap Dance in Springfield" is the twentieth episode of the eleventh season of The Simpsons. It aired on May 7, 2000.
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Plot
On a trip to the mall, Homer sees an optometrist to get his eyes examined, and at the same time, Marge and Lisa find items for a camping trip Bart is going to take. Marge sees a marquee for the film Tango de La Muerte and she and Lisa decide to see it. Lisa identifies with the main female character, a bookworm named "Lisabella" whom the Tango champion asks to be his partner. This interests Lisa, who wants to take dance lessons. She eventually does, but her hopes of being a dancer are crushed when it turns out she can't dance. Worse yet, her teacher, "Little" Vicki Valentine, makes her a curtain puller in an upcoming recital.
Meanwhile, Bart and Milhouse sneak out of their camping trip to hide in the mall and spend a week there, stealing toys and filling their stomachs with candy and cookie dough. This prompts Chief Wiggum to do an investigation of the shenanigans at the mall, which Wiggum at first thinks is caused by a giant rat.
Lisa's recital is coming up, and she has a problem. That is, until Professor Frink attaches a device to her shoes, making them automatically tap at any percussive sound. She becomes a star at the show, but when the audience applauds her, her shoes go out of control. Homer saves her by simply putting his leg out and tripping her.
Cultural references
- The episode title references Last Tango in Paris.
- The movie Lisa and Marge see, "Tango de La Muerte", is a parody of the film Strictly Ballroom.
- The "Cyborganizer" show Homer watches is an obvious spoof on RoboCop.
- Vicki Valentine's line about tap-dancing in Morse code is a reference to a 1970s Saturday Night Live sketch where a grown-up Shirley Temple (played by Laraine Newman) uses the tap dancing she learned as a child to save a ship from crashing.
- The scene with the old people clawing to get into the shopping center is reference to the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead.
- Chief Wiggum uses rattraps by ACME Corporation at the mall.
- When Chief Wiggum says he is crazy about the safety of the public is a reference to the film Jaws.