Production
This was the first episode Frank Mula wrote for The Simpsons. Mula had previously worked with Simpsons executive producer Sam Simon at another Gracie Films show. This was the first season four episode that Wes Archer directed. Jeff Martin and Mula wrote the music for the President's Day pageant. Michael Carrington guest-stars in the episode as Rex, the boy who auditions for the role of George Washington but is beaten by Ralph, as well as Sideshow Raheem.
The story of "I Love Lisa" originated from a personal episode of Al Jean's life; when Jean was in third grade, he received a valentine from a girl that read "I Choo-Choo-Choose You". Years later, Jean wondered if the girl had really liked him. He told writing partner Mike Reiss about it and they thought it could be an idea for an episode where Lisa could give such a valentine to Ralph Wiggum, who would then take it too far. At that time, Ralph, a character they had put in the "Moaning Lisa" episode, and Chief Wiggum were not established as being related. Jean thought it would be funny if Ralph was Wiggum's son, considering both characters are "fat and dumb". A technique the staff used to come up with stories and ideas was to think "what holiday haven't we done on The Simpsons, or done lately?". As they had done several Halloween and Christmas episodes before, the staff liked the idea of doing a Valentine's Day episode.
Read more about this topic: I Love Lisa
Famous quotes containing the word production:
“The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“... if the production of any commodity necessitates the sacrifice of human life, society should do without that commodity, but it can not do without that life.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“It is part of the educator’s responsibility to see equally to two things: First, that the problem grows out of the conditions of the experience being had in the present, and that it is within the range of the capacity of students; and, secondly, that it is such that it arouses in the learner an active quest for information and for production of new ideas. The new facts and new ideas thus obtained become the ground for further experiences in which new problems are presented.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)