Production
The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Rich Moore. According to show runner Al Jean, it was designed to satirize the staff members' "love affair with gambling, particularly on football." Kogen, Wolodarsky, Jean, George Meyer, Sam Simon, and James L. Brooks were all frequent gamblers. Many of the staff members were also football fans, particularly Kogen and Wolodarsky. In "Lisa the Greek", the writers wanted to further develop Lisa's character, and so they decided to make it about Lisa's relationship with her father.
Kogen commented that Lisa and Marge episodes "tend to be the better episodes", because they are more thought-out and have more emotional depth to them. However, they are harder to write than other episodes because they are "less jokey." The writers therefore made the decision to replace Marge's role with Homer, who tends to be funnier than Marge. Jean commented that because he has a daughter, Homer–Lisa episodes are easier for him to write and he "always want to work on them." Moore said they are his favorite episodes to direct, because "the two most opposite characters in the cast finding some kind of common ground That was always interesting." In one scene, Homer makes Lisa sit on the end of the sofa so that she will not interrupt the game. Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa, recalls that many people at the table-read thought Homer was "too harsh" in the scene, but it ended up being included in the episode anyway.
Read more about this topic: Lisa The Greek
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