B次元官网网址淭he SimpsonsB次元官网网址� consulting producer Tim Long grew up in Ontario and has always sensed something secretly Canadian about Lisa, the middle child and most critically-minded member of the enduring American animated family.
B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 the one whoB次元官网网址檚 had the most barbed critiques of the United States,B次元官网网址� Long, a writer-producer who was raised in Exeter, Ont., said in a recent phone interview.
B次元官网网址淚 thought Bart was sort of like America: brash, unreflective, much more sure of himself. And Lisa was sort of the intellectual, quiet, thoughtful, rational one. And IB次元官网网址檝e always felt like that was sort of the relationship between America and Canada, too.B次元官网网址�
So when it came to this SundayB次元官网网址檚 Canadian-themed episode, it felt natural to make Lisa the one who spends time on this side of the border, said Long, who has won five Emmy Awards.
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It happens when the Simpsons visit Niagara Falls and, through a series of wacky mishaps, Lisa goes over the powerful flow of water that separates Ontario and New York.
She lands on the Canadian side and is admitted to hospital, where she realizes Canada is the place for her.
The episode, B次元官网网址淒B次元官网网址橭h Canada,B次元官网网址� airs on Citytv and Fox.
B次元官网网址淪he is not unscathed, but because of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 incredibly generous health-care system, she ends up just fine,B次元官网网址� said Long, who co-wrote the episode with his wife, screenwriter Miranda Thompson.
B次元官网网址淭he Simpsons, when they see her in the hospital, are fully prepared to go bankrupt, because thatB次元官网网址檚 what would happen to them in America. But theyB次元官网网址檙e stunned and amazed and delighted to find the health-care system takes care of them.B次元官网网址�
Yes, much of the Simpsons clan also visits Canada in the episode, which Long said has B次元官网网址渁 shocking number of Canadian thingsB次元官网网址� that B次元官网网址�95 per cent of the American audience wonB次元官网网址檛 get.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e briefly there but then Homer gets belligerent and theyB次元官网网址檙e asked to leave, except for Lisa. Then much of the rest of the show features the Simpsons plotting to get her back and trying to convince Lisa that she should come back, because sheB次元官网网址檚 at least initially very happy.B次元官网网址�
Earlier this week, Toronto journalist Lucas Meyer revealed he voices Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the episode.
While Meyer recorded his role in September, Long said they write episodes B次元官网网址渦ntil the very last second,B次元官网网址� leaving room for current references.
One of those references on Sunday might be the SNC-Lavalin controversy, Long suggested when he said B次元官网网址渢here may be mention of a current scandal thatB次元官网网址� Trudeau is in.
B次元官网网址淐ompared to putting immigrant children in cages, this scandal feels a little bit like small beer to me,B次元官网网址� said Long, referencing 2018 footage of migrant children housed in fenced-off cages at U.S. border facilities.
B次元官网网址淏ut I know also that itB次元官网网址檚 serious and maybe not everyone has been forthcoming about what happened. I understand heB次元官网网址檚 behind in the polls, which I think would shock most Americans.B次元官网网址�
Long was born in Brandon, Man., and moved to Exeter with his family when he was four. He got his big break as head writer of B次元官网网址淟ate Show with David LettermanB次元官网网址� and joined B次元官网网址淭he SimpsonsB次元官网网址� in 1998.
He lives in Los Angeles but has found himself back on home soil lately, in Almonte, Ont., shooting the film B次元官网网址淭he Exchange.B次元官网网址� Long wrote the comedy, which is set in Canada and loosely based on his experience with an exchange student as a teen.
On B次元官网网址淭he Simpsons,B次元官网网址� heB次元官网网址檚 one of three Canadian writers, the others being Joel H. Cohen and Jeff Westbrook.
B次元官网网址淐anada is always in the airB次元官网网址� in the writersB次元官网网址� room, said Long.
B次元官网网址淚 remember the day when we taught them that the Canadian one-dollar coin was called a loonie and the two-dollar coin was called a toonie. Oh, that shut down work for several hours, because nobody could believe it.B次元官网网址�
The show has referenced Canada before, including an episode where Homer and Grandpa Simpson smuggle prescription drugs from here.
B次元官网网址淲ith the Canadian references, my instinct when I first started was not to make too many of them, because I wanted to fit in,B次元官网网址� said Long. B次元官网网址淏ut I find that the kind of American who writes for B次元官网网址楾he SimpsonsB次元官网网址� is fascinated by it.
B次元官网网址淪o youB次元官网网址檒l often find that the references on the show to Canada havenB次元官网网址檛 been written by Canadians, but theyB次元官网网址檝e been written by Americans looking across the table at a Canadian and thinking, B次元官网网址榃hat the hell is with that guy?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press
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