Simpsons Spin-off Showcase - S8-E24
Question: Lisa refuses to appear in the variety comedy show. However, she does relatively "flashy" things in a few other episodes - i.e. participating in a beauty pageant. So I think it's odd that she disagrees with a comedy show. Is there a joke that I am missing?
Simpsons Spin-off Showcase - S8-E24
Question: Is there a behind-the-scenes reason for Lisa being replaced by the blonde woman in the variety hour part of this episode?
Answer: It is a reference to the Brady bunch.
Answer: Lisa (the character, not the voice-actress) refused to take part in the show, since it is terrible. So the family re-cast her part.
Answer: Back in 1976, when "The Brady Bunch" cast reunited for "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour" spinoff, Jan (Eve Plumb) declined to join the cast. She stated as her reason that she didn't want to be perpetually known as Jan Brady. She was replaced with actress Geri Reischl. The third segment of this Simpson's episode, titled, "The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour," was a parody of that show - with its questionably bad jokes and cheesy musical numbers. It also parodied the replacement of one of the children with an alternate cast member.
Michael Albert