"Moaning Lisa" is the sixth episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 11, 1990. The episode was written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, and was directed by Wes Archer. Ron Taylor guest stars in the episode as Oscar "Bleeding Gums" Murphy.
Production
thumb|200px|The idea for "Moaning Lisa" was suggested by [[James L. Brooks. |alt=A video camera is being pointed at a bearded man who is wearing glasses. Some other people stand in the background.]]
"Moaning Lisa" was the first episode of the series to focus on the character of Lisa Simpson. The idea for it was suggested by The Simpsons producer James L. Brooks, who wanted to do an episode where Lisa was sad but she did not know why.
The song Lisa sings in this episode later reappeared in expanded form on The Simpsons Sing the Blues CD. The designs of the boxers in the video game Homer and Bart play were loosely based on Homer and Bart, "Bleeding Gums" Murphy, and Jacqueline Bouvier (during Marge's childhood flashback) all make their first (going by production order rather than airdate) appearances on The Simpsons in this episode.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Gary Russell and Gareth Roberts, said: "Certain scenes of this, the most syrupy of Simpsons episodes, sent viewers raised on the later seasons scurrying to the bathroom. Yes, the final moments may give you goosepimples, and are a world away from the anti-schmaltz normally associated with the series, but there is still much to recommend here. In fact, the Homer–Bart subplot is more successful than the main storyline; Homer's nightmare about their relationship is genuinely disturbing."
Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide said in a review that "overall, this was a pretty drab episode" and added that "it had some moments, such as the videogame boxing matches between Homer and Bart, but Lisa lacked the strength at this point to carry an entire show".
Yeardley Smith, the voice actress of Lisa, has cited the episode as one of her favorite Simpsons episodes of all time.
In his 2018 memoir Springfield Confidential, Mike Reiss named the episode as one of four that broke new ground, alongside "Like Father, Like Clown", "Homer at the Bat" and the original "Treehouse of Horror". It was released in the US on the VHS release The Best of The Simpsons, Vol. 2 (1997), paired with "Bart the General". In the United States, it was later re released in a collector's edition boxed set of the first three volumes of The Best of The Simpsons collections.
In the United Kingdom, it was re released as part of a VHS boxed set of the complete first season, in November 1999. The episode's début on the DVD format was as a part of The Simpsons season one DVD set, which was released on September 25, 2001. Groening, Reiss, Archer, and Jean participated in the DVD's audio commentary. A digital edition of the series' first season, including the episode, was published December 20, 2010 in the United States through Amazon Video and iTunes.