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{{Infobox Simpsons episode

| image =

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| production = NABF11

| airdate = {{Start date|2011|04|10}}

| guests = [[Martin Landau]] as The Great Raymondo<br>[[Jack McBrayer]] as Ewell Freestone<br>[[Ricky Jay]] as himself<br>[[Penn & Teller]] as themselves<br>*[[David Copperfield (illusionist)|David Copperfield]] as himself

*[[Ricky Jay]] as himself

*[[Martin Landau]] as The Great Raymondo

*[[Jack McBrayer]] as Ewell Freestone

*[[Penn & Teller]] as themselves

| commentary =

| prev = [[Love Is a Many Strangled Thing]]

| next = [[The Real Housewives of Fat Tony]]

}}

"'''The Great Simpsina'''" is the eighteenth episode of the [[The Simpsons (season 22)|twenty-second season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the United States on April 10, 2011. It was written by [[Matt Warburton]] and directed by [[Chris Clements (animation director)|Chris Clements]].<ref name="imdb">{{IMDb episode|1628657|The Great Simpsina}}</ref> This episode was based on the 2002 film ''[[Spooky House]]'', starring Ben Kingsley.

In this episode, Lisa is taught a magician's secrets but accidentally gives them to his rival when she falls for the rival's son. [[Martin Landau]] and [[Jack McBrayer]] guest starred. Magicians [[Ricky Jay]] and [[Penn & Teller]] appeared as themselves.

It was the first episode to have no opening sequence.<ref>{{cite episode |series=[[The Simpsons]] |title=[[Sideshow Bob Roberts]] |season=6]] |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company]] |air-date=October 9, 1994 |time=12pm UTC (30 minutes) |number=108}}</ref> Following its broadcast, the episode received mixed reviews from critics.▼

▲It was the first episode to have no opening sequence which includes the title screen, [[chalkboard gag]], [[couch gag]], and television with the creator and developers' credits since "[[Bart the General]]."<ref>{{cite episode |series=[[The Simpsons]] |title=[[Sideshow Bob Roberts]] |season=6]] |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company]] |air-date=October 9, 1994 |time=12pm UTC (30 minutes) |number=108}}</ref> Following its broadcast, the episode received mixed reviews from critics.

This is the third episode (the other being "[[To Surveil with Love]]" and "[[The Fight Before Christmas (The Simpsons)|The Fight Before Christmas]]")

==Plot==

[[Simpsons family|The Simpsons]] gogoes [[Fruit picking|peach picking]]. They come back home with too many peaches, so they eat only recipes with [[peach]]es. After a while, all the family except [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] get tired of eating peaches. In an attempt to get rid of the peaches, [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] takes Marge to get a [[massage]]. Meanwhile, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]], [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]], and [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] take the peaches to different locations. But, Bart no longer has his peaches when the school bullies take over. Lisa is then lost in a [[Desertion|deserted]] area. A raccoon chases Lisa inside an [[illusionist]]'s house. When the illusionist called "The Great Raymondo" finds her, he questions her and teaches her some [[magic tricks]].

Lisa starts presenting magic tricks to the [[Springfield Elementary School|school]], and to "The Great Raymondo". Eventually, Raymondo becomes fond of his apprentice and entrusts her with his most shielded secret, the trick of "[[Harry Houdini#Milk Can Escape|The Great Milk Can Escape]]". Lisa presents this act at school and while signing autographs she meets a flattering boy who charms her into explaining the act. Shortly, it is revealed that the boy is the son of rival illusionist Cregg Demon, and merely used her to steal the secret of the Milk Can act, much to Lisa's shock. After Demon states that he is going to present it at his next show at an upcoming magic convention (he claims that he learned the trick after being met by the ghost of the trick's creator, [[Harry Houdini]]), a betrayed Raymondo rejects Lisa's apology and angrily orders her to leave his home. Lisa, saddened with guilt, tries to stop doing magic; however, Homer, saddened by his daughter's melancholy, tries to reassure her, only for her to start crying as Homer comforts her. Homer goes to Raymondo's mansion to demands he forgive his daughter, but gets caught in a diamond-patterned net. Homer asks Raymondo to release him from the net and to forgive Lisa.

After some thinking, Raymondo decides to offer Lisa a chance to redeem herself by helping him stop Demon from performing the Milk Can act. At the convention, Demon gets trapped inside the milk can and risks being drowned. Lisa tries to step in to save him, but is stopped by [[Ricky Jay]], [[David Copperfield (illusionist)|David Copperfield]] and [[Penn & Teller]] (in their second guest appearance on the show), who reveal they had replaced the fake milk can with a real one so that Demon will be unable to escape, thus eliminating him as competition to them. After a fight, Raymondo saves him by making a girder fall onto the magicians, and Demon decides to quit magic. At the end, Raymondo and Lisa do their act, with Lisa wowing the audience and Raymondo attempting to get high from inhaling enough ether to see a hallucination of his late wife and former assistant Esther.

==Production==

[[Martin Landau]] guest starred as The Great Raymondo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hollywood-pays-tribute-martin-landau-1021615/|title=Hollywood Pays Tribute to Martin Landau|date=July 16, 2017|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=August 5, 2023|archive-date=July 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726074007/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hollywood-pays-tribute-martin-landau-1021615/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jack McBrayer]] was cast as Ewell Freestone.<ref name="TFC">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20110321fox17/|title=(SI-2211) "The Great Simpsina"|website=[[The Futon Critic]]|access-date=August 5, 2023|archive-date=July 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726074015/http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20110321fox17/|url-status=live}}</ref> McBrayer recorded his lines in the summer of 2010 with [[Dan Castellaneta]] and [[Yeardley Smith]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-57141|title=Jack McBrayer on Being the 'Hammiest Voice Actor in the World'|first=Michelle|last=Kung|date=December 21, 2010|website=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=August 5, 2023|url-access=subscription|archive-date=July 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726074010/https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-57141|url-status=live}}</ref> Magicians [[David Copperfield (illusionist)|David Copperfield]], [[Ricky Jay]], and [[Penn & Teller]] appeared as themselves.<ref name="TFC"/>

==Cultural references==

* Cregg Demon Magicfreak is a parody of real illusionist [[Criss Angel: Mindfreak]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=Obvious but needs a citation}}

* Milkshake by [[Kelis]] plays during Cregg's attempt at the Great Milk Can Escape.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=Obvious but needs a citation}}

* Ali Rudy Vallée, the musical automaton, is a parody of [[Mechanical Turk|The Turk]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=Tenuous}}

*The episode follows along the plot of the film [[Spooky House]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=Tenuous}}

==RatingsReception==

===Ratings===

In its original American broadcast, "The Great Simpsina" was viewed by an estimated 4.996 million households<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.simpsonspark.com/news/2940-la-serie-enregistre-sa-plus-basse-audience.php|title=The Great Simpsina's low audience|accessdate=22 October 2011|publisher=Simpsonspark|first=Charles|last=Tasserit|date=11 April 2011|language=fr|archive-date=June 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626180731/http://www.simpsonspark.com/news/2940-la-serie-enregistre-sa-plus-basse-audience.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> and received a 2.3 [[Nielsen rating|rating]]/7 share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49,<ref name="tvratings">{{cite web|last=Gorman |first=Bill |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/04/11/tv-ratings-sunday-cleveland-show-up-family-guy-stable-as-brothers-sisters-celebrity-apprentice-secret-millionaire-simpsons-american-dad-others-fall/88844 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414105114/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/04/11/tv-ratings-sunday-cleveland-show-up-family-guy-stable-as-brothers-sisters-celebrity-apprentice-secret-millionaire-simpsons-american-dad-others-fall/88844 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-04-14 |title=TV Ratings Sunday: 'Cleveland Show' Up; 'Family Guy' Stable; As 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Celebrity Apprentice,' 'Secret Millionaire,' 'Simpsons,' 'American Dad' Fall|website=[[TV -by Ratingsthe &#124; TVbytheNumbers |publisher=Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.comNumbers]] |date=2011-04-11 |accessdate=2011-04-16}}</ref> marking an eighteen percent drop from the previous episode.

===Critical receptionresponse===

Eric Hochberger of ''TV Fanatic'' gave the episode a rating of 3.8/5.0 stars, writing "From [the opening], ''The Great Simpsina'' because [sic] a typical Lisa episode of The Simpsons. You know you're in for a clever storyline with plenty of heart, but not so much in the humor department...Overall, the episode was entertaining and flowed nicely throughout, but just lacked the funnier moments I've become accustomed to during this strong season".<ref>{{Cite web | first=Eric|last=Hochberger|url=http://www.tvfanatic.com/2011/04/the-simpsons-review-the-great-simpsina/ | title=The Simpsons Review: "The Great Simpsina"| date=2011-04-11|website=TV Fanatic|access-date=August 5, 2023|archive-date=June 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604145510/https://www.tvfanatic.com/2011/04/the-simpsons-review-the-great-simpsina/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rowan Kaiser of ''[[The AVA.V. Club]]'' rated ''"The Great Simpsina''" a B-B−, stating "Tonight's episode was an almost Platonic example of the modern Simpsons trying to recreate the glory years and not quite getting there. It has all the ingredients: a weird, irrelevant opening act, an investigation into a quirky aspect of American culture, and a single new character/guest star altering one of the Simpsons' lives temporarily...the jokes generally landed when they were made, and the ending was surprisingly sweet. It was just unfortunately non-essential".<ref>{{Cite web|first=Rowan|last=Kaiser|url=http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/license-to-tillthe-great-simpsinaburger-wartiegs-f-54347|title = "License to Till"/"The Great Simpsina"/"Burger War"/"Tiegs for Two"/"Ship'rect"|website = [[The A.V. Club]]| date=11 April 2011|access-date=August 5, 2023}}</ref>

==References==

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== External links ==

{{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_22#The_Great_Simpsina|"The Great Simpsina"}}

{{Portal|The Simpsons}}

* {{IMDb episode|1628657}}

* [http://www.simpsonsworld.com/video/254866499808 "The Great Simpsina"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229171329/http://www.simpsonsworld.com/video/254866499808 |date=December 29, 2018 }} at theSimpsons.com

{{The Simpsons episodes|22}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Simpsina, The}}

[[Category:2011 American television episodes]]

[[Category:The Simpsons (season 22) episodes]]