The Simpsons
Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
TV Flash files “Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words” as hour 426 of 802 in the TV Flash guide — The Simpsons (1989–present) on Fox, season 20, episode 6, aired 2008-11-16, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S20E06: listed hour 426 of 802 in the The Simpsons guide, hour 6 of 21 in season 20. It aired 2008-11-16 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Dangerous Curves” (S20E05). Next is “Mypods and Boomsticks” (S20E07). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Lisa discovers her amazing talent for doing crossword puzzles and becomes an expert cruciverbalist, and she soon enters a citywide crossword puzzle tournament. Homer, short on cash after abandoning his "Sweet Conclusions" professional break-up artist business, goes to cheer Lisa on at her tournament and discovers an underground crossword puzzle betting ring. In the ultimate betrayal, Homer profits from betting against Lisa in the championship match. When the heartbroken Lisa finds out, Homer must spell out his love for her with a little help from New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz (guest voice as himself) and master crossword constructor Merl Reagle (guest voice as himself).
Viewer FAQ
Where does Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words sit in the The Simpsons guide?
S20E06 is listed hour 426 of 802 — hour 6 of 21 in season 20, season 20 episode 6.
When did The Simpsons S20E06 air?
Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words aired 2008-11-16 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start if I am not watching all 800 episodes?
Start with the 1989 Christmas premiere, then a handful of golden-age hours from seasons four through eight. Treat the rest as a library, not a novel.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Watch it as a living joke encyclopedia, not a series you owe from pilot to present. The early years still teach how American satire learned to reset weekly; the later catalog is optional weather. You already speak Springfield. This is how the grammar got written.
The first image is a couch, and then it is not. The Simpsons treats the opening gag as a weekly contract: we will reset the living room, and we will still find a new joke about the country that owns it. Fox put a yellow family on Sunday nights in 1989 after the Tracey Ullman shorts, and the half-hour that followed did not merely popularize adult animation. It installed a shared vocabulary. People who stopped watching still speak Springfield.
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