10 Times The Simpsons Jumped The Shark
5. Lady Gaga's Cameo
“Lisa Goes Gaga” ranks among the most dashed off episodes the show has ever put out. The premise alone should have alarm bells ringing: Lady Gaga passes through Springfield, concludes that the town needs cheering up, and spends the remainder of the episode lurking around in order to do so.
While The Simpsons once took well aimed digs at celebrity culture, here they’re guilty of nothing short of celebrity worship. Someone - the network, the producers - had concluded that the presence of the popstar would be a money maker, and so there she is, treated like a deity for an entire episode.
Gaga herself is perfectly fine, and is better served than a lot of later Simpsons’ utterly pointless celebrity cameos, but it doesn’t sit well for a show with the irreverent bent of The Simpsons to put out an episode like this.
It also relies heavily on references rather than jokes. Remember when Gaga wore that meat dress? Well, they’ve drawn it. Remember her song “Poker Face”? Well, here’s Homer singing it. It’s no fault of Lady Gaga that this episode is a dud, but it’s not a good look for the show.