12 Greatest One-Off Simpsons Characters
4. Stacy Lovell
A seriously underrated episode of classic Simpsons, "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" is elevated by a great guest turn from Kathleen Turner. The smoky voiced actress is the perfect choice for Stacy Lovell, the jaded, hard drinking creator of the titular Barbie-spoofing doll.
Turner brings a lived in feel to the character, who is impressively well fleshed out over a small amount of screen time. Lovell is deeply cynical, lacking the motivation - or sobriety - to assist Lisa in her quest to create a more empowering role model for young girls than the cliche-spouting talking doll that drives the plot.
Stacy Lovell is a lesson in not meeting your heroes - Lisa is shocked that the creator of such an important product to her has become so bitter over the years. But Lovell is re energised by Lisa’s well meaning dedication, and commits to the cause of creating a more socially conscious doll, before learning the dispiriting lesson that you can’t beat big business.
A great example of the underlying downbeat air of early Simpsons, the character - and Turner - hit all the right notes, a richly detailed invention accomplishing a lot in just one appearance.