Page "Lisa's Rival" Paragraph 8

Although written by Mike Scully, the episode's original concept was pitched by Conan O ' Brien before he left the show.

O ' Brien suggested having an episode about a rival for Lisa, but the rest of the episode's storyline was written by Scully and other staff members.

It was the first episode Scully wrote for the show, and he would later become showrunner.

Winona Ryder guest starred as Allison Taylor.

She was a fan of the show and was popular amongst the staff.

David Mirkin recalled that more writers came to her recording session than any other.

Her character's name was taken from two of Scully's daughters, Allison and Taylor.

The subplot was pitched by George Meyer.

Homer's sugar diatribe was pitched by Meyer off the top of his head and animated by David Silverman, who specifically asked to animate the scene after listening to Dan Castellaneta's performance.