“Dad, how do you get a girl to like you?” – Ralph Wiggum
“Son, whether you want to win a girl or crack a nut, the key is persistence. Keep at it, and never lose your cool. . . . Aw, come on you stupid . . . Let that be a lesson to the rest of you! . . . nuts.” – Chief Wiggum
Dead Homer Society 
12 responses to “Quote of the Day”
This was the first time that Ralph was firmly established as being Chief Wiggum’s son. They were both introduced independently and then paired together here. In “Kamp Krusty” there’s a Ralph-esque kid who recieves a change of underwear that Lisa refers to as “Wiggum” and some might consider to be the first time their relationship is establihed, but in “Itchy and Scratcy the Movie”, which aired in between these two epiosdes, there’s a man in Miss Hoover’s class room who looks like an adult version of Ralph, most likely (I’m guessing) intended to be Ralph’s father. Maybe he’s Ralph’s uncle and the Chief and Sarah were busy that evening so he went to parent’s night instead.
It’s similar to the pairing of Tweety and Sylvester. They were both introduced in different cartoons (with Sylvester’s name being Thomas) and then paired together later becoming one of cartoon-dom’s greatest duos. I’m rambling and I’m tired and I had a long day at work but I just want to say that “I Love Lisa” is one of the finest half-hours of entertainment that humankind has ever made.
Best read I’ve had in a long time.
Thank You
Interesting, if true.
Which episode did they settle on Ralph’s characteristic voice? It’s memorably off in “Lisa’s Pony,” which was just one season earlier than this episode.
Ralph developed over time more so than other characters. He seemed to be a more generic character like the pimply faced teen or the sarcastic man rather than someone with much of a background. It’s debatable as to when Ralph as we know him today first appeared. In the very first episode there’s a kid in the Christmas pageant depicting the Japanese priest with the eyes in the back of his head. He looks like Ralph but sounds different. I think it’s still Nancy Cartwright doing the voice but he doesn’t have that naïve tone that makes Ralph who he is. He sounds too intelligent and confident to really be though of as Ralph.
I’m not sure when the final voice was settled upon. Even in this episode it goes back and fourth a little bit. After Lisa embarrasses him and he’s telling his dad that she humiliated him he sounds more perceptive than one would expect.
*thought of
Um, “I Love Lisa” I think, since that’s the first appearance of the real Ralph.
Also worth mentioning is that in the episode that aired after this, “Duffless”, we see Mrs. Wiggum for the first time who looks like an adult female version of Ralph, making it seem as though Ralph was always Chief Wiggum’s son even though the writers didn’t decide this until a few years into the show’s run.
So many Chief Wiggum QotDs. Not that I’m complaining.
I always thought that was Ralph in Kamp Krusty but he was just a bit off model.
Not to mention he can actually act pretty well for such a dimwitted kid, although they still had him have a funny moment when he told Lisa he was just there to play George Washington and got into FDR’s getup instead.