Elizabeth Gunderson, B.Ed. (née Hoover; also known as Miss Hoover) is a recurring character on The Simpsons. She is a second-grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School.
Biography
Miss Hoover has been worn down by her years in the public school system and is therefore unable to retain an enthusiastic attitude during her job, although she does show premises of it on some occasions. As much as Hoover is concerned for the future of the children (as opposed to Edna, who didn't seem to care the slightest), she hates her job and seems overwhelmed with stress, seeking whatever remedies she can to alleviate it. Hoover is often seen smoking even while teaching, even under a "No Smoking" sign in the assembly hall. She also occasionally drinks on the job. Once she was granted tenure, she willingly turned over her teaching responsibilities to Ralph Wiggum.
Her desperate attempts to regain her stability include rushing out of class to recite "Calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean" with her eyes closed, and even, on two occasions, getting into her car and driving off (although one of those instances also had to do with a teacher's strike that Edna proposed).
She was replaced by a substitute teacher, Mr. Bergstrom, when she thought of being diagnosed with Lyme disease. It turned out that her condition was psychosomatic, which the kids thought meant that she was "faking it" and "crazy", with her admitting that it was "a bit of both."[2]
She seems to have a better handle on Bart that Edna does, but this can be attributed to the fact that she likely was his teacher back when he was in second grade.
She also seemed to be dangerously unaware of how a teacher is supposed to act and is gullible at times relating to teaching. This trait was especially evident when Homer Simpson, who was a newly-made teacher at the Springfield Adult Education center, was speeding and driving through red lights while behaving as though being a teacher made him entitled to do such a thing: Hoover, who briefly witnessed, and heard, Homer's behavior, felt that she must be entitled to do the same thing, and began to do the same reckless behavior[3]. She also was not above sleeping in class, which Nelson Muntz once exploited by doodling a message saying "Insert Booze Here" with an arrow pointing to her mouth.[4] She also appears to be somewhat resistant to injury, as she was hurled head-first out of the teachers lounge during a massive brawl after Mike said Edna's fourth grade students suck, but simply got back up, straightened her blouse and went back inside to resume fighting[5]. Despite her negative attitude towards teaching, she has demonstrated considerable skill in math, being able to calculate 926 dollars simply by leafing through them - though this could also be meant to imply that she has extensive experience with illicit, cash-only transactions.
Romances
- In "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons", Hoover had a one-time date with Apu.
- In "24 Minutes", she is seen making out with Groundskeeper Willie.
- In "Convenience Airways", she is seen making love with two unnamed men teachers by reading a romance book.
- Hoover also had a cameo appearance with her boyfriend at church in "My Sister, My Sitter".
- She was once proposed to by an unnamed man. However, she wanted to see other people and hired Homer to break them up[6].
- She formed a romantic relationship with Gil Gunderson in "Habeas Tortoise" where Gil proposed to her and they got married.
Non Canon Appearances
Video Games
In The Simpsons Game, Miss Hoover is one of two characters that doesn't have any lines, even whilst exploring the town; the other being Lunch-lady Doris.
She becomes a character in The Simpsons Tapped Out, coming with the Ah, Fudge! Factory and Cocoa Beanie.
Future
In "Future-Drama", she can be seen in Moe's Tavern with Edna Krabappel when Homer Simpson and Bart Simpson attempt to look for females.
In "Days of Future Future", she is one of the many women Bart has a relationship with.
At the end of "Flanders' Ladder", she is shown to be one of the many wives of Ned Flanders.
Treehouse of Horror series
"Treehouse of Horror XX"
In the second segment, Dial "M" for Murder or Press "#" to Return to Main Menu, she picks a student other than Lisa to represent the class at a reading roundup. Lisa's enraged response causes Miss Hoover to give her detention where she and Bart concoct a plan to get revenge on their teachers. Lisa ding-dong-ditches Mrs. Krabappel, but Bart kills Miss Hoover.
Comics
She once joined a team of single people who all went and did stunts. It is also revealed her that she dated Rainier Wolfcastle only to realize he was just practicing for his movie "I Dated A Plain Girl"[7]
Behind the Laughter
Miss Hoover is voiced by Maggie Roswell, and was temporarily voiced by Marcia Mitzman Gaven while Roswell was involved in a salary dispute.
In her initial appearances in season 2 and 3, her hair is bright blue, barring "Lisa's Substitute", "Bart the Lover" and "Homer at the Bat., where it is light brown, and "Bart the Murderer", where it is orange. From season 4 onwards, brown becomes the norm.
Trivia
- She is named after Matt Groening's first grade teacher.
- She lives next door to the Van Houtens.[8]
- In the Latin American dub, she is named Elizabeth Stricter.
- In The Simpsons: Tapped Out, she states of having a tramp stamp.
- She has a slight New England accent in the earlier episodes.
Appearances
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Episode – "Bart the General" (name only) - Episode – "Bart's Dog Gets an F" (mentioned)
- Episode – "Brush with Greatness"
- Episode – "Lisa's Substitute"
- Episode – "Bart the Murderer"
- Episode – "Lisa the Greek"
- Episode – "Bart the Lover"
- Episode – "Separate Vocations"
- Episode – "Dog of Death"
- Episode – "Kamp Krusty"
- Episode – "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie"
- Episode – "Marge vs. the Monorail"
- Episode – "I Love Lisa"
- Episode – "Duffless" (Bart's imagination)
- Episode – "Marge in Chains"
- Episode – "Rosebud"
-
THOH – "Treehouse of Horror IV" ("Terror at 5½ Feet") - Episode – "Bart's Inner Child"
- Episode – "The Last Temptation of Homer"
- Episode – "Homer the Vigilante"
- Episode – "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song"
- Episode – "Secrets of a Successful Marriage"
- Episode – "Lisa's Rival"
- Episode – "Itchy & Scratchy Land"
- Episode – "Lisa's Wedding"
- Episode – "The PTA Disbands"
- Episode – "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)"
- Episode – "Lisa the Vegetarian"
- Episode – "Lisa the Iconoclast"
- Episode – "Grade School Confidential"
- Episode – "In Marge We Trust"
- Episode – "My Sister, My Sitter"
- Episode – "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson"
- Episode – "The Principal and the Pauper"
- Episode – "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons"
- Episode – "Lisa the Skeptic"
- Episode – "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace"
- Episode – "Lard of the Dance"
- Episode – "Lisa Gets an "A""
- Episode – "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken"
- Episode – "Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers""
- Episode – "Skinner's Sense of Snow"
- Episode – "Trilogy of Error"
- Episode – "Little Girl in the Big Ten"
- THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XIV "
- Episode – "The President Wore Pearls"
- Episode – "Future-Drama"
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- Episode – "The Good, the Sad and the Drugly"
- Episode – "Wedding for Disaster"
- Episode – "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh"
- Episode – "Treehouse of Horror XX"
- Episode – "Rednecks and Broomsticks"
- Episode – "Once Upon a Time in Springfield"
- THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXI" (Tweenlight)
- Episode – "The Fool Monty"
- Episode – "The Fight Before Christmas" (Lisa's dream)
- Episode – "Moms I'd Like to Forget"
- Episode – "The Great Simpsina"
- Episode – "Homer Scissorhands"
- Episode – "The Ned-liest Catch"
- Episode – "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts"
- Episode – "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson"
- Episode – "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches"
- Episode – "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart"
- Episode – "Ned 'N Edna's Blend"
- Episode – "Lisa Goes Gaga"
- Episode – "A Test Before Trying"
- Episode – "What Animated Women Want"
- Episode – "Pulpit Friction"
- Episode – "The Saga of Carl"
- THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXIV"
- Episode – "Four Regrettings and a Funeral"
- Episode – "YOLO" (Seen at the school)
- Episode – "The Kid is All Right"
- Episode – "Days of Future Future"
- Episode – "What to Expect When Bart's Expecting" (Appeared in a photo)
- Episode – "Brick Like Me"
- Episode – "Pay Pal"
- Episode – "The Yellow Badge of Cowardge"
- Episode – "Clown in the Dumps"
- Episode – "Blazed and Confused"
- Episode – "Walking Big & Tall" (School auditorium)
- Episode – "Mathlete's Feat"
- Episode – "Cue Detective"
- Episode – "Halloween of Horror"
- THOH – "treehouse of Horror XXVI" (Homerzilla)
- Episode – "Paths of Glory"
- Episode – "The Girl Code"
- Episode – "Love Is in the N2-O2-Ar-CO2-Ne-He-CH4"
- Episode – "Gal of Constant Sorrow"
- Episode – "Lisa the Veterinarian"
- Episode – "The Burns Cage" (Seen in the school auditorium)
- Episode – "Simprovised"
- Episode – "The Last Traction Hero"
- Episode – "Dogtown"
- Episode – "The Serfsons"
- Episode – "Fears of a Clown"
- Episode – "Flanders' Ladder" (picture)
- Episode – "The Girl on The Bus" (sleeping in class)
- Episode – "The Clown Stays in the Picture" (flashback)
- Episode – "The Winter of Our Monetized Content"
- Episode – "Gorillas on the Mast"
- Episode – "Marge the Lumberjill"
- Episode – "Hail to the Teeth"
- Episode – "Frinkcoin"
- Episode – "Better Off Ned"
- Episode – "Highway to Well"
- Episode – "Now Museum, Now You Don't"
- Episode – "Sorry Not Sorry"
- Episode – "Diary Queen"
- Episode – "Burger Kings"
- Episode – "Mother and Child Reunion" (seen in debate crowd)
- Episode – "Bart's in Jail!"
- Episode – "Lisa's Belly"
- Episode – "You Won't Believe What This Episode is About - Act Three Will Shock You!"
- Episode – "Pretty Whittle Liar"
- Episode – "My Octopus and a Teacher"
- Episode – "Poorhouse Rock"
- Episode – "Habeas Tortoise"
- Episode – "One Angry Lisa"
- Episode – "The King of Nice" (seen in crowd at Krusty's show)
- Episode – "Lisa Gets an F1"
- Episode – "Clan of the Cave Mom"
- Episode – "Bart's Brain"
- Episode – "Bart's Birthday"
- Episode – "Desperately Seeking Lisa"
- Episode – "Women in Shorts"
- THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXXV"
- Episode – "Convenience Airways"
- Episode – "O C'mon All Ye Faithful"
- Episode – "Thrifty Ways to Thieve Your Mother"
- Episode – "Keep Chalm and Gary On"
- Episode – "Parahormonal Activity"
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Special – "Sugar High" -
Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out -
Gallery
Reference
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|---|---|---|---|
| Maude Flanders | Helen Lovejoy | Elizabeth Hoover | Luann Van Houten | Princess Kashmir | Mary Bailey | Shary Bobbins | Barbara Bush | Mona Simpson | Martha Quimby | |||