NEW YORK - Sweet, smart, shy YEARDLEY SMITH , whose voice is sweet, smart Lisa on "The Simpsons" and who plays sweet, shy Louise on "Herman's Head," has found out how celebrities get misquoted.

At the Emmy Awards last week, when "The Simpsons" lost to "A Claymation Easter" for best animated series, a reporter for a trade publication asked for her reaction. "I was quoted out of context," she said.

I said, `Scandalous!' and I threw back my head and I laughed. I said, `With all due respect to `Claymation,' I think everybody thought that the real competition was between `Ren and Stimpy' and `The Simpsons.' Then I said, `These kinds of upsets make life exciting.'

YEARDLEY SMITH pauses. "All they printed was, `Scandalous!' she said.

"It really upset me. I realize it's much more intriguing to write a story about something negative than something that might be funny, but it's not what I meant. I just feel like if my ship is going to sink, I want to sink it myself."

Her real beef, of course, is that the animated "Simpsons" (which airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays on WOIO Channel 19) still is not able to compete with other half-hour comedy series like "Seinfeld" and "Murphy Brown."

"The reason, apparently, that we've been given is that we're too precedent-setting, that we can do things that live-action characters can't. I don't get it. That's not an explanation to me," she said.

"It has some of the best writing in the business. It's one of the highest-rated shows on television. I care that we are not able to compete with the regular shows."

"Herman's Head," meanwhile, continues to chug along on Fox on Sunday nights, ranked 46th. Rumors of its pending cancellation last year won it a favorable boost from TV Guide and other critics.

"I got fan letters from people saying they'd heard the show had been canceled and how sorry they were for me," Smith said.

This season, Louise will fall in love with a married man; Hetty (Jane Sibbett) will nearly get married; Herman (William Ragsdale) and Jay (Hank Azaria) will go to a sex therapist, and Mr. Bracken (Jason Bernard) will date a hooker.

The season premiere is tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. (WOIO Channel 19).

"I hope the show will hit its stride," Smith said. "I do think we've had a pretty good beginning. But we're never going to be `Seinfeld,' and they have said as much.

"There is a style that they have for `Herman's Head' and they want it to be in the same vein as `Married ... with Children,' not in the same vein as `Murphy Brown' or `Evening Shade.' If that's not your thing, then don't watch.'