The entire family tightly fits onto the couch. No gag.[1]
SimpsonsTrivia
Note, the bot needs improvement if we're going to use this alphabetical section since it's sorting the sub-list on one of the pages alphabetically - but it probably doesn't make sense to sort the trivia anyway.
In popular terminology a gift given with the selfish intent of being used by the giver rather than the receiver is referred to as a "bowling ball for Marge," citing this episode. (
Life on the Fast Lane)
Like Bart The General, the opening sequence is quickly cut off (
Life on the Fast Lane)
Springfield Shopper headlines: "Simpson Says Safe!," "Dozens Cheer Homer Simpson," "Homer Simpson Strikes Again!," "Watch Out, Here Comes Homer," and "Enough Already, Homer Simpson!" (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
The only notable mistake is that César's line "Qu'est-ce que je t'avais dit?" (What have I been telling you?) is translated as "He sees well enough", however, César's argument to Ugolin was that adding too much
antifreeze to wine would not cause death, or blindness, hence the said translation. Also, "anti-freeze" is not translated; it should be "antigel". (
The Crepes of Wrath)
A continuity error in this episode is, in the scene where Bart is shown sitting tied up on the couch and Ms. Botz walks in carrying a tied-up Lisa in her arms before dumping her on the sofa alongside Bart, you can see quite clearly that the rope Ms. Botz has used to bind Lisa is wound right around her body from the neck right down to her ankles. A few shots later when Maggie comes down and frees her, the rope tying Lisa's legs together at the knees has disappeared. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
A member of the angry mob carries a sign with the likeness of Jebediah Springfield's head and the words, "Have You Seen Me?" (
The Telltale Head)
A sign inside church where Rev. Lovejoy has just given a sermon on the evils of gambling reads, "Bingo---Tuesday Night.
Monte Carlo Night---Wednesday.
Reno Retreat Saturday." (
The Telltale Head)
At the time of production, the writers and producers felt that this episode had the potential to be made into a two-part story. However, they eventually decided to make it as a single episode. (
The Call of the Simpsons)
Bart and Lisa's college fund amounts to $88.50, and Homer gets $150 for pawning his television, which means he had to find $11.50 in his wallet to afford the family therapy. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
Bart asks Herman whether he lost his arm in the war, to which Herman warns Bart, "Next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!" Two episodes earlier, in "
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons)", Mrs. Krabappel tells the children to keep their arms in the bus and says, "We all know the tragic story of the young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped off by a big truck coming in the other direction." However the audio commentary stated that it was supposed to be a running gag that Herman would explain his missing arm differently each time. (
Bart the General)
Bart has to go get antifreeze from 74
Voltaire Street (74 rue Voltaire); the 7 is drawn European-style, with a horizontal line through the middle. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
Bart's prank call to Moe: Bart calls Moe's Tavern and asks for Jacques, last name Strap. Moe's response: "When I find you I am going to gut you like a fish and drink your blood." This is the second prank call. Moe's hair is now gray. (
Moaning Lisa)
By the end of this episode Bart can speak perfect French. Later, in the episode “
The Monkey Suit”, Bart's chalkboard gag is "Je ne parle pas Français" ("I don't speak French"). (
The Crepes of Wrath)
During their first fight, Nelson hits Bart twelve times in the face before he knocks Bart out. (
Bart the General)
Early in the episode, there is some actual dialogue in
Albanian between Adil and his family, but later on the dialogue is just gibberish. The dialogue in
French is very loosely translated, but correct, however. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
El Barto is signed on the steps of city hall when Chief Wiggum talks about the graffiti problem in Springfield. He then passes around an artist sketch of the culprit who looks like an older and tougher Bart Simpson. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Flanders makes $27 more a week than Homer does (although this is based on Ned's original job at a pharmaceutical company, not the Leftorium). (
The Call of the Simpsons)
Games at the Noise Land Video Arcade, the games include Eat My Shorts, PAC-RAT II, Itchy vs. Scratchy, Escape from Grandma's House, and
Robert Goulet Destroyer. (
Moaning Lisa)
Grampa's list of words he does not want to hear on television again: (
Bart the General)
Homer maintains a clean shaven appearance for exactly seven seconds. Then his beard stubble starts to grow back. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
In a flashback of Krusty's heart attack, he is advertising pork products. Being a rabbi's son, it is ironic to eat pork, being against Jewish dietary laws. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
In later seasons,
Agnes Skinner's personality seems vastly different to her kindly demeanor in this episode. In the
DVDaudio commentary, Matt Groening offers the theory that her current mean streak can be attributed to being a victim of Bart's prank. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
In the
Czech-dubbed version Herman is portrayed as a
Neo-Nazist, greeting Bart with the words "
Sieg Heil, mein Junge" and claiming that he lost his arm while hailing from a bus. (
Bart the General)
In the
United Kingdom, this was one of the first episodes released on video cassette in the early 1990s, and thus was many viewers' introduction to the series (especially in the days before the series was shown on
terrestrial television). (
Bart the General)
In the scene where Homer and another man are making the announcement to everyone, if you look very carefully you can see a man in the background who looks like Brad Goodman from
season 5 episode "
Bart's Inner Child". (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
In the script, the opening scene with Lisa looking into the mirror is called "an
Ingmar Bergman moment." (
Moaning Lisa)
Ironically, Nelson doesn't say "Haw Haw!" (which he would later be infamous for) at all in his first episode, and didn't use it until "
Three Men and a Comic Book" in Season 2. (
Bart the General)
Jacques appears again in The Simpson's
7th Season episode "
Team Homer" and makes a brief cameo as a bowler in the past in "
And Maggie Makes Three" He also appears in the "Do the Bartman" music video and virtually every time the Bowlarama is seen. (
Life on the Fast Lane)
Kearney stands on the lawn and leans on a sign that reads "Keep off the Grass." (
The Telltale Head)
Krusty's main clown competition is Hobo Hank. Hobos were among the acts Krusty claims to have flattened in "Krusty Gets Kancelled." (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Lisa brushes her teeth with "Glum Toothpaste". (
Moaning Lisa)
Lisa calls her teacher "Mrs. Hoover" instead of "Miss Hoover." (
Bart the General)
Marge's drawing of Homer is quite crude, in later seasons it would be established she is actually an accomplished artist. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
Mrs. Krabappel tells the children to keep their arms in the bus and says, "We all know the tragic story of the young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped off by a big truck coming in the other direction." To which Bart says (with his arm in his shirt), "And I was that boy!" Two episodes later, in "
Bart the General", Bart asks
Herman whether he lost his arm in the war, to which Herman warns Bart, "Next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!" (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Occasionally, this episode is called "Jacques to Be Wild". When the episode was originally planned, it called for Albert Brooks to voice "Björn" (a parody to
Björn Borg), a
Swedishtennis instructor, but Albert Brooks thought it would be better to make Brooks' character French. The title was, therefore, originally "Bjorn to Be Wild". (
Life on the Fast Lane)
On the photocopying machine it says 5 cents on the label but it says 10 cents on the coin slot (
Homer's Night Out)
On their way to Springfield Powerplant the children pass the Springfield Toxic Waste Dump, the Springfield Tire Yard (which is not on fire as of yet), the Springfield State Prison, and Springfield Elementary School. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Signs at Bob's RV-Roundup (formerly RVs R Us): "We give credit to everyone!"; "Bad Credit. Good!"; "Bankruptcy Shmankruptcy." (
The Call of the Simpsons)
The DVD does, however, contain two scenes that were not in the original broadcast; an extended remark from Otto ("It's beautiful, man!"; "man" was not in the original broadcast), and Homer telling Bart that "most lynch mobs aren't this nice". These scenes add to five seconds; note, however, that the run time for this episode on the Season 1 DVD set is 22:42, and the run time for its original broadcast is 23:05. Bart mentions earlier in the episode that the story takes "about 23 minutes and five seconds" to tell; the story itself is only 17 minutes and 10 seconds, though this more likely refers to the length of the full episode. (
The Telltale Head)
The Season 1
DVD boxset is missing two scenes from the episode: one where Bart told the crowd that, after decapitating the town statue, he realized he was taking his heritage for granted (an issue that would later resurface in Season 7's "
Lisa the Iconoclast"), and another with church bells ringing. It is rumored that these scenes, which add up to 28 seconds, were added to comply with an FCC regulation that all
cartoons must include this length of educational content. (
The Telltale Head)
The Ultimate Behemoth RV: two-stories high with a fireplace, a full kitchen, four deep fryers---"one for each part of the chicken," a big-screen television set, and its own satellite, the Vanstar I. (
The Call of the Simpsons)
The episode's production number is 7G01, as it was the first Simpsons episode produced and, if not for the aforementioned animation problems, it would have served as the series premiere. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
The exact title of this episode can be found to vary slightly in different sources. One of the most common variations is There's No Place Like Homer. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
The police dog's name is Bobo, which would later be used of the name for Mr. Burns' teddy bear in "
Rosebud". When Homer is saying that they have to get $250 for the therapy, a teddybear that looks exactly like Bobo can be seen on a lower shelf near the stereo. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
The season 18 episode "
Moe'N'a Lisa"'s title may have been a slight reference to this episode's title. (
Moaning Lisa)
Their TV is a Motorola (note that Motorola hadn't made televisions since
1974), and the pawn clerk knows Homer's name when he enters. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
There are African shields and spears in Herman's antique shop. (
Bart the General)
This Is Also The First Apprence Of Charlie, Jaques& Barneys Bowlarama (
Life on the Fast Lane)
This episode is usually shown as the first episode of Season 1 on German television as "Eine ganz normale Familie" (An ordinary family) and was the first to be aired on Premiere in 1991 and later that year on ZDF. The German DVD release of season 1 puts it into the US order of episodes. It was most likely chosen as episode 1 because it introduces a lot of characters and explains how the Simpsons work as a family. The Tracy Ullman sketches had not been seen in Germany. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
This episode marks the first appearance of
Ralph Wiggum, however his appearance, his mannerisms, and his voice are different from how he would be for the rest of the series. (
Moaning Lisa)
This episode marks the first appearances of
Carl Carlson (though his voice is different) and Shawna Tifton (Princess Kashmir), who is seen again in "
Lisa's Pony", in which she is dating Apu. (
Homer's Night Out)
This episode very much sums up the differences in character in the first season, with Marge being the one showing the family up, and Homer being ashamed by his family and striving to do better. Most surprising of all is Homer selling the television set - something the more recognised Homer of later seasons would never do. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
This is the first episode of the series to satirize a particular nation (other than America), in this case France. Episodes targeting another nation would become a recurring theme (typically once per season) in later seasons. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
When Bart talks to the policeman, the man says "Excusez moi? Je ne parle pas anglais... Voilà un bonbon... Je suis désolé, j'aimerais vraiment pouvoir vous aider." (Excuse me? I don't speak English...Here's a piece of candy...I'm sorry, I really would like to be able to help you). (
The Crepes of Wrath)
When Dr. Marvin Monroe says "I'm as sure as my voice is annoying.", this is referencing how difficult and annoying it was for Harry Shearer to provide Monroe's voice. As commented on audio commentaries in both the first and third season DVD sets, this is much of the reason that Marvin Monroe seldom appeared in the series, and partly why he was "killed off" in season 6. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
While Bart is in France, he stays at the “Château Maison”, which means “Castle House” in English. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
While watching the boxing-match at Moe's, Homer says that his mother said to him: "Homer, you're a big disappointment". Given what we know from later episodes, it is more likely that Homer's father would say something like that. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
Bart's report card includes an F in Social Studies, an F in Math, a D in Physical Education, a U in Science, a U in Reading, and a U in Writing. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Waylon Smithers was accidentally animated as an
African American due to a communication error with Korean animators. The mistake was explained as Smithers had an extreme suntan. A similar mistake was made with Sherri and Terri's father, also drawn as black, despite his children both being ghost-white (He hasn't appeared in the show since, even at events such as their birthday party, where their much whiter-skinned mother was present.). Perhaps Sherri and Terri are
biracial. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Ironically, Nelson doesn't say "Haw Haw!" (which he would later be infamous for) at all in his first episode, and didn't use it until "
Three Men and a Comic Book" in Season 2.
Lisa calls her teacher "Mrs. Hoover" instead of "Miss Hoover."
During their first fight, Nelson hits Bart twelve times in the face before he knocks Bart out.
This is the first episode we see Bart cry. Homer then proceeds to dry his tears with a hairdryer.
Grampa's list of words he does not want to hear on television again:
1. Bra
2. Horny
3. Family Jewels
Milhouse now has blue hair (he had black hair in "Bart the Genius").
There are African shields and spears in Herman's antique shop.
Bart asks Herman whether he lost his arm in the war, to which Herman warns Bart, "Next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!" Two episodes earlier, in "
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons)", Mrs. Krabappel tells the children to keep their arms in the bus and says, "We all know the tragic story of the young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped off by a big truck coming in the other direction." However the audio commentary stated that it was supposed to be a running gag that Herman would explain his missing arm differently each time.
In the
Czech-dubbed version Herman is portrayed as a
Neo-Nazist, greeting Bart with the words "
Sieg Heil, mein Junge" and claiming that he lost his arm while hailing from a bus.
Bart and his army use a classic
Pincer's movement to attack Nelson. "It can't fail against a ten-year-old!"
In Herman's model of the town, he spells the "Kwik-E-Mart" as "Quick-E-Mart."
Marge brings the cupcakes in before Nelson signs the treaty and we never actually see him sign it.
In the
United Kingdom, this was one of the first episodes released on video cassette in the early 1990s, and thus was many viewers' introduction to the series (especially in the days before the series was shown on
terrestrial television).
In Bart's first dream sequence, he throws 10 knives at Nelson, and shoots at him 98 times.
This episode marks the first appearances of
Carl Carlson (though his voice is different) and Shawna Tifton (Princess Kashmir), who is seen again in "
Lisa's Pony", in which she is dating Apu.
On the photocopying machine it says 5 cents on the label but it says 10 cents on the coin slot
On their way to Springfield Powerplant the children pass the Springfield Toxic Waste Dump, the Springfield Tire Yard (which is not on fire as of yet), the Springfield State Prison, and Springfield Elementary School.
Mrs. Krabappel tells the children to keep their arms in the bus and says, "We all know the tragic story of the young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped off by a big truck coming in the other direction." To which Bart says (with his arm in his shirt), "And I was that boy!" Two episodes later, in "
Bart the General", Bart asks
Herman whether he lost his arm in the war, to which Herman warns Bart, "Next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!"
A sign at the plant reads, "Our Safety Record: [7] Days Since Last Accident."
Bart's report card includes an F in Social Studies, an F in Math, a D in Physical Education, a U in Science, a U in Reading, and a U in Writing.
Homer pens his
suicide note on "Dumb Things I Gotta Do Today" stationery. And his suicide attempt is a simulation
Virginia Woolf died.
When Homer reaches the bridge he is almost run over by who appears to be
Hans Moleman, who zooms by in a car.
El Barto is signed on the steps of city hall when Chief Wiggum talks about the graffiti problem in Springfield. He then passes around an artist sketch of the culprit who looks like an older and tougher Bart Simpson.
Springfield Shopper headlines: "Simpson Says Safe!," "Dozens Cheer Homer Simpson," "Homer Simpson Strikes Again!," "Watch Out, Here Comes Homer," and "Enough Already, Homer Simpson!"
In the scene where Homer and another man are making the announcement to everyone, if you look very carefully you can see a man in the background who looks like Brad Goodman from
season 5 episode "
Bart's Inner Child".
Mr. Burns' voice is slightly different than usual. This is because
Christopher Collins performed his voice for this episode.
Waylon Smithers was accidentally animated as an
African American due to a communication error with Korean animators. The mistake was explained as Smithers had an extreme suntan. A similar mistake was made with Sherri and Terri's father, also drawn as black, despite his children both being ghost-white (He hasn't appeared in the show since, even at events such as their birthday party, where their much whiter-skinned mother was present.). Perhaps Sherri and Terri are
biracial.
Krusty's main clown competition is Hobo Hank. Hobos were among the acts Krusty claims to have flattened in "Krusty Gets Kancelled."
In a flashback of Krusty's heart attack, he is advertising pork products. Being a rabbi's son, it is ironic to eat pork, being against Jewish dietary laws.
Occasionally, this episode is called "Jacques to Be Wild". When the episode was originally planned, it called for Albert Brooks to voice "Björn" (a parody to
Björn Borg), a
Swedishtennis instructor, but Albert Brooks thought it would be better to make Brooks' character French. The title was, therefore, originally "Bjorn to Be Wild".
Albert Brooks is credited under the name "A. Brooks" in this episode, as with all his other appearances on The Simpsons.
The stores Homer passes in the Springfield Mall are The International House of
Answering Machines, The
Jerky Hut (too salty), The Ear
Piercery, The
Caramel Corn Warehouse (too corny), and
Girdles n' Such Fancy
Lingerie (too exciting).
Among the past birthday gifts Homer has given to Marge are a
tackle box and a
Connie Chung calendar.
Marge's shoe size is 13 AA.
Jacques strangely loses his French accent when he calls out, "Four onion rings!"
The moon is seen to have three craters on it, much like a bowling ball when Jacques is dropping her off.
Jacques takes Marge to Shorty's Coffee Shop for brunch.
This is Helen Lovejoy and
Lenny's first appearance.
This Is Also The First Apprence Of Charlie, Jaques& Barneys Bowlarama
Jacques lives at the Fiesta Terrace.
Jacques appears again in The Simpson's
7th Season episode "
Team Homer" and makes a brief cameo as a bowler in the past in "
And Maggie Makes Three" He also appears in the "Do the Bartman" music video and virtually every time the Bowlarama is seen.
The plot of this episode was submitted to the
Dear Abby column disguised as a real-life problem.
[2]
At one point, creator Matt Groening cited this as his favourite episode (to the surprise of many fans).citation needed
Like Bart The General, the opening sequence is quickly cut off
In popular terminology a gift given with the selfish intent of being used by the giver rather than the receiver is referred to as a "bowling ball for Marge," citing this episode.
In the script, the opening scene with Lisa looking into the mirror is called "an
Ingmar Bergman moment."
Lisa finds Bleeding Gums Murphy on the same bridge Homer was going to jump off of in order to commit suicide in "
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons)".
Bart's prank call to Moe: Bart calls Moe's Tavern and asks for Jacques, last name Strap. Moe's response: "When I find you I am going to gut you like a fish and drink your blood." This is the second prank call. Moe's hair is now gray.
This episode marks the first appearance of
Ralph Wiggum, however his appearance, his mannerisms, and his voice are different from how he would be for the rest of the series.
The season 18 episode "
Moe'N'a Lisa"'s title may have been a slight reference to this episode's title.
Games at the Noise Land Video Arcade, the games include Eat My Shorts, PAC-RAT II, Itchy vs. Scratchy, Escape from Grandma's House, and
Robert Goulet Destroyer.
The episode's production number is 7G01, as it was the first Simpsons episode produced and, if not for the aforementioned animation problems, it would have served as the series premiere.
Dr. Marvin Monroe's Therapy Hotline number is 555-PAIN.
When Dr. Marvin Monroe says "I'm as sure as my voice is annoying.", this is referencing how difficult and annoying it was for Harry Shearer to provide Monroe's voice. As commented on audio commentaries in both the first and third season DVD sets, this is much of the reason that Marvin Monroe seldom appeared in the series, and partly why he was "killed off" in season 6.
The name of the baby sitting service Marge calls is: Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper Baby-sitting Service.
Homer maintains a clean shaven appearance for exactly seven seconds. Then his beard stubble starts to grow back.
Chilly is the elf who cannot love.
The number for America's Most Armed and Dangerous is 1-800-U-SQUEAL.
The name of the band at the restaurant is The Larry Davis Experience. They would return for the party in "
Homer to the Max".
One of the elves' faces on the title card for the elves movie resembles
Professor Hubert Farnsworth, a character in Matt Groening's later show, Futurama.
A continuity error in this episode is, in the scene where Bart is shown sitting tied up on the couch and Ms. Botz walks in carrying a tied-up Lisa in her arms before dumping her on the sofa alongside Bart, you can see quite clearly that the rope Ms. Botz has used to bind Lisa is wound right around her body from the neck right down to her ankles. A few shots later when Maggie comes down and frees her, the rope tying Lisa's legs together at the knees has disappeared.
Ms. Botz makes a background appearance in the mental hospital in "
Hurricane Neddy".
Flanders makes $27 more a week than Homer does (although this is based on Ned's original job at a pharmaceutical company, not the Leftorium).
Signs at Bob's RV-Roundup (formerly RVs R Us): "We give credit to everyone!"; "Bad Credit. Good!"; "Bankruptcy Shmankruptcy."
The Ultimate Behemoth RV: two-stories high with a fireplace, a full kitchen, four deep fryers---"one for each part of the chicken," a big-screen television set, and its own satellite, the Vanstar I.
The breaking Bigfoot report interrupts the president's address.
Signs advertising the Bigfoot cottage industry include "
Half-Man, Half-Ape Burgers" and "Get Your Photo Taken with Bigfoot."
The fact that Homer is indeed the missing link is referenced again in "
The Monkey Suit".
This is the first episode to feature
Albert Brooks as a guest star. Like all his appearances, he is credited as A. Brooks.
Bart wears his "lucky red hat" for the first time in this episode.
This is the first episode in which
Rod Flanders appears, but it is very brief.
This episode was the theme of a
Burger King promotion including kids meal toys and collectable cups.
At the time of production, the writers and producers felt that this episode had the potential to be made into a two-part story. However, they eventually decided to make it as a single episode.
While Bart is in France, he stays at the “Château Maison”, which means “Castle House” in English.
The donkey's name is Maurice.
Bart has to go get antifreeze from 74
Voltaire Street (74 rue Voltaire); the 7 is drawn European-style, with a horizontal line through the middle.
Early in the episode, there is some actual dialogue in
Albanian between Adil and his family, but later on the dialogue is just gibberish. The dialogue in
French is very loosely translated, but correct, however.
The only notable mistake is that César's line "Qu'est-ce que je t'avais dit?" (What have I been telling you?) is translated as "He sees well enough", however, César's argument to Ugolin was that adding too much
antifreeze to wine would not cause death, or blindness, hence the said translation. Also, "anti-freeze" is not translated; it should be "antigel".
When Bart talks to the policeman, the man says "Excusez moi? Je ne parle pas anglais... Voilà un bonbon... Je suis désolé, j'aimerais vraiment pouvoir vous aider." (Excuse me? I don't speak English...Here's a piece of candy...I'm sorry, I really would like to be able to help you).
In later seasons,
Agnes Skinner's personality seems vastly different to her kindly demeanor in this episode. In the
DVDaudio commentary, Matt Groening offers the theory that her current mean streak can be attributed to being a victim of Bart's prank.
By the end of this episode Bart can speak perfect French. Later, in the episode “
The Monkey Suit”, Bart's chalkboard gag is "Je ne parle pas Français" ("I don't speak French").
The number of Bart's flight back to the
USA is 1988 (dix-neuf cent quatre vingt huit).
This is the first episode of the series to satirize a particular nation (other than America), in this case France. Episodes targeting another nation would become a recurring theme (typically once per season) in later seasons.
A member of the angry mob carries a sign with the likeness of Jebediah Springfield's head and the words, "Have You Seen Me?"
The football announcer on Homer's car radio says, "This could be the most remarkable comeback since
Lazarus rose from the dead."
Announcer: "Wolodarsky takes it at the 5... oh my, he fumbles," reference to show writer-producer Wallace Wolodarsky.
A sign inside church where Rev. Lovejoy has just given a sermon on the evils of gambling reads, "Bingo---Tuesday Night.
Monte Carlo Night---Wednesday.
Reno Retreat Saturday."
This is The first Episode were
Tress MacNeille Takes part in
The movie marquee reads, "Space Mutants IV: The Trilogy Continues."
Among the items Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney steal from the
Kwik-E-Mart is a copy of Playdude magazine.
Kearney stands on the lawn and leans on a sign that reads "Keep off the Grass."
The Season 1
DVD boxset is missing two scenes from the episode: one where Bart told the crowd that, after decapitating the town statue, he realized he was taking his heritage for granted (an issue that would later resurface in Season 7's "
Lisa the Iconoclast"), and another with church bells ringing. It is rumoured that these scenes, which add up to 28 seconds, were added to comply with an FCC regulation that all
cartoons must include this length of educational content.
The DVD does, however, contain two scenes that were not in the original broadcast; an extended remark from Otto ("It's beautiful, man!"; "man" was not in the original broadcast), and Homer telling Bart that "most lynch mobs aren't this nice". These scenes add to five seconds; note, however, that the run time for this episode on the Season 1 DVD set is 22:42, and the run time for its original broadcast is 23:05. Bart mentions earlier in the episode that the story takes "about 23 minutes and five seconds" to tell; the story itself is only 17 minutes and 10 seconds, though this more likely refers to the length of the full episode.
This episode is usually shown as the first episode of Season 1 on German television as "Eine ganz normale Familie" (An ordinary family) and was the first to be aired on Premiere in 1991 and later that year on ZDF. The German DVD release of season 1 puts it into the US order of episodes. It was most likely chosen as episode 1 because it introduces a lot of characters and explains how the Simpsons work as a family. The Tracy Ullman sketches had not been seen in Germany.
Red, purple, green, blue: The colors of
Jell-o molds
Marge makes for the picnic.
A sign outside Burns manor reads, "Poachers will be shot."
The hypnotic show The Happy Little Elves supervises the children in the nursery at the company picnic.
This is the first episode that Bart says his catch phrase "Don't have a cow."
This is the first episode that the Simpsons have been shot at.
The police dog's name is Bobo, which would later be used of the name for Mr. Burns' teddy bear in "
Rosebud". When Homer is saying that they have to get $250 for the therapy, a teddybear that looks exactly like Bobo can be seen on a lower shelf near the stereo.
The phone number for Dr. Monroe's center is 1-800-555-HUGS.
Bart and Lisa's college fund amounts to $88.50, and Homer gets $150 for pawning his television, which means he had to find $11.50 in his wallet to afford the family therapy.
Their TV is a Motorola (note that Motorola hadn't made televisions since
1974), and the pawn clerk knows Homer's name when he enters.
Dr. Monroe keeps his aggression therapy mallets in a gun cabinet.
This episode appears in both Die Hard 2 and the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "Glen Campbell". In the latter, Space Ghost and Zorak are watching the episode at the very beginning, and Space Ghost comments, "Er, which one's Homer again?
The baby?"
At Marvin Monroe's therapy center, the family that Homer idolized at the picnic sits in the reception area.
The family that Marvin Monroe cures are a younger version of The Simpsons.
Marge's drawing of Homer is quite crude, in later seasons it would be established she is actually an accomplished artist.
The exact title of this episode can be found to vary slightly in different sources. One of the most common variations is There's No Place Like Homer.
This episode very much sums up the differences in character in the first season, with Marge being the one showing the family up, and Homer being ashamed by his family and striving to do better. Most surprising of all is Homer selling the television set - something the more recognised Homer of later seasons would never do.
While watching the boxing-match at Moe's, Homer says that his mother said to him: "Homer, you're a big disappointment". Given what we know from later episodes, it is more likely that Homer's father would say something like that.
This is the first time we see Marge drunk at the picnic.
SimpsonsCultural
Alphabetical
"
Burning Love" – The title of Elvis Presley's 1972 hit is used as the title of the first Itchy & Scratchy short (as well as another reference to The King). (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Hamlet – Bart's observation, "Comedy, thy name is Krusty!" is a play on the Hamlet line, "Frailty, thy name is woman!" (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Mission: Impossible – The distinctive theme to the 1960s crime drama plays as Bart and Lisa arrive at the Kwik-E-Mart to begin their investigation of the armed robbery. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Scooby-Doo – Sideshow Bob's line, "And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for these meddling kids", is akin to what the villain says when caught at the end of every "Scooby-Doo" episode. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
The Flintstones – Lisa's line, "If cartoons were meant for adults, they'd put them on in prime time", is a stab at The Simpsons' predecessors-in-kind. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
The Man in the Iron Mask - Sideshow Bob reads the end of the chapter "An Homeric Song", and announces, "Next week, chapter 35 of The Man in the Iron Mask: 'The Death of a Titan.'" (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Tom and Jerry – Because this is their first full-fledged appearance, Itchy & Scratchy are a violent parody of the famous MGM cat and mouse duo. Scratchy fills Tom's shoes as the hapless cat, who is forever tormented by Itchy the mouse, an ultra-sadistic version of Jerry. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
The Beatles - Beatles records and merchandise were burned after John Lennon was quoted saying the Beatles were 'bigger than Jesus'. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Romania - Kent Brockman says, "children of all ages, from eight to eighty, hang on each new development like so many Romanian
trapeze artists." (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Stoicism - Just before Bart announces he has solved the mystery, Bob says, "In
ancient Greece, there was a school of thought called stoicism". (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Woodsy Owl – Krusty's poster, "Give a hoot, read a book!" is a spoof of Woodsy Owl's advertising campaign, "Give a hoot, don't pollute!" (
Krusty Gets Busted)
"
Jaws" - The ominous-sounding music as Ms. Botz approaches Bart and Lisa is similar to the music that plays when the bloodthirsty shark is about to attack in the movie. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
Garfield and Friends the plot of this episode is similar to an episode called "Binky Goes Bad" in which Binky the clown is framed for robbery. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
LifeV-J Day photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in
New York'sTimes Square - One of Bart's "soldiers" grabs Lisa and passionately kisses her, the moment preserved on film. The pose of both the boy and Lisa are identical to the famous photograph shot by
Alfred Eisenstaedt. However, Lisa slaps the boy and tells him to knock it off. (
Bart the General)
"Nelson is never again to raise his fists in anger" –
Germany and
Japan having to eliminate their offensive armies; and Japanese Emperor
Hirohito being forced to renounce his claims of being the
arahitogami (or, living god). (
Bart the General)
Full Metal Jacket - The scene where the "trainees" do pull-ups and other exercises on a jungle-gym-type structure as the sun sets in the background. (
Bart the General)
Patton - Several lines of dialogue, Bart slapping one of his soldiers (for "being a disgrace") and the music are lifted directly from the movie. "The key to Springfield has always been Elm Street. The
Greeks knew it, the
Carthaginians knew it, now you know it." (
Bart the General)
Stripes - Herman running up and jabbing the training dolls with his bayonet, just like in the movie. (
Bart the General)
A dirty
limerick - When Homer calls the babysitting service he gives them a fake name of Samson, reiterating it with the line "No, I said Samson, not Simpson." This is a reversal of the
poem, which ends with "My name is Simpson, not
Samson." (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
Lisa and Bart begin to go through something similar to the "12 stages of divorce for kids" from Matt Groening's book "Childhood is Hell" of the Life in Hell series. Lisa says there are "eight separate stages". She is shown experiencing stage three,
fear, and "mired" in stage five,
self-pity. Bart is shown experiencing stage two,
denial, as well as fear. (
Life on the Fast Lane)
The controllers being used on Bart's video game system resemble
Atari 2600 joysticks, but the graphics on the TV would suggest a newer model console. (
Moaning Lisa)
The episode title is a reference to the short story "
The Tell-Tale Heart" by
Edgar Allan Poe. In addition, Bart actually hears the head talking when he is overcome with guilt. The story also very similar to Paul Jennings' "....Headley Hopkins...". (
The Telltale Head)
The two winemakers, César and Ugolin, are named after the peasants from the 1986 French films Jean de Florette, and Manon des sources (Manon of the Springs), according to producer George Meyer. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
War movies - several war movies are parodied or homaged in various scenes throughout the episode: (
Bart the General)
When Bart awakes to a find the head of Jebediah Springfield in bed next to him, it is reminiscent of the scene from "
The Godfather" where Tom Hagen (
Robert Duvall) "persuades" Woltz to cast Fontane in the movie by leaving the head of the producer's prize racehorse in his bed. (
The Telltale Head)
When Bart wakes up, he says "Top of the world, ma!", referring to the final scene of White Heat. (
The Telltale Head)
Italy in World War II - Earlier on Nelson's cronies follow him loyally, but when they are surrounded, they give up to Bart's army. In World War II, Italy was originally a loyal ally to Germany, and followed Mussolini, however when the Allies made advances, the Italian military surrendered to the Allies and betrayed Mussolini and declared war on Germany. (
Bart the General)
Nuremberg Trials - The cronies' comments, "We were only following orders," effectively summarize those of
Adolf Hitler's former Nazi leaders during the trials. (
Bart the General)
Peace treaties – Various peace treaties (and events surrounding them) are referenced in the armistice between Bart and Nelson: (
Bart the General)
War movies - several war movies are parodied or homaged in various scenes throughout the episode:
Full Metal Jacket - The scene where the "trainees" do pull-ups and other exercises on a jungle-gym-type structure as the sun sets in the background.
The Longest Day - The shot of the GI helmet resting on its top while Nelson and his goons try to escape
Patton - Several lines of dialogue, Bart slapping one of his soldiers (for "being a disgrace") and the music are lifted directly from the movie. "The key to Springfield has always been Elm Street. The
Greeks knew it, the
Carthaginians knew it, now you know it."
Stripes - Herman running up and jabbing the training dolls with his bayonet, just like in the movie.
LifeV-J Day photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in
New York'sTimes Square - One of Bart's "soldiers" grabs Lisa and passionately kisses her, the moment preserved on film. The pose of both the boy and Lisa are identical to the famous photograph shot by
Alfred Eisenstaedt. However, Lisa slaps the boy and tells him to knock it off.
Nuremberg Trials - The cronies' comments, "We were only following orders," effectively summarize those of
Adolf Hitler's former Nazi leaders during the trials.
Italy in World War II - Earlier on Nelson's cronies follow him loyally, but when they are surrounded, they give up to Bart's army. In World War II, Italy was originally a loyal ally to Germany, and followed Mussolini, however when the Allies made advances, the Italian military surrendered to the Allies and betrayed Mussolini and declared war on Germany.
Peace treaties – Various peace treaties (and events surrounding them) are referenced in the armistice between Bart and Nelson:
"Nelson is never again to raise his fists in anger" –
Germany and
Japan having to eliminate their offensive armies; and Japanese Emperor
Hirohito being forced to renounce his claims of being the
arahitogami (or, living god).
ABC Afterschool Special and
CBS Schoolbreak Special - Bart's post-episode speech, where he warns about the dangers of war and recommends further reading on the topic, pays homage to those "after school specials."
Book burning - The townspeople participate in a public burning of Krusty memorabilia.
"
Burning Love" – The title of Elvis Presley's 1972 hit is used as the title of the first Itchy & Scratchy short (as well as another reference to The King).
Mission: Impossible – The distinctive theme to the 1960s crime drama plays as Bart and Lisa arrive at the Kwik-E-Mart to begin their investigation of the armed robbery.
The Man in the Iron Mask - Sideshow Bob reads the end of the chapter "An Homeric Song", and announces, "Next week, chapter 35 of The Man in the Iron Mask: 'The Death of a Titan.'"
Stoicism - Just before Bart announces he has solved the mystery, Bob says, "In
ancient Greece, there was a school of thought called stoicism".
Scooby-Doo – Sideshow Bob's line, "And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for these meddling kids", is akin to what the villain says when caught at the end of every "Scooby-Doo" episode.
Tom and Jerry – Because this is their first full-fledged appearance, Itchy & Scratchy are a violent parody of the famous MGM cat and mouse duo. Scratchy fills Tom's shoes as the hapless cat, who is forever tormented by Itchy the mouse, an ultra-sadistic version of Jerry.
Woodsy Owl – Krusty's poster, "Give a hoot, read a book!" is a spoof of Woodsy Owl's advertising campaign, "Give a hoot, don't pollute!"
Garfield and Friends the plot of this episode is similar to an episode called "Binky Goes Bad" in which Binky the clown is framed for robbery.
The Beatles - Beatles records and merchandise were burned after John Lennon was quoted saying the Beatles were 'bigger than Jesus'.
The title is a pun on The
Eagles' song "Life in the Fast Lane". The initial title ("Bjorn To Be Wild") was meant to be a play on
Steppenwolf's "
Born to Be Wild".
Lisa and Bart begin to go through something similar to the "12 stages of divorce for kids" from Matt Groening's book "Childhood is Hell" of the Life in Hell series. Lisa says there are "eight separate stages". She is shown experiencing stage three,
fear, and "mired" in stage five,
self-pity. Bart is shown experiencing stage two,
denial, as well as fear.
The background noise of the arcade is the music from the
Tetris arcade machine.
Lisa's school band is practicing "
My Country, 'Tis of Thee", the patriotic American song, based on the melody of the British national anthem "
God Save the Queen".
Mr. Largo says to Lisa, "There's no room for crazy
bebop in My Country, 'Tis of Thee."
The controllers being used on Bart's video game system resemble
Atari 2600 joysticks, but the graphics on the TV would suggest a newer model console.
The Happy Little Elves - These elf-like creatures are similar to other fantasy folk-type cartoon characters, most notably
The Smurfs and The
Care Bears.
"
Jaws" - The ominous-sounding music as Ms. Botz approaches Bart and Lisa is similar to the music that plays when the bloodthirsty shark is about to attack in the movie.
"
Patricia" - Homer hums the song, made famous by Cuban bandleader
Perez Prado.
A dirty
limerick - When Homer calls the babysitting service he gives them a fake name of Samson, reiterating it with the line "No, I said Samson, not Simpson." This is a reversal of the
poem, which ends with "My name is Simpson, not
Samson."
When Homer is shot with tranquilizer darts, he yells out to Bart "Avenge me, son!" This is similar to
Harry Dean Stanton yelling out to his two sons in
Red Dawn.
The episode's title is a play on
John Steinbeck's novel "
The Grapes of Wrath" (the movie that is based off the novel, is, like The Simpsons, a Fox property).
The two winemakers, César and Ugolin, are named after the peasants from the 1986 French films Jean de Florette, and Manon des sources (Manon of the Springs), according to producer George Meyer.
On the way to the chateau, Bart and the motorcycle driver pass through several famous paintings.
Ugolin whistles the melody of “
Alouette” while walking to the fields;
The episode title is a reference to the short story "
The Tell-Tale Heart" by
Edgar Allan Poe. In addition, Bart actually hears the head talking when he is overcome with guilt. The story also very similar to Paul Jennings' "....Headley Hopkins...".
When Bart awakes to a find the head of Jebediah Springfield in bed next to him, it is reminiscent of the scene from "
The Godfather" where Tom Hagen (
Robert Duvall) "persuades" Woltz to cast Fontane in the movie by leaving the head of the producer's prize racehorse in his bed.
In the background of the nuclear power plant Lenny (white) and Carl (black) are working but they swap races. They return to normal in the next shot (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
When Bart's class is walking down the hallway at the nuclear power plant, one of the twins (either
Sherri or Terri), is animated as just a floating head. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
When Homer goes out of the house after writing his suicide note and picks up the stone, his lips move but no words are spoken. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Waylon Smithers was accidentally animated as an
African American due to a communication error with Korean animators. The mistake was explained as Smithers having an extreme suntan. A similar mistake was made with Sherri and Terri's father, also drawn as black despite his children both being ghost-white. (He hasn't appeared in the show since, even at events such as their birthday party, where their much whiter-skinned mother was present.) (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Waylon Smithers was accidentally animated as an
African American due to a communication error with Korean animators. The mistake was explained as Smithers having an extreme suntan. A similar mistake was made with Sherri and Terri's father, also drawn as black despite his children both being ghost-white. (He hasn't appeared in the show since, even at events such as their birthday party, where their much whiter-skinned mother was present.)
When Bart's class is walking down the hallway at the nuclear power plant, one of the twins (either
Sherri or Terri), is animated as just a floating head.
When Homer goes out of the house after writing his suicide note and picks up the stone, his lips move but no words are spoken.
In the background of the nuclear power plant Lenny (white) and Carl (black) are working but they swap races. They return to normal in the next shot
The entire family tightly fits onto the couch. No gag.[1]
SimpsonsTrivia
Note, the bot needs improvement if we're going to use this alphabetical section since it's sorting the sub-list on one of the pages alphabetically - but it probably doesn't make sense to sort the trivia anyway.
In popular terminology a gift given with the selfish intent of being used by the giver rather than the receiver is referred to as a "bowling ball for Marge," citing this episode. (
Life on the Fast Lane)
Like Bart The General, the opening sequence is quickly cut off (
Life on the Fast Lane)
Springfield Shopper headlines: "Simpson Says Safe!," "Dozens Cheer Homer Simpson," "Homer Simpson Strikes Again!," "Watch Out, Here Comes Homer," and "Enough Already, Homer Simpson!" (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
The only notable mistake is that César's line "Qu'est-ce que je t'avais dit?" (What have I been telling you?) is translated as "He sees well enough", however, César's argument to Ugolin was that adding too much
antifreeze to wine would not cause death, or blindness, hence the said translation. Also, "anti-freeze" is not translated; it should be "antigel". (
The Crepes of Wrath)
A continuity error in this episode is, in the scene where Bart is shown sitting tied up on the couch and Ms. Botz walks in carrying a tied-up Lisa in her arms before dumping her on the sofa alongside Bart, you can see quite clearly that the rope Ms. Botz has used to bind Lisa is wound right around her body from the neck right down to her ankles. A few shots later when Maggie comes down and frees her, the rope tying Lisa's legs together at the knees has disappeared. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
A member of the angry mob carries a sign with the likeness of Jebediah Springfield's head and the words, "Have You Seen Me?" (
The Telltale Head)
A sign inside church where Rev. Lovejoy has just given a sermon on the evils of gambling reads, "Bingo---Tuesday Night.
Monte Carlo Night---Wednesday.
Reno Retreat Saturday." (
The Telltale Head)
At the time of production, the writers and producers felt that this episode had the potential to be made into a two-part story. However, they eventually decided to make it as a single episode. (
The Call of the Simpsons)
Bart and Lisa's college fund amounts to $88.50, and Homer gets $150 for pawning his television, which means he had to find $11.50 in his wallet to afford the family therapy. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
Bart asks Herman whether he lost his arm in the war, to which Herman warns Bart, "Next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!" Two episodes earlier, in "
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons)", Mrs. Krabappel tells the children to keep their arms in the bus and says, "We all know the tragic story of the young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped off by a big truck coming in the other direction." However the audio commentary stated that it was supposed to be a running gag that Herman would explain his missing arm differently each time. (
Bart the General)
Bart has to go get antifreeze from 74
Voltaire Street (74 rue Voltaire); the 7 is drawn European-style, with a horizontal line through the middle. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
Bart's prank call to Moe: Bart calls Moe's Tavern and asks for Jacques, last name Strap. Moe's response: "When I find you I am going to gut you like a fish and drink your blood." This is the second prank call. Moe's hair is now gray. (
Moaning Lisa)
By the end of this episode Bart can speak perfect French. Later, in the episode “
The Monkey Suit”, Bart's chalkboard gag is "Je ne parle pas Français" ("I don't speak French"). (
The Crepes of Wrath)
During their first fight, Nelson hits Bart twelve times in the face before he knocks Bart out. (
Bart the General)
Early in the episode, there is some actual dialogue in
Albanian between Adil and his family, but later on the dialogue is just gibberish. The dialogue in
French is very loosely translated, but correct, however. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
El Barto is signed on the steps of city hall when Chief Wiggum talks about the graffiti problem in Springfield. He then passes around an artist sketch of the culprit who looks like an older and tougher Bart Simpson. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Flanders makes $27 more a week than Homer does (although this is based on Ned's original job at a pharmaceutical company, not the Leftorium). (
The Call of the Simpsons)
Games at the Noise Land Video Arcade, the games include Eat My Shorts, PAC-RAT II, Itchy vs. Scratchy, Escape from Grandma's House, and
Robert Goulet Destroyer. (
Moaning Lisa)
Grampa's list of words he does not want to hear on television again: (
Bart the General)
Homer maintains a clean shaven appearance for exactly seven seconds. Then his beard stubble starts to grow back. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
In a flashback of Krusty's heart attack, he is advertising pork products. Being a rabbi's son, it is ironic to eat pork, being against Jewish dietary laws. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
In later seasons,
Agnes Skinner's personality seems vastly different to her kindly demeanor in this episode. In the
DVDaudio commentary, Matt Groening offers the theory that her current mean streak can be attributed to being a victim of Bart's prank. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
In the
Czech-dubbed version Herman is portrayed as a
Neo-Nazist, greeting Bart with the words "
Sieg Heil, mein Junge" and claiming that he lost his arm while hailing from a bus. (
Bart the General)
In the
United Kingdom, this was one of the first episodes released on video cassette in the early 1990s, and thus was many viewers' introduction to the series (especially in the days before the series was shown on
terrestrial television). (
Bart the General)
In the scene where Homer and another man are making the announcement to everyone, if you look very carefully you can see a man in the background who looks like Brad Goodman from
season 5 episode "
Bart's Inner Child". (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
In the script, the opening scene with Lisa looking into the mirror is called "an
Ingmar Bergman moment." (
Moaning Lisa)
Ironically, Nelson doesn't say "Haw Haw!" (which he would later be infamous for) at all in his first episode, and didn't use it until "
Three Men and a Comic Book" in Season 2. (
Bart the General)
Jacques appears again in The Simpson's
7th Season episode "
Team Homer" and makes a brief cameo as a bowler in the past in "
And Maggie Makes Three" He also appears in the "Do the Bartman" music video and virtually every time the Bowlarama is seen. (
Life on the Fast Lane)
Kearney stands on the lawn and leans on a sign that reads "Keep off the Grass." (
The Telltale Head)
Krusty's main clown competition is Hobo Hank. Hobos were among the acts Krusty claims to have flattened in "Krusty Gets Kancelled." (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Lisa brushes her teeth with "Glum Toothpaste". (
Moaning Lisa)
Lisa calls her teacher "Mrs. Hoover" instead of "Miss Hoover." (
Bart the General)
Marge's drawing of Homer is quite crude, in later seasons it would be established she is actually an accomplished artist. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
Mrs. Krabappel tells the children to keep their arms in the bus and says, "We all know the tragic story of the young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped off by a big truck coming in the other direction." To which Bart says (with his arm in his shirt), "And I was that boy!" Two episodes later, in "
Bart the General", Bart asks
Herman whether he lost his arm in the war, to which Herman warns Bart, "Next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!" (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Occasionally, this episode is called "Jacques to Be Wild". When the episode was originally planned, it called for Albert Brooks to voice "Björn" (a parody to
Björn Borg), a
Swedishtennis instructor, but Albert Brooks thought it would be better to make Brooks' character French. The title was, therefore, originally "Bjorn to Be Wild". (
Life on the Fast Lane)
On the photocopying machine it says 5 cents on the label but it says 10 cents on the coin slot (
Homer's Night Out)
On their way to Springfield Powerplant the children pass the Springfield Toxic Waste Dump, the Springfield Tire Yard (which is not on fire as of yet), the Springfield State Prison, and Springfield Elementary School. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Signs at Bob's RV-Roundup (formerly RVs R Us): "We give credit to everyone!"; "Bad Credit. Good!"; "Bankruptcy Shmankruptcy." (
The Call of the Simpsons)
The DVD does, however, contain two scenes that were not in the original broadcast; an extended remark from Otto ("It's beautiful, man!"; "man" was not in the original broadcast), and Homer telling Bart that "most lynch mobs aren't this nice". These scenes add to five seconds; note, however, that the run time for this episode on the Season 1 DVD set is 22:42, and the run time for its original broadcast is 23:05. Bart mentions earlier in the episode that the story takes "about 23 minutes and five seconds" to tell; the story itself is only 17 minutes and 10 seconds, though this more likely refers to the length of the full episode. (
The Telltale Head)
The Season 1
DVD boxset is missing two scenes from the episode: one where Bart told the crowd that, after decapitating the town statue, he realized he was taking his heritage for granted (an issue that would later resurface in Season 7's "
Lisa the Iconoclast"), and another with church bells ringing. It is rumored that these scenes, which add up to 28 seconds, were added to comply with an FCC regulation that all
cartoons must include this length of educational content. (
The Telltale Head)
The Ultimate Behemoth RV: two-stories high with a fireplace, a full kitchen, four deep fryers---"one for each part of the chicken," a big-screen television set, and its own satellite, the Vanstar I. (
The Call of the Simpsons)
The episode's production number is 7G01, as it was the first Simpsons episode produced and, if not for the aforementioned animation problems, it would have served as the series premiere. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
The exact title of this episode can be found to vary slightly in different sources. One of the most common variations is There's No Place Like Homer. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
The police dog's name is Bobo, which would later be used of the name for Mr. Burns' teddy bear in "
Rosebud". When Homer is saying that they have to get $250 for the therapy, a teddybear that looks exactly like Bobo can be seen on a lower shelf near the stereo. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
The season 18 episode "
Moe'N'a Lisa"'s title may have been a slight reference to this episode's title. (
Moaning Lisa)
Their TV is a Motorola (note that Motorola hadn't made televisions since
1974), and the pawn clerk knows Homer's name when he enters. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
There are African shields and spears in Herman's antique shop. (
Bart the General)
This Is Also The First Apprence Of Charlie, Jaques& Barneys Bowlarama (
Life on the Fast Lane)
This episode is usually shown as the first episode of Season 1 on German television as "Eine ganz normale Familie" (An ordinary family) and was the first to be aired on Premiere in 1991 and later that year on ZDF. The German DVD release of season 1 puts it into the US order of episodes. It was most likely chosen as episode 1 because it introduces a lot of characters and explains how the Simpsons work as a family. The Tracy Ullman sketches had not been seen in Germany. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
This episode marks the first appearance of
Ralph Wiggum, however his appearance, his mannerisms, and his voice are different from how he would be for the rest of the series. (
Moaning Lisa)
This episode marks the first appearances of
Carl Carlson (though his voice is different) and Shawna Tifton (Princess Kashmir), who is seen again in "
Lisa's Pony", in which she is dating Apu. (
Homer's Night Out)
This episode very much sums up the differences in character in the first season, with Marge being the one showing the family up, and Homer being ashamed by his family and striving to do better. Most surprising of all is Homer selling the television set - something the more recognised Homer of later seasons would never do. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
This is the first episode of the series to satirize a particular nation (other than America), in this case France. Episodes targeting another nation would become a recurring theme (typically once per season) in later seasons. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
When Bart talks to the policeman, the man says "Excusez moi? Je ne parle pas anglais... Voilà un bonbon... Je suis désolé, j'aimerais vraiment pouvoir vous aider." (Excuse me? I don't speak English...Here's a piece of candy...I'm sorry, I really would like to be able to help you). (
The Crepes of Wrath)
When Dr. Marvin Monroe says "I'm as sure as my voice is annoying.", this is referencing how difficult and annoying it was for Harry Shearer to provide Monroe's voice. As commented on audio commentaries in both the first and third season DVD sets, this is much of the reason that Marvin Monroe seldom appeared in the series, and partly why he was "killed off" in season 6. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
While Bart is in France, he stays at the “Château Maison”, which means “Castle House” in English. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
While watching the boxing-match at Moe's, Homer says that his mother said to him: "Homer, you're a big disappointment". Given what we know from later episodes, it is more likely that Homer's father would say something like that. (
There's No Disgrace Like Home)
Bart's report card includes an F in Social Studies, an F in Math, a D in Physical Education, a U in Science, a U in Reading, and a U in Writing. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Waylon Smithers was accidentally animated as an
African American due to a communication error with Korean animators. The mistake was explained as Smithers had an extreme suntan. A similar mistake was made with Sherri and Terri's father, also drawn as black, despite his children both being ghost-white (He hasn't appeared in the show since, even at events such as their birthday party, where their much whiter-skinned mother was present.). Perhaps Sherri and Terri are
biracial. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Ironically, Nelson doesn't say "Haw Haw!" (which he would later be infamous for) at all in his first episode, and didn't use it until "
Three Men and a Comic Book" in Season 2.
Lisa calls her teacher "Mrs. Hoover" instead of "Miss Hoover."
During their first fight, Nelson hits Bart twelve times in the face before he knocks Bart out.
This is the first episode we see Bart cry. Homer then proceeds to dry his tears with a hairdryer.
Grampa's list of words he does not want to hear on television again:
1. Bra
2. Horny
3. Family Jewels
Milhouse now has blue hair (he had black hair in "Bart the Genius").
There are African shields and spears in Herman's antique shop.
Bart asks Herman whether he lost his arm in the war, to which Herman warns Bart, "Next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!" Two episodes earlier, in "
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons)", Mrs. Krabappel tells the children to keep their arms in the bus and says, "We all know the tragic story of the young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped off by a big truck coming in the other direction." However the audio commentary stated that it was supposed to be a running gag that Herman would explain his missing arm differently each time.
In the
Czech-dubbed version Herman is portrayed as a
Neo-Nazist, greeting Bart with the words "
Sieg Heil, mein Junge" and claiming that he lost his arm while hailing from a bus.
Bart and his army use a classic
Pincer's movement to attack Nelson. "It can't fail against a ten-year-old!"
In Herman's model of the town, he spells the "Kwik-E-Mart" as "Quick-E-Mart."
Marge brings the cupcakes in before Nelson signs the treaty and we never actually see him sign it.
In the
United Kingdom, this was one of the first episodes released on video cassette in the early 1990s, and thus was many viewers' introduction to the series (especially in the days before the series was shown on
terrestrial television).
In Bart's first dream sequence, he throws 10 knives at Nelson, and shoots at him 98 times.
This episode marks the first appearances of
Carl Carlson (though his voice is different) and Shawna Tifton (Princess Kashmir), who is seen again in "
Lisa's Pony", in which she is dating Apu.
On the photocopying machine it says 5 cents on the label but it says 10 cents on the coin slot
On their way to Springfield Powerplant the children pass the Springfield Toxic Waste Dump, the Springfield Tire Yard (which is not on fire as of yet), the Springfield State Prison, and Springfield Elementary School.
Mrs. Krabappel tells the children to keep their arms in the bus and says, "We all know the tragic story of the young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped off by a big truck coming in the other direction." To which Bart says (with his arm in his shirt), "And I was that boy!" Two episodes later, in "
Bart the General", Bart asks
Herman whether he lost his arm in the war, to which Herman warns Bart, "Next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!"
A sign at the plant reads, "Our Safety Record: [7] Days Since Last Accident."
Bart's report card includes an F in Social Studies, an F in Math, a D in Physical Education, a U in Science, a U in Reading, and a U in Writing.
Homer pens his
suicide note on "Dumb Things I Gotta Do Today" stationery. And his suicide attempt is a simulation
Virginia Woolf died.
When Homer reaches the bridge he is almost run over by who appears to be
Hans Moleman, who zooms by in a car.
El Barto is signed on the steps of city hall when Chief Wiggum talks about the graffiti problem in Springfield. He then passes around an artist sketch of the culprit who looks like an older and tougher Bart Simpson.
Springfield Shopper headlines: "Simpson Says Safe!," "Dozens Cheer Homer Simpson," "Homer Simpson Strikes Again!," "Watch Out, Here Comes Homer," and "Enough Already, Homer Simpson!"
In the scene where Homer and another man are making the announcement to everyone, if you look very carefully you can see a man in the background who looks like Brad Goodman from
season 5 episode "
Bart's Inner Child".
Mr. Burns' voice is slightly different than usual. This is because
Christopher Collins performed his voice for this episode.
Waylon Smithers was accidentally animated as an
African American due to a communication error with Korean animators. The mistake was explained as Smithers had an extreme suntan. A similar mistake was made with Sherri and Terri's father, also drawn as black, despite his children both being ghost-white (He hasn't appeared in the show since, even at events such as their birthday party, where their much whiter-skinned mother was present.). Perhaps Sherri and Terri are
biracial.
Krusty's main clown competition is Hobo Hank. Hobos were among the acts Krusty claims to have flattened in "Krusty Gets Kancelled."
In a flashback of Krusty's heart attack, he is advertising pork products. Being a rabbi's son, it is ironic to eat pork, being against Jewish dietary laws.
Occasionally, this episode is called "Jacques to Be Wild". When the episode was originally planned, it called for Albert Brooks to voice "Björn" (a parody to
Björn Borg), a
Swedishtennis instructor, but Albert Brooks thought it would be better to make Brooks' character French. The title was, therefore, originally "Bjorn to Be Wild".
Albert Brooks is credited under the name "A. Brooks" in this episode, as with all his other appearances on The Simpsons.
The stores Homer passes in the Springfield Mall are The International House of
Answering Machines, The
Jerky Hut (too salty), The Ear
Piercery, The
Caramel Corn Warehouse (too corny), and
Girdles n' Such Fancy
Lingerie (too exciting).
Among the past birthday gifts Homer has given to Marge are a
tackle box and a
Connie Chung calendar.
Marge's shoe size is 13 AA.
Jacques strangely loses his French accent when he calls out, "Four onion rings!"
The moon is seen to have three craters on it, much like a bowling ball when Jacques is dropping her off.
Jacques takes Marge to Shorty's Coffee Shop for brunch.
This is Helen Lovejoy and
Lenny's first appearance.
This Is Also The First Apprence Of Charlie, Jaques& Barneys Bowlarama
Jacques lives at the Fiesta Terrace.
Jacques appears again in The Simpson's
7th Season episode "
Team Homer" and makes a brief cameo as a bowler in the past in "
And Maggie Makes Three" He also appears in the "Do the Bartman" music video and virtually every time the Bowlarama is seen.
The plot of this episode was submitted to the
Dear Abby column disguised as a real-life problem.
[2]
At one point, creator Matt Groening cited this as his favourite episode (to the surprise of many fans).citation needed
Like Bart The General, the opening sequence is quickly cut off
In popular terminology a gift given with the selfish intent of being used by the giver rather than the receiver is referred to as a "bowling ball for Marge," citing this episode.
In the script, the opening scene with Lisa looking into the mirror is called "an
Ingmar Bergman moment."
Lisa finds Bleeding Gums Murphy on the same bridge Homer was going to jump off of in order to commit suicide in "
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons)".
Bart's prank call to Moe: Bart calls Moe's Tavern and asks for Jacques, last name Strap. Moe's response: "When I find you I am going to gut you like a fish and drink your blood." This is the second prank call. Moe's hair is now gray.
This episode marks the first appearance of
Ralph Wiggum, however his appearance, his mannerisms, and his voice are different from how he would be for the rest of the series.
The season 18 episode "
Moe'N'a Lisa"'s title may have been a slight reference to this episode's title.
Games at the Noise Land Video Arcade, the games include Eat My Shorts, PAC-RAT II, Itchy vs. Scratchy, Escape from Grandma's House, and
Robert Goulet Destroyer.
The episode's production number is 7G01, as it was the first Simpsons episode produced and, if not for the aforementioned animation problems, it would have served as the series premiere.
Dr. Marvin Monroe's Therapy Hotline number is 555-PAIN.
When Dr. Marvin Monroe says "I'm as sure as my voice is annoying.", this is referencing how difficult and annoying it was for Harry Shearer to provide Monroe's voice. As commented on audio commentaries in both the first and third season DVD sets, this is much of the reason that Marvin Monroe seldom appeared in the series, and partly why he was "killed off" in season 6.
The name of the baby sitting service Marge calls is: Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper Baby-sitting Service.
Homer maintains a clean shaven appearance for exactly seven seconds. Then his beard stubble starts to grow back.
Chilly is the elf who cannot love.
The number for America's Most Armed and Dangerous is 1-800-U-SQUEAL.
The name of the band at the restaurant is The Larry Davis Experience. They would return for the party in "
Homer to the Max".
One of the elves' faces on the title card for the elves movie resembles
Professor Hubert Farnsworth, a character in Matt Groening's later show, Futurama.
A continuity error in this episode is, in the scene where Bart is shown sitting tied up on the couch and Ms. Botz walks in carrying a tied-up Lisa in her arms before dumping her on the sofa alongside Bart, you can see quite clearly that the rope Ms. Botz has used to bind Lisa is wound right around her body from the neck right down to her ankles. A few shots later when Maggie comes down and frees her, the rope tying Lisa's legs together at the knees has disappeared.
Ms. Botz makes a background appearance in the mental hospital in "
Hurricane Neddy".
Flanders makes $27 more a week than Homer does (although this is based on Ned's original job at a pharmaceutical company, not the Leftorium).
Signs at Bob's RV-Roundup (formerly RVs R Us): "We give credit to everyone!"; "Bad Credit. Good!"; "Bankruptcy Shmankruptcy."
The Ultimate Behemoth RV: two-stories high with a fireplace, a full kitchen, four deep fryers---"one for each part of the chicken," a big-screen television set, and its own satellite, the Vanstar I.
The breaking Bigfoot report interrupts the president's address.
Signs advertising the Bigfoot cottage industry include "
Half-Man, Half-Ape Burgers" and "Get Your Photo Taken with Bigfoot."
The fact that Homer is indeed the missing link is referenced again in "
The Monkey Suit".
This is the first episode to feature
Albert Brooks as a guest star. Like all his appearances, he is credited as A. Brooks.
Bart wears his "lucky red hat" for the first time in this episode.
This is the first episode in which
Rod Flanders appears, but it is very brief.
This episode was the theme of a
Burger King promotion including kids meal toys and collectable cups.
At the time of production, the writers and producers felt that this episode had the potential to be made into a two-part story. However, they eventually decided to make it as a single episode.
While Bart is in France, he stays at the “Château Maison”, which means “Castle House” in English.
The donkey's name is Maurice.
Bart has to go get antifreeze from 74
Voltaire Street (74 rue Voltaire); the 7 is drawn European-style, with a horizontal line through the middle.
Early in the episode, there is some actual dialogue in
Albanian between Adil and his family, but later on the dialogue is just gibberish. The dialogue in
French is very loosely translated, but correct, however.
The only notable mistake is that César's line "Qu'est-ce que je t'avais dit?" (What have I been telling you?) is translated as "He sees well enough", however, César's argument to Ugolin was that adding too much
antifreeze to wine would not cause death, or blindness, hence the said translation. Also, "anti-freeze" is not translated; it should be "antigel".
When Bart talks to the policeman, the man says "Excusez moi? Je ne parle pas anglais... Voilà un bonbon... Je suis désolé, j'aimerais vraiment pouvoir vous aider." (Excuse me? I don't speak English...Here's a piece of candy...I'm sorry, I really would like to be able to help you).
In later seasons,
Agnes Skinner's personality seems vastly different to her kindly demeanor in this episode. In the
DVDaudio commentary, Matt Groening offers the theory that her current mean streak can be attributed to being a victim of Bart's prank.
By the end of this episode Bart can speak perfect French. Later, in the episode “
The Monkey Suit”, Bart's chalkboard gag is "Je ne parle pas Français" ("I don't speak French").
The number of Bart's flight back to the
USA is 1988 (dix-neuf cent quatre vingt huit).
This is the first episode of the series to satirize a particular nation (other than America), in this case France. Episodes targeting another nation would become a recurring theme (typically once per season) in later seasons.
A member of the angry mob carries a sign with the likeness of Jebediah Springfield's head and the words, "Have You Seen Me?"
The football announcer on Homer's car radio says, "This could be the most remarkable comeback since
Lazarus rose from the dead."
Announcer: "Wolodarsky takes it at the 5... oh my, he fumbles," reference to show writer-producer Wallace Wolodarsky.
A sign inside church where Rev. Lovejoy has just given a sermon on the evils of gambling reads, "Bingo---Tuesday Night.
Monte Carlo Night---Wednesday.
Reno Retreat Saturday."
This is The first Episode were
Tress MacNeille Takes part in
The movie marquee reads, "Space Mutants IV: The Trilogy Continues."
Among the items Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney steal from the
Kwik-E-Mart is a copy of Playdude magazine.
Kearney stands on the lawn and leans on a sign that reads "Keep off the Grass."
The Season 1
DVD boxset is missing two scenes from the episode: one where Bart told the crowd that, after decapitating the town statue, he realized he was taking his heritage for granted (an issue that would later resurface in Season 7's "
Lisa the Iconoclast"), and another with church bells ringing. It is rumoured that these scenes, which add up to 28 seconds, were added to comply with an FCC regulation that all
cartoons must include this length of educational content.
The DVD does, however, contain two scenes that were not in the original broadcast; an extended remark from Otto ("It's beautiful, man!"; "man" was not in the original broadcast), and Homer telling Bart that "most lynch mobs aren't this nice". These scenes add to five seconds; note, however, that the run time for this episode on the Season 1 DVD set is 22:42, and the run time for its original broadcast is 23:05. Bart mentions earlier in the episode that the story takes "about 23 minutes and five seconds" to tell; the story itself is only 17 minutes and 10 seconds, though this more likely refers to the length of the full episode.
This episode is usually shown as the first episode of Season 1 on German television as "Eine ganz normale Familie" (An ordinary family) and was the first to be aired on Premiere in 1991 and later that year on ZDF. The German DVD release of season 1 puts it into the US order of episodes. It was most likely chosen as episode 1 because it introduces a lot of characters and explains how the Simpsons work as a family. The Tracy Ullman sketches had not been seen in Germany.
Red, purple, green, blue: The colors of
Jell-o molds
Marge makes for the picnic.
A sign outside Burns manor reads, "Poachers will be shot."
The hypnotic show The Happy Little Elves supervises the children in the nursery at the company picnic.
This is the first episode that Bart says his catch phrase "Don't have a cow."
This is the first episode that the Simpsons have been shot at.
The police dog's name is Bobo, which would later be used of the name for Mr. Burns' teddy bear in "
Rosebud". When Homer is saying that they have to get $250 for the therapy, a teddybear that looks exactly like Bobo can be seen on a lower shelf near the stereo.
The phone number for Dr. Monroe's center is 1-800-555-HUGS.
Bart and Lisa's college fund amounts to $88.50, and Homer gets $150 for pawning his television, which means he had to find $11.50 in his wallet to afford the family therapy.
Their TV is a Motorola (note that Motorola hadn't made televisions since
1974), and the pawn clerk knows Homer's name when he enters.
Dr. Monroe keeps his aggression therapy mallets in a gun cabinet.
This episode appears in both Die Hard 2 and the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "Glen Campbell". In the latter, Space Ghost and Zorak are watching the episode at the very beginning, and Space Ghost comments, "Er, which one's Homer again?
The baby?"
At Marvin Monroe's therapy center, the family that Homer idolized at the picnic sits in the reception area.
The family that Marvin Monroe cures are a younger version of The Simpsons.
Marge's drawing of Homer is quite crude, in later seasons it would be established she is actually an accomplished artist.
The exact title of this episode can be found to vary slightly in different sources. One of the most common variations is There's No Place Like Homer.
This episode very much sums up the differences in character in the first season, with Marge being the one showing the family up, and Homer being ashamed by his family and striving to do better. Most surprising of all is Homer selling the television set - something the more recognised Homer of later seasons would never do.
While watching the boxing-match at Moe's, Homer says that his mother said to him: "Homer, you're a big disappointment". Given what we know from later episodes, it is more likely that Homer's father would say something like that.
This is the first time we see Marge drunk at the picnic.
SimpsonsCultural
Alphabetical
"
Burning Love" – The title of Elvis Presley's 1972 hit is used as the title of the first Itchy & Scratchy short (as well as another reference to The King). (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Hamlet – Bart's observation, "Comedy, thy name is Krusty!" is a play on the Hamlet line, "Frailty, thy name is woman!" (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Mission: Impossible – The distinctive theme to the 1960s crime drama plays as Bart and Lisa arrive at the Kwik-E-Mart to begin their investigation of the armed robbery. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Scooby-Doo – Sideshow Bob's line, "And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for these meddling kids", is akin to what the villain says when caught at the end of every "Scooby-Doo" episode. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
The Flintstones – Lisa's line, "If cartoons were meant for adults, they'd put them on in prime time", is a stab at The Simpsons' predecessors-in-kind. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
The Man in the Iron Mask - Sideshow Bob reads the end of the chapter "An Homeric Song", and announces, "Next week, chapter 35 of The Man in the Iron Mask: 'The Death of a Titan.'" (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Tom and Jerry – Because this is their first full-fledged appearance, Itchy & Scratchy are a violent parody of the famous MGM cat and mouse duo. Scratchy fills Tom's shoes as the hapless cat, who is forever tormented by Itchy the mouse, an ultra-sadistic version of Jerry. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
The Beatles - Beatles records and merchandise were burned after John Lennon was quoted saying the Beatles were 'bigger than Jesus'. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Romania - Kent Brockman says, "children of all ages, from eight to eighty, hang on each new development like so many Romanian
trapeze artists." (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Stoicism - Just before Bart announces he has solved the mystery, Bob says, "In
ancient Greece, there was a school of thought called stoicism". (
Krusty Gets Busted)
Woodsy Owl – Krusty's poster, "Give a hoot, read a book!" is a spoof of Woodsy Owl's advertising campaign, "Give a hoot, don't pollute!" (
Krusty Gets Busted)
"
Jaws" - The ominous-sounding music as Ms. Botz approaches Bart and Lisa is similar to the music that plays when the bloodthirsty shark is about to attack in the movie. (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
Garfield and Friends the plot of this episode is similar to an episode called "Binky Goes Bad" in which Binky the clown is framed for robbery. (
Krusty Gets Busted)
LifeV-J Day photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in
New York'sTimes Square - One of Bart's "soldiers" grabs Lisa and passionately kisses her, the moment preserved on film. The pose of both the boy and Lisa are identical to the famous photograph shot by
Alfred Eisenstaedt. However, Lisa slaps the boy and tells him to knock it off. (
Bart the General)
"Nelson is never again to raise his fists in anger" –
Germany and
Japan having to eliminate their offensive armies; and Japanese Emperor
Hirohito being forced to renounce his claims of being the
arahitogami (or, living god). (
Bart the General)
Full Metal Jacket - The scene where the "trainees" do pull-ups and other exercises on a jungle-gym-type structure as the sun sets in the background. (
Bart the General)
Patton - Several lines of dialogue, Bart slapping one of his soldiers (for "being a disgrace") and the music are lifted directly from the movie. "The key to Springfield has always been Elm Street. The
Greeks knew it, the
Carthaginians knew it, now you know it." (
Bart the General)
Stripes - Herman running up and jabbing the training dolls with his bayonet, just like in the movie. (
Bart the General)
A dirty
limerick - When Homer calls the babysitting service he gives them a fake name of Samson, reiterating it with the line "No, I said Samson, not Simpson." This is a reversal of the
poem, which ends with "My name is Simpson, not
Samson." (
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons))
Lisa and Bart begin to go through something similar to the "12 stages of divorce for kids" from Matt Groening's book "Childhood is Hell" of the Life in Hell series. Lisa says there are "eight separate stages". She is shown experiencing stage three,
fear, and "mired" in stage five,
self-pity. Bart is shown experiencing stage two,
denial, as well as fear. (
Life on the Fast Lane)
The controllers being used on Bart's video game system resemble
Atari 2600 joysticks, but the graphics on the TV would suggest a newer model console. (
Moaning Lisa)
The episode title is a reference to the short story "
The Tell-Tale Heart" by
Edgar Allan Poe. In addition, Bart actually hears the head talking when he is overcome with guilt. The story also very similar to Paul Jennings' "....Headley Hopkins...". (
The Telltale Head)
The two winemakers, César and Ugolin, are named after the peasants from the 1986 French films Jean de Florette, and Manon des sources (Manon of the Springs), according to producer George Meyer. (
The Crepes of Wrath)
War movies - several war movies are parodied or homaged in various scenes throughout the episode: (
Bart the General)
When Bart awakes to a find the head of Jebediah Springfield in bed next to him, it is reminiscent of the scene from "
The Godfather" where Tom Hagen (
Robert Duvall) "persuades" Woltz to cast Fontane in the movie by leaving the head of the producer's prize racehorse in his bed. (
The Telltale Head)
When Bart wakes up, he says "Top of the world, ma!", referring to the final scene of White Heat. (
The Telltale Head)
Italy in World War II - Earlier on Nelson's cronies follow him loyally, but when they are surrounded, they give up to Bart's army. In World War II, Italy was originally a loyal ally to Germany, and followed Mussolini, however when the Allies made advances, the Italian military surrendered to the Allies and betrayed Mussolini and declared war on Germany. (
Bart the General)
Nuremberg Trials - The cronies' comments, "We were only following orders," effectively summarize those of
Adolf Hitler's former Nazi leaders during the trials. (
Bart the General)
Peace treaties – Various peace treaties (and events surrounding them) are referenced in the armistice between Bart and Nelson: (
Bart the General)
War movies - several war movies are parodied or homaged in various scenes throughout the episode:
Full Metal Jacket - The scene where the "trainees" do pull-ups and other exercises on a jungle-gym-type structure as the sun sets in the background.
The Longest Day - The shot of the GI helmet resting on its top while Nelson and his goons try to escape
Patton - Several lines of dialogue, Bart slapping one of his soldiers (for "being a disgrace") and the music are lifted directly from the movie. "The key to Springfield has always been Elm Street. The
Greeks knew it, the
Carthaginians knew it, now you know it."
Stripes - Herman running up and jabbing the training dolls with his bayonet, just like in the movie.
LifeV-J Day photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in
New York'sTimes Square - One of Bart's "soldiers" grabs Lisa and passionately kisses her, the moment preserved on film. The pose of both the boy and Lisa are identical to the famous photograph shot by
Alfred Eisenstaedt. However, Lisa slaps the boy and tells him to knock it off.
Nuremberg Trials - The cronies' comments, "We were only following orders," effectively summarize those of
Adolf Hitler's former Nazi leaders during the trials.
Italy in World War II - Earlier on Nelson's cronies follow him loyally, but when they are surrounded, they give up to Bart's army. In World War II, Italy was originally a loyal ally to Germany, and followed Mussolini, however when the Allies made advances, the Italian military surrendered to the Allies and betrayed Mussolini and declared war on Germany.
Peace treaties – Various peace treaties (and events surrounding them) are referenced in the armistice between Bart and Nelson:
"Nelson is never again to raise his fists in anger" –
Germany and
Japan having to eliminate their offensive armies; and Japanese Emperor
Hirohito being forced to renounce his claims of being the
arahitogami (or, living god).
ABC Afterschool Special and
CBS Schoolbreak Special - Bart's post-episode speech, where he warns about the dangers of war and recommends further reading on the topic, pays homage to those "after school specials."
Book burning - The townspeople participate in a public burning of Krusty memorabilia.
"
Burning Love" – The title of Elvis Presley's 1972 hit is used as the title of the first Itchy & Scratchy short (as well as another reference to The King).
Mission: Impossible – The distinctive theme to the 1960s crime drama plays as Bart and Lisa arrive at the Kwik-E-Mart to begin their investigation of the armed robbery.
The Man in the Iron Mask - Sideshow Bob reads the end of the chapter "An Homeric Song", and announces, "Next week, chapter 35 of The Man in the Iron Mask: 'The Death of a Titan.'"
Stoicism - Just before Bart announces he has solved the mystery, Bob says, "In
ancient Greece, there was a school of thought called stoicism".
Scooby-Doo – Sideshow Bob's line, "And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for these meddling kids", is akin to what the villain says when caught at the end of every "Scooby-Doo" episode.
Tom and Jerry – Because this is their first full-fledged appearance, Itchy & Scratchy are a violent parody of the famous MGM cat and mouse duo. Scratchy fills Tom's shoes as the hapless cat, who is forever tormented by Itchy the mouse, an ultra-sadistic version of Jerry.
Woodsy Owl – Krusty's poster, "Give a hoot, read a book!" is a spoof of Woodsy Owl's advertising campaign, "Give a hoot, don't pollute!"
Garfield and Friends the plot of this episode is similar to an episode called "Binky Goes Bad" in which Binky the clown is framed for robbery.
The Beatles - Beatles records and merchandise were burned after John Lennon was quoted saying the Beatles were 'bigger than Jesus'.
The title is a pun on The
Eagles' song "Life in the Fast Lane". The initial title ("Bjorn To Be Wild") was meant to be a play on
Steppenwolf's "
Born to Be Wild".
Lisa and Bart begin to go through something similar to the "12 stages of divorce for kids" from Matt Groening's book "Childhood is Hell" of the Life in Hell series. Lisa says there are "eight separate stages". She is shown experiencing stage three,
fear, and "mired" in stage five,
self-pity. Bart is shown experiencing stage two,
denial, as well as fear.
The background noise of the arcade is the music from the
Tetris arcade machine.
Lisa's school band is practicing "
My Country, 'Tis of Thee", the patriotic American song, based on the melody of the British national anthem "
God Save the Queen".
Mr. Largo says to Lisa, "There's no room for crazy
bebop in My Country, 'Tis of Thee."
The controllers being used on Bart's video game system resemble
Atari 2600 joysticks, but the graphics on the TV would suggest a newer model console.
The Happy Little Elves - These elf-like creatures are similar to other fantasy folk-type cartoon characters, most notably
The Smurfs and The
Care Bears.
"
Jaws" - The ominous-sounding music as Ms. Botz approaches Bart and Lisa is similar to the music that plays when the bloodthirsty shark is about to attack in the movie.
"
Patricia" - Homer hums the song, made famous by Cuban bandleader
Perez Prado.
A dirty
limerick - When Homer calls the babysitting service he gives them a fake name of Samson, reiterating it with the line "No, I said Samson, not Simpson." This is a reversal of the
poem, which ends with "My name is Simpson, not
Samson."
When Homer is shot with tranquilizer darts, he yells out to Bart "Avenge me, son!" This is similar to
Harry Dean Stanton yelling out to his two sons in
Red Dawn.
The episode's title is a play on
John Steinbeck's novel "
The Grapes of Wrath" (the movie that is based off the novel, is, like The Simpsons, a Fox property).
The two winemakers, César and Ugolin, are named after the peasants from the 1986 French films Jean de Florette, and Manon des sources (Manon of the Springs), according to producer George Meyer.
On the way to the chateau, Bart and the motorcycle driver pass through several famous paintings.
Ugolin whistles the melody of “
Alouette” while walking to the fields;
The episode title is a reference to the short story "
The Tell-Tale Heart" by
Edgar Allan Poe. In addition, Bart actually hears the head talking when he is overcome with guilt. The story also very similar to Paul Jennings' "....Headley Hopkins...".
When Bart awakes to a find the head of Jebediah Springfield in bed next to him, it is reminiscent of the scene from "
The Godfather" where Tom Hagen (
Robert Duvall) "persuades" Woltz to cast Fontane in the movie by leaving the head of the producer's prize racehorse in his bed.
In the background of the nuclear power plant Lenny (white) and Carl (black) are working but they swap races. They return to normal in the next shot (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
When Bart's class is walking down the hallway at the nuclear power plant, one of the twins (either
Sherri or Terri), is animated as just a floating head. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
When Homer goes out of the house after writing his suicide note and picks up the stone, his lips move but no words are spoken. (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Waylon Smithers was accidentally animated as an
African American due to a communication error with Korean animators. The mistake was explained as Smithers having an extreme suntan. A similar mistake was made with Sherri and Terri's father, also drawn as black despite his children both being ghost-white. (He hasn't appeared in the show since, even at events such as their birthday party, where their much whiter-skinned mother was present.) (
Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons))
Waylon Smithers was accidentally animated as an
African American due to a communication error with Korean animators. The mistake was explained as Smithers having an extreme suntan. A similar mistake was made with Sherri and Terri's father, also drawn as black despite his children both being ghost-white. (He hasn't appeared in the show since, even at events such as their birthday party, where their much whiter-skinned mother was present.)
When Bart's class is walking down the hallway at the nuclear power plant, one of the twins (either
Sherri or Terri), is animated as just a floating head.
When Homer goes out of the house after writing his suicide note and picks up the stone, his lips move but no words are spoken.
In the background of the nuclear power plant Lenny (white) and Carl (black) are working but they swap races. They return to normal in the next shot