Brother's Little Helper/References

Trivia

 * Bart's ADD was previously mentioned in the episode "Lisa's Substitute". At the end, Homer says to Bart, "I always knew you had personality; the doctor said it was hyperactivity, but I knew better!"
 * When trying to introduce the schoolchildren to the Fire Safety skit, Principal Skinner briefly mentioned that one of the helpful things that fire can do is, "raining fire on Charlie" which is referring to the frequent dropping napalm on the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
 * An episode of "" mentions this episode when solving the myth if humans use 10 percent of their brain.
 * Bart last developed a nerdy personality in the episode "The Last Temptation of Homer".
 * Bart wears the same reading glasses as Homer usually wears.
 * Korean painters, which paints the Simpsons family in the couch gag, refers to the fact, that The Simpsons series is animated in South Korea.

Cultural References

 * The title of this episode is a reference to The Rolling Stones' 1966 single "Mother's Little Helper", which addresses pill abuse, and also to Santa's Little Helper.
 * Marge standing in front of the tank is a reference to Tank Man.
 * The Fire Safety Day slogan, "Learn, Baby, Learn", refers to the lyrics, 'Burn, Baby, Burn' of ' song "Disco Inferno" from the album of the same name.
 * Homer remarks that Bart has gone from Goofus to Gallant, referring to an edition of ", a children's magazine.
 * When in the tank, Bart sings "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac.
 * Bart expresses a preference for the allergy decongestant Claritin D over regular Claritin.
 * Bart's classmate Sherri reads aloud the poem "The Daffodils" by William Wordsworth.
 * The book that Bart gives to Homer, "Chicken Soup for the Loser", refers to the book "Chicken Soup for the Soul."
 * On their date, Marge and Homer see the movie "Showgirls".
 * The t-shirt in the army barracks, which reads "I went to the Persian Gulf and all I got was this lousy syndrome", is a reference to Gulf War Syndrome.
 * Bart's Ritalin song at the end is a parody of the theme song sung at the conclusion of the Popeye animated shorts.
 * Nelson's reaction when he thinks about violence or a girl while wearing the shock necklace may be a reference to "A Clockwork Orange".

Goofs

 * For one scene at the site where the crowd gathers to see the fallen satellite, Bernice Hibbert can be seen with yellow skin briefly.