Future-Drama/References

Trivia

 * This is the 350th episode to air, despite the fact that officially Don't Fear the Roofer is the 350th.
 * At one point Bart gets bored and wants to see what else the future holds, the astrology machine acts and sounds like TiVo, one future event listed has Cletus as Vice President of the United States. Other options include Kang and Kodos invading Earth, Flanders' violent revenge on Homer, Moe finally gets e-mail, Maggie getting arrested for DUI, and Lenny having a super pet.
 * Near the beginning of the episode, Frink shows Bart and Lisa welcoming signs with their names on them, to prove he predicted their arrival at his lab. However, he hides an extra sign welcoming Maggie, who didn't arrive, perhaps hinting that this vision into the future may not be accurate.
 * This is the first time in the entire run of The Simpsons that Frink is called "Dr. Frink".
 * In many Simpsons episodes, notably Homer Badman, Homer has wished to have an underwater home.

Cultural References

 * The title, and Bender's appearance, are references to Futurama.
 * The music playing while Homer and Bart are cruising in Homer's hovercar is "I.G.Y" (from the album : The Nightfly) by Donald Fagen of Steely Dan.
 * Songs heard in this episode include "Take On Me" by A-ha, "True" by Spandau Ballet, "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order and "Sea of Love" by The Platters.

Goofs

 * When Marge calls to Bart and Lisa for their photo she is holding a very small camera but after they come down the stairs the camera is much larger and is now the size of a Polaroid one, which from the back appears white, but is in fact black when viewed from the front. Also, Marge is seen to put the camera down somewhere to her left, but when the view changes, we can see there is no surface to put it on, and the camera is nowhere to be seen.
 * Several of the characters—e.g. Apu, Willie--look a bit too old for only eight years to have passed, but it can be attributed to stress, especially for Apu. In addition, in the long shot of the school at the beginning of the prom, Willie's whiskers are red, but gray in close-up. The coloring error is repeated in a second long shot at the graduation ceremony.
 * In the FOXCAST of this episode, the title is confused for the episode "Home Away from Homer," which aired two weeks after this episode.
 * When Frink shows Lisa a picture of her shocked face after discovering that Milhouse caused the house fire, Lisa is shown with regular braces. However, in Season 4's Last Exit to Springfield, Lisa has already been given braces, which are shown to be invisible.