Bottle Episode/References

General	References/Trivia	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ The Man Who Flew Too Much

Bottle Episode

The Past and the Furious ►

Cultural References

• The episode title is a pun on "bottle episode," defined on the TV Tropes website as a story (most times, an episode of a television show) that takes place in one setting with a small cast.
• Smithers and Marge are depicted as the fox versions of Robin Hood and Maid Marian from the 1973 film from Disney and shown dancing together, feeding into the semi-romantic notions. Burns is depicted as the feline Prince John.
• When Smithers opens the case containing the bottle of Gevrey-Chambertin wine, he tells Homer, "Turns out Napoleon fought the Bate of Austerlitz just because he heard there was an extraordinary bottle of red there." The Battle of Austerlitz was fought on December 2, 1805 in present-day Czech Republic and depicted in great detail in the novel War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy. The French victory over the Austrians and Russians is considered a major peak in Napoleon's military successes.
• Wines from Gevrey-Chambertin in Burgundy were reportedly drank daily by the real Napoleon and there is a legendary bottle of it that he held at the Battle of Austerlitz.[1]
• The Oen-Percenters, the name of Mr. Burns' wine club, is a pun on the term One-Percenters meaning the wealthiest 1% of people in a society. Oen means wine and oenology means the study of wine.
• Homer mentions the time they went to the Wisconsin Dells, an area known for its many tourist attractions.
• Homer covers for Marge being in wine jail by telling the kids she in staying with friends in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California 95 miles (153 km) from Los Angeles.
  • Santa Barbara is also the title of a daytime soap opera which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1993, which might be why Homer believes Santa Barbara does not really exist.
• Francis Ford Coppola withdrawing his million-dollar bid after taking a call from his accountant is a reference to his self-financed movie Megalopolis (2024) flopping at the box office.
• Andrew Lloyd Webber's speak-sung line "the music that I write" is to the tune of The Music of the Night from his musical The Phantom of the Opera.
• Alca–Shiraz Wine Jail is a play-on-words for Alcatraz, the former federal prison and tourist attraction on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, and Shiraz, red wines made from the Shiraz variety of grapes.

Previous Episodes References

• Burns refers to Marge as Smithers' wife, as a recurring joke of Burns not knowing anything about his employees and their family members (i.e. "There's No Disgrace Like Home" and "Dancin' Homer"); this is based on former President Ronald Reagan. In the episode "Blood Feud", Mr. Burns needs a blood transfusion and Smithers immediately offers saying, "Just leave me enough to get home." A cut version of the episode had Smithers asking to leave him enough blood to get home to his wife and children. Smithers has said he was previously married once, but it did not work out. ("Secrets of a Successful Marriage")
• Items in garage safe include:
  • Two jars labeled "Baby Teeth, Simpson Kids" and "Baby Teeth, Others". Marge previously revealed that she had Milhouse's knocked-out teeth ("Lisa on Ice")
  • The "Homer" bowling bowl ("Life on the Fast Lane").
  • Inanimate carbon rod ("Deep Space Homer").
  • Original animation cell of Poochie ("The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show").
  • Wrapped-up Ribwich ("Lisa the Tree Hugger").
  • Ned Flanders' birth certificate, which can explain how Homer is able to get credit cards (i.e. "Catch 'Em if You Can" and "What Animated Women Want") and passports ("D'oh Canada") under Ned's name:

Certificate of Birth
This is to Certify that
Nedward Flanders Jr.
Weighing 7 lbs. 6 oz, Was born
On the 7^th Day of June in the Year 1959
To parents Nedward Flanders Sr. and Mona Flanders
At: Springfield General Hospital

• Ned Flanders was previously established as a non-native of Springfield ("Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song", "Much Apu About Nothing", "My Way or the Highway to Heaven"). His birthday was previously established as being in early spring, as depicted during flashbacks of Dr. Foster spanking a young Ned for 8 months. ("Hurricane Neddy")

Trivia

• As mentioned by co-writer Rob LaZebnik in an interview, the episode's main plotline was inspired by the Jefferson bottles.
• The wine courtroom scenes are based on the movie Anatomy of a Fall.[2]
• The character design for one of the gay bar patrons watching wine court on TV is based on Johnny LaZebnik, co-writer of this episode.[3]
• This episode was dedicated to the memory of William "Billy" Wright, co-writer with Carolyn Omine of three Simpsons episodes.
• This is the last episode to premiere in 2024.