Brush with Greatness/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ Old Money

Brush with Greatness

Lisa's Substitute ►

Trivia

• Homer weighs 239 pounds in this episode; he was the same weight in "Homer's Night Out" and "King-Size Homer". By the end of the episode he is down to 225 pounds, though in other episodes his weight was established as 239 pounds.
• In October 2008, Ringo Starr announced he would no longer be answering fan mail. Several media sources compared this to his depiction in this episode, where he promises to answer every letter no matter how long it takes.
• "Bird", which Ringo referred to the now older Sally as in response to a 25 year old letter which contained a snapshot of her 1966 self, is a word used in Britain to describe a young woman.
• The scene where Homer ended up stuck in the water slide was later referenced in the Virtual Bart Water Slide stage, as a hazard if the player made a wrong turn.

  

  Marge's letter to Ringo.

• This is the first episode to feature a Beatles member, in case Ringo Starr.
• The exterior of the English country manor where Ringo Starr lives is based on Castle Howard. Castle Howard was used in the miniseries Brideshead Revisited (1981) which became very popular when it aired in the United States on PBS.
• Marge's letter to Ringo is in The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album.
• This is the first episode to use the word "genitalia".
• This was the first appearance of Elizabeth Hoover, Lisa's second-grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School. Previously Miss Hoover had only been mentioned in "Bart the General".
• This is the first time that Marge has used profanity towards another person, in this instance calling Mr. Burns a SOB.

Cultural References

• Much of the music and scenes of Homer's workouts are similar to the training montage in Rocky.
• When Homer says, "As God is my witness, I'll always be hungry again!" it's a reference to Scarlett's Quotes in the 1939 film Gone With the Wind.
• During the pan to the athletic equipment, there is a sticker that says "Burns for Governor". This is a reference to the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish".

Goofs

• 

  Lisa without eyes

  Mr. Burns laughs at the idea of him having children, but in "Burns, Baby Burns", he has a son. This is because Larry Burns was born out of wedlock.

• 

  Homer with a gray belly

  When Krusty was being pressed by news reporters about the incident at Mt. Splashmore with the H2WHOA!! and his attempts at driving them away, he apparently wipes away the "white makeup" on his head, despite the fact that it was implied in "Homer's Triple Bypass" that Krusty's bypass surgery which gave him a pacemaker permanently bleached the skin on his face white.
• Before Bart and Lisa enter the water slide, Lisa is briefly missing her eyes.
• When Homer is lifting a weight, his belly turns gray for a frame.
• Ringo Starr sends a letter to Marge about the painting she did of him. One problem is, how did Ringo know where to send the letter? Marge was not married to Homer at the time, nor she wasn't living in the Evergreen Terrace house yet. It's possible Marge's parents or family still got mail from the house and forwarded it to her at the Evergreen Terrace house. 
• When Carl speaks, Lenny's voice came out.
• When Homer says "Stupid weights.", neither his lips nor his mouth move.
• The Closing Credits are white instead of yellow.