Cultural references/Television

This is a list of Cultural references to television in The Simpsons.

How I Met Your Mother

• "Freeks no Geeks" - At the end of Treehouse of Horror XXIV Homer ends the episode by saying "and that's how I met your mother" with the credits the rolling with the How I met your mother theme song.

All in the Family

• "Lisa's Sax" - The beginning scene parodies the theme song for the show, with Homer and Marge singing a re-worked version of the theme song "Those Were the Days". After the song, Homer sees Bart and calls him "meathead", a nickname Archie frequently gives his son-in-law, Michael.
• "Bart the Mother" - Bart quotes Archie by saying "Ipso, fasto" to Lisa.
• "Make Room for Lisa" - While reading the Bill of Rights, Homer sits in Archie Bunker's chair at the museum.
• "Homer to the Max" - One of the FOX shows advertised is "All in the Family: 2000".

King of the Hill

• "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" - At Moe's Tavern, after seeing Homer on TV, Moe says, "If that's Homer, who's been putting beers on his tab?!" Barney, in disguise as Homer, says, "D'oh!... Woo hoo!... uh... That boy ain't right...", the latter being Hank Hill's catchphrase.
• "Bart Star" - One of the football matches is Springfield vs. Arlen. The King of the Hill cast is seen sitting on the bleachers, as Hank says, "We drove two thousand miles for this?!"
• "Missionary: Impossible" - Hank Hill is seen at the FOX telethon at the end.
• "Helter Shelter" - As The Simpson residence is being fumigated, Homer decides to wait outside. He opens a can of Duff, and the King of the Hill theme plays as certain events that parody the opening to King of the Hill occur.
• "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays" - We briefly hear Hank Hill's voice say "Bobby, I've got propane in my urethra" from a TV.

The Odd Couple

• "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" - One scene featuring Homer and Seymour Skinner parodies the opening theme to the show.
• "Make Room for Lisa" - Homer believes Lisa's favorite film is The Odd Couple and starts singing the theme to it and he places her in Bart's room, thinking they're like the odd couple.

Pokemon

• "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" - Bart is watching a show called Battling Seizure Robots which is a Japanese show that gives viewers seizures. This is yet a reference to the Pokémon episode "Computer Soldier Porygon" which gave more than 635 of Japanese children seizures on December 16, 1997.
• "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade" - While Bart is taking a test his mind is focused on satellite television and he has a vision everyone in his class is a television character and one classmate is turned into Pikachu.
• "Pokey Mom" - Episode title.
• "Children of a Lesser Clod" - Homer, Rod, and Todd watch an imitation Kids Say the Darndest Things on television, and Bill Cosby asks a kid, "What do you like to play?" The kid replies, "Pokémon!" to which Cosby replies, "Pokémon?! Pokémon with the Poké and the Mon and the guy with the thing who comes out and he's like..." and rambles on until he reaches a state of baffled confusion about the name of the series.
• "'Tis the Fifteenth Season" and "Fraudcast News" - during the couch gag every Simpson family member is a Japanese television show character and Maggie is Pikachu. In Germany Pikachu's current voice actor is the same one who voices Maggie in the German version of "The Simpsons" along with Lisa who is Sailor Moon in the couch gag and Sailor also appears to be voiced by the same voice of Lisa, Maggie, and Pikachu.
• "Postcards From the Wedge" - Bart is seen watching an imitation Pokémon anime on television, and he asks himself, "How does this show stay so fresh?"
• "Chief of Hearts" - When Bart asks kids at Dylan's birthday party about "Battle Ball", he says, "It makes Digimon look like Pokémon!"
• "The Simpsons Movie" - The swallows that fly into the dome while retuning to Springfield look the Pokémon Swellow.

Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In

• Mother Simpson - Maggie dancing and covered with different tattoos is a reference to the various "bumpers" featuring the female cats members doing the same.
• The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase - Many elements of The Simpson Family, Smile-Time Variety Hour are borrowed from Laugh-In, such as:

• Kent Brockman announcing the show from a recording studio parodies the appearances of Gary Owens on the show.
• Many of the character's comments after the sketches are much like the ones on Laugh-In.
• Hans Moleman reading a poem references Henry Gibson's various poems.

• Lisa's Sax - When Lisa's saxophone gets run over, one of the people who runs over it is a man on a tricycle, who promptly falls over. This is a reference to a character played by Arte Johnson, an old man in a raincoat on a tricycle, which is a running gag from the show.

Star Trek

• Kang and Kodos - Perhaps the most common Star Trek reference on the show is the names of the two recurring alien villains. Typically appearing in "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, Kang and Kodos also claim to be native to the planet Rigel 7.
• "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" - The family sees a trailer and clips from the latest Original Series film, Star Trek XII: So Very Tired, which depicts an elderly and senile cast. Captain Kirk complains about poor sleeping habits and everyone else's indifference to his complaining, while Scotty has grown so fat he cannot fire the phasers because his gargantuan stomach is in the way of the control panel.
• "Deep Space Homer" - As part of his NASA training, Homer Simpson fights Barney Gumbel in the Triskelion arena with the classic "Star Trek fight music" in the background while one of the NASA administrators bets "quatloos on the newcomer."
• "Bart of Darkness" - The Itchy and Scratchy cartoon in this episode is a parody of "The Cage", "The Menagerie, Part I", and "The Menagerie, Part II", with Itchy resembling the aliens from Talos IV and possessing strong telepathic and telekinetic abilities.
• "Itchy & Scratchy Land" - The couch gag for this episode shows the Simpson family being beamed on the couch the same way people are beamed onto the Enterprise.
• "Lisa's Wedding" - In this episode, Hugh's watch makes identical noises as a TOS communicator, Troy McClure's uniform is identical to the TOS uniforms, and the nuclear power plant resembles and makes the same noises as the Enterprise.
• "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" - After Grandpa Simpson begins selling a sexual enhancement tonic, all of the adults disappear and leave the children wandering around, as in "Miri".
• "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" - A clerk at a pet store performs a "Human-dog mind meld" on Santa's Little Helper. He recommends that the Simpsons buy a lot of his merchandise to help calm the dog – apparently it worked as the next scene depicts the family driving home with a car full of dog related goods.
• "A Star is Burns" - William Shatner is one of the actors auditioning for the role of Montgomery Burns dressed in a Starfleet uniform and speaking in his "Kirk voice" ("Ex-cell-ENT!").
• "Simpson Tide" - Homer ends up as captain of a military submarine and refers to helmsman Moe as "Mr. Moe". A "Mr. Sulu" is also part of the crew and mentions Rigel 7 while setting a course.
• "Mayored to the Mob" - Vina's theme from "The Cage" is heard when Comic Book Guy is entranced by a nerdy young Comic Book Gal.
• "I'm Goin' to Praiseland" - Comic Book Guy has a fantasy where he portrays Mr. Spock and saves Captain Kirk.
• "Sweets and Sour Marge" - Leonard Nimoy's autobiographies with titles referencing the show appear. They include the real books I Am Not Spock and I Am Spock, as well as the fictional book I Am Also Scotty.
• "Treehouse of Horror IX" - Comic Book Guy holds Bart and Lisa at bay with "the only working phaser ever built" which was "fired once to keep William Shatner from releasing another album."

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

• "Deep Space Homer" - The episode's title is a reference to the series.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

• "Deep Space Homer" - Homer, Bart, and Lisa watch an episode of Itchy and Scratchy entitled "Scar Trek: The Next Laceration", which has otherwise no relation to Star Trek except for its taking place in space.
• "Homer vs. Patty and Selma" and "Itchy & Scratchy Land" - The couch gag shows the family transporting onto the couch using transporters seen in TNG.

Star Trek: Voyager

• "Das Bus" - Comic Book Guy attempts to download a nude photo of Captain Janeway only to be interrupted by an ad for Homer's internet company; Comic Book Guy speculates if the service could provide "faster nudity."
• "Homerazzi" - When Marge must replace all of the family's photos that were lost in a photo album fire, she recreates the family's "Star Trek: Voyager Series Finale Party" with Lenny dressed as Seven of Nine and Dr. Hibbert dressed as Tuvok. Carl begins to cry as he thought he could make it through Voyager's final episode again, but realizes he can't while Homer wails "Oh, Captain Janeway! Your mission ended too soon! Too soon!"
• "Treehouse of Horror X" - One of Comic Book Guy's (as nemesis "The Collector") plastic-wrapped acquisitions in his lair is Jeri Ryan in her costume and prosthetic appliances as Seven of Nine.

Teletubbies

Milhouse watching Teletubbies

• "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" - Milhouse watches them on TV and has Teletubbie underpants.
• "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" - Homer dresses as Tinky Winky to amuse Maggie. He says, "And I'm all man, in case you heard otherwise!" as a reference to the Tinky Winky controversy.
• "Missionary: Impossible" - They chase Homer with the rest of the PBS mob.
• "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" - Bart, Lisa, and Maggie watch it at home.
• "Lisa the Tree Hugger" - The Family are Teletubbies (except for Maggie) in the Couch Gag.
• "Blame It on Lisa" - Teleboobies name is a parody of Teletubbies
• "Large Marge" - During a sanitized version of The Krusty the Clown Show. Milhouse comments the Teletubbies get away with more than this.
• "Pray Anything" - During a Church Sermon at the bowling alley, Dr. Hibbert gets distracted by a plush Dipsy in the claw-grip machine.
• "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington" - A plush Po falls out the Simpson's cupboards with various other objects.
• "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays" - Teletubbies are at Roofi's concert.