Estranger Things/References

General	References/Trivia	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

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"Estranger Things"

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Cultural References

• The title is a reference to the Netflix show franchise Stranger Things.
  • Season 32 episode "Manger Things" had also parodied its title.
• The song "A Mother's Heartbreak" is a parody of "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2; interestingly, Sarah McLachlan sings both songs.
• Homer references (and later plays a game in his underwear, based on) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, notably the rift between Sweet and "CJ Johnson," and the city of Los Santos.
  • He also mentions that Big Smoke will need help with moving "powder," although CJ doesn't actually assist with his drug empire; rather, he works to destroy it.
• The establishing shot before the scene of adult Lisa's interview is of New York City. The headquarters of the both the NBA and WNBA are in New York City.
• Lisa's interview is with SheEO, a reference to CEO magazine who are known for publishing flattering interviews.
• Bart and Lisa's new favorite shows are Screaming Friends (a parody of Smiling Friends), and Quirk Girl (a parody of New Girl where the characters are voiced by New Girl leads Zooey Deschanel and Max Greenfield), respectively.

Trivia

• This episode's parody of Smiling Friends (referred to as Screaming Friends, AKA the show Bart was watching on his Ipad.) prompted the writers of Smiling Friends to retaliate with their own parody of The Simpsons.

Previous Episode References

From "Brush with Greatness"

• Lisa and Bart's future appearances are almost similar to those from "Bart to the Future."
• Moe's tombstone is Moe with his head inside an oven. Moe's suicide attempts have been shown or mentioned with putting his head inside an oven is in "Grift of the Magi."
• Marge's teenaged crush on Ringo Starr including her painting their wedding. ("Brush with Greatness")
• Less bald Homer was previously seen in a flashback in "Barthood" and "Manger Things."
• The photo of Maggie was seen in a flashback that takes place before her birth was also seen in "How Lisa Got Her Marge Back."
• The opening of Itchy and Scratchy was seen in a different version in "Holidays of Future Passed."

Goofs

A picture of Maggie shown on the wall in the living room before she was born.

• During the scene set four years in the past, a picture of Maggie is visible on the wall in the living room, although she would not have been born yet. This also happened in "And Maggie Makes Three," because the house interior was unchanged for the past scenes.