It is revealed that Bart has a crush on Terri. However, when Homer says this, no one in the class seems to think much of it.
This is the first episode where Mr. Burns knows who Homer is, without Smithers' help.
When Maggie gets taken back on a washing line, this is another reference to when the UK's Channel 4 promoted its first broadcast of The Simpsons where Maggie is being held back on a line in front of flashing white-striped lights.
Previous Episode References[]
"Bart Star": One of the Purple-Haired Twins (Sherri and/or Terri) has a crush on Bart
The Tracy Ullman Show shorts (Shut Up Simpsons): Bart strangles Homer the way Homer strangles him.
"Team Homer" and "Homer's Phobia": The Pin Pal bowling shirt is seen (even though "Team Homer" showed that the Pin Pal shirt was shredded when Homer was attacked by Mr. Burns' hounds and "Homer's Phobia" implies that Marge donated the shirt and now John wears it because of his love of kitsch).
"Bart Gets Famous": A Simpson male (Bart/Homer) becomes a one-note celebrity that everyone immediately gets sick of (Bart becomes famous for saying, "I didn't do it"/Homer becomes famous for bowling a perfect game).
"Krusty Gets Kancelled": Springfield Squares (the Simpsons spoof of Hollywood Squares) appears.
"Marge vs. the Monorail": Toxic waste at the nuclear plant gets mishandled (Mr. Burns and Smithers dump the drums in the park/Mr. Burns and Smithers force Homer to eat out of them as punishment for coming in extremely late)
"Treehouse of Horror III" ("Dial 'Z' for 'Zombie'"): Where's Waldo? is mentioned (Bart reading "Find Waldo Yet Again"/Homer trying to find Waldo on the back of a cereal box, then missing Waldo as he walks by the kitchen window).
Censorship[]
The entire scene featuring Homer's attempted suicide (including when Otto, who's bungee-jumping, saves him and the two end up in the layer of the Mole Men, with Hans Moleman as their king) was edited out of the episode when shown on the UK's Channel 4. The edited scene goes from Homer singing (This Is) The End by The Doors to Ron Howard approaching him in his convertible with his children in the back seat, which gives Homer the idea to leave a legacy by being a better father.
Channel 4 also cut Mrs. Krabappel's line about how Homer bowled a perfect game without using crack, angel dust, steroids, or other narcotics associated with bowling to remove "crack" and "angel dust", but not "steroids" or "narcotics".
While Maggie is saving Homer, the opening music from the television documentary Victory at Sea plays.
The fast-motion sequence when Homer oversleeps, accompanied by music, references a scene from the 1983 film Koyaanisqatsi.
Homer plays a Where's Waldo? game on the back of the cereal box he eats his breakfast from.
Homer dresses up as a Teletubby to entertain Maggie. His line, "...and I'm all man, in case you heard otherwise" is a reference to the Reverend Jerry Falwell accusing Tinky Winky (from the Teletubbies) of promoting homosexuality.
Homer sings The Doors' song "The End" over Jim Morrison's voice. He misses a few lines, going from 'my only friend' to 'weird scenes inside the goldmine.'
When Homer and Otto descend into the sewers on the bungee rope, they pass three underground societies: the Morlocks (from The Time Machine), the C.H.U.D.s (from C.H.U.D.) and the Mole People (from the 1956 film The Mole People). In this parody, Hans Moleman and his people are actually dressed up like the Albino enslavers from the film, NOT the actual mole creatures.
Teller, of magic duo Penn & Teller - who is known for never speaking, does indeed speak in this episode.
After Homer bowls his perfect game, he pulls out a "Before I Die I want To-" list and checks off the item "Bowl a Perfect Game." Below that is listed "See Stevie Nicks Naked." It is checked three times.
The part where Homer bowls the strike that wins him the 300 game has many elements from the Robert Redford film The Natural (the exploding lanes similar to the exploding stadium lights when Redford's character bats the winning hit out of the park, Homer pumping his arms victoriously as debris rains down on him, and the music (which was used in another sports-related Simpsons episode).
In the scene where Ron Howard nearly runs over Homer, he is seen with four children - two boys and two girls. In real life, Howard has three daughters and one son, and all were significantly older at the time of the episode. The kids in Howard's car all appear to be 12 or younger.
Goofs[]
Homer is seen wearing his Pin Pals shirt when interrupting Pen & Teller, though in "Homer's Phobia" John is wearing Homer's Pin Pals shirt and states that someone (Marge) gave it to Goodwill. He could have gotten it back after he realized fame after the perfect game. Or it could also be possible that more T-shirts than just one were made. That would explain why did it appear in the episode of season 8 despite the fact that dogs tore it apart at the end of "Team Homer".
Ron Howard's children all appear to be younger than twelve, but in real life only his son was 12 years old, and his daughters, Bryce Dallas Howard was 18 years old and Paige Howard was 14 years old at the time this episode aired.
A duplicate spike of hair on the bottom spike of Lisa's hair
When Homer is dragged by the rip tide he was shown to have no shoes on, however while he was "running" underwater, he is shown wearing shoes. When Maggie saves him, he is again shown underwater without shoes.
The chalkboard punishment sentence for this episode, "I won't not use no double negatives" is actually a triple negative ("won't" is a contraction of "will not", plus another "not, plus "no").
After Marge realizes that Homer lied to her about Lenny being injured, her butt is not behind the edge of the couch she is sitting on.
When Lisa reassures Homer that she does not need him as a father figure, there seems to be another spike of Lisa's hair behind the bottom spike for a few frames.
Just after it shows Homer getting a strike at the bowling alley, there is clearly one pin left meaning he shouldn't have gotten one.
Production Notes[]
The final draft for this episode was published on April 6, 1999.[1]
