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Helter Shelter |
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Trivia[]
- This is the last episode to be traditionally inked and painted in the airing order. The last episode to be animated like this in production order was "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation". After this, all episode would be animated with the use of digital ink and paint. Cel animation wouldnt be used until Treehouse of Horror XXXIV, in the 2nd segment.
- Marge Simpson admits that her hair isn't naturally blue, which was previously confirmed in "Secrets of a Successful Marriage".
- This is the second to the last time to date that Bart has prank called Moe, this time via Morse code. The last time to date was in "24 Minutes", but he did prank call a bunch of bars in Season 20's "Lost Verizon", and Season 22's "Love is a Many Strangled Thing" In the Family Guy and The Simpsons crossover "The Simpsons Guy" Bart prank called Moe, which impressed Stewie Griffin.
- Homer's line "Where's that kid with my latte?" was used earlier in "Beyond Blunderdome".
- This is the third time Bill Cosby has been parodied on The Simpsons. There is an extra gag in that the Cosby family are losing ratings on their reality show, so the producers choose on the Simpsons; in the early years, The Cosby Show was a ratings rival with The Simpsons.
- When the family realizes that they are seeing a hockey game, they are discouraged and disappointed, yet in "Lisa on Ice", the family seems to have an interest in the game.
- When Kozlov hands Lisa his hockey stick, it says "КОЗЛОВ" - the real Russian spelling of Kozlov.
- The Russian hockey player seems to be Atlanta Thrashers' Vyacheslav Kozlov.
- If you look closely, you can see a crossed hammer and a hockey stick on Kozlov's hockey stick, an obvious reference to the Soviet symbol of the hammer and sickle.
- In this episode Homer is upset that 1895 is too late to save Lincoln and too early to save Kennedy, and in "Today, I Am a Clown" he again fantasizes about doing both.
- Homer finally gets skybox tickets after being caught gatecrashing into one in "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday".
- The Cut and condensed intro returns in this episode since season 9's "Simpson Tide".
Goofs[]
- At one point when Bart is in the video confessional booth, he complains of boredom and says "Mutt and Jeff Comics are not funny! They're gay, I get it!". However, Mutt and Jeff was first published in 1907, 12 years after the show's 1895 setting.
- Apu says that Oreos were invented in 1896. However, they were invented in 1912.
Cultural references[]
- The title is a play on the Beatles song "Helter Skelter," a famous song which, it was claimed by prosecutors, was indirectly connected to the murders carried out by Charles Manson and his "family". "Helter Shelter" had earlier been the name of the shelter in the episode "Homer Loves Flanders".
- There is also an episode of The Powerpuff Girls with the same name and the 1955 Woody Woodpecker cartoon with the same name of this episode.
- The extermination company named "A Bug's Death" is a pun on Disney and Pixar's A Bug's Life.
- The SkyBox is a reference to the SkyDome (now the Rogers Center).
- The scene where the Simpsons are waiting for time to fly by mirrors the opening sequence of King of the Hill. It also uses the King of the Hill theme music.
- "Squiggy" being sent to boost their ratings is a reference to a lot of television shows sending in newer characters to save the show from being cancelled (often with disastrous results), such as Cousin Oliver on The Brady Bunch, Seven on Married...With Children, and Smitty (Adam Sandler's character) on The Cosby Show.
- A member of the crew says 'I can't eat any more kangaroo testicles'. This is a reference to I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
- Though not the first, this episode of The Simpsons contains a reference to the 1990s TV character Steve Urkel from the show Family Matters. When Marge attempts to buy groceries from the Kwik-E-Mart, Apu informs her that he is under instructions from the producers of the reality show to vett her purchases for items that were not available in 1895 (claiming that Oreos were invented in 1896, though in the real world they were introduced in 1912). As such, he deems the breakfast cereal Urkel-O's "delicious, but forbidden."
- When Bart prank calls Moe with Morse code, Moe types back, mentioning the Transcontinental Railroad (1869) by saying "...I'm gonna drive a golden spike where your Union meets your Central Pacific!"
- "Law & Order: Elevator Inspectors Unit" is a reference to the TV show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. It also references the multiple spinoff shows spawned from the original series Law & Order.
- There is an action figure of Bender on Comic Book Guy's shelf.
- One of the figurines sitting on Comic Book Guy's shelf is a model of the Planet Express Ship from Futurama.
- The show the Simpsons go on is an obvious reference to Big Brother and similar reality programs.