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Midnight Rx |
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Continuity[]
- Deep Space Homer and Homer's Enemy: Homer is a former astronaut.
- "Lisa the Vegetarian": Flanders has a doppelganger from another country (the Mexican Flanders and British Flanders at his family reunion/the Canadian Flanders)
- Viva Ned Flanders and Kill the Alligator and Run: Homer is banned from somewhere (Las Vegas, Nevada/Florida/Canada)
- I Am Furious (Yellow): Homer has a strange lump on his neck.
- Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment and Sweets and Sour Marge: Homer gets into smuggling (alcohol/sugary foods/prescription medication).
- Brother's Little Helper: A Simpson child is on medication (Bart was on Focusyn, but was put back on Ritalin for attention deficit disorder/Lisa is on Xanax for anxiety and Zoloft to curb the anxiety of being on Xanax).
- D'oh-in' in the Wind: Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" plays during a montage about drugs.
- Treehouse of Horror XV: Ralph is high on drugs (opium/confiscated pills from the police evidence locker).
- Bart Gets Famous: Sideshow Mel is lactose intolerant (in this episode, he takes medication for it).
- The Old Man and the Key: The old guy gang who wear Hollywood jackets appear.
- $pringfield: or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling: Mr. Burns' plane The Plywood Pelican is similar to The Spruce Goose.
- Blood Feud: Mr. Burns falling ill and Smithers doing what he can to save him is flipped in this episode so that way Smithers is the sick one and Mr. Burns is the one who tries to save him.
- Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish": Grampa goes on an adventure with someone from his family (his grandson Bart/his son Homer) and Mr. Burns is involved (Mr. Burns is the antagonist/Mr. Burns is their ally).
- The Trouble With Trillions: Homer and Mr. Burns use a plane to commit a major crime (flee to Cuba to escape the IRS and FBI/smuggle prescription medication from Canada).
Cultural References[]
- The title is a parody of the film Midnight Express.
- The drug store is called "Dudley Do Drugs" a parody of Dudley Do-Right.
- Huey Lewis' single "I Want a New Drug" was used in the Pharmaceutical Ad. The video was a modified cartoon version of the band's actual music video.
- The man at the employment agency plays a game clearly modelled after Doom.
- The scene in which Mr. Burns revives Smithers is a parody of the Disney movies Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (the glass coffin) and Sleeping Beauty (Smithers being locked in a palace room and woken up by Burns‘ kiss).
- The banner at the U.S.-Canadian border reads that Canada is now "Celine Dion Free", a reference to Canadian singer Celine Dion moving to Las Vegas to perform nightly at Caesars Palace.
- The Springfield Air and Space Museum is a parody of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
- Burns and Smithers flying by the moon in a makeshift aircraft while Burns says "Next stop... Pirate Island!" is a parody of E.T. The Extraterrestrial.
- There is a plane at the Springfield Air and Space Museum called "Spirit of Shelbyville", which is a reference to the Spirit of St. Louis, a plane used by Charles Lindbergh to fly solo across the Atlantic.
- As they bicker in the back of the car Ned mentions Hawkman which may be a reference to the DC Comics superhero.
- The song played when Doctor Hibbert is discussing the drug companies is "Baby Got Back" by Sir-Mix-A-Lot.
Censorship[]
- Chief Wiggum giving contraband pills to Ralph was cut in Sky Showcase and Channel 4 airings to remove Ralph's pupils dilating and his line, "I'm cuckoo for contraband!"
- Abe calling his nurse a "pill-hoarding hussy" was cut in Channel 4 airings.
- The Canadian Ned Flanders offering the American Ned Flanders a "reeferino" was cut in Channel 4 airings.
- Ned's describing his coffee as being, "...hotter than a FOX news weather skank!" was cut in Channel 4 airings.
- Apu burning his tongue on his drink was shortened in Channel 4 airings.
- Krusty the Clown's line, "Nobody likes a bipolar clown", followed by him laughing and crying was cut on Sky Showcase (formerly known as Sky 1).
Goofs[]
- The Canadian Ned offers Flanders a "reeferino" and says that "it's legal here". In real life, at the time of this episode, marijuana not used for medicinal reasons was technically illegal in Canada. Punishment for possession of the drug in small amounts, however, is relatively minor, and jail time for possession is very unlikely. As of October 2018, marijuana used for recreational purposes is legal in Canada.
- When Homer, Grandpa, Ned and Apu are returning to the United States, they encounter a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer at the border, in full uniform. There are four things wrong with this:
- Mountie officers only wear their iconic red uniform (the Red Serge) on special occasions.
- The Canadian Border Services Agency is responsible for patrolling the border on the Canadian side, not the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- When crossing the Canada/United States border, people only need to check in with the country they are entering, not the one they are leaving.
- The Mountie officer asks another if Homer had a passport. At the time of this episode, passports were not required to cross the border.
Abe's beard drawn over his glasses
- When Grandpa Simpson announces that he wants to fight the system, his beard is drawn over his glasses for a few frames.
- Earlier in the show Mr. Burns mentions that rain makes the Plywood Pelican catch fire. Later, it is shown in a dock.
- Krusty the Clown mentions that he needs lithium dibromide (LiBr) to treat his bipolar disorder. There's no such chemical; the writers either mean lithium bromide (which is used in air-conditioning systems) or lithium carbonate (which is prescribed to people who have bipolar disorder). Lithium dibromide is also incorrectly named using the system of IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry.
- Despite being prohibited from returning to Canada in this episode, he returns here with his family for the 2010 Winter Olympics in "Boy Meets Curl" and "D'oh Canada".
- Though it is likely that either the ban was lifted or Homer used an alias to avoid suspicion.
Production Notes[]
- The final draft for this episode was published on September 4, 2003.[1]
Citations[]