The scene of The Ramones performing at Mr. Burns' birthday party was edited for bad language on Canada's Global channel and on BBC, Sky Showcase, and Channel 4 in the UK:
Global Channel cuts "I'd just like to say this gig sucks!", "Up yours, Springfield!" and "Go to hell, you old bastard!", making it seem as if Burns was traumatized by the punk music and not the profanity and punk music, though some Canadian broadcasts did manage to let the "Go to hell" in "Go to Hell, you old bastard" slip by.
Channel 4 in the UK only edited the "Up yours, Springfield" and the "...you old bastard" in "Go to hell, you old bastard!", while Sky Showcase and BBC only edited out "Go to hell, you old bastard!" In original Channel 4 airings from 2011, the "up yours" line was uncut, while the "bastard" line was still cut.
During Mr. Burns's announcement that the television and beer supply will be cut off if Homer doesn't give Mr. Burns back his teddy bear, Patty's line, "Holy crap!" was cut on Sky Showcase airings, but this was later added back in.
Following Princess Diana's death in 1997, the scene of Mr. Burns getting his photo taken by a paparazzo after putting Maggie's pacifier in his mouth was cut to remove the word "paparazzo" from Burns's line, "Damn you, paparazzo!" on Sky Showcase, because the paparazzi was implicated in causing the car crash that killed her. This line has since been reinstated.
10 Peach Comedy and Channel 11 in Australia made their own edits for this episode (both of which, despite their violent content, were left in on UK airings):
The part where Mr. Burns's security guards beat everyone up after Burns cancels the rest of the party following Homer's horrible stand-up act was cut, going from Mr. Burns shutting down the party and the guards marching in to Homer nursing the bump he got on his head from the nuclear plant security guards.
Barney threatening Homer with a gun after Burns cuts off the beer supply and Homer slamming the door on Barney, causing him to shoot someone or something that makes a woman scream and causes a cop car to arrive was cut, going from Homer staring at the TV as Mr. Burns laughs evilly during his announcement about the beer and TV being cut off in Springfield to Nelson, Dolph, Jimbo, and Kearney surrounding Bart and threatening to beat him up until Jimbo gets confused by what Nelson said ("My old man can't get a beer because his old man won't give a bear to another old man. Let's get 'im!" "Wait, why are we getting him?") and decide to beat up Martin Prince instead.
Despite these cuts, Global, Channel 4, Sky Showcase, and 10 Peach Comedy/Channel 11 did not cut Homer telling Mr. Burns that he wants "a million dollars and three Hawaiian islands. Good ones, not the leper ones" (worth noting because BBC cut a reference to Hawaii having a leper colony on the season four episode "Mr. Plow"), the flashback of Bobo with Hitler during the bombing of Berlin in 1945, Mr. Burns spraying knock-out gas in Ned Flanders' face during their first botched attempt at getting Bobo back, and/or Mr. Burns getting attacked by Professor Frink's robotic bear (American free-TV syndication did cut this, but it was for time, not content).
Previous Episode References[]
"Bart Gets Hit By a Car", "Homer Goes to College," and "Dog of Death": Smithers' relationship with Mr. Burns is symbolized by a dog or through dog-like behavior (Smithers spies on The Simpsons by staring into the eye holes of a dog/Smithers sleeps curled at Mr. Burns' feet during the nuclear plant afternoon nap/Mr. Burns asks Smithers what he would do if he came to his house sniffing at his crotch and slobbering all over his face like a dog/Smithers' head is on a robot dog in the year 1,000,000 AD).
"Bart Gets Hit By a Car": Satan appears (Bart meets him during his near-death experience/Mr. Burns credits him for a long life).
A joke about how former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is hated (Springfield riots after Mayor Quimby presents a Jimmy Carter statue that the town could only afford because Marge [who normally bakes Rice Krispie squares for the town bake sale] was put in jail for shoplifting/Carter and Bush, Sr. are barred from Mr. Burns' party because they were one-termer Presidents).
"A Streetcar Named Marge": Homer playing around with his playbill while Marge performs on Oh, Streetcar! similar to Charles Foster Kane playing around with his playbill while his mistress, Susan Alexander, flops during her opera debut.
"Blood Feud": Mr. Burns on his deathbed just like Charles Foster Kane was in the movie.
"Blood Feud": The Simpsons talk about how strange or anti-climactic the ending is.
"Marge Gets a Job": Smithers' "There Is A Man" musical number at Jack Marley's retirement party.
"Mr. Plow": A broken snow globe depicting a house in a wintry landscape.
"Mr. Plow" only: Hawaii has a leper colony (the intro to Carnival of the Stars mentions that Molokai "...is not just for lepers anymore!"/Homer wants $1 million and three Hawaiian islands -- "Good ones, not the leper ones")
"I Married Marge", "Bart's Dog Gets an F", and "Marge vs. The Monorail": NEV-R-BREAK brand snow globes is similar to NEV-R-DULL knives (that Homer sold when trying to find a job to support a pregnant Marge), NEV-R-SNAP dog leash (that Santa's Little Helper had around his neck), and SELD-M-BREAK hose (one of the many parts to malfunction on the maiden voyage of the monorail).
"Selma's Choice": Spoof of the famous Battle of Iwo Jima pose with the soldiers hoisting the flag (one of the potato chips that resembles celebrities is this famous pose, which Homer nearly has second thoughts about eating/one of the slideshow pictures is a Mr. Burns-centric version of this famous pose).
References to Adolf Hitler on The Simpsons:
"Simpson and Delilah": Homer guesses Hitler as the capitol of North Dakota instead of Bismarck
"Whacking Day": Grampa's story of how he was separated from his platoon when he parachuted into Dusseldorf, then tried to pose as a German cabaret singer, but blew his cover when he flirted with Hitler (until Grampa admitted that the only true part of that story was that he cross-dressed in the 1940s and that 1940s dresses had great designers back then).
"Whacking Day", "Duffless," and "Homer Goes to College": Richard Nixon appears (botched his appearance at a Whacking Day ceremony by beating Alger Hiss/lost favor with the crowd during the 1960 televised debate between him and John F. Kennedy because he plugged Duff Beer right after Kennedy did/threatens Homer when he hears about Sir Oinks-A-Lot getting drunk and collapsing/is one of the people welcomed to Mr. Burns' birthday party).
"Dog of Death": Homer names Hitler's dog as one of the dogs in Doggie Hell, alongside Nixon's dog, Checkers (misnamed "Chester"), and "one of the mean Lassies".
"Radio Bart": The Soul Mass Transit System may or may not be that dance show that Homer drooled over while lecturing Lisa about dancing too suggestively for her age.
"Brush With Greatness": Mr. Burns and nude portraits (Marge paints Mr. Burns as a frail and naked man/Mr. Burns has the only nude portrait of American writer and humorist Mark Twain).
Cultural References[]
"Citizen Kane" (fim):
Similar opening music and camera shots
The crate of unbreakable snow globes
Title is reference to the name of the childhood sled Kane lost.
The dream flashback of Mr. Burns once being a happy, yet poor child being adopted by a twisted, loveless billionaire.
Mr. Burns' dad refers to Bobo the teddy bear as "...a symbol of your lost youth and innocence," which is what Charles Foster Kane's childhood sled has been said to symbolize on most major film analyses.
Wizard of Oz (1939 film version): The guards chanting: "All we own, we owe"
George Burns (comedian, one half of Burns and Allen): Mr. Burns' younger brother, even though George Burns was older than Mr. Burns.
Marilyn Monroe (actress and sex symbol):
Smithers' birthday fantasy (similar to Marilyn's, "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to JFK)
One of Mr. Burns' slideshow pictures is the famous scene from The Seven Year Itch where the skirt of Marilyn's dress blows from the wind of a subway grate.
John Glenn's space mission (real-world event): the people of Perth, Australia left their lights on as a signal to Glenn similar to how everyone in Australia spelled out Mr. Burns' name in lights for his birthday.
RoboCop (the first movie from 1987): Frink's robot bear going haywire is a bloodless version of when the ED-209 went haywire in the boarding room and shot an executive to excessive and comical levels.
Frankenstein (book and movie): Scientist's human-looking experiment goes haywire and wants to live, despite not truly being human.
Conan the Barbarian (pulp book series and movie): Homer turning the Wheel of Pain.
The Mind's Eye (experimental animated short film series): scene with the aquarium, with Jan Hammer-esque music
Soul Train (TV show): The Soul Mass Transit System
Planet of the Apes (movie series): The future showing apes as the dominant species and Homer clones as slaves to apes.
Diana Ross (singer): song playing over Mr. Burns' slideshow is "Do You Know (Where You're Going To)?"
McDonalds (fast food restaurant): Homer wants a recording studio so he can sing the Big Mac jingle.
Goofs and Continuity Errors[]
Homer's September calendar has 31 days instead of 30.
On "Simpson and Delilah," Burns' childhood photos showed him with curly blond hair, but this episode depicts Burns having straight brown hair.
Burns' real father drops Bobo on the road after the limo drives away, but the next scene shows Bobo in a snow-drift with the limo driving off.
This episode establishes that Mr. Burns grew up poor, but was adopted by a twisted, loveless billionaire, but episodes like "Simpson and Delilah," "Last Exit to Springfield," and (later) "Burns' Heir" established that Burns was born and raised in a wealthy family.
Smithers' reflection in the broken globe isn't reversed.
Smithers tells Mr. Burns that he'll give Homer some "...snappy, Sinbad-esque material," but the next scene shows Homer writing his own jokes for Mr. Burns (unless Homer is changing the pre-approved jokes that Smithers wants him to do, which would explain why the stand-up act failed miserably).
Homer's reflection in the mirror when he's rehearsing his stand-up act isn't reversed.
Homer is right handed in this episode, when most episodes depict him as left-handed (unless he's ambidextrous).
Marge is wearing lipstick before attending the party, yet in a brief shot of her while Homer does his "cheeky" impression shows the lipstick is gone. She could have wiped it off before or after eating.
Homer says he's going to wiggle his bare butt in public when Aunt Selma's birthday comes around. Aunt Selma is a twin, so she would have the same birthday as Patty, and Homer hates them both, so he should have included Patty in this.
Charles Lindbergh actually landed in Paris at night, not in broad daylight as depicted.
Bobo shouldn't really be that tattered if he survived being left in the snow, floating down a river, flying with Charles Lindbergh, being with Adolf Hitler during his rise and fall of power, somehow ending up on The Nautilus, and being encased in ice until 1993. The worst Bobo could be is moldy and wet from being around water, but not tattered and beat up.
When Homer is in the nuclear plant dungeon, he's turning a wheel around clockwise, as seen from above. The axle is connected via one gear to another, parallel axle which is attached to the pastry tray in the cafeteria, yet the pastry tray is turning clockwise instead of counterclockwise.
