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Cultural References[]

STVillage People

The Village People dance on top of the Submarine.

  • The opening couch gag is a recreation of the Rocky and Bullwinkle animated bumper seen at the end of each Bullwinkle short. The music accompanying it is also adapted from the original music in the bumper.
  • When Homer is at the Naval recruitment center the recruiter doesn't want him to read a certain question this is because of the Don' ask don't tell Law that was instituted under President Clinton and repealed under President Obama.
    • "Don't ask, don't tell"(DADT) was the official United States policy on military service by gays, bisexuals, and lesbians, instituted by the Clinton Administration on February 28, 1994, when Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 issued on December 21, 1993, took effect, lasting until September 20, 2011.
    • The DADT policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service.
    • DADT shares its acronym with the syndication company Disney-ABC Domestic Television.
  • Many parts of the episode, including the title, refer to the 1995 film Crimson Tide.
    • The character Captain Tenille is based on Captain Frank Ramsey, a character in the film who was portrayed by Gene Hackman.
  • Tenille's name is a reference to the musical duo Captain & Tennille.
  • Homer mentions that he and his friends joining the navy is similar to The Deer Hunter, and the Russian roulette scene from the film is later parodied.
  • Homer mentions that he is no Margaret Cho bur he can do a fair Columbo impression.
    • Margaret Cho is a Korean-American comedian best known for her stand-up bet also created and starred in the ABC sitcom All-American Girl 1994-95
    • Culumbo was a TV detective played by Peter Falk on the crime drama Columbo
  • The USO tour show marquis has Bob Hope and Cindy Crawford.
  • At the Naval Reserve tour show Bob Denver is featured he played Gilligan on Gilligan's Island that aired on CBS for 3 seasons 1964-1967.
  • In the mall where Bart gets his ear pierced the Starbucks gag is a reference to the fact that it seems that there is a Starbucks on every corner in the US.
  • Right before the submarine submerges, the song "In the Navy" is played and the Village People (along with Smithers) can be seen dancing.
    • Smithers' brief appearance in this scene was a subtle reference to the Village People having a following among homosexuals.
  • Homer dreams of being on "the planet of the doughnuts", which is reminiscent of the film Planet of the Apes.
  • When aboard the submarine, Homer refers to one of the crew members as Mr. Sulu, a reference to the character in Star Trek.
  • Lenin Wakes up from his Tomb Which is in Red Square In Moscow. His preserved body has been on public display there since shortly after his death in 1924, with rare exceptions in wartime
  • Bart sings a portion of the song "Do the Bartman" and Ralph Wiggum comments that it "is so 1991", a reference to the year the song became a hit in the U.S.
  • Grampa claims that he attacked John F. Kennedy on the PT 109 when Kennedy stated "Ich bin ein Berliner", leading to Grampa accusing him of being a Nazi sympathizer. (Which would be odd since the PT 109 was stationed in the Pacific Theater in WWII and it would be un likely there would be a German spy or soldier/seaman there)
    • The overall scene is most likely a reference to rumors about the Kennedy Clan, in particular JFK's father Jack, being a huge Nazi sympathizer.
  • This episode shows the Russian ambassador in the U.N. stating that the Soviet Union's breakup was "what we wanted you to think." This is followed by the showing of several floats in a Moscow Parade being destroyed to reveal several tanks underneath to take their place with a peace flag being replaced with the Soviet flag, Soviet footsoldiers proceeding to march the streets of Moscow, the Berlin Wall coming out of the earth and Vladimir Lenin being unfrozen. During the revelation sequence, a portion from the song Prince Igor, Act I, Scene 1: Chorus is played.
  • In the scene where Homer is trying to sign up for the Naval Reserve, he questions an officer about a question that was scratched out. This was a reference to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that Bill Clinton proposed where he would allow gays in the Armed Forces, as long as they were not openly gay in the military. Consequently, the Armed Forces were no longer allowed to "ask" soldiers if they were gay (hence the question now being crossed out and the officer trying to avoid hearing Homer answer the question).
  • One of the officers who refused to indict Homer stated that it was because he was indicted for impersonating the First Lady and was seen leaving with a blonde wig. At the time the episode aired, Hillary Clinton had been the First Lady in question.

Trivia[]

  • Ironically, since becoming President of Russia in 2000, Vladimir Putin has a habit of demonstrating shows of military force in former Soviet Union republics. It was even alleged that this episode prediced the 2014 Ukraine crisis and 2022 invasion of Ukraine. [1][2]
  • This is the final episode to have both Al Jean and Mike Reiss as showrunners. However, Al Jean would become showrunner again from Season 13 onwards, without Mike Reiss,In addition Mike Resis said at the beginning of the audio commentary that this would be his last audio commentary.
  • One of the Asian gang members in the Russian roulette game looks like Richard Sakai, a producer of The Simpsons.
  • This episode reveals that Homer posed for two pictures that only two people know about: the pin-up that Barney hangs in the barracks during basic training and the file photo of Homer dressed as a Russian and holding a bottle of vodka (which Lisa knows about, as she warned Homer that the photo will come back to haunt him).
  • Homer gets his head shaved, yet in real life, they would likely not have had to shave his head, due to the fact it was short enough to meet regulations.
  • After his head was shaved, Homer still had some hair on his left side.
  • A portion of the song "In the Navy" is played in this episode 1.1 times faster than in the original music video. Waylon Smithers can also be seen dancing there at one point.
  • The five Naval officers who were unable to indict Homer due to their own problems had the following reasons:
    • Widow's Peak officer: Indicted for involvement in the Tailhook scandal.
    • Tanned crew-cut officer: Indicted for accepting bribes from military contractors.
    • Black officer: Torpedoing a Carnival Cruise Ship.
    • Moustachioed bald officer: Impersonating First Lady Hillary Clinton.
    • Female officer: Unstated (see Goofs below).
  • The cut and condensed opening sequence is used in this episode up until the season 14 episode "Helter Shelter".

Goofs[]

Nothair

Barney without chest hair

  • When the new military recruits arrive at the naval base, Barney Gumble lacks his chest hair
    • He could have shaved them off-screen.
  • Homer has a dishonorable discharge from the Navy, despite that he was never really indicted (as everyone else in the Navy had their own crimes and he was let off the hook).
    • In reality, a dishonorable discharge can only be given by a General court-martial (comprised of five officers), and is equivalent to a felony conviction.
    • Also, there are five officers in the tribunal hearing, yet only four admit their reasoning as to why they can't indict Homer due to also being indicted for their own problems. A fifth, a woman, was part of the hearing and was animated, but her bit was cut from the final episode in its entirety & was not part of the Season 9 deleted scenes, so her reasoning is unknown.
    • The moustachioed bald officer when it shows the tribunal shows him with his hat on the officer's podium. But when it cuts to his leaving and his giving his reasons for not indicting Homer, it is instead replaced with a blonde wig.
  • The lead singer of The Village People (the police officer) is yellow ("white") on the show. In real life, he's black.
  • When Homer and Lisa watch the Naval recruitment advert, Lisa is initially shown in her nightgown, in the next shot of Homer and Lisa, Lisa is wearing her civilian clothes.
  • In the court martial scene, where none of the admirals is able to punish Homer, the colors of the red and white stripes on the US Flag are in reverse order of the actual flag.
  • In about a few scenes, the animation, as well as the coloring, looks a little referable to those from seasons 4-5.

Citations[]

  1. https://www.vox.com/2014/5/2/5675572/the-simpsons-predicted-the-ukraine-crisis-back-in-1998
  2. Russia-Ukraine conflict: The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean responds to viewers saying episode ‘predicted’ crisis | The Independent[1]


Season 8 Season 9 References/Trivia Season 10
The City of New York vs. Homer SimpsonThe Principal and the PauperLisa's SaxTreehouse of Horror VIIIThe Cartridge FamilyBart StarThe Two Mrs. NahasapeemapetilonsLisa the SkepticRealty BitesMiracle on Evergreen TerraceAll Singing, All DancingBart CarnyThe Joy of SectDas BusThe Last Temptation of KrustDumbbell IndemnityLisa the SimpsonThis Little WiggySimpson TideThe Trouble with TrillionsGirly EditionTrash of the TitansKing of the HillLost Our LisaNatural Born Kissers
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