The Cartridge Family/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ Treehouse of Horror VIII

The Cartridge Family

Bart Star ►

Trivia

• This episode was originally banned in the UK because of the soccer riot opening and the episode depicting guns in a comical and positive light (which the UK's censor boards find to be offensive and likely to encourage others into committing gun violence, especially with the Dunblane school massacre occurring a year before episode premiered).
  • Despite this, the episode did appear on a UK VHS called The Simpsons: Too Hot for TV (which includes a lot of episodes that have been banned and heavily-edited shown uncut and uncensored) and on the season nine DVD set.
  • The episode eventually aired on UK TV on BBC Two in 2001. The network typically broadcast episodes four years after its premiere, making it the only episode to get its UK premiere on the BBC rather than on Sky One.
  • When the episode finally aired on Sky, the end scene of Marge trying to throw out the gun, but stopping when she realized it makes her look cool was edited, making it seem that Marge got rid of the gun offscreen, yet the edit ruins the explanation of why she was walking like a femme fatale when she exited the motel.
• In this episode, Homer goes through the five day waiting period he needs to retrieve his gun. The blackboard gag for "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" implies that Bart thinks waiting five days shouldn't be that big of a deal and is doable.
• Homer's gun record is the following: frequent problems with alcohol, put in an insane asylum (Stark Raving Dad), beat up former president George Bush (Two Bad Neighbors).
• The events of Who Shot Mr. Burns? are mentioned with Homer thinking it was Smithers who shot Mr. Burns and Lisa said it would have made more sense.
  • Homer saying "I thought Smithers did it." could be a reference to the fake ending to said episode where it was confirmed that Smithers shot Mr. Burns.
• "The Waiting " by Tom Petty plays when Homer waits five days for his gun.
• The things that pass by Homer during his five-day waiting period for a gun: a line of baby ducks, rabbits running by, a Target store truck, Patty and Selma on a tandem bike, and Ned Flanders on a riding mower (twice).
• Running Gag: Mayor Quimby appearing around the motel saying "Vote Quimby" (three times).

Cultural References

• The gun shop is based on the shop that the LAPD went to during the North Hollywood bank robbery when the agency ran out of ammunition.
• The title of this episode is a play on the name of 1970s television series The Partridge Family.
• The end music is the theme to the 1960s TV show The Avengers.
• The song playing when Homer is sitting and watching citizens and cars go by while he is waiting five days for his gun is “The Waiting” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Tom rarely lets his music be used on television, but being a fan of The Simpsons, he allowed them to use it.

Goofs

• While sitting at the stadium, the Simpson family change their places in many scenes.
• Marge says she doesn't want any guns in the house but Homer was shown to keep a fully functional shotgun in the house already, as shown in Radio Bart and $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling) and he tells Marge to "get [his] gun" in Marge Gets a Job. It is not impossible that, having seen how irresponsibly Homer handled the shotgun, she simply doesn't want a gun in the house any more.

Marge with a white necklace

• Homer was allowed to own a gun despite the fact he has an alcohol problem, he is also a felon and has been in a mental hospital, however felons and those who have or have had mental problems are prohibited from owning guns.
• When Marge is complaining about Homer having his gun at the table, for a brief moment, her necklace is white instead of red.

Yellow space between the trigger and barrel

• When Homer puts his gun on the kitchen table, the space between the gun's trigger and the barrel briefly turns yellow instead of transparent.
• Homer claims without his gun, the King of England could come in their house and boss them around. At the time, there is no king. The current Sovereign of England (and the entire United Kingdom, which England is part) is HM Queen Elizabeth II. Of course this is Homer.
• At the end of the episode Marge picks up the gun as though she's never touched one before. This contradicts an earlier episode in which Marge becomes a police officer and is shown to be quite adept at handling a pistol. It's possible she'd forgotten about that experience.