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ā—„ How I Wet Your Mother
Them, Robot
Beware My Cheating Bart ā–ŗ

Cultural references[]

  • The title is a reference to I, Robot.
  • Other references from I, Robot:
    • When Smithers raises the curtain on the robots, they are in formation as when Detective Del Spooner is searching through them in the film.
    • Until Homer tampers with their programming, the robots appear to be operating according to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.
    • The robots' eyes turn red when they abandon the Three Laws, similar to the robots in the film having red lights on their chests when they've been taken over by the central artificial intelligence.
  • The robots vaguely resemble the robot ASIMO. They are also said to be able to climb stairs with great difficulty, which could again be a reference to ASIMO.
  • Brent Spiner, who guest voiced the robots, played the android Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
  • Mr. Burns is seen reading a copy of Bossypants, Tina Fey's real-life autobiography.
  • Apps on Mr. Burns's MyPad:
  • The music clip playing when Mr. Burns announces "the future masters of the human race" is from Modest Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" featuring the demon Chernabog.
  • When Homer takes one of his robots on a fishing trip:
    • The robot says that he is not a Transformer and cannot transform into an outboard motor.
    • Homer says he is granting the robot's wish to be a real boy, a reference to the Disney film Pinocchio.
  • The robots smash through the glass room and surround Mr. Burns and Homer in similar fashion to the Cybermen in the Doctor Who episode "Rise of the Cybermen."
    • It is also similar to a scene near the end of the I, Robot film, where Detective Del Spooner and Dr. Susan Calvin are in a glass-walled building and the robots smash in and surround them.
  • Mr. Burns says that he "didn't say Monty Says," which is a reference to the game "Simon says."
  • Mr. Burns says "you are so not the heartless automatons I was looking for," a reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi's line "These aren't the droids you're looking for" from the Star Wars movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
  • The robots saying "Eliminate!" is a reference to the Daleks in Doctor Who saying "Exterminate!."
  • The robot who saves Homer's life by pushing him out of the path of an oncoming truck (and being himself hit as a result) is similar to the self-sacrificing robot in the 100th episode of The Twilight Zone, "I Sing the Body Electric."
  • When Smithers is throwing books at the robots he says "to servos with love," a reference to the movie To Sir with Love.
  • Smithers throws the books Merv and Death in Venice.
  • The song playing in the closing credits is "Robot Parade" by They Might Be Giants.
  • The jersey on one robot says "Nomad J25," which may be a reference to the main character in the 1956 novel The Stars My Destination.
  • Lenny playing the "world's smallest violin" is a possible reference to the SpongeBob SquarePants episode: "Squilliam Returns" or the movie Reservoir Dogs (1992) quote of Mr. Pink.
  • When Barney becomes a stripper he says that The Full Monty gave him the inspiration.
  • The summary of the episode is a reference to the Mexican animated film, Top Cat: The Movieas they both involve robots taking over almost everyone's jobs.

Trivia[]

Goofs[]

  • Homer leaves Mr. Burns's office, then a few seconds later, Burns turns around to the CCTV monitor and sees Homer in Sector 7-G putting his stuff back on his desk. 
  • Lisa says the robots can only run three mph, though later in the episode, they run about as fast as the hounds. The hounds could easily run at three mph.
  • In this episode it was revealed that Mr. Burns was once nice while in adulthood. However, in "Rosebud" he turned evil as a child. He could have repented and then become the heartless villain he is now. Not clear if he was nice. The flashback involves Burns (who has just opened the Springfield Power Plant) organizing a parade and trying to win over the locals. It seems to have been a public relations campaign.


ā—„ Season 22 Season 23 References/Trivia Season 24 ā–ŗ
The Falcon and the D'ohman ā€¢ Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts ā€¢ Treehouse of Horror XXII ā€¢ Replaceable You ā€¢ The Food Wife ā€¢ The Book Job ā€¢ The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants ā€¢ The Ten-Per-Cent Solution ā€¢ Holidays of Future Passed ā€¢ Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson ā€¢ The D'oh-cial Network ā€¢ Moe Goes from Rags to Riches ā€¢ The Daughter Also Rises ā€¢ At Long Last Leave ā€¢ Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart ā€¢ How I Wet Your Mother ā€¢ Them, Robot ā€¢ Beware My Cheating Bart ā€¢ A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again ā€¢ The Spy Who Learned Me ā€¢ Ned 'N Edna's Blend ā€¢ Lisa Goes Gaga
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