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They Saved Lisa's Brain |
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Trivia[]
- Stephen Hawking says to Homer, "Your theory of a donut-shaped universe is intriguing... I may have to steal it." This line references scientific theories that the universe is toroidal, a donut shape.
- The episode was disliked in East St. Louis when the episode states it is the least liveable city in the US. Matt Selman jokingly referred to the city as a “crack-ridden slum” in response to the controversy, which made matters worse when journalists took his joke as being sincere. The rest of the show producers decided to pull a prank on Selman by placing him in a room with a man impersonating the mayor of East St. Louis who was said to be offended by Selman’s comment. Selman nervously apologized for his comments until he realized it was a prank.
- This is the first episode in which Lindsey Naegle is named, as well as the first to feature her current design.
- This is the last episode of season 10 to air in Japan (as "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" has been banned from airing, including on home media release and streaming).
Cultural References[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the sci-fi movie "They Saved Hitler's Brain".
- Homer mistakes Stephen Hawking for Larry Flynt, the founder of "Hustler Magazine", who was in a wheelchair following an assassination attempt on his life, while Hawking being in a wheelchair was from a degenerative disorder.
- Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury novella) and real-life book burnings: Reverend Lovejoy driving a book-burning mobile.
- The joke on Comic Book Guy's shirt is a reference to the books of Dick and Jane written in programming language, it says "See Spot. See Spot Run. Run, Spot, Run", a popular catchphrase in that book series.
- According to Professor Frink, the phenomenon of one person finding humor in an esoteric or intellectual joke is called "The Dennis Miller Ratio". Dennis Miller's comedy (both when he was a Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live and in stand-up before and after he was an SNL cast member) is known for being peppered with esoteric cultural references (both high- and lowbrow), wordplay, metaphors, and use of vocabulary words that most average people wouldn't readily understand.
Previous Episode References[]
- "Lisa the Simpson": Lisa worries about anti-intellectualism (her own in the former episode and the town's in this episode)
- "Three Men and A Comic Book": Bart is dressed as Bartman
- "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)": Homer and Barney get booed during a talent competition (The Gong Show/the "How Low Can You Go?" contest)
- "'Round Springfield": Someone gets swallowed whole by a snake (some unnamed kids in school/Otto).
- "Simpsons Roasting on An Open Fire": Homer dresses up as Santa Claus (cf. his line about how the block association didn't like his "non-traditional" Santa that involved him revealing his body).
- "Simpsons Roasting on An Open Fire" and "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds": The Springfield Dog Track (Springfield Downs) is seen.
- "Lisa's Wedding":
- Lisa and Renaissance fairs
- Lisa can speed-read and speed-reads with another person
- "Treehouse of Horror VI": Homer doesn't know who Stephen Hawking is (he calls him "that wheelchair guy" in "Homer3" while in this episode, he mistakes Hawking for Larry Flynt).
- "Lisa's Date with Density" and "Trash of the Titans": the guy who pushed the old woman in front of a train in the commercial for the "How Low Can You Go" contest looks like Jimmy the Scumbag.
- "And Maggie Makes Three": Bart rides on the back of an animal naked (Snowball I/a pig)
- "Bart's Girlfriend", "Rosebud", and "Simpson Tide": The music playing during the "How Low Can You Go" contest riot is the same music that played when the parents chase the kids into the field to get them for church (and one violin lesson), when a cyborg Mr. Burns and his robot dog, Smithers run off into the sunset in the year 1 million; and during Homer's dream of being on trial on The Planet of the Donuts.
- "A Star is Burns": Springfield is declared a backwards, anti-intellectual city and a Simpson (Marge/Lisa) is embarrassed over it.
- "Marge vs. The Monorail": Chief Wiggum reads over the town charter with someone (Mayor Quimby/MENSA).
- "Marge in Chains": Mayor Quimby leaves town (because of the Asian flu epidemic/because he thinks MENSA is after him).
- "Krusty Gets Kancelled": Someone (Krusty the Clown/Moe) wears a little boy's sailor outfit with a giant lollipop.
- "Lisa's Rival": A smart character uses anagrams.
- "Homer the Great": Something treasured (The Stonecutter's Sacred Parchment/the American flag) is used as a napkin
- "Lisa the Skeptic": A world-renowned intellectual named Steven (Steven Jay Gould/Stephen Hawking) guest stars on The Simpsons.
- "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"": Reference to They Saved Hitler's Brain (Grampa's line when he's about to assassinate him/the episode title).
- "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons": "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner plays.
- "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" and "Homer to the Max": Jokes about terrible late 1990s sitcoms (both live-action and animated) [Bart and Lisa are forced to watch cheesy primetime sitcoms like Don't Go There and Talk to the Hand (starring David Faustino from Married...With Children) thanks to the curfew not letting them go anywhere after dark/the midseason shows like America's Funniest Tornados, The Laughter Family, All in the Family 1999, Admiral Baby, and Police Cops).
- "And Maggie Makes Three": Homer looks up a common word in the dictionary ("marketing"/"boudoir" and "photography")
- "Bart's Friend Falls in Love": Homer and the word "boudoir" (is one of the words he uses when he temporarily has a refined vocabulary and is included in "Homer Sez: Increase Your Wordiness"/looks up "boudoir" in the dictionary).
Goofs[]
A bright red band on Lisa's arm
- When Rainier Wolfcastle announces the winner of the contest, Krusty's nose isn't red and Wolfcastle's lip sync is off when he says, "And the winner is: me, for being seen with you freaks".
- In the dog track scene, Mayor Quimby can be seen in the stands, although he earlier fled Springfield thinking MENSA had heard of his corruption. He could have returned and decided not to regain office until the end of the episode.
Production Notes[]
- The final draft for this episode was published on October 28, 1998.[1]
October 28, 1998