Trust But Clarify/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ Treehouse of Horror XXVII

Trust But Clarify

There Will Be Buds ►

Cultural References

• The name of this episode is a reference to the saying "Trust, but verify".
• The Itchy & Scratchy episode "Mousetrapping a Murderer" is a parody of the documentary Making a Murderer.
• BizzFad is a parody of BuzzFeed.
• The song This Town by Frank Sinatra plays when Homer and Marge walk inside the Springfield Mall.
• The Springfield Mall has several store parodies:
  • Duller Image is a parody of Sharper Image,
  • Boarders, No Books is a parody of the now-defunct Borders bookstore, which shut down in 2011.
  • Bruised Banana Republic is a parody of Banana Republic.
  • The 9¢ Store is a parody of 99 Cents Only Stores.
  • Bed, Bath and Beware is a parody of Bed, Bath and Beyond.
• Both Nelson and Milhouse mention that they have kissed Lisa, a reference to the episodes "Lisa's Date with Density" and "Homer Scissorhands".
• Krusty's Krustaceans contain Formaldehyde, a chemical that when eaten, can cause fatigue and tireness, and can cause irritations when in contact with the skin. Its use in food products was prohibited in many countries.
• The cause of Kent Brockman's firing was based on former NBC chairman Brian Williams' firing for his false story in Iraq.
• In the Former Anchor Support Group meeting, one of the former anchors speaks in a manner very similar to former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw (the one talking about "elocution exercises", a reference to the fact that Brokaw's voice sounded a bit slurred at times). Dan Rather is also at the meeting: his time as CBS Evening News anchor ended when a story he did alleging that George W. Bush had not reported for his National Guard service used documents that appeared to be faked.
• The opening theme for Kent Brockman's "Apology of the Century" was taken from the first few bars of the Sunrise portion of the Richard Strauss tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra.
• When making his apology of the century, he admits that he shouldn't be part of the story, and mentioned that was what he told Nelson Mandela at the Berlin Wall, before admitting he never did say that and that is why he is apologizing in a panic. This was a reference to the South African president Nelson Mandela as well as the Mandela Effect.
• Aside from his lying about his service in Iraq, he also admits in his apology of the century that he was not present when Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was taken out, nor did he even see the film about it, the latter referring to either Zero Dark Thirty or the TV film Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden.
• Shortly after the news broadcast where it is bluntly revealed that Channel 6 fired Kent Brockman, Homer mistakes Kent Brockman for Anderson Cooper.

Trivia

• Kent Brockman was already fired before during "You Kent Always Say What You Want". Coincidentally, he also was replaced by Arnie Pye in the aforementioned episode.
  • This is technically the third time he was fired, as he had briefly been fired in "Krusty Gets Kancelled". Unlike either that episode or "You Kent Always Say What You Want", however, his firing in this episode had absolutely nothing to do with foul language he spoke on camera. Here, he told a false story about Iraq.
  • He also quit to ride the podcast wave in "Podcast News".
• Krusty's favorite number and password is the number of jokes he has written: 0000.
• The messages on the Late Late Late Night Show during Brockman's comic gig were the following:
  • Kent Brockman has never heard of talking heads.
  • Kent has the largest forehead in the news business.
  • Kent has no interesting ancestors.
• The dumpster that Kent Brockman disposed of his suit in during the Late Late Late Night Show was called the "Comedy Suits for Homeless People."
• When the 98th Airborne veteran proceeded to express his displeasure at Kent Brockman lying on the air about his service, the objects he threw at the TV were a beer bottle, a Purple Heart medal, and a bullet bandoleer.
• The awards Kent Brockman was presented with were the following:
  • Best Regional White-Haired Anchor
  • Outstanding Segue Non-Tragic
  • Dancing with the Press
  • Channel 6 Softball MVP
• After Bart goes into Professor Frink's bathing suit dryer and falls unconscious, he is not seen throughout the rest of the episode, so it is unknown what happened to him afterwards.

Goofs

• Homer already has a suit, so there is no reason for him to purchase another.
• When Homer puts his suit in the closet, his shirts transforms from white to gray.
• The vials inside the box Lisa obtained from Krusty's factory change between scenes.