Meta References on The Simpsons

Halloween episodes are marked with an 'h' in the production code.

A German translation of this list is available here.

New in this update:

• References from late season 15 and early 16.

Related pages at The Simpsons Archive

• [9F16] Is at Emmy Awards ceremony.
• [1F19] Is court artist.
• [3F18] Laughs at Nelson with John Swartzwelder.
• [3F31] According to Troy McClure, Groening created the comics "Damnation", "Johnny Reb" and "True Murder Stories". He is and old, mean bald man, with a scar and an eye-patch and drinks tequila at work. He also has a "Life in Hell" poster hanging on his office.
• [AABF15] Homer states that 'he can barely draw' when he sees a drawing of Akbar and Jeff from "Life in Hell". He then is hit by the rubber end of a pencil, which is to be part of an installation.
• [hBABF01] Matt Groening is trapped by the Collector.
• [CABF08]The comic book in "permamint" condition deflects soda onto "lesser comic books": Bongo comics. {mg}
• [DABF10] Couch gag: Simpsons are puppets played by Matt Groening.
• [DABF13] Danger Dog creator: "all I ever did is sit in class and doodle".

• Otto is based on Wallace Wolodarsky.
• [7G07,7F07,7F23] Football players named after them.
• [h9F04] Name in gravestone: Jay Kogen.
• [AABF08] Wally Kogen's name is a play on this two former writers/producers, who also wrote the first Super Bowl episode (8F12).

• [7G05] Herman is based on him.
• [8F13] One of Burns' "dead ringers" is modeled after him.
• [8F17] Santa's Little Helper runs by Swartzwelder County.
• [9F16] Lisa reads "How to get rich writing cartoons", by John Swartzwelder. He is also one of the Itchy & Scratchy writers.
• [3F01] Statue outside the courthouse.
• [3F12] Is at Krusty's funeral.
• [3F16] He is one of Lionel Hutz's surprise witnesses. {cf}
• [3F18] Laughs at Nelson with Matt Groening.
• [4F05] The family goes to Mt. Swartzwelder.
• [4F06] Is in the audience. {cf}
• [4F07] Is in the asylum. Later, a sign reading "Free John Swartzwelder" is seen.

• [7F19] "J. Vitti" lives in same building as Mr. Bergstrom (Jon Vitti wrote that episode).
• [9F14] In Homer's "When I Was Seventeen" flashback, there's a "Vitti's Vodka" sign visible in the liquor store.
• [9F16] Gets fired from Itchy & Scratchy.

• [8F11] One of Krusty's birthday buddies is Ken Keeler (he was not in the production staff at the time).
• [1F11] Former writer Conan O'Brien guest stars.
• [1F18] Skinner doesn't let Weinstein go to "yom kip pur" (Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein wrote that episode).
• [3F18,4F22] The Very Tall Man is based on Ian Maxtone-Graham (who also wrote 4F22).
• [4F03] Poster in Moe's office: Szyslak vs. Oakley / Kirkland vs. Silverman (Mark Kirkland directed that episode, David Silverman was a producer and Bill Oakley executive producer at that time; Szyslak, of course, is Moe).
• [5F06] George Meyer is waiting in line at the Unemployment office at the end (having been fired in 4F12). {cf}
• [hAABF01] Al Jean (now alone) is credited as "Al 'I murdered Mike Reiss' Jean".
• [hBABF01] Al Jean is credited as "Al 'I still murdered Mike Reiss' Jean".
• Who are the Itchy & Scratchy writers in The Front and The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show?
• [EABF02] One of the available men in Bart's vision is George Meyer. {pc}

Names in DNA computer from 2F20

• Appel (Richard)
• Daniels (Greg)
• Jean (Al)
• Reiss (Mike)
• McGrath (Dan)
• Meyer (George)
• Oakley (Bill)
• Weinstein (Josh)
• Pulido (Rachel)

• [7F13] Adult movie channel is showing "Broadcast Nudes".
• [1F08] Adult movie theatre is showing "Sperms of Endearment" and "I'll Do Anyone".
• [AABF12] "Terms of Endearment" title is mentioned.

• [MG34] "Chupo" is mentioned, a reference to animator Gabor Csupo.
• [7F08] Chalkboard gag "I am not a 32 year old woman" is a reference to Nancy Cartwright.
• [7F11] "Ritchie Sakai" sings at the karaoke bar. He also appears as a background character in 7F05 (listens to Homer's story at the end), 7F23 (in the Leftorium), 9F10 (at the town meeting) and 2F02 (one of the prisoners in Sideshow Bob's ad).
• [7F19] "J. Kamerman" lives in the same building than J. Vitti and Mr. Bergstrom. Jen Kamerman is an animator on the show.
• [9F14] Lisa says "I was just thinkng of a joke I saw on 'Herman's Head'". Herman's Head was a Fox show starring Yeardley Smith (and also Hank Azaria).
• [4F20] Julie Kavner was in one of the spin-offs portrayed in 4F20.
• [4F20] One of the members of the orchestra is Alf Clausen.
• [5F03] Homer cuts everyone on the credits. {mg}
• [5F04] "Hairy Shearers".
• [5F14] Chalkboard gag "I will not demand what I'm worth" refers to the holdout of the cast for more money.
• [BABF08] During the credits Homer says that the cast/crew is not as rich as they should be.
• [BABF10] Lisa comments about writing your name to show off, then the writer credit (Ian Maxtone-Graham) appears in giant letters.
• [DABF13] Dan Castellaneta auditions for (and gets) Angry Dad's voice.
• [EABF16] Milhouse complains about adults voicing kids in South Park. {mg}
• [EABF17] Fat Tony wants to take out the Castellaneta family.
• [FABF03] Comic Book Guy wants 'Herman's Head' to come back.

• [7F19] Mr. Bergstrom (Dustin Hoffman) is involved in a reference to The Graduate.
• [8F03] Joe Mantegna plays Fat Tony in "Blood in the Blackboard".
• [8F05] Rabbi Krustofsky doesn't like the Jackie Mason sandwich.
• [9F03] According to Lisa, Michael Jackson and Dustin Hoffman both had a cameo in the Itchy & Scratchy Movie, but didn'd use their real names. {cf}
• [4F05] Larry Burns looks a lot like Rodney Dangerfield.
• [4F14] Many references to "Frasier", where Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce play brothers too. {cf}
• [5F20] Lisa Kudrow's character tells Lisa not to be "such a Phoebe".

• [7G05] Homer says "family jewels" twice. Later, Grampa doesn't want to hear the words "family jewels" on TV.
• [7G07] Bart says that his story will last 23 minutes and 5 seconds, which is about the lenght of an episode. {mg}
• [7F11] Homer's cellmate plays harmonica. What is he in for? "Atmosphere".
• [8F04] Luanne: The other day, Milhouse told me my meatloaf `sucks'. He must've gotten that from your little boy, because they certainly don't say that on TV.
• [9F01] Chalkboard gag: "I will not defame New Orleans" refers to the New Orleans song in the previous episode and complaints about it in that city.
• [1F11] Bart: "There's more to me than just a catch phrase."
• [1F11] Lisa says "Now you can go back to just being you instead of a one-dimensional character with a silly catchphrase," setting off a montage of catchphrases. {mr}
• [1F14] Bart and Lisa are worried that Homer will stay being Ned Flanders' friend, ending their wacky adventures. But next thursday at 8 PM everything returns to normal.
• [1F18] 100th episode chalkboard gag: "I will not celebrate meaningless milestones".
• [1F18] Bart says it's not likely people will be laughing at things he did twenty years from now. {mr}
• [2F01] Homer interrupts Lisa's explanation: "what are you, the narrator?" {mg}
• [h2F03] Bart: "Something will save the two Simpson kids".
• [2F12] Homer refers to Ralph (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) as a girl. {cf}
• [2F16] Chalkboard gag: "This is not a clue... or is it?" This episode features clues to who shot Mr. Burns.
• [2F20] Chalkboard gag: "I will not complain about the solution when I hear it". This episode features the solution to Who Shot Mr. Burns.
• [3F02] In Bart's dream, Sherry and Terry tell him not to forget the "standard scream". {mg}
• [3F22] Marge tells Bart that he hadn't said "Don't have a cow man" in 4 years. {cf}
• [3G03] Bart: "This specials are getting worse every year". This episode was originally shown as a special on a Friday (rather than on a Sunday). {wb}
• [4F07] Ned gives Bart another catchphrase for use in the future. {mg}
• [4F12] Lisa: You can't be cool by spouting a bunch of wornout buzzwords. Bart: Don't have a cow, Lis.
• [4F12] Homer's brain orders him to "look sad and say d'oh". {mg}
• [4F18] Bart says "maybe they're watching us right now!" Marge says, "That's ridiculous, no one's watching us right now! {mr}
• [4F20] At the end of the show, Troy McClure tells us about the upcoming season. {cf}
• [3G02] We hear applause and are told that "The Simpsons" is filmed before a live studio audience.
• [3G02] When Lisa complains that Marge talks about Bart and not her, Bart replies "Hey, she's just giving the public what it wants: Bart by the barrelfull!" {cf}
• [5F09] Chalkboarg gag "I will not mess with the opening credits" is mixed within the couch gag.
• [5F18] We hear canned laughter and "oooh's" from an unseen audience, but Bart just left the TV on. {mr}
• [AABF06] This episode has Ned Flanders revealing his age at 60. Before this Marge and Lisa talk about continuity (mentioning events from 1F08 and 5F09).
• [AABF21] Homer: "Something bad happens when I go anyplace".
• [BABF09] The Comic Book Guy anticipates complaints by the Internet fans about this episode.
• [BABF10] At her funeral, Maude is referred by Reverend Lovejoy as a "supporting player in our lives", and compares her death to Apu's marriage and fatherhood and the Van Houten's separation.
• [BABF10] Lisa asks Homer if he still has a job.
• [BABF11] Bart saves the Fox Network and it's not the first time.
• [BABF22] Frink seems to know he's based on jerry lewis. {mg}
• [CABF01] Marge: "This family has had nothing but bad luck when it comes to farce."
• [CABF07] Homer calls Bart a "younger, more in-your-face" version of himself.
• [CABF08] Milhouse thinks he was due for an idea. {mg}
• [CABF09] Homer: "That's the kind of man I am this week".
• [CABF14] Mr. Teeny both looks at the camera and acknowledges the plot as silly. {mg}
• [CABF17] Chalkboard: "I should not be twenty-one by now".
• [DABF10] The family listens to and comments on what we think is background music. {mg}
• [DABF17] Homer lists all the jobs he's ever had. {pc}
• [DABF20] "If this episode has taught us anything..." {mg}
• [DABF21] Bill Cosby auditions for the reality shows. Exec: "we need a Family that hasn't been on TV forever. Let's try the Simpsons".
• [EABF02] Bart prefaces "Ay Caramba" with "If I may dust off an old chestnut". {mg}
• [EABF05] Bart is surprise that he was in a commercial, then eats a Butterfinger. {mg}
• [EABF05] Lisa says this is Homer's 300th adventure; Marge thinks it's the 302nd. This, the so-called 300th episode, was actually the 302nd to air. {mg}
• [EABF07] George Plimpton introduces "an unlicensed knock-off of the Olympic anthem".
• [EABF10] Homer asks Dr. Hibbert if he's going to chuckle. "There's nothing to chuckle about". {pc}
• [EABF10] Homer thinks that Bart won't be 10 forever. {mg}
• [EABF10] Homer hosts "Homer's 305th 'everything is back to normal' BBQ" (yes, it was episode #306, but that doesn't make it less funny). {mg}
• [EABF16] Bart wonders how they keep South Park fresh after 43 episodes.
• [EABF17] Moe's playset for Maggie includes "Classic drunk Barney". {mg}
• [EABF19] Bart says he'll finally be able to eat his shorts after he covers himself with caramel.
• [EABF21] Kang and Kodos complain about the November airing of a Halloween episode, they already have their Christmas decorations up.
• [EABF21] Jerry Lewis guest stars as Professor Frink's father. Frink is based on Jerry Lewis.
• [EABF22] Homer mentions the "monkey problem" in Brazil is even worse. Brazil complained about DABF10, in which there were, among other things, monkeys in the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
• [FABF01] Lisa consults the Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family.
• [FABF02] The title of the episode is 'Tis the Fifteenth Season.
• [FABF03] Mrs. Krabappel says everyone got tired of Bart's chalkboard punishments.
• [FABF04] Skinner thinks the ending of the episode is a cheat. Lisa exposes him as a cheat, reminding him of 4F23
• [FABF05] Long-dead Dr. Marvin Monroe appears and explains: "I've been very sick".
• [FABF07] Ned Flanders is an exhibit in the Hall of Nosy Neighbors of the Museum of TV and Television.
• [FABF10] Lisa complains about a stereotypical character and gets interrupted by stereotypical character Luigi.
• [FABF13] Homer doesn't know in which decade the episode's flashback took place.
• [FABF13] We see Moe's first prank call, then he tells us "that's the origin of that".
• [FABF21] At the T-shirt signing, a sign states that Bart won't say "cowabunga."
• [hFABF23] When the family is trapped in Burns's stomach, Lisa says it's the worst Halloween Horror ever.
• [GABF01] Homer mentions he is "Jerkass Homer".
• [GABF02] Another reference (and in the very next episode) to "Jerkass Homer".
• [GABF04] Homer holds a map in the screen until everybody had time to read it.
• [GABF04] Marge wonders if Lenny and Carl are candidates for a gay wedding.
• [GABF04] Homer isn't surprised with the fact that Patty is a lesbian.
• [GABF04] Lisa wonders why the family is dressed as "Sunday Best Simpsons".
• [GABF04] At the end of the episode, Lisa remarks that it's the end of Homer's gay-wedding business, with no other reason that it's the end of the episode.
• [GABF05] Bart tells Lisa that when you makes as many jokes as he has, you're "bound to repeat yourself" eventually.
• [GABF05]Homer mocks Bart for saying "Cowabunga."

• [7F20] Production code of Snake's first episode is his prisoner number on many later episodes.
• [8F03] Fat Tony's prisoner number.
• [1F21] In the Itchy & Scratchy cel bought by Bart.
• [2F20] Burns' room number.
• [3F03] The film "Meat and You: Partners in Freedom" is number 3F03 in the "Resistance is Useless" series.
• [4F03] Tatum's prisoner number is 4F03.
• [4F12] Poochie's last cell is marked "4F12 SC-273".
• [4F12] 2F09 code mentioned by nerd as an Itchy & Scratchy p-code.
• [h5F02] Fox Censor reads the 5F02 script.
• [5F03] Nelson yells 5-F-0-3 during a football match.
• [5F06] Johnny D's prisoner number is 5F06.
• [5F12] In Homer's mugshot number.
• [5F24] "The Simpsons Clip Show #4 - '5F24'".
• [hBABF01] Professor Frink mentions episode BF12 of Xena to Lucy Lawless. Another code starts with AG4.
• [DABF15] "Butter of Death" episode of I&S is DABF06.
• [EABF04] Seen as license plate. {mg}

• [7G12] The news report on Krusty's arrest is titled "Krusty Gets Busted".
• [7F16] Homer yells "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?".
• [1F20] Homer writes "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" on the blackboard.
• [2F06] Sign reads "Homer Bad Man".
• [AABF07] Homer's memory of the previous night is titled "Homer's Night Out", the same title of 7G10.
• [AABF15] Homer's art exhibit is titled "Homer's Oddysey", just like 7G03.
• [CABF09] "A real superfan: Hungry Hungry Homer"

• [9F22] "The Thompsons". {cf}
• [4F07] "The Hurricane". {cf}
• [4F01] Lisa has a chalkboard punishment and wonders "How does Bart do this every week?" . {cf}
• [5F07] When the Simpsons get robbed, they walk to where the couch used to be just like in the 7F09 couch gag.
• [hAABF01] Halloween opening is a bloody version of the regular one.
• [AABF14] Bart writes "I will not deface" in hieroglyphics, then leaves just like in the opening sequence.
• Bart has a chalkboard punishment in the following episodes: 7F03, 8F03, 8F15.
• The first five Halloween opening sequences are similar to the regular, zooming into the Springfield cemetery instead of the town.

• [7G12] Lisa: "If cartoons were meant for adults, they'd put them on in prime time".
• [7F07] Homer: "If they start building a balloon for every flash-in-the-pan cartoon character, you'll turn the parade into a farce". Then the Bart Simpson balloon appears on TV.
• [7F21] Lisa: "Too bad we didn't come dressed as popular cartoon characters".
• [8F01] According to Homer, "cartoons are just stupid drawings that give you a cheap laugh". He then gets up, revealing his rear cleavage. {rg}
• [8F03] All the horses' names are cartoon catchphrases, including "Don't have a cow" and "Eat my shorts". {mg}
• [9F02] Homer says that Lisa's caricature shows what she would look like if she was a cartoon. {cc}
• [9F16] Roger Myers jr. tells Bart and Lisa, that in comics sometimes the same background is used more than ones to make the production cheeper. In that time, they pass the same background three times. {cf}
• [1F05] Homer: "If this were a cartoon, the cliff would break off now".
• [1F06] Lisa says that cartoons don't have to be 100% accurate while Homer is sitting on the couch. Then a second Homer walks by the window.
• [2F13] Homer and Bart try to get away in kangaroo pouches. Bart: "It's not like in cartoons." {pc}
• [2F13] Australians try to get Bart and Homer with a boomerang, are surprised when it returns. {mg}
• [2F20] Smithers, on Burns: "when he tried to steal our sunlight, he crossed that line between everyday villainy and cartoonish super-villainy". {mg}
• [3F03] Bart says about cartoons "They're just a bunch of hilarious stuff you know, like people getting hurt and stuff, stuff like that." Right after that he gets slammed behind the door by Homer. {cf}
• [h3F04] Homer^3 is referencing the fact that cartoons only have two dimensions. {cf}
• [h3F04] Homer's line "I feel like I'm wasting a fortune just standing here" is a reference to the cost of computer animation.
• [3F16] When Bart announces that Chester J. Lamprick is the father of cartoon violence, Snowball II runs away.
• [3F16] According to Roger Myers jun., Chieg Wiggum is a plagiarism of Edward G. Robinson. {cf}
• [hAABF01] Marge: "Sorry, but if I let you watch some of these gruesome Halloween cartoons, I'd be a pretty lousy mother.".
• [hAABF01] Bart says "We're characters in a cartoon". Lisa replies "How humilliating".
• [AABF08] Moe and Carl conveniently cover their mouths when they mention the names of the teams which played the SuperBowl, which were not known at the time the episode was being animated. {cf}
• [AABF20] There's an entire rack of marge's green dresses at the discount store. {mg}
• [BABF22] Homer says animation is better than "whatever the alternative is".
• [BABF22] Marge mentions the large number of cartoons that were on not long before this episode aired.
• [BABF22] Bart says "cartoons don't have to make sense" just before Ozmodiar (4F20) appears.
• [FABF02] Homer says that Mr. McGrew is a cartoon version of himself.
• [FABF19] Homer's instructions to draw himself include the M of his hair and G of his ear, that form the initials of Matt Groening. Which, by the way, is not the way to draw Homer.
• [FABF21] Just as Homer dismisses the quality of Korean animation, the "five o'clock shadow" part of his face is drawn a foot away from the rest of his head.

• [2F03] Clip of '3000 Miles to Oregon' in opening. {mg}
• [h3F04] Homer walks a real street, enters an Erotic Cakes store.
• [3F24] Live action clouds during Homer's dream.
• [5F06] Couch gag: live action hand spins the Simpsons (also 5F15 and AABF06).
• [hAABF01] Bart and Lisa land in the Regis and Kathie Lee show.
• [BABF05] NRBQ plays the closing theme.
• [CABF12] Behind the scenes on N'Sync appearance during credits.
• [DABF08] The couch opening is drawn as a flipper book in pencil, with the pages flipped by real hands.
• [DABF22] Footage of the guest stars recording. {mg}
• [GABF06] David Silverman teaches us how to draw Bart over the closing credits.

• [9F06] Bart: "Sometimes a guy just likes his skin to look its yellowest".
• [9F08] Homer: "Well, Bart can kiss my hairy yellow butt".
• [1F21] Homer imagines having children "with pink skin, no overbites, and five fingers on each hand!" {cf}
• [2F04] Jessica Lovejoy: "If you tell, no one will believe you. Remember I'm the sweet, perfect minister's daughter...and you're just yellow trash".
• [3F06] Homer's mother is described as a "woman in her early 30s, yellow complexion". {mg}
• [CABF21] Bart covers himself when Homer mentions that someone's yellow belly is showing. {ta}

• [9F20] Lisa: "It seems like I've been wearing this same red dress forever".
• [h2F03] Jimbo: "Oh no! My favorite outfit!"
• [2F04] Bart wonders why Jessica Lovejoy doesn't like him: "Is it my hair? My overbite? The fact that I've worn the same clothes day in, day out for the last four years?"
• [DABF10] Homer reads "Blue Pants Weekly". {mg}

• [7G07] Jimbo mentions the "five-finger discount".
• [8F10] Homer, on newly born Bart: "As long as he's got eight fingers and eight toes, he's fine by me".
• [8F13] Maggie wears a hat that has four fingers.
• [9F01] Homer lifts a four-band equalizer up with all of his left hand fingers.
• [3F07] Jimbo: "Four-finger discount, dude".
• [4F07] While trying to solve Rubik's cube, Lisa tells Marge to use her main finger. Marge doesn't know what she's talking about.

• [7F21] After Radioactive Man mutates, he has five fingers per hand.
• [8F22] Lisa reads that in a million years people will have five fingers.
• [9F01] God has five fingers per hand.
• [1F21] In Homer's fantasy, the "realistic" Bart, Lisa and Maggie have five fingers.
• [EABF06] God has five fingers, Buddha doesn't. {mg}

• [7F08] Homer, to Ned: "We've been neighbors for one, two [...], eight years!"
• [7F15] Homer: "Greasy Joe's Bottomless Barbecue [pause] ...Pit!"
• [7F16] Powell, Inc. executive: "Persephone [...] ate *six* pomegranates."
• [8F10] Homer tries out the name Bart: "Cart, Dart, Eart". If he'd have one more finger he'd notice what was wrong with the name.
• [9F01] "Flanders, water department, God"
• [9F13] Krusty: "Only *four* days till my anniversary special!"
• [9F15] Grampa: "Gimme *five* bees for a quarter, you'd say."
• [1F10] Kwik-E-Mart founder: "You may ask me *three* questions."
• [1F12] Grampa: "From now on, I'm thinking, acting and looking young!"
• [1F17] Homer: "I found *five* hundred pounds of sugar in the forest."

• [7F20] General Sherman winks at the camera.
• [9F14] Moe: You'll be back! [points at various customers] And so will you. And you. [points at camera] And you.
• [2F16] Hibbert points to the camera; which then moves and reveals that he was really pointing at Wiggum.
• [h3F04] Homer, interrupting Kent Brockman's warning about advertising, says "We'll be right back". Commercial break follows. {mg}
• [3F18] Frink talks to the camera, knows the show is about to end, and gets mad that he runs out of time. {mg}
• [5F03] Joe Namath talks to the camera about vapor lock. {mg}
• [AABF21] Homer looks at the camera and says "We'll be right back", introducing the commerical break.
• [BABF07] Gary Coleman: "whatchu talkin' bout, everyone". {mg}
• [BABF12] After a botched attempt at comforting his friends, Carl looks at the camera and says "See? This is why I don't talk much".
• [CABF03] The sturgeon winks at the camera. {mg}
• [CABF11] Francine lunges toward the camera at the end. {mg}
• [FABF13] Moe looks at the camera and tells us about the origin of the prank calls to him.
• [FABF18] Burns and Smithers look at the camera when they suck up to Rupert Murdoch.

• [9F03] Itchy & Scratchy is animated in Korea, just like The Simpsons.
• [9F03] Lisa: "You wouldn't believe the celebrities who did cameos! Michael Jackson, Dustin Hoffman... Well, they didn't use their real names but you could tell it was them." (Hoffman was "Sam Etic" in 7F19, Jackson was "John Jay Smith" in 7F24.)
• [9F16] The credits of Itchy & Scratchy are from The Simpsons credits.
• [9F16] Itchy & Scratchy writers are Simpsons writers.
• [1F11] The credits of Krusty the Clown Show are from The Simpsons credits.
• [4F12] New Itchy & Scratchy writers are new Simpsons writers.
• [FABF13] Homer throws a pie at Krusty's face because of his show's "slight decline over the years".

• [2F17] Hollywood assistant wants two plane tickets for "the state that Springfield is in".
• [3F20] Lisa points to Springfield on a map, Bart covers the viewer's vision.
• [4F05] Larry Burns follows a train to Springfield, wants to know which state but the sound's covered by the train whistle.
• [AABF03] Superintendant Chalmers refers to the school as once the most dilapidated in all of Missouri. Then, he explains, it was moved "here".
• [AABF08] Marge: 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield, O-Hi-o Maude!
• [BABF02] Krusty's address is displayed on TV, but when the state is about to come Kent Brockman interrupts.
• [BABF19] Springfield location revealed as northern Kentucky, changed in the rerun to southern Missouri.
• [DABF10] Lisa: "It's a bit of a mystery, yes, but if you look at the clues you can figure it out".
• [DABF13] Danger Dog comic creator is asked where Danger Dog lives. The answer: "Michigan".

• [3F14] Smithers (to Burns, about Homer): "All the recent events of your life have revolved around him in some way".
• [DABF06] Skinner "I'll give you directions starting from the Simpsons' house".
• [DABF13] Skinner introduces Kirk Van Houten as "Bart's friend's father".

• [8F20] Krusty hosts the Daytime Emmys, the highlight of the evening is Best Film-to-Video Transfer.
• [8F23] The Emmys are the biggest farce Bart's ever seen. {mg}
• [9F16] Bart: "I'll never watch an awards show again" after Grampa is booed off stage after winning an award for cartoon writing.
• [9F16] Bette Midler: "Krusty, you deserve an Emmy for this!" Krusty: "Naah, the Academy hates me. I dunno why."
• [9F21] Chalkboard gag: "I will never win an Emmy". This was the first episode after the 1992-93 Emmy nominations, in which The Simpsons wasn't nominated for Best Comedy Series.

• [9F12] TV announcer: "Next, on Wings -- oh, who cares."
• [9F18] Grampa: "I hate everything but Matlock. Oo, it's on now!"
• [1F10] Homer: "Everything really wrapped up nicely. Ooh, much quicker than usual."
• [1F10] Homer: "Hey, let's all hug Apu. Hey, there's still time! Let's hug him again!"
• [1F21] Grampa: "[Matlock]'s on in five minutes."
• [3F12] Sign tells us that we are missing "Mad About You", which ran against "The Simpsons" at the time.
• [4F05] Marge: "I feel sorry for everyone who's cooped up inside watching the seventh game of the World Series". The World Series delayed the start of the season that year.
• [4F12] The show ends with Bart clicking the remote: "what else is on?" {mg}
• [AABF10] Homer and Marge talk about what's on NBC right now, Homer reads a disclaimer about that. {mg}
• [AABF12] Lisa's favorite movie is "The Little Marmaid", which was aired the same day as this episode on ABC.
• [DABF17] Moe: "Oh, no, the power's out? I'll miss Fox's Celebrity Boxing". Celebrity Boxing followed The Simpsons in the original airing of this episode (notice that the joke is heard over a shot of Springfield, indicating that it's a late addition).

• [7F24] Homer: "I'm Homer Simpson, from The Simpsons". {cf}
• [8F07] Thank you, Bill Cosby! You saved the Simpsons.
• [9F07] "It may be on a lousy channel, but the Simpsons are on TV!"
• [9F22] "The Thompsons" opening sequence. {cf}
• [4F04] Homer: "I didn't want a hokey second wedding like those ones on TV." {cf}
• [AABF04] Bart refers to himself as "America's Bad Boy". {cf}
• [BABF02] Homer calls Maggie "the forgotten Simpson".
• [DABF01] Marge says that the family has had "about 280" adventures together, referring to the number of episodes to date.
• [DABF01] Lisa: "Could this be the end of our series? ... of events?"
• [DABF04] Grampa asks if Homer had just bowl a perfect game, Marge says that it was a year and a half ago.
• [DABF07] Marge, to Homer: "I guess you won't have an adventure this week".
• [DABF13] Lisa: "can she have a pony, and the last line in the scene?"

• [7G10] Apu: "Haven't I seen you on TV somewhere?" Homer: "Nah, you've confused me with Fred Flintstone."
• [7F07] Selma: "It's Bart [on TV]!" Grampa: "What show is this?"
• [8F20] The Simpsons-esque episode of Dinosaurs that the family watch. "It's like they saw our lives and put it right up on screen!"
• [9F16] Lisa: "Bart! Our cartoon's on TV!"
• [9F17] Bart: "It was an amusing episode... of our lives."
• [1F08] The odds board at Bart's Casino: "Bart Gets Own TV Show 1000-1"
• [1F11] Bart: "I'm in television now!"
• [1F13] Lisa: "Come on, Dad. You can make it!" Grampa: "Oh, of course he'll make it. It's TV!" {cf}

• [9F21] Bart and Lisa ask Homer about the continuity flaws in the episode.
• [1F01] Homer sees the family's fish appearing for the first time and says "How long have we had those fish?"
• [1F05] Bart is surprised when Homer makes a comment that is gratuitous for the family but useful for the viewer ("What an odd thing to say").
• [1F10] Homer makes two comments about the timing of the episode.
• [2F33] Lisa talks about the "unusually warm" Valentine's day in 9F13.
• [BABF12] Moe explains the ending but is cut off by the credits.
• [BABF13] Bart wonders why his vision includes the story of Homer searching for Lincoln's gold, and the manager figures the spirits thought the main vision was too thin.
• [CABF03] Lisa refers to the end as "far-fetched and insulting to your intelligence".
• [CABF07] Homer says "Bet you didn't see that coming" after a semi-unexpected plot twist.
• [CABF10] Marge says ""It's good for a show to go off the air before it gets stale and repetitive". Smithers bursts in: "Maggie shot Mr. Burns again!" {pc}
• [CABF13] After learning of Kitenge's promotion to President, Homer said that he had been wondering what happened to him.
• [CABF17] Lisa points out inconsistencies in the hobo's Paul Bunyan stories.
• [DABF10] Marge notices Lindsey Naegle keeps changing jobs.
• [DABF21] Homer chooses service providers by how funny their sign is.
• [EABF12] One of Homer's gay roommates doesn't like the Springfield Shopper because "all the headlines are jokes".
• [EABF17] Lisa wants to explain why a sign is funny.

• [7G05] Bart makes an epilog about wars. {cf}
• [h7F04] Marge does a disclaimer before the Halloween show.
• [h8F02] Marge does another disclaimer before the second Halloween show.
• [h9F04] Homer does a disclaimer before the Halloween show, calls the audience "chicken".
• [h1F04] Bart hosts the Halloween show.
• [h2F03] Marge warns the audience before the Halloween show, Congress suggests the 1947 movie "200 Miles to Oregon" be played instead, Bart and Homer interrupt the transmission.
• [3F31] Troy McClure hosts the 138th Episode Spectacular.
• [3G01] Leonard Nimoy introduces the episode, then appears in it.
• [3G01] Pimply-faced teenager replaces Leonard Nimoy.
• [4F20] Troy McClure hosts the Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase.
• [h5F02] Fox Censor assures the audience that the show is rated TV-G, then gets killed.
• [hCABF19] One-shot characters of the episode (including guest voice Pierce Brosnan) leave the studio. {mg}

• [7G06] Referee in video boxing is Akbar or Jeff.
• [7G11] Bart and Lisa go through the "twelve stages of divorce" from Childhood is Hell.
• [h7F04,7F24] Maggie plays with Life in Hell toys.
• [7F15] Discount Meat Hut.
• [7F18] Proffesor Lombardo quotes How to Draw Binky.
• [9F09] Homer's puppets are Akbar and Jeff.
• [3F31] Matt Groening has a Life in Hell poster in his office.
• [AABF15] Homer sees an Akbar and Jeff drawing and states that Matt Groening can't draw.
• [BABF06] Church markee: "Life in Hell". {mg}
• [CABF19] Binky hops into the rabbit hole. {mg}
• [EABF17] Plant sculpture of Binky. {mg}

• [8F11,3F18] Hairdresser is the same from MG18.
• [3F16] Lester and Eliza look a lot like Bart and Lisa did on the shorts.
• [4F06] In the couch gag, there are (besides many other Springfielders) Simpson statues modelled after the Ullman-Simpsons. This is a reference to the early Beatles wax models in the Sgt. Pepper cover, which this couch gag parodies. {cf}
• [3G02] Talking about 1990, Homer says "Tracey Ullman was entertaining America with songs, sketches, and crudely drawn filler material."
• [AABF23] The Simpson family as it looked on the early shorts appears on the couch gag.

• [hAABF01] Halloween credit: David "watch Futurama" Cohen (David Cohen works with Groening on Futurama).
• [AABF05] Uter wears a Futurama t-shirt.
• [BABF11] Bender appears in the pledge drive at the end.
• [BABF22] Fry appears in the couch gag.
• [DABF20] Bender is in Bart's hallucination. {mg}
• [FABF04] Frink's robot has fought Bender.
• [FABF18] A teen wants to kill himself because of the cancellation of Futurama.

• [8F23] When Homer wins the First Annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.
• [9F09] At the end, Homer's heart beats to the rhythm of the Simpsons Theme. {cf}
• [9F16] When Grampa wins the Emmy.
• [9F19] Johnny Carson plays it with an accordion.
• [1F01] When Homer comes to stage to perform his comedy.
• [1F11] Bart sings it; Marge finds it annoying.
• [1F12] Homer plays the theme on a giant keyboard.
• [3F18] Theme is used as transition quite often. {cf}
• [5F22] Nelson sings it.
• [DABF09] When the Simpson family enters the stage in Branson, MO.
• [DABF11] Phish plays it.

• [9F17] Grampa says, about the coma: "It's like one of those TV shows where they show a bunch of clips from old episodes".
• [9F17] Bart remembers an Itchy & Scratchy as "an amusing episode...of our lives". {mg}
• [2F31] The following dialogue:

     Announcer: Coming up next, "The Flintstones" meet "The Jetsons".
          Bart: Uh oh.  I smell another cheap cartoon crossover.
         Homer: Bart Simpson, meet Jay Sherman, the critic.
           Jay: Hello.
          Bart: Hey, man.  I really love your show.  I think _all_
                kids should watch it!  [turns away] Ew, I suddenly
                feel so dirty.

• [2F33] Blackboard: "I will not use abbrev." Couch gag has a (Monty Python) foot crushing the family.
• [2F33] The following dialogue has recycled animation from 7G12 (from the same scene as Lisa's quote "If cartoons were meant for adults, they'd put them on in prime time"):

     Marge: How many times can you laugh at that cat getting hit by
                 the moon?
      Bart: It's a _new_ episode.
      Lisa: Not exactly...they pieced it together from old shows, but
            it seems new to the trusting eyes of impressionable youth.
      Bart: Really?
      Lisa: Ren and Stimpy do it all the time.
     Marge: Yes they do, and when was the last time you heard anyone
            talk about Ren and Stimpy?

• [3F31] Chalkboard gag: "I Will only do this once a year".
• [5F24] The family tells us that "it really does blow when a long-running series does a cheesy clip show".
• [CABF21] Amnesic Homer remembers a classic Simpson moment, him falling off a cliff in 7F06. Lisa tells him that everyone's sick of that story. {mg}
• [DABF13] Bart: "Don't make me do a clip show". The previous episode was a clip show.

• [7F03] Dr. J. Lorem Pryor says that Bart is an underachiever and appears to be "proud of it".
• [7F05] Marge: "A Simpson in a T-shirt. I never thought I'd see the day".
• [h8F02] Lots of crappy Simpsons merchandise in Lisa's nightmare, including the album "The Simpsons Go Calypso!" and an advertising banner with Bart saying "Get a mammogram, man!"
• [8F08] Homer: "If there was any justice, my face would be on a bunch of crappy merchandise".
• [8F18] Maggie sucks on a Bart doll (it's face isn't visible).
• [8F24] Bart, to Krusty: "I'd never lend my name to an inferior product". (This line also appears in the album "Songs in the Key of Springfield").
• [1F11] Bart becomes famous and Bart Simpson merchandise is sold everywhere.
• [1F12] Lisa: "I'd be mortified if anyone ever made a lousy product with the Simpson name on it. {mr}
• [4F11] John claims everything related to the Simpsons has camp value. {mr}
• [5F10] Krusty is disgusted by all his merchandise. {cf}
• [3G04] When Bart sings the 1991 song "Do the Bartman", Ralph says "That is so 1991".
• [CABF05] Homer asks Bart about his blue shirt, which he only wears in merchandising.
• [CABF06] Bart's permanent record shows him as "underachiever and proud of it", which of course was the slogan for many 1990 Bart Simpson t-shirts. Bart: "This is so out of date".
• [DABF02] Chalkboard "I do not have a cereal named after me" while there was a cereal called Bart Simpson Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch (there was also Homer's Cinnamon Donut Cereal).
• [DABF03] Even the fire doesn't want Butterfingers (the Simpsons appear in commercials for Butterfingers since the Tracey Ullman era).
• [DABF04] Chalkboard: "I will not bite the hand that feeds me Butterfingers". Reportedly, Nestlé was upset with the slam in DABF03.
• [FABF20] Marge: "It would be a hoot to have my face on everything."

[7F09] Itchy & Scratchy & Marge (1990)

[9F16] The Front (1993)

• The Itchy & Scratchy writing room is composed by:
  • Jon Vitti (fired by Roger Myers).
  • John Swartzwelder (eating a donut and drinking coffee).
  • George Meyer (sitting at a computer, tossing a pencil).
  • Jeff Martin (pouring coffee).
  • Sam Simon (smoking a cigar).
  • Al Jean (rocking in a chair, wrote his thesis on life experience).
  • Mike Reiss (reading the paper).
• The Itchy & Scratchy writers at the awards ceremony are:
  • Jeff Martin.
  • John Swartzwelder.
  • Matt Groening.
  • Mike Reiss ("he's right, we've been wasting our lives").
  • Al Jean ("I'm gonna write that sitcom about a sassy robot").
• The writing room looks exactly like a photo of the Simpsons rewrite room.
• Roger Myers shows Bart and Lisa some secrets of cartoons, like repeating the same background over and over.
• Lisa reads "How to get rich writing cartoons" by John Swartzwelder.
• This episode was the only one written by Adam I. Lapidus, which may or may not be a pseudonym.

[1F11] Bart Gets Famous (1994)

• Bart whistles the Simpsons theme.
• Bart lists his interactions with Krusty.
• Bart Simpson merchandise appears everywhere.
• Bart insists he's more than a catchphrase.
• Former writer Conan O'Brien guest stars.
• Credits from Krusty's show are taken from the Simpsons credits.
• Lots of Simpsons characters say their catch phrases at the end.

[3F16] The Day the Violence Died (1996)

• Roger Myers says Chief Wiggum is a plagiarized cartoon character.
• Marge lists occasions when Bart and Lisa saved the day.
• John Swartzwelder is one of Lionel Hutz's surprise witnesses (he wrote this episode).
• Lester and Eliza, who look like Bart and Lisa from the Tracey Ullman Show, save the day and help to make a point about the rather frequent use of Bart and Lisa as detectives in an episode about cartoon plagiarism.

[4F12] The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show (1997)

• Couch gag aknowledges the fact that with this episode The Simpsons becomes the longest-running cartoon show, surpassing The Flintstones (but the Flintstones couch gag is only seen overseas).
• Several references to alt.tv.simpsons.
• Lisa comments that after several years television characters don't have the same impact.
• Homer dismisses Itchy & Scratchy as a kids' show, much like some people do with The Simpsons.
• The focus group is asked if they want wacky adventures or a show grounded on reality. They want both. {mg}
• Jasper thinks that Bart is a girl, when he's voiced by Nancy Cartwright.
• The I&S writers come up with previously unknown background information about Poochie. This was frequent in The Simpsons in those days.
• Poochie's last cel is marked "4F12".
• Bart heralds the final Itchy & Scratchy cartoon as a return to the old glory.
• Itchy & Scratchy writers:
  • Bill Oakley is the first to speak at the conference table.
  • Josh Weinstein is sitting next to him.
  • George Meyer gets fired.
  • David S. Cohen says that the writers were eating rotisserie chicken.
  • (note that George Meyer is the only one left from 9F16).

[AABF09] Homer to the Max (1999)

• "Police Cops" is a mid-season show, like The Simpsons.
• Homer mentions that in animations they don't have to pay the actors.
• Right after that, Ned walks in and says that actors can also be replaced without anyone noticing. He says this with a different voice.
• Lenny asks Homer to "act stupid, like you do on TV".
• A character named "Homer Simpson" becomes dumber as the series runs longer.
• Lisa says that producers often change some characters and push others to the background. Mr. Largo and the Capitol City goofball walk by the window.
• Bart: "Great, now he's dumb AND whiny". {mg}
• Homer tells the mall crowd that they've confused him with a "fictional character on TV".
• Wiggum identifies Homer as "the stupid cop from TV".
• The Comic Book Guy deems Homer's reading of his catch-phrase as the "worst ever".
• Marge tells Homer: "your growing insanity is starting to worry me".
• Note that this episode was on a very Homer-heavy season. Now read the title again.

[DABF01] Brawl in the Family (2002)

• A new government destroys the environment.
• Because of this, the Simpsons are in a sad state.
• A person, presented like an angel, is set to lead the Simpsons into a better life.
• He studies each of the characters before he can do this.
• But before the Simpsons get better they must deal with the demons of the past years: the Vegas wives.
• Working together they make these ghost of the past leave.

[DABF13] I Am Furious (Yellow) (2002)

• Kirk Van Houten is introduced as "Bart's friend's father".
• Skinner was wondering what Lisa was doing in his office, much like the viewer. {mg}
• Danger Dog is popular with kids and adults. {mg}
• Danger Dog creator says that all he ever did was sit in class and doodle. Matt Groening has often said this.
• He is asked in what state Danger Dog lives: Michigan.
• Bart needs a classic character, finds Homer. {mg}
• Bart threatens to create a character after Lisa, who replies: "can she have a pony, and the last line in the scene?" Bart agrees.
• Homer: "I hope no one's drawing this".
• The animators don't clean up Bart's drawings. This happened in the Tracey Ullman shorts. {mg}
• Bart's production company is called Ay Carumba. {mg}
• Bart fears he'll have to do a clip show, in the first episode after one of those.

[DABF21] Helter Shelter (2002)

• Homer chooses service providers by "how funny the sign is".
• Comic book guy would be happy to host "our favorite family". {mg}
• Network executives need a "family that hasn't been on TV forever". They try the Simpsons.
• Network executives like Homer choking Bart.
• Bart sends a crank telegram to Moe.
• Bart's getting sick of crazy adventures. {mg}

• [7F02] Homer hears Karl's voice as he reads his letter, not realizing that Karl's actually there.
• [7F22] The family discusses the moral of the episode.
• [h8F02] "Next week on The Simpsons" with Homer having Burns' head.
• [1F01] Dramatic music as camera zooms to "100% cotton" on the teddy bear. Then a record scratching sound is heard. Finally a second zoom with the same dramatic music reveals the name tag: Bobo.
• [1F08] When Marge promises to help Lisa with her costume, Homer says "Aw, just like on TV". Laugh track follows. {cf}
• [1F20] Marge thinks she hears Homer's voice in her head while driving, it's actually him in the back seat of the car using a cardboard roll. {mg}
• [1F22] Martin (voiced by Russi Taylor) refers to himself as the queen of summertime. {cf}
• [2F06] Last Rock Bottom correction seen: "The people who are writing this have no life".
• [2F07] Suppossed background "escape music" is being played in Homer's car. When they change it the crowd cease to follow them. {mg}
• [h3F04] Kent Brockman: "Even as I speak, the scourge of advertising could be heading toward _your_ town! Lock your doors, bar your windows, because the next advertisement you see could destroy your house and eat your family!" He then gets interrupted by Homer, who says "We'll be right back". Commercial break follows.
• [3F15] Homer asks Marge to close her eyes so he can sleep. {cf}
• [3F18] When Lisa gets her new Hairstyle, she says "I finally look like a real person!" {cf}
• [3G01] Homer gets scared when he hears the music from Psycho, which is actually coming from a bus carrying the Springfield Philarmonic. {mg}
• [4F05] Wiggum, tracking Homer's number: "'555' Oh geez, that's got to be phony".
• [hAABF01] Lisa is explaining the plot when Marge interrupts her with "Oh, please, Lis, everyone's already figured that out".
• [AABF23] Homer says "whatever year this is", so that the episode isn't dated in reruns.
• [BABF01] Whenever there's a continuity goof, "a wizard did it". {mg}
• [BABF02] Lisa tells Homer to "step aside" after a very Homer-heavy season.
• [BABF22] Chalkboard: "Network TV is not dead".
• [hCABF19] Marge, to Homer after Bart's neck gets stretched: "Geez, you strangle him all the time, and they never happens". {pc}
• [CABF22] Chalkboard: "Nobody reads these anymore".
• [DABF01] Heavenly music sounds as Gabriel enters. Homer thinks he is an angel. Gabriel answers that it's just his pager and turns the music off.
• [DABF14] Chalkboard "I will never lie about being cancelled again" after rumors of the show ending.
• [EABF07] Lisa still enjoys scripted comedy. {mg}
• [EABF11] Nelson gets a pitch pipe to get his "ha-ha" right. {mg}
• [EABF12] Weird Al Yankovic says that "the credits go on long after the viewer's interest is gone". {mg}

• Kent Brockman's list of gay people: all of them are part of the staff.
• Internet references
• Chalkboard gags
• Swipes at Fox

{cf}  Christof Nixa
{rg}  Rubén Gutiérrez
{wb}  Wilson Branswell
{mr}  Mike Reed
{cc}  Chris Compton
{mg}  Matt Garvey
{pc}  Paul Campa
{ta}  The Animagess