Difference between revisions of "Beyond Blunderdome/References"

Revision as of 13:35, December 20, 2020

Trivia

• The Elec-Taurus car seen at the start of the episode is a driveable vehicle in The Simpsons Road Rage and The Simpsons: Hit & Run.
• Marge and Homer have seen the films Howards End and Sophie's Choice.

Cultural references

• The title is a reference to the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, in which Mel Gibson starred.
• When Homer is watching a test screening for Mel Gibson's remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, he badmouths it, saying "At least the Jimmy Stewart version had the giant rabbit who ran the savings and loan!". These are references to Harvey and It's a Wonderful Life.
  • When the film is test-screened again (following creative input from Homer), Polystar Pictures VP Edward Christian laments, "You've desecrated a classic film! This is worse than Godfather III!"
• Rainier Wolfcastle is seen filming Saving Irene Ryan, a reference to both Saving Private Ryan and the TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies.
• After the studio cart crashes, Mel says to Homer, "I'm getting too old for this crap," paraphrasing what Danny Glover often says to Mel Gibson's Lethal Weapon character.
• Mel Gibson tossing away his U.S. Senator badge at the end of the Mr. Smith remake is similar to the endings of Dirty Harry and High Noon.
• Mel Gibson's pilot is John Travolta, who plays a pilot in a number of films including Look who's talking, but is also himself a certified pilot who owns five aircraft.
• The police shoot-out scene with Robert Downey Jr. is a reference to Downey's problems with the law in the 1990s, during which the actor battled drug addiction and was arrested on several occasions.
• Mel Gibson says to Marge, "I speed all the time, but cops never give me a ticket." This episode aired seven years before Gibson was arrested for speeding and DUI.
• The movie billboard in Hollywood that Homer and Mel Gibson crashed through featured a woman (implied to be overgoing labor) and the title "She's Having a Baby... Again!", spoofing the movie She's Having a Baby
• The scene where Homer drives the Elec-Taurus into the water is from the 007 film The Spy Who Loved Me.
• Vehicles seen in the Hollywood motor museum include:
  • The Road warrior car from Mad Max
  • The Batmobile.
  • Herbie
  • The Flintstone Mobile with Fred, Wilma and Dino Flintstone in it from The Flintstones.

Continuity

• At the end of the episode "When You Dish Upon a Star", Judge Snyder declares that Homer cannot be within 500 miles of any celebrity, living or dead. However, in this episode, the restraining order seems to have been either dropped or forgotten.
• In Marge Simpson Living, Marge reminds Homer that he has tried snowplowing ("Mr. Plow"), webhosting ("The Computer Wore Menace Shoes"), trucking ("Maximum Homerdrive"), fortune cookie writing ("A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love"), cartoon voiceovers ("The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"), food critic ("Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?"), screen writer ("Beyond Blunderdome"), mixologoist ("Flaming Moe's"), bootlegger ("Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment") and astronaut ("Deep Space Homer") when he was searching for a new job.