Difference between revisions of "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy/References"

Revision as of 22:53, June 12, 2014

Cultural references

• Bart's blackboard line, "My homework was not stolen by a one-armed man", is a reference to The Fugitive and Richard Kimble's saying that a one-armed man killed his wife.
  • The line has also been interpreted by some fans as referring to Herman Hermann.
• At the bookstore, in order to cover up his and Marge's looking through the "Marital Relations" section, Homer accidentally grabs a photography book by Robert Mapplethorpe and screams when he gets a look at the contents (Mapplethorpe was famous for the homo-erotic nature of his work).
• The book on tape, Mr. and Mrs. Erotic American by Paul Harvey, which Marge and Homer purchase, includes some of Harvey's broadcasting mannerisms such as beginning by saying "Hello, Americans" and ending by saying "Good day." (The voice for Harvey's reading was provided by Harry Shearer.)
• Also in the bookstore, the fictional (as in non-existent) Al Gore books Rational Thinking, Reasonable Future (which Lisa mentions) and Sane Planning, Sensible Tomorrow (which she buys) are tongue-in-cheek references to Gore's real-life 1992 book, Earth in the Balance.
• When Lisa buys Sane Planning, Sensible Tomorrow and Gore is notified as soon as the clerk scans it at the counter, the music in the background is very reminiscient of the X-Files theme.
• The "X-Files-style" music also plays when Bart peers through his telescope at the adults (Revitalizing Tonic customers) arriving at their houses, hurrying inside, and closing the curtains.
• When Al Gore is notified that someone has finally bought a copy of his book, he celebrates by putting on an LP record and playing "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang.
• The town Lake Flaccid, which Grampa mentions, is a reference to either the movie Lake Placid or to the real-life town of Lake Placid, New York.
• Lisa references Occam's Razor, a 14th-century theory still cited today as a counter to needlessly complicated explanations.
• Milhouse's line "We're through the looking-glass here, people" is from the Oliver Stone movie JFK. The line is also a reference to the Lewis Carroll book Through the Looking-Glass and has become a slang term meaning to enter a world where nothing is as it appears — such as investigating behind-the-scenes goings-on.
• Professor Frink's transformation into a suave man with a deep voice is a reference to Jerry Lewis's transforming into Buddy Love in The Nutty Professor.
• When Grampa is selling his tonic, he's mostly seen dressed as a quintessential Southern Colonel, an image strongly associated with Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Trivia

• Among the rooms at the "Aphrodite Inn Fantasy Rooms & Conference Center" are the following:
  • The Arabian Nights Room
  • The Pharaoh's Chamber (Homer notes that it has a vibrating sarcophagus.)
  • The Caveman Room (Mayor Quimby, dressed in an "appropriate" outfit, comes out to say that the toilet is overflowing.)
  • The Safari Room
  • The Camelot Room
  • The Utility Room (The hotel's actual utility room; Homer and Marge end up here because everything else is booked.)

Goofs

• When Homer leaves to 'do some serious thinking' he drives away from the house in the orange station wagon (Marge's car), but arrives at the farmhouse in his pink sedan.
• When Homer and Marge are in the car, between scenes, the windscreen goes missing. It becomes noticeable when the mirror appears and disappears, and Abe's head manages to pop out when he and Homer argue over the getaway music.
• In this episode, both Homer and Grampa set fire to the Simpson farm, and it burns to the ground. The later episode "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" creates a plot hole, as the Simpsons temporarily move to the Simpson farm. It could have been rebuilt.
• Homer's shadow in front of the TV is still there even after 30 years. He could have been in the same position or it may just have been put there to 'show' how much time Homer spends watching TV.
• Homer is shown shaving off his beard stubble, which grows back moments later. This gag was also done in Some Enchanted Evening, where Homer has a clean shaven look for precisely seven seconds, then his stubble regrows.