Difference between revisions of "Flanders' Ladder/References"

Revision as of 13:19, January 17, 2025

Cultural references

• The title of the episode is a reference to Jacob's Ladder, referring to a ladder to heaven described in the Book of Genesis.
• The plot, wherein Bart sees dead people and helps them with their unfinished business, is the plot of The Sixth Sense.
• Bart tricks Lisa into playing The Scary Maze Game.
• Homer trows board games into the fire:
  • Scribble, a parody of Scrabble and Pictionary.
  • Don't Lose the Pieces, a parody of Don't Lose Your Mind.
  • Oligopoly, a parody of Monopoly.
  • Needless Operation, a parody of Operation
  • Mouse Trip, a parody of Mouse Trap.
• In the VHS collection, there are recordings of
  • Family Matters.
  • The Tracey Ullman Show (Homer imitates himself in the shorts.)
  • Saved by the Bell.
• When Homer presses play on the VHS, the 1997 Ricola commercial.
• On the Homer's Xxxercise tape, the song "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John plays.
• Ned Flanders use the IMDbible web site a parody of the IMDb Web Site.
• Rod and Todd recite the lines "If I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take" from the Christian child's prayer "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep".
• In Bart's brain, The Scream by Edvard Munch appears, with Bart as the screamer.
• A chalkboard saying "Roots of Singh" is also seen, a reference to Simon Singh. On the chalkboard is the equation x^5-57x^4+1249x^3-13191x^2+67438x-134064=0, which has solutions x=19,9,14,7,8, using the code A=1, B=2, etc., this spells "SINGH".
• Homer mentions getting every answer in Jeopardy! wrong.
• The final montage is a parody Six Feet Under's series finale.
  • The song playing over it and credits is "Breathe Me" by Sia. The same song was used in the Six Feet Under finale.
  • Smithers dies when Mr. Burns marries Angelina Jolie.

Continuity

• Ned has a "4th grade lesson plan" folder. ("Left Behind")
• Bart posted the pictures of the prank on Lisa on MyTube. ("Elementary School Musical")
• The "Wedding Video/Alaska Speech" VHS is among Homer's VHS collection. (The Simpsons Movie)
• Amongst the ghosts appears:
  • Maude Flanders ("Treehouse of Horror XIII")
  • Snowball II, Snowball III and Snowball IV ("I, (Annoyed Grunt)-bot")
  • Albert ("Walking Big & Tall")
  • Shary Bobbins ("Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious")
  • Amber Simpson ("Viva Ned Flanders")
  • Alice Glick ("Three Men and a Comic Book")
  • Ice cream man ("Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)")
  • Waylon Smithers, Sr. ("The Blunder Years")
  • Marvin Monroe ("There's No Disgrace Like Home")
  • Jebediah Springfield ("The Telltale Head")
  • Frankie the Squealer ("Insane Clown Poppy")
• Maude's death scene is shown. ("Alone Again, Natura-Diddily")
• Adult Bart is seen in judicial robes. ("Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie")

Trivia

• The episode was dedicated in memory of Tom Wolfe, who died on May 14, 6 days before the episode aired.