Cape Feare/References

References/Trivia

Cultural References

The whole episode is a parody of the 1962 film, Cape Fear.
The Simpsons and Sideshow Bob see the movie Ernest Goes Somewhere Cheap, an obvious parody of Jim Varney's "Ernest" movies.
Sideshow Bob's prison number for this episode is A113. A113 is a little known easter egg Brad Bird puts into the movies and catoons he makes, such as this episode, all Pixar films, two other Simpsons episodes (Krusty Gets Busted and Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming), and other productions.
In the town of Terror Lake, Sideshow Bob stays at the Bates Motel, a reference to Psycho.

While the entire episode is a reference to Cape Fear, one notable scene marked the 1991 remake. When Sideshow Bob is smoking in the cinema and laughing uproariously, it is similar to Robert DeNiro's poor conduct in a movie house where he laughs loudly at the film Problem Child and annoys the customers.

This episode was banned in Germany due to the amount of violence and tension in this episode, as well as the fact that the beginning featured a character holding the ranking of Obergrupperfuehrer, as well as wearing a complete SS officer's uniform (Germany has laws prohibiting the use of Nazi references and contraband; displaying the swastika is an offense punishable by up to one year imprisonment).
This episode was the last episode produced by original team that did the show.
"Spay Anything," the Itchy & Scratchy Show cartoon shown during the episode, is a parody of Goldfinger.