Flanders' Ladder/References

Cultural references

 * The title of the episode is a reference to, referring to a ladder to heaven described in the .
 * The plot, wherein Bart sees dead people and helps them with their unfinished business, is the plot of .
 * Bart tricks Lisa into playing.
 * Homer trows board games into the fire:
 * Scribble, a parody of Scrabble and .
 * Don't Lose the Pieces, a parody of.
 * Oligopoly, a parody of Monopoly.
 * Needless Operation, a parody of
 * Mouse Trip, a parody of.
 * In the VHS collection, there are recordings of
 * The Tracey Ullman Show (Homer imitates himself in the shorts.)
 * Saved by the Bell.
 * When Homer presses play on the VHS, the 1997 commercial.
 * On the Homer's Xxxercise tape, the song "" by plays.
 * Ned Flanders use the IMDbible web site a parody of the Web Site.
 * Rod and Todd recite the lines "If I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take" from the "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep".
 * In Bart's brain, The Scream by 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 's series.
 * The song playing over it and credits is "" by . The same song was used in the Six Feet Under finale.
 * Smithers dies when Mr. Burns marries Angelina Jolie.
 * 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 III ("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")

Trivia

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