Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge/References

Cultural references

 * The title of the episode is a reference to the James Brown song "".
 * 's 1966 hit "" is used during the looting sequence.
 * The Mafia's journey to the Simpsons' house is a spoof of the opening of HBO's hit drama series , complete with the show's opening theme, "" by.
 * The song that plays when old students appear is "" by.
 * The rioters leaving the music store as a marching band are playing the .
 * Otto is seen carrying 's  past the Simpson's house.
 * The drunk that Homer releases from the jail cell is a parody of the character Otis Campbell from the TV show .

Trivia

 * The settings on Groundskeeper Willie's air conditioner are: Glasgow Winter, Well-Digger's Bum, and Witch's Teat.
 * Homer's SpringShield slogan is "Have no fear! SpringShield's present!" Its phone number is 636-555-3472.


 * When the power goes out in Springfield someone yells, "I'm going to miss FOX celebrity boxing!" The night when this episode appeared, celebrity boxing aired right after it.


 * When checking the A/C unit, Groundskeeper Willie says "We're wasting more energy than Ricky Martin's girlfriend," a subtle hint Martin may be homosexual. Martin came out as gay in 2010.

Continuity

 * Maggie's marksmanship with a rifle is also seen in the Bart Simpson Comics story Maggie's Crib 10.
 * The screaming butterfly from the heat wave sequence is the adult screamapillar which made its debut in the previous episode.
 * This is the second appearance of Johnny Tightlips (one of Fat Tony's henchmen.) He also appeared in episode 251 (12-3), "Insane Clown Poppy".
 * Homer mentions his many jobs from previous episodes:

Production Notes

 * Originally aired at 8pm ET on a Wednesday.
 * In some parts of the country this episode was interrupted by coverage of breaking news on the Chandra Levy missing person case.
 * This episode was originally supposed to air in season 14, but FOX decided to air a "bonus episode" so that's why "The Frying Game" became the season finale.
 * This episode was dedicated to the memory of Stephen Jay Gould. Stephen appeared as in the season 9 episode "Lisa the Skeptic".