Homer Alone/References

Cultural references

 * The title is a reference to the 1990 family comedy film Home Alone.
 * The opening scene of the episode, where Homer is chasing Bart, is a parody of the Road Runner and Coyote chase scenes from .
 * When Marge drops the kids off at school, she glares at them and tells them to "GET! OUT!" in a manner strongly reminiscent of the Terminator.
 * When Homer calls the Department of Missing Babies to report that Maggie has disappeared, the on-hold music is "" by.

Trivia

 * This is the first episode that Chief Wiggum has blue hair.
 * This is the second time a case of an ironic musical hold has caused a Simpsons character to burst into tears. The first was in Stark Raving Dad when Marge dialed Calmwood Mental Institution and was placed on hold while Crazy by Patsy Cline played.
 * Marge's train stops at Shelbyville, Badwater, Cattle Skull, and Testing grounds before stopping at Rancho Relaxo.
 * The second Nick's bowling shop that Marge goes to has a picture of Jacques from the episode Life on the Fast Lane.
 * When Maggie crawls down one street, a car is parked in a No Parking zone.
 * The bus on Springfield bridge is filled with actors in costume and says "Shelbyville Players".
 * Homer says "Never leave again" 4 times.
 * When Marge leaves for her vacation there is a man on the train platform checking his watch. He is modeled after Mark Kirkland who wrote this episode.
 * There were some scenes in the trailers for this episode which didn't make it to air. After Homer staples Maggie's diaper shut, he picks her up, and the changing board comes with her.
 * The man who rudely turns down the lube job and bluntly tells the Squeaky-voiced teen "Do not touch me" was the same man seen in When Flanders Failed who was rude to Ned Flanders when Ned was gracious enough to validate his parking ticket without having to buy anything from The Leftorium. The man would not even listen to Ned's quip of "Right as rain, or as we say around here, left as rain!", instead growling at Ned "Just stamp the ticket!"
 * Nelson has bunked off school to see the incident on the Springfield Memorial Bridge. He later utters "Ha! Ha!" when Homer announces that later he and Marge will snuggle.
 * First physical appearance of Arnie Pie.

Continuity

 * The gangster complaining about the body in his car trunk was last seen in "Bart the Murderer".
 * Troy McClure mentioned working on the film Calling All Quakers. He would also be involved with the Quakers through the comic Troy McClure Presents: Sowing your Quaker Oats, mentioned in The Bongos That Time Forgot.