The Burns Cage/References

Cultural references

 * The title of the episode is a reference to the 1996 comedy film .
 * As Smithers walks down the corridor of the Executive Suite, he passes by versions of a number of paintings, but with Mr. Burns replacing the persons originally depicted:
 * shirtless on horseback,
 * A team member is seen in the title screen and Bart writes about them needing to win or they'd lose everything on the blackboard.
 * The song  by plays after Smithers and Mr. Burns land from the parachute jump.
 * The song  by plays when Smithers is dating Julio.
 * The school is doing a play of ', and will do ' or  the next day.
 * Homer uses "Grinder" to find a lover for Smithers, a parody of, a homosexual geosocial app.
 * Comic Book Guy wears a costume.
 * Milhouse lists co-stars couples that fell in love:
 * Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
 * Kermit and Miss Piggy
 * and.
 * Tom Collins' name is a reference to the cocktail of the.
 * Bart gets Comic Book Guy to buy a half-page advert in the playbook by telling him that Sam will play "" with Hulk hands. Martin is later seen trying to play the piano with Hulk hands.
 * The montage at the end showing Moe, Jack and Groundskeeper Willie on a journey for gold is a reference to .
 * The image of Lisa and Jack on The African Queen boat is a reference to the film .
 * The image of Moe with a noose around his neck and standing on the shoulders of a boy is a reference to the pivotal scene, revealed in flashback, in .
 * Smithers refers to Homer, Lenny and Carl as, and then the three start acting like them.
 * mentions from Star Trek.
 * The sign in Havana that says "Our Castro district is much different from yours" is alluding to the of San Francisco.
 * The image of Lisa and Jack on The African Queen boat is a reference to the film .
 * The image of Moe with a noose around his neck and standing on the shoulders of a boy is a reference to the pivotal scene, revealed in flashback, in .
 * Smithers refers to Homer, Lenny and Carl as, and then the three start acting like them.
 * mentions from Star Trek.
 * The sign in Havana that says "Our Castro district is much different from yours" is alluding to the of San Francisco.

Trivia

 * The Simpsons logo appears over the clouds when Smithers and Mr. Burns were parachuting.
 * Rob LaZebnik told in an interview that the inspiration for this episode came from his relationship with his homosexual son, Johnny LaZebnik, who came out during high school.

Continuity

 * on horseback was previously seen in Treehouse of Horror XXVI.

Goofs

 * The banner of the opera to be played the next day after ' changes between scenes from ' to .
 * At the Licenses Bureau, it's possible to see for a fraction of a second that the lady gives Smithers and Julio a Marriage License, but later it's a fishing license.
 * Janey Powell calls herself "Jacqueline Jones" in this episode.