'Cue Detective/References

Cultural references

 * The title of the episode is a reference to the American crime drama television series .
 * The song that plays during the hive's journey through the years in the closing credits is "" by, which also serves as the True Detective opening theme.
 * The movie shown at the beginning by Skinner is 1967's .
 * Bart's shirt "Gooba Gooba Who?" is a reference to song "".  The end of the song chants the band's well known slogan, "" (This song was inspired by the 1932 cult classic . The main characters in the movie chant, "Gooble gobble, we accept her, one of us!").
 * Master Prison Chef is a reference to the show .
 * Lisa mentions watching lots of .
 * Clash of Castles is a parody of .

Continuity

 * Homer previously attempted to build a spice rack ("Itchy & Scratchy & Marge") and Marge bought one afterwards ("El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer").
 * Bender is seen in the basement. ("Simpsorama")
 * Homer's is seen in the attic. ("King-Size Homer")
 * The pit master appears in the clouds after his death just like Bleeding Gums Murphy did. ("'Round Springfield")
 * The Monorail is seen in the scrapyard. ("Marge vs. the Monorail")
 * Tyler Boom's ringtone is "Hopin' for a Dream" by Sungazer. ("Covercraft")

Goofs

 * When Alton Brown tastes what Marge has cooked on the show, the color of his shirt changes.
 * On the sign for the Scrap city, the word "Sponsor" suddenly changes to "Sponser".
 * When Nelson spins the Merry-go-round, Lisa was not holding onto it, but she somehow stays on top of it. Normally, a person would've been thrown away from the ride due to momentum.
 * Normally, Nelson is shown as a poor kid, but in this episode, he has enough money to afford a tablet.
 * It's never stated that Nelson bought it, he's been known to shoplift in the past. ("Marge Be Not Proud")

Trivia

 * Bart and Lisa seemed surprised with CRT TVs on the Scrap city, as if it were the first time they saw one. However, in the early years of the show, they owned a CRT TV, as LED and LCD TVs hadn't been invented yet.