The Springfield Files/References

Cultural references

 * References to the television series  are found throughout the episode:
 * The title is a reference to the name of series.
 * Bart writes "The truth is not out there" in the opening scene on the chalkboard. This is a reference to a tagline of the series which is "The truth is out there".
 * Mulder and Scully are FBI agents from the series, and are voiced by their respective actors.
 * The Cigarette Smoking Man from the show also appears.
 * The show's theme song plays whenever the "alien" appears.
 * The photo of Mulder in a speedo shown in his FBI badge is a reference to an episode of the series where Mulder is shown wearing one.
 * After Homer drinks ten bottles of Red Tick Beer, the breathalyser at Moe's Tavern registers his drunkenness level as "", a reference to Yelstin's longtime struggles with alcoholism.
 * When Homer mentions "a movie about a bus that had to speed around the city, keeping its speed over fifty" he is referring to the 1994 action film .
 * When Homer says, "So, I says, blue M&M, red M&M, they all wind up the same color in the end," he is referring to the introduction of blue M&M's to the lineup of M&M's colors, and the commercials announcing this, as part of the 1995 M&M's Color Campaign, a contest in which blue, purple, or pink would be selected as the new color.
 * When Homer is asked to identify which alien he saw, the line-up includes Marvin the Martian, Gort (from ), Chewbacca from Star Wars, either Kang or Kodos, and ALF.
 * After Homer is been examined by Scully and Mulder, a view of Moe's Tavern is shown with a brief description, after which the text "ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY" text is repeatedly typed on-screen. This references a famous scene from the 1980 film The Shining by.
 * Mulder mentions the unsolved mysteries of , a show premised on mysterious cases that remained unsolved.
 * : The busload of musicians that Homer encounters while in the woods play the music from the shower scene.
 * The appear in the lake near the woods before getting eaten by a gator that says "!" which is the name of another beer company.
 * Leonard Nimoy's narration of the story references the TV show , which he hosted.
 * Milhouse is seen playing an arcade game based on Kevin Costner's movie Waterworld. The game is over only a few seconds after it starts, and he calls the game a ripoff. This is a reference to being extensively hyped, but turning out to be mediocre.

Trivia

 * The first episode written by Reid Harrison.
 * This is the first non-Halloween episode appearance of Kang and Kodos.
 * Originally aired on the same date as The X Files episode "El Mundo Gira".
 * The "real" Mulder and Scully live in a universe where "The Simpsons" TV series exists. In one episode of the X-Files, Mulder comments on a sketch of a bald suspect saying he looks like "Homer Simpson's evil twin".
 * Homer's infamous scream when he first encounters the alien is re-used in.

Goofs

 * Grampa calls a tortoise a turtle. However, this may be due to his senility, not a goof.
 * After the scenes with the T-shirts, when the alien arrives, Marge's "Homer is a dope" shirt disappears and she has her normal dress on.
 * At the kitchen table, when Homer talks about being mocked on his own birthday, they're eating breakfast. But when Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie all go to pet Santa's Little Helper, the breakfast has vanished.
 * When the 'alien' is seen on the news, it is shown on the film Bart made coming out of the trees, but earlier on, when the alien came out of the woods, Bart is seen not holding his video camera.
 * Homer's only been working at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant since 1980. The tape of Homer working appears to be from the mid to late 70s. Also, Homer's only been a safety technician in sector 7-G since 1990.
 * Homer tells Wiggum that the alien appears every Friday night, even though he saw it only once.
 * The writing on Moe's breathalizer changes between scenes.
 * Lisa's "Junior Skeptic" magazine appears out of thin air.
 * For some reason, the lights appear to be on in King Toot's Music Store next door to Moe's Tavern at 1 am.
 * Despite having the funds to hire the best medical care, Burns has Dr. Nick on his medical staff.
 * Apu, a vegetarian, is seen standing in line at a hot dog stand.
 * Mr. Burns has been seen at night several times (both before and after this episode) without glowing.

Continuity

 * Mrs. Glick now lives in the Springfield Retirement Castle instead of her house she previously lived in.
 * Moe seems to have a penchant for black-and-white endangered species. He was previously seen smuggling pandas in "Cape Feare".