Difference between revisions of "The Telltale Head/References"

Revision as of 18:25, November 20, 2021

Cultural references

• The episode title is a reference to the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. In addition, Bart actually hears the head talking when he is overcome with guilt, similar to Poe's character's hearing the still-beating heart of the man he murdered in the story.
• The Bridge over the River Kwai - referenced when Bart quotes the line "What have I done?" just after he cuts the head off the statue.
• Among the items Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney steal from the Kwik-E-Mart is a copy of a Playdude magazine, a parody of Playboy, a men pornographic magazine.
• When Bart awakens to find the head of Jebediah Springfield in bed next to him, it is reminiscent of the scene from The Godfather where Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) "persuades" Woltz to cast Fontane in the movie by leaving the head of the producer's prize racehorse in his bed.
• The bowling ball catalog Homer reads, The Bowl Earth Catalog, is a reference to the Whole Earth Catalog.

Trivia

• This episode has a title card. This trait is followed in Bart Gets Hit by a Car, the Treehouse of Horror series and their respective mini-stories, and "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular".
• Marge pulls a Radioactive Man comic book from inside Bart's jacket before leaving the house for church.
• Homer has an 8-track tape deck in his car.
• A member of the angry mob carries a sign with the likeness of Jebediah Springfield's head bearing the words, "Have You Seen Me?"
• The football announcer on Homer's car radio says, "This could be the most remarkable comeback since Lazarus rose from the dead."
• Announcer: "Wolodarsky takes it at the 5... oh my, he fumbles," a reference to show writer and producer, Wallace Wolodarsky.
• A sign inside church where Reverend Lovejoy has just given a sermon on the evils of gambling reads, "Bingo --- Tuesday Night. Monte Carlo Night --- Wednesday. Reno Retreat --- Saturday."
• The movie marquee reads, Space Mutants IV: The Trilogy Continues.
• Kearney stands on the lawn and leans on a sign that reads "Keep off the Grass."
• Mambo in the Morning is the radio program that gets interrupted to announce the important news.
• First appearance of the First Church of Springfield, Bart's and Lisa's Sunday school, the Kwik-E-Mart and the Aztec Theater.
• The kids in Sunday school consists of Bart, Lisa, Milhouse, Janey, Richard, and Lewis.
• According to the producers, this episode marked the first hint towards Smithers' sexuality (when Mr. Burns says that he loves Smithers, Smithers replies that "the feeling is more than mutual, sir.")
• When Barney asks how long Bart's story will take, Bart replies, "about 23 minutes and 5 seconds", the approximate length of the episode.
• Due to being produced after "Some Enchanted Evening", Ms. Botz is seen among the angry mob.

Goofs

• When Bart enters the Kwik-E-Mart, the doors need to be pushed open to get through. When Bart leaves, the door slides open.
• Sideshow Bob appears with an afro, then later in the episode, he appears with his spiky hair.
• The movie theater unrealistically contains a very small amount of people, despite that there is a long line of people buying tickets for the movies.
• The man with the moustache watching Space Mutants 4 is first seen with yellow skin but it turns brown when Bart blows a raspberry.
• Bart skateboards into a blue street light. However, when he gets up, the street light has turned grey.
• When Bart asks Dolph, Kearney and Jimbo how they got the stolen merchandise from the Kwik-E-Mart, Jimbo replies "Five finger discount, man." even though characters in The Simpsons only have four fingers.
• Richard has brown hair in some scenes.
• In the shot of the mob chasing Bart and Homer through the streets, there are two Dr. Marvin Monroes visible.
• When the mob closes in on Bart and Homer, J. Loren Pryor has Smithers' colors.

Continuity

• Barney's appearance was changed so that he has brown hair and an orange t-shirt. He has yellow hair and a brown coat in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", even though that episode was produced after this one.
• In the South Park episode "Cartoon Wars Part II", Bart states to Cartman that he once cut off a statue's head, a reference to this episode.