Difference between revisions of "Viva Ned Flanders/References"

Revision as of 15:35, January 10, 2022

Cultural references

• The title of the episode is a reference to the film and song "Viva Las Vegas".
  • The song "Viva Las Vegas" is played during the montage where Ned and Homer are running away from their wives in the casino.
• Ned references the theme tune to the sitcom "Maude" when he proclaims "And then there's Maude!"
• While driving to Las Vegas, Homer sings Deep Purple's "Highway Star" with lyrics about Ned.
• The Moody Blues were the opening act for the Satin Knights, a Moody Blues tribute band.
• The chalkboard gag references Jerry Seinfeld.
• While driving in the desert, author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson and his lawyer pass Ned and Homer in the oncoming lane, drawn in the style of the Ralph Steadmann painting, The Savage Journey. This is a reference to the Hunter S. Thompson novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
• Comic Book Guy's bumper stickers include a series of sci-fi references, including Star Trek ("I Brake for Tribbles", "My Child is an Honor Student at Starfleet Academy" and "Keep Honking, I'm Charging My Phaser"), Star Wars ("My Other Car is the Millennium Falcon"), The X-Files ("The Truth is in Here"), as well as The Simpsons itself ("Kang Is My Co-Pilot").
• His licence plate "NCC 1701" is also a reference to Star Trek: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701).
• The list of "wuss rock" bands include Seals and Crofts, Pablo Cruise, Air Supply and the fake band "Loggins and Oates", referencing Kenny Loggins and Hall & Oates.
• On the church marquee, the text says "TODAY'S TOPIC: He knows what you did last summer." This may be a reference to the 1997 movie I Know What You Did Last Summer, which is based on the 1973 novel of the same name.
• When Homer and Ned were drunkenly getting married, the preacher says "the power invested in me by the Chicago Outfit". The Chicago Outfit is a Italian-American Mafia group based in Chicago, with resources and territory in Las Vegas. Perhaps it's most famous member is Alphonse "Al" "Scarface" Capone, which was its boss from the 1920s all the way up until 1932, when he was arrested for tax evasion.
• After Ned signs the papers to join Homer's "program", Homer says "One day soon, I will come for you and then the game will begin. Could be in the middle of the night. It could be when you least expect it." This line could be a reference to a similar scene in the 1997 mystery thriller The Game.

Continuity

• The Monty Burns Casino reappears. "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)"
• Roscoe blows up Burns' casino. "Homer's Phobia"
• Ginger and Amber reappear in "Brawl in the Family", and the family attend Amber's funeral in "Jazzy and the Pussycats".
• Lisa briefly referenced the events of "Trash of the Titans" when she remarked that she was surprised that they allowed the Casino to come along when they moved the city.

Goofs

• This episode reveals that Ned is 60 years old, but earlier in "Hurricane Neddy", it's revealed he was a little boy 30 years ago, so he should've been 30 then.
• When Homer is roasting a chicken on his chimney, the dirt on his beard repeatedly appears and disappears.
• The dirt on his nose disappears for a frame as well.
• When Homer laughs at Ned after finding out he married Ginger, he and Ned were standing in the hot tub, but when Homer screams after finding out he married Amber almost a second later, they were suddenly standing out of it.

Trivia

• On the premiere episode (and the syndicated reruns), Homer mutters that Barney Gumble's birthday is the same day as Adolf Hitler's (April 20th). Because the Columbine school shooting happened on that day, the line on the UK version and the season 10 DVD set is changed to "Barney's birthday is July 15th, same day as Lassie's."
• Ned claims to prefer Bob Saget as his form of "a good laugh." However, Ned, who tends to hold strict conservative Christian value, was likely more familiar with Saget's television work, which by this point still tended to be decent and family friendly, than he was with Saget's stand-up comedy work, which actually stood in contrast to his more widely known popular culture image and tended to be adult-oriented.https://kdvr.com/news/bob-saget-a-look-back-at-the-full-house-stars-career/