Difference between revisions of "Treehouse of Horror V/References"

Revision as of 14:51, July 30, 2010

Cultural References

Opening Sequence

• Bart's introduction (where his voice appears as waves on an oscilloscope) is a parody of the Control Voice's introduction in the 1960s TV series The Outer Limits.

The Shinning

• The Shining - Punned in the title and referenced throughout the segment.
  • Maggie spells "REDRUM" with her blocks when Homer tries to watch the TV.
  • Analogous to Jack Torrance endlessly typing "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," Homer writes "No TV and no beer make Homer go crazy" all over the walls. The only thing Homer types is "Feelin' fine," which briefly reassures Marge, until a lightning flash reveals the writing on the walls.
  • Groundskeeper Willie and Moe are parallels of the characters Dick Halloran and Lloyd the bartender, respectively.
• Among Moe's gang of "ghouls" are the following:
  • Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies
  • Pinhead from the Hellraiser movies
  • Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies
• Scotchgard - When Homer hits Willie in the back with an axe, Marge says that she hopes the rug was Scotchgarded.
• A Chorus Line - A parody of the song "One" plays on the portable TV when the Simpsons are frozen in the snow. It is also played during the closing sequence.

Time and Punishment

• Crime and Punishment - The classic novel by Dostoyevsky is punned in the title.
• The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show - Mister Peabody and Sherman appear during Homer's first trip back in time.
• Jurassic Park - When Homer first arrives in the past, he says, "I've gone back to the time when dinosaurs weren't just confined to zoos!"
• 1984 references:
  • Ned Flanders being the absolute lord and master of the world, similar to Big Brother.
  • Video screens record everything, while everyone is required to watch any official announcements made via the screens, reminiscent of the telescreens.
  • Portraits of Flanders where the eyes follow the viewer, similar to portraits of Big Brother.

Nightmare Cafeteria

• Soylent Green - Principal Skinner hits on the idea of serving students as food to solve the problem of overcrowding, similar to the movie's plot.

Closing Sequence

• The song the inside-out Simpsons and Groundskeeper Willie sing and dance to is a parody of "One" from A Chorus Line. It was also played at the end of "The Shinning."

Trivia

• In all three stories, Groundskeeper Willie is hit in the back with an axe when he tries to help someone:

1. By Homer in "The Shinning," after Homer goes mad and Willie attempts to come to the rescue of the rest of the family.

2. By Maggie in "Time and Punishment," when he says he can help Homer get back to his own time. Maggie then says to Homer, "This is indeed a disturbing universe," in James Earl Jones's voice.

3. By Principal Skinner in "NIghtmare Cafeteria," when he tries to save Bart, Lisa, and Milhouse from being eaten by the teachers. This time after Willie is hit, he says, "Ach, I'm bad at this."

The Shinning

• Before Mr. Burns and Smithers leave for the winter, Smithers suggests to Burns that cutting off the cable television and beer supply may have been the reason for the previous caretakers' going insane and murdering their families. Burns then says that if they come back and everyone is slaughtered, he owes Smithers a Coke. Mr. Burns also says he owes Smithers a Coke in Treehouse of Horror II when he and Smithers are returning Homer's brain to his body, realizing that he was alive all along.
• A deleted scene shows Bart encountering Sherri and Terri as the ghosts of the previous caretaker's daughters. Bart is skateboarding in the halls, turns a corner, and sees Sherri and Terri, who sing, "Your father's gonna kill you!" Bart then skates down another hall and sees Patty and Selma, who tell him, "It's true, ya know."

Nightmare Cafeteria

• The segment comes full circle from the episode Bart the Murderer, where Principal Skinner disappears and one of the rumors going around Springfield Elementary School is that Skinner was ground into hamburger and served for lunch in the cafeteria.
• According to the DVD commentary, a scene that was written, but not used, had Sherri and Terri being served for lunch as "Terri-yaki with Sherri Sauce."

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