Difference between revisions of "Mr. Plow/References"

Revision as of 16:00, April 22, 2020

Cultural references

• Carnival of the Stars (the TV special Troy McClure is seen hosting at the beginning of the episode) is a parody of Circus of the Stars.
• Homer goes to the advertising firm of McMahon & Tate, which was the name of the advertising firm on Bewitched.
• Adam West isn't recognized by Bart and Lisa as "Batman", causing him to start a tirade on Michael Keaton who, at the time, was the best known Batman in the 1989 movie.
• West does the Batman dance from the TV series.
• Barney calls Adam West "Superman".
• The Bigfoot film is an exact parody of the 1967 video that supposedly caught a Bigfoot walking in the woods. In this episode it is implied that the Bigfoot was actually a man in a suit.
• When the snowmen melts one of them has glasses and a black hat. This scene is a homage to the moment in the Indiana Jones film "Raiders Of The Lost Ark", where Nazi Toht (who also wears glasses and a black hat) melts away due to the Ark's powers.
• The avant-garde Mr. Plow commercial which not even Homer was sure whether or not was promoting his business was based on a Russian perfume commercial the writers saw. The producers parodied the commercial without permission, however, due to troubles with international relations between the United States and Russia, as of 2009 the producers of the perfume commercial still have been unsuccessful at seeking litigation against The Simpsons TV show.
• On the phone, Homer pretends to be Tony Dow (Wally Cleaver) from the show Leave It To Beaver.
• The television advertisement for the Sea Chanteys music collection is done in the same style as music collection ads seen on TV in the 1970s and 1980s.
  • The song "Love Theme from Das Boat" is a clear reference to Das Boot, in spite of the misspelling.

Trivia

• When Homer makes the phony call to Barney claiming he has a $10,000 bill, Barney tests him by asking which American president appears on the $10,000 bill, Homer responds "All of them! They are having a party. Jimmy Carter is passed out on the couch!" Had Barney had better knowledge of American law or money, he would have recognized he was being set up. It is illegal in the United States to engrave American money with images of living people. Furthermore, the ten thousand dollar bill does not feature a U.S. President, but rather Supreme Court Justice Salmon Chase.
• Originally, the Plow King's identity was supposed to be Lenny, but it was changed to Barney due to Lenny not fitting in with the story.
• Troy McClure movie plugs (from Carnival of the Stars):
  • Dial 'M' for Murderousness
  • The Erotic Adventures of Hercules (seen in "Selma's Choice")
• Before Homer crashes his car into Marge's car the wiper disappears as the snow in the windshield wipes out.
• Homer telling the debt collector over the phone that he is Tony Dow of Leave it to Beaver then saying "Yeah, they were gay" was originally going to be scrapped for suggesting there was homosexual behavior on a famous children's television show. It was ultimately decided to be included as the debt collector is not heard posing a question to Homer and "they" could refer to virtually anyone.
• Korematsu Motors was the name of the company that built Homer's snowplow. It was first seen in the episode Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? (albeit briefly) as the company that buys the factory when Powell Motors goes bust.

Continuity

• In Marge Simpson Living Marge reminds Homer that he has tried snowplowing ("Mr. Plow"), webhosting ("The Computer Wore Menace Shoes"), trucking ("Maximum Homerdrive"), fortune cookie writing ("A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love"), cartoon voiceovers ("The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"), food critic ("Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?"), screen writer ("Beyond Blunderdome"), mixologoist ("Flaming Moe's"), bootlegger ("Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment") and astronaut ("Deep Space Homer") when he was searching for a new job.

Goof

• When Homer is about to drive up the mountain to save Barney and Marge is begging him not to, Maggie's coat is blue. But when the family is watching the mountain goat fall down the mountain, her coat is orange.

When Bart is in Bonnie and Clydes car, Homer shouts "Marge!, That Car belongs to Bonnie and Clyde so a little respect!" When he meant to shout "Bart"