The Burns and the Bees/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 20 Episode References
← 427 "MyPods and Boomsticks"	428 "The Burns and the Bees"	"Lisa the Drama Queen" 429 →

Cultural references

• The episode's title is a reference to "The birds and the bees", an American colloquial expression used to refer to when parents explain human sexuality and sexual intercourse to their children.

Mr. Burns and Smithers are Ebenezer Scrooge and Ghost of Christmas Past from A Christmas Carol during the opening sequence

• The Christmas-themed opening sequence includes:
  • Initiating with two lines of instrumental "O Christmas Tree", the German Christmas song.
  • Mr. Burns and Smithers are Ebenezer Scrooge and Ghost of Christmas Past, respectively, from Charles Dickens' 1843 short novel, A Christmas Carol.
  • Lisa playing the traditional Christmas carol "Deck the Halls" on her saxophone.
• Notable people at the Billionaire Camp include:
  • Ted Turner, founder of TNT, TBS, and CNN.
  • Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook.
  • Richard Branson, co-founder of the Virgin Group.
  • Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
  • Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
  • Larry Ellison, co-founder of the Oracle Corporation.
  • Donald Trump, owner of The Trump Organization.
  • Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft.
  • Rupert Murdoch, founder of Fox Corporation.
• The paintings Richard Branson, Larry Ellison, and a third billionaire are shooting at include:
  • The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.
  • Whistler's Mother by James McNeill Whistler.
  • The Scream by Edvard Munch.
• The billionaires are playing Quidditch, the famous sport from the Harry Potter universe.
• Groundskeeper Willie plays "Amazing Grace" on his bagpipes while mourning for the deceased bees.
• Willie names the bees after famous people:
  • Buzz Aldrin, the second astronaut to walk on the moon.
  • Bee Arthur, referring to American actress, comedian and singer Bea Arthur.
  • Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting, the bassist and vocalist of the British band The Police.
  • Bee Bee King, referring to the American blues singer B. B. King.
  • Susan Bee Anthony, referring to American women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony.
  • Jerry Seinfeld, the American actor and comedian. The relation with bees is that Seinfeld voiced Barry B. Benson, the main character from Bee Movie.

Rich Texan's fictional basketball team Austin Celtics are a parody of the Boston Celtics

• Rich Texan's fictional basketball team Austin Celtics are a parody of the Boston Celtics.
• In Homer's fantasy about a future without honey, the robot that offers him some honey and then compresses him into a cube resembles WALL-E from the Disney Pixar film WALL-E.
• Abe thinks Lisa is former US President Abraham Lincoln.
• Homer points out that bees have haploid cells, while humans have diploids.
• Mr. Burns appeared on the cover of the general interest magazine Collier's. This magazine was published between 1888 and 1957, with Mr. Burns appearing on the December 1943 issue.
• Burns sings a modified version of the American patriotic song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", including references to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, dissolved in 1918 in the aftermath of World War I. Besides WWI, Smithers mentions the historical events such as World War II, the Cold War, and the creation of the European Union.
• The "Maple Leaf Rag" piano composition by Scott Joplin is heard when the Basket Bells dance.
• "Hip Hop Hooray" by Naughty By Nature is heard during the gorilla mascot scene.
• The Inuit basketball player Muk Mu comes from Ketchikan, Alaska. His phrase "I kill whales for fun" is a reference to the aboriginal whaling that takes place on the Northwest Coast on the Pacific Ocean.
• "Sea of Love" by The Honeydrippers is heard when the queen bee is being introduced to the Africanized bees.

• The statue of Mr. Burns in front of the Springfield Excitement Arena is modeled after Nike's iconic "Jumpman" logo of Michael Jordan.
• Muk Mu played for Los Angeles Clippers.
• When Mr. Burns is revealed to be a millionaire instead of a billionaire, the dialogue he has with Mark Cuban is a parody of the "Can't do it Sally" scene from the 1972 film The Godfather.
• The Dance of the Hours by Amilcare Ponchielli is briefly heard in the beginning of the credits.

Trivia

• For the first 8 episodes of this season, the show won the 2009 People's Choice Award for Favorite Animated Comedy.
• The marquee at Springfield Sports Palace first reads "Big Game Tonight" then later, "World's Smallest Jumbotron".

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Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes • Lost Verizon • Double, Double, Boy in Trouble • Treehouse of Horror XIX • Dangerous Curves • Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words • MyPods and Boomsticks • The Burns and the Bees • Lisa the Drama Queen • Take My Life, Please • How the Test Was Won • No Loan Again, Naturally • Gone Maggie Gone • In the Name of the Grandfather • Wedding for Disaster • Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe • The Good, the Sad, and the Drugly • Father Knows Worst • Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh • Four Great Women and a Manicure • Coming to Homerica