Funeral for a Fiend/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

Cultural References

• The episode title is a reference to the Elton John song (and possibly the band) "Funeral for a Friend."
• The episode title could also reference the title of the comic book story arc following the death of Superman.
• The family layout in the popular series Frasier is repeated in this episode. Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce play brothers in both series, while John Mahoney plays their father.
• A reference to Clippy, the Microsoft Office helper, is also shown.
• The Itchy and Scratchy cartoon short that the family views on the new TiVo is titled "Spherical on 34th Street", a reference to the Miracle on 34th Street films.
• In "Spherical on 34th Street", Scratchy's demise comes about as a result of Itchy filling him up with hydrogen and igniting him with a flaming arrow. As Scratchy burns up, showering the crowd with viscera, Itchy exclaims, "Oh, the hilarity!", a reference to broadcaster Herbert Morrison's famous cry of "Oh, the humanity!" during the Hindenburg disaster.
• Marge Simpson, for skipping commercials while watching shows on TiVo, is named Keith Olbermann's Worst Person in the World.
• After showing The Simpsons family his evil plot, Sideshow Bob says that the commercial gained him position as director of "The Hills Have Eyes 3: The Hills Still Have Eyes.
• At the funeral, Krusty the Clown plays the piano and sings to Sideshow Bob, in a parody reminescent of Elton John playing "Candle in the Wind" for Princess Diana at her funeral.

When trying to look up the Shakespeare quote online, Sideshow Bob looks for it on Wikipedia, which is stated when he yells at it to load faster.

Trivia

Some of the commercials Lisa fast forwards through while using the TiVo for the first time have been seen previously in the series - the Duff Beer commercial with Santa's Little Helper seen in "Old Yeller Belly," the Turbo Diary commercial seen in "The Dad Who Knew Too Much," the Funzo commercial seen in "Grift of the Magi," Homer's SpringShield commercial seen in "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge," the Mr. Sparkle commercial seen in "In Marge We Trust," and the commercial Sideshow Bob uses to trap the Simpsons later in the episode for Wes Doobner's World Famous Family Style Rib Huts.