The Wettest Stories Ever Told/References

References/Trivia

Season 17 Episode References

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"The Wettest Stories Ever Told"

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Cultural references

The title of this episode is a reference to the film The Greatest Story Ever Told.
During the wraparounds, the first part of "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" from the series Popeye is heard.
Homer refers to the anchor on the wallpaper as the Popeye tattoo, and the sailor's hat as Gilligan's hat from Gilligan's Island.
When Captain McCallister suggests sending a busboy out to get something from a better restaurant, Marge suggests Red Lobster.
When Bart mentions the Bounty, Marge says "like the paper towels", a reference to Bounty.

Lisa tells the story of the journey of the Mayflower.
Lenny and Carl are Beefeaters.
During the storm, Marge notices an albatross which Homer eats. This is a reference to the poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Unlike the poem, this action does not lead to unfortunate incidents.

Bart tells the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty.
Scenes of Fletcher Christian standing on the mast of the Bounty, and the use of music by Luigi Boccherini, are references to the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
Queen Marge asks if Robert Fulton has invented the steamboat yet.
"Island in the Sun" by Weezer plays during the montage of the Bounty crew in Tahiti.
The crew of the Bounty sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", written by Eliphalet Oram Lyte. Willie then sings it on the rowboat.

Homer's story is a parody of The Poseidon Adventure, an action film. There are several similarities between Homer's story and The Poseidon Adventure. Several characters die in ways similar to the movie: Lenny falls off a ladder into surging water and Comic Book Guy dies while trying to tie a rope underwater, both quite similar to the deaths of major characters in the movie.
The ship in Homer's story is called the Neptune. "Neptune" was the Roman god of the sea; the Greek name for the same deity was "Poseidon".
The song played at the beginning of Homer's story is "Rock the Boat" by The Hues Corporation.
"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" plays when Captain Burns comes onto stage.
"Carl says "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" and Barney shouts out "Willie Stargell" when Captain Burns comes onto stage.
Comic Book Guy has dolls of the Charlie's Angels.
The song that the Simpsons play, "Heading for Disaster", is a parody of "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern. The song was written for the film The Poseidon Adventure.
Burns makes references to Earthquake, The Towering Inferno, The China Syndrome, and The Apple Dumpling Gang, which were popular disaster films of the 1970s,except for The Apple Dumpling Gang.
Comic Book Guy's "inspirational music" is "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan.
At the end of Homer's story, the crew of the Bounty reappears as living skeletons, parodying Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Moezekiel breaks the fourth wall when he tells the audience that was how they talked back then.

In the second story, Richard is missing an arm; however, in the third story when the ghost bounty arrives, Richard has both arms intact.
In the second story, the maritime flag of Great Britain is shown incorrectly. The correct flag in 1789 would have a blue background, red cross in the center, and white crosses running diagonally.

← Season 16 Season 17 References Season 18 →
The Bonfire of the Manatees • The Girl Who Slept Too Little • Milhouse of Sand and Fog • Treehouse of Horror XVI • Marge's Son Poisoning • See Homer Run • The Last of the Red Hat Mamas • The Italian Bob • Simpsons Christmas Stories • Homer's Paternity Coot • We're on the Road to D'ohwhere • My Fair Laddy • The Seemingly Never-Ending Story • Bart Has Two Mommies • Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife • Million-Dollar Abie • Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore • The Wettest Stories Ever Told • Girls Just Want to Have Sums • Regarding Margie • The Monkey Suit • Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play