Trivia
- This is the first episode in which Sideshow Mel speaks.
- Bart uses the microphone to play a fart prank on Mrs. Krabappel. Later, in "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister," he uses a pair of "borrowed" walkie-talkies to play a similar prank on Lisa.
- Two of the names on The Krusty the Klown birthday list are the names of people who would later become part of the Simpsons staff: Ken Keeler and Patric Verrone
- Wall E. Weasel's, the family entertainment center where Bart has his birthday party, is a parody of the restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese's.
- The video game "Touch of Death," seen in the background at Wall E. Weasel's, also appears in "When Flanders Failed."
- The music session to record "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" is meant to parody the recording session for the song "We Are The World." Krusty's vocalizations during parts of the song seem to be parodying how Huey Lewis sang with the "We Are The World" recording session.
- Homer serenades Marge by singing Convoy. Originally the idea was for Homer to use the microphone to sing The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. However, Lightfoot told the Simpsons producers that he did not own the rights to the song, as he divided all royalties to the surviving families of the 29 men who perished aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald. Any displays of that song, such as on The Simpsons, would require permission from all 29 families. Since obtaining such permission was deemed too much trouble just to have Homer to sing a couple of lines from the song, the producers decided to have Homer sing Convoy instead.
Microphone Pranks
Bart uses his Superstar Celebrity Microphone to play the following pranks:
- Making Homer think that Martians have invaded Earth.
- Making Marge think that Maggie is talking (by hiding a radio under Maggie's pillow).
- Eavesdropping on Lisa's conversation with one of her friends by placing the microphone under her bed and listening to the radio in another room.
- Placing a radio under Mrs. Krabappel's chair and making farting noises when she sits down.
- Posing as God for the benefit of Rod and Todd Flanders (Bart sees them listening to the radio and goes into action): Making Rod attempt to walk through the wall and making both of them take all the cookies from their kitchen and leave them on the Simpsons' porch.
- Placing a radio down an old well near Springfield Elementary School to make Groundskeeper Willie (and, as it turns out, the whole town) think that a little boy named Timmy O'Toole had fallen into the well.
Cultural References
- The song that plays as Bart descends the well (to retrieve the incriminating radio) is based on the theme song Axel F from Beverly Hills Cop. The Itchy & Scratchy cartoon "Cat Splat Fever" makes use of the title of the 1977 Ted Nugent album/song Cat Scratch Fever.
- The media circus and carnival that results after news breaks about "Timmy" being trapped in the well mirrors that of the 1951 movie Ace in the Hole. The movie in turn was based on the real incident and media circus that resulted when cave explorer Floyd Collins was trapped and died in a cave in Kentucky in 1925.
- The episode parodies charity singles. The song "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" is a spoof of various 1980s charity songs, including "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (on which Sting was one of the vocalists) and "We Are the World". Also a parody of All out of love by Air Supply.
- The Wall E. Weasel pizza restaurant ("We cram fun down your throat") is a parody of the family pizza restaurant franchise Chuck E. Cheese's. Seen in this episode: The restaurant's mascot (here in his first appearance), the franchise's pizza, video games, and poorly maintained animatronic robots.
- The song in the commercial (used to demonstrate the Superstar Celebrity Microphone) — and later "performed" by Homer — is the 1975 novelty song Convoy by C.W. McCall.
- The Superstar Celebrity Microphone is based on the late-1970s era toy Mr. Microphone by Ronco. The television ad pitching the microphone is also similar.
- In the late 1980s, Sony had a children's electronics product line called "My First Sony." One of the products strongly resembles Bart's microphone and amplifier.
- Upon hearing Bart cry about being trapped in the well, Homer decides to dig Bart out himself, declaring "That's all I can stand, and I can't stand no more!" echoing a line Popeye frequently used before getting into a fight.
- Soul Mass Transit System, the TV dance show in the first act (on which Funky-See Funky-Do is guest performing) is a parody of the long-running syndicated program Soul Train. Funky-See Funky Do's single, titled "I Do Believe We're Naked," is a parody of the song I Think We're Alone Now recorded by Tommy James & the Shondells, Tiffany and Girls Aloud.[2]
- One of the names on Krusty's list of birthday children is "J.P. Patches." J.P. is a clown character famous in the Pacific Northwest, where Simpsons creator Matt Groening was born, raised, and went to college.
- As the camera pans down the well after the excavation has begun, a flying saucer containing a skeleton of a Rigellian alien can be seen.
- Homer stating that Sting is a good digger while he is helping dig Bart out of the well is appropriate and somewhat ironic due to the fact that Sting worked as a ditch digger (as well as a few other professions) before he became a full time musician.
- This episode is similar to an incident involving Jessica McClure, who fell into a well in Midland, Texas on October 14, 1987.
- The prank is obviously based upon the popular joke from the Lassie films, in which when one cannot understand the messenger, usually a dog, the receiver will reply "What's that boy? Timmy's stuck down a well?!"
Continuity
- When Bart pretends to be an alien using the Superstar Celebrity Microphone, he calls himself "Bartron." This is the second time this name has been used. In "Space Patrol," an earlier episode that aired on The Tracey Ullman Show. Bart, Lisa and Maggie decide to play a make-believe game of "Space-Patrol." Lisa puts a vase over Bart's head, claiming he can play "Bartron, an evil robot gone berserk."
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