The Spy Who Learned Me/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 23 Episode References
← 505 "A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again"	506 "The Spy Who Learned Me"	"Ned 'n Edna's Blend Agenda" 507 →

Cultural references

• The episode's title is a pun on the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.
  • Stradivarius Cain is a direct parody of James Bond, sharing many of Bond's characteristics such as combat skills, appearance, and charm with women.
• Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon appears in the Stradivarius Cain movie.
• Homer's commentary of "Turret syndrome" references Tourette syndrome.
• On one occasion, Homer and Marge watched the 2010 romantic crime comedy Date Night.
• Declan Desmond's documentary Do You Want Lies With That? is a parody of the documentary Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock. The film documents the drastic change on Spurlock's physical and psychological health and well-being after eating only McDonald's food for 30 days.
  • A morbid obese Declan cannot fill an application for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
  • The piano composition heard when Krusty lifts Declan up with a bulldozer is Gymnopédie No. 1 by Erik Satie.

The floating bag that Homer considers a beautiful thing is a reference to "The Dancing Bag" from American Beauty. The bag passes by a Borders Books store, a company that went bankrupt in 2009

• The sequence where Homer is enjoying his first day off includes:
  • The track "Irlandaise" from Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio by Claude Bolling is played in the background.
  • Homer passes by a deteriorated Borders Books store. This book and music retailer company went bankrupt in the end of 2009.
  • The floating bag that Barney later ingests is a reference to the 1999 film American Beauty, specifically to "The Dancing Bag" scene.
• Lenny's imaginary friend, Hufnpuffalus, is a parody of Mr. Snuffleupagus, a character from Sesame Street.
• Stradivarius Cain comes out of the water wearing a blue swimsuit, just like Daniel Craig's version of James Bond in Casino Royale which, at the same time, resemblances the iconic scene where Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) comes out of the water in Dr. No.
• In a ride in the Pink Sedan, Homer and Dr. Cain pass by a Yuk-ingham Palace store, which is a reference to the Buckingham Palace in London.
• The room where Homer practiced flirting is based on Piz Gloria, the villain's lair in James Bond's film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
• When Marge pulls up to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, Lenny asks "what brings you to the SNPP", which is a possible reference to the website The Simpsons Archive, which is more commonly known by the initials "SNPP".
• Lenny calls Marge a "Blue Angel", however, he says he is not referring to the flight squadron Blue Angels, famous for their air shows.
• Krusty and Mr. Teeny are playing Zii Sports, a parody of Wii Sports.
• When being asked get Nelson into a superhero shape, Krusty's personal trainer Billy proposes:
  • Hugh Jackman's Wolverine from X-Men.
  • Alicia Silverstone's Batgirl from Batman & Robin.
• When trying to make Stradivarius Cain reappear, the characters Homer imagines before are:
  • E.T., the main character from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
  • Mr. Potato Head, a children's toy, made popular by Toy Story.
  • Clippy, the common nickname for Clippit, the Office Assistant for Microsoft Office from Windows 98 to Windows 2003.
  • Cleatus the Football Robot, which is Cleatus the Robot from Fox NFL Sunday. The NFL on FOX theme is heard when Cleatus appears.
• The piano piece Clair de lune by Claude Debussy is heard after Homer seduces the Blue-eyed man.
  • The Blue-eyed man mentions meeting American actor Greg Kinnear in a party.
  • The Blue-eyed man is a parody of Tony Montana (Al Pacino), the main character in Scarface. This character looks like Montana and he also mentions living in Bolivia. A part of Scarface is set in this country.

Goofs

• In Krusty Burger, Jessica Lovejoy has light brown hair.
• One of the children Nelson punches he doesn't actually touch.
• When Homer and Marge started kissing while Stradivarius Cain watched, Homer's tie had disappeared.

Continuity

• A Pin Pals photo is seen in Moe's Tavern. ("Team Homer")
• A Tic–Tac–Toe: X v. O trailer is seen on the TV in Moe's Tavern. ("The Squirt and the Whale")
• A portion of Do You Want Lies With That? was seen in "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky".
• Lisa would eventually get a B+ in "Grampy Can Ya Hear Me".

← Season 22 Season 23 References Season 24 →

The Falcon and the D'ohman • Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts • Treehouse of Horror XXII • Replaceable You • The Food Wife • The Book Job • The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants • The Ten-Per-Cent Solution • Holidays of Future Passed • Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson • The D'oh-cial Network • Moe Goes from Rags to Riches • The Daughter Also Rises • At Long Last Leave • Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart‎ • How I Wet Your Mother • Them, Robot • Beware My Cheating Bart‎ • A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again • The Spy Who Learned Me • Ned 'n Edna's Blend Agenda • Lisa Goes Gaga