The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 8 Episode References
← 176 "Homer's Enemy"	177 "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase"	"The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" 178 →

Trivia

• Lisa appears with one line in "Chief Wiggum P.I". It is announced she is replaced (by an older, more attractive, but less intelligent) girl in "The Simpsons Family Smile Time Variety Hour", which is a likely spoof of the 1977 spin off "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour". Eve Plumb refused to participate in this spinoff, so she was replaced by another girl playing Jan Brady.
• Homer is the only family member to appear in all three stories.
• Actor Troy McClure hosts this showcase amidst a sea of framed pictures depicting such vintage TV spin-offs as "Laverne and Shirley," "The Ropers," "Fish," "Rhoda" and "The Jeffersons."
  • Rhoda featured Julie Kavner, voice of Marge Simpson.
• When Kent Brockman is announcing the debut of "The Simpsons Smile Time Variety Hour" a clock is behind him reading 8:20, which during the episode's debut, was the approximate time that segment was aired for households that went by Pacific Standard Time and Eastern Standard Time.
• Betty is a caricature of her voice actress Tress MacNeille.

Cultural references

• Magnum P.I. - The title of Chief Wiggum's skit is a reference to the famous TV show.
• My Mother the Car - The "Love Matic Grandpa", where Moe's Love Tester is possessed by the spirit of Grandpa, is a spoof of this Jerry Van Dyke show, where a man buys an antique car to learn that his deceased mother is communicating to him through the car.
• The Flintstones - The tiny alien called Ozmodiar is based on The Great Gazoo from this series.