Helter Shelter/References
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Cultural references
- The title is a play on The Beatles song "Helter Skelter", a famous song which, it was claimed by prosecutors, was indirectly connected to the murders carried out by Charles Manson and his "family". "Helter Shelter" had earlier been the name of the shelter in the episode "Homer Loves Flanders".
- The scene where the Simpsons are waiting for time to fly by mirrors the opening sequence of King of the Hill. Also, the show's theme music is played during the scene.
- "Squiggy" being sent to boost their ratings is a reference to a lot of television shows sending in newer characters to save the show from being cancelled (often with disastrous results), such as Cousin Oliver on The Brady Bunch, Seven on Married...With Children, and Smitty (Adam Sandler's character) on The Cosby Show
- A member of the crew says 'I can't eat any more kangaroo testicles'. This is a reference to I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
- Not for the first time, this episode of The Simpsons contains a reference to the 1990s TV character Steve Urkel from the show Family Matters. When Marge attempts to buy groceries from the Kwik-E-Mart, Apu informs her that he is under instructions from the producers of the reality show to vett her purchases for items that were not available in 1895 (claiming that Oreos were invented in 1896). As such, he deems the breakfast cereal Urkel-O's "delicious, but forbidden."
- When Bart prank-calls Moe with Morse code, Moe sends back, "I'm gonna stick my golden spike in your Central and Union Pacific!" Moe is referring to the ceremonial golden spike which marked the 1869 completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad and connected the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads.
- Law & Order: Elevator Inspectors Unit is a reference to the TV show Law & Order and its various spin-offs.
- One of the figurines sitting on Comic Book Guy's shelf is a model of the Planet Express Ship from Futurama.
- The 1895 Challenge is an obvious reference to Big Brother.
Trivia
- This is the last episode to be traditionally inked and painted; for the episodes after it would be animated via digital ink and paint.
- This is the third time Bill Cosby has been parodied on The Simpsons. There is an extra gag in that the Cosby family are losing ratings on their reality show, so the producers decide on the Simpsons; in the early years, The Cosby Show was a ratings rival with The Simpsons.
- When the family realizes that they are seeing a hockey game, the are discouraged and disappointed, yet in "Lisa on Ice", the family seems to have an interest in the game.
- When Kozlov hands Lisa his hockey stick, it says "КОЗЛОВ" - the real Russian spelling of Kozlov.
- The Russian hockey player seems to be Atlanta Thrashers' Vyacheslav Kozlov.
- If you look closely, you can see a crossed hammer and a hockey stick on Kozlov's hockey stick, an obvious reference to the Soviet symbol of the hammer and sickle.
Continuity
Goofs
- At one point when Bart is in the video confessional booth, he complains of boredom and says "Mutt & Jeff Comics are not funny! They're gay, I get it!" However Mutt & Jeff was first published in 1907, 12 years after the show's 1895 setting.
- Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" plays in one scene, despite the fact that it was released in 1902.
- Apu refuses to let the Simpsons buy Oreos, correctly citing them as a product that didn't exist in 1895. However, he incorrectly says that Oreos were first made in 1896; in reality, they were introduced in 1912.
