Murder, He Wrote/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Credits

Quotes

Cultural references

• The title of the comic story is a reference to the American television mystery series Murder, She Wrote.
• The entire story and style is a parody of the Japanese series Death Note. This includes some specific references, including a box of "Mell-O" (referencing the character Mello from Death Note) and a bag of "EAT IT!" potato chips (referencing an infamous scene from the English dub of the Death Note anime) on the kitchen table in one panel.
  • Krusty and Lisa are both turned into parodies of the characters Ryuk and L respectively, made clear in their slightly altered designs and their roles in comparison to Bart, who acts as a stand-in for Light Yagami. There even is mention of an "L" assisting the police, who Bart eventually suspects to be Lisa, only for it to turn out to be Ralph Wiggum instead.
• There are references to two other Japanese series, Dragon Ball and Pokémon; the local news states "the dragonballs were returned unharmed" just before announcing Sideshow Bob's release from prison, and shortly after Sideshow Bob is seen falling face first into a hot dog cart labelled "Pika Dogs", in reference to the character Pikachu with the character even being shown as a mascot on the cart.