My Way or the Highway to Heaven/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 30 Episode References
← 641 "Heartbreak Hotel"	642 "My Way or the Highway to Heaven"	"Treehouse of Horror XXIX" 643 →

Cultural references

• The episode title is a reference to the idiom "my way or the highway", which is also a recurring lyric in the song "My Way" by Limp Bizkit and could also be a reference to either "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC or the TV drama series Highway to Heaven.
• In Heaven:
  • Ludwig van Beethoven appears, next to Tupac, playing his Fifth Symphony.
  • Tracy Morgan appears, and God asks him why he's there after getting better, a reference to his critical illness after his accident in 2014 caused by a Walmart trucker. In a future episode, "Baby You Can't Drive My Car", he'll actually play a tow-trucker.
  • Jimi Hendrix appears.
  • Maude Flanders is paired with Abraham Lincoln, while Edna Krabappel is paired with George Washington.
  • Christopher Columbus appears, getting lost in the way to the bathroom, just like he got lost on his way to India, and found America instead.
  • The Last Supper is seen.
• The song "Cheek to Cheek" plays when the kids imagine getting to Heaven.
• Üter Zörker imagines himself in the chocolate factory from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
• In Ned's story:
  • The song that plays when Ned goes through jobs is "Dead End Street" by The Kinks.
  • The salesman in a vest and necktie is a reference to Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman.
  • The salesman in a straw hat and bowtie is a reference to Harold Hill from The Music Man.
  • Ned buys and is shown driving a two-tone Chevrolet Corvette convertible.
  • The Apollo 14 moonlanding is shown.
  • He mentions Gunsmoke and a short clip is shown of it on TV.
    • The jungle scene with helicopter and Ned's use of the word "quagmire" both refer to the Vietnam War.
  • A Che Guevara poster is seen behind Jesus Christ.
• In Marge's story:
  • The French nuns sing "Boogie Woogie Christian God", a parody of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters.
  • The people in the café sing "La Marseillaise", the national anthem of France, by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, a reference to La Marseillaise sung in Rick's American Cafe in the film Casablanca.
  • A wooden case is labeled Ark of the Covenant, containing the ghosts of the ark.
  • During the fight in Café Meaux, "Non, je ne regrette rien" by Édith Piaf plays.
• In Lisa's story:
  • Lisa introduces it as "The Princess Not Affiliated With Disney... unless we are now owned by Disney", referencing The Walt Disney Company acquiring of 21st Century Fox.
  • The name Siddmartha Gautama is a play on one of Buddha's names, Siddhārtha Gautama.
  • Lisa's travels outside the palace parallel Siddhārtha's travels outside his palace.
  • Prince Gautama, a Bart look-alike character, and a Milhouse look-alike, play a multiplayer game that is a parody of Clash Royale.
  • A delivery is made by Amazon to Siddmartha with a time machine from 2018 A.D..

Trivia

• The elephant attendant says "Please, somebody think of the elephants", a reference to Helen Lovejoy's "Won't somebody please think of the children?" line.
• Bart doesn't have any lines on the episode itself. However, his counterpart from Lisa's history, Prince Gautama has at least 2 lines.
  • If you don't count this counterpart, this is the another episode in the series where Bart doesn't speak.

Goofs

• In the credits, Aldrine Guerrero's credit misspells "ukulele" as "ukelele".

← Season 29 Season 30 References Season 31 →

Bart's Not Dead • Heartbreak Hotel • My Way or the Highway to Heaven • Treehouse of Horror XXIX • Baby You Can't Drive My Car • From Russia Without Love • Werking Mom • Krusty the Clown • Daddicus Finch • 'Tis the 30th Season • Mad About the Toy • The Girl on the Bus • I'm Dancing as Fat as I Can • The Clown Stays in the Picture • 101 Mitigations • I Want You (She's So Heavy) • E My Sports • Bart vs. Itchy & Scratchy • Girl's in the Band • I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say D'oh • D'oh Canada • Woo-Hoo Dunnit? • Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion