Much Apu About Nothing/References

References/Trivia

Season 7 Episode References

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"Much Apu About Nothing"

152

Debut appearances

The episode title is a pun on the William Shakespeare comedy Much Ado About Nothing.
The chant "We're here, we're queer, we don't want any more bears!" is a reference to LGBT slogans.
After Homer says the city is infested with bears, Moe says "And these ones are smarter than the average bear. They swiped my pic-a-nic basket", Mayor Quimby pulls out a picnic basket and starts munching on a sandwich is a reference to Yogi Bear.
Chief Wiggum's order of deportations is a reference to "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, the sonnet written on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty ("Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free").
During Homer's speech, "America the Beautiful" is played.
Homer references Siegfried & Roy in his speech saying immigrants "are training our tigers".

Apu mentions having enrolled in the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology, the initials of which are S.H.I.T.

At the time the episode was produced, California was having problems with bears roaming neighborhoods in search of food, as shown in Springfield at the beginning of the episode.
California at the time was also having problems associated with the large numbers of illegal immigrants in the state. In 1994, voters had passed Proposition 187 (later declared unconstitutional) which would have denied services such as education and health care to illegal immigrants, similar to Springfield voters' passing Proposition 24. California's continuing issues with illegal immigrants were one of the reasons for making the episode, according to Bill Oakley on the DVD commentary.

Selma mentions her marriages to Sideshow Bob, Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure and claims she will only marry for love and once more for money.
- Sideshow Bob had tried to murder Selma for her money in "Black Widower".
- Troy McClure and Selma's marriage was a sham to help Troy's film career and Selma only went along with it for the fame and fortune.
- Though the marriage to Lionel Hutz is never seen, in "Secrets of a Successful Marriage", Hutz mentions that he only dates women for money.

When the family is at the dinner table and Lisa is telling Homer she doesn't agree with the proposed new immigration law, the food on their plates changes from purple pie to mashed potatoes and meat and then back to purple pie.
Apu claims to have been in the United States for seven years, but Homer's Barbershop Quartet depicts him being in America eight years before the then-present day.
When Mayor Quimby promises action against the bears to the townspeople, he wears his normal clothing but the next shot, when they are leaving, he suddenly wears a napkin around his neck.
The map of the USA has Upper Michigan colored purple like neighboring Wisconsin while the rest of Michigan is colored orange.
Homer's "Yes on 24" button has entirely black text in the close-up. However, when the scene cuts to a farther-away shot, the words "Yes" and "24" are written in white while the word "on" is written in blue.
Homer tells Apu that he is not a registered voter, yet he is shown voting for Sideshow Bob in season 6's "Sideshow Bob Roberts".

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Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two) • Radioactive Man • Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily • Bart Sells His Soul • Lisa the Vegetarian • Treehouse of Horror VI • King-Size Homer • Mother Simpson • Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming • The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular • Marge Be Not Proud • Team Homer • Two Bad Neighbors • Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield • Bart the Fink • Lisa the Iconoclast • Homer the Smithers • The Day the Violence Died • A Fish Called Selma • Bart on the Road • 22 Short Films About Springfield • Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish" • Much Apu About Nothing • Homerpalooza • Summer of 4 Ft. 2