Brother's Little Helper/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

Cultural references

• The title is a reference to The Rolling Stones 1966 single "Mother's Little Helper" (a song about pill abuse), and also to Santa's Little Helper.
• Marge standing in front of the tank is a reference to Tank Man.
• The Fire Safety Day slogan, "Learn, Baby, Learn", is a spoof of "Burn, Baby, Burn".
• Homer remarks that Bart has gone from Goofus to Gallant.
• When on his rampage, in a tank, Bart sings Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac.
• Bart expresses a preference for the allergy decongestant Claritin D over regular Claritin.
• Bart's classmate Sherry reads aloud the poem "The Daffodils" by William Wordsworth.
• The book that Bart gives to Homer, "Chicken Soup for the Loser", is a spoof of the book "Chicken Soup for the Soul."
• On their date, Marge and Homer see the movie Showgirls.
• The t-shirt in the army barracks, which reads "I went to the Persian Gulf and all I got was this lousy syndrome", is a reference to Gulf War Syndrome.
• Bart's Ritalin song at the end is a parody of the theme song sung at the conclusion of the Popeye animated shorts.
• Nelson's reaction when he thinks about violence or a girl while wearing the shock necklace may be a reference to "A Clockwork Orange".

Episode References

Bart's ADD was touched upon in "Lisa's Substitute: At the end, Homer says to Bart, "I always knew you had personality; the doctor said it was hyperactivity, but I knew better!"