Hardly Kirk-ing/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 24 Episode References
← 520 "Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing"	521 "Hardly Kirk-ing"	"Gorgeous Grampa" 522 →

Cultural references

• The episode title is a pun on the Jerry Lewis comedy Hardly Working.
• The episode's couch gag parodies the intro of Game of Thrones, including a similar theme song and reference to locations such as King's Landing (Burns Landing) and The Wall (The Couch), among others.
• The Piano Concerto No. 21 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is heard on Baby Poindexter, a parody of the Baby Einstein series.
  • Homer thinks Baby Poindexter is a Terrence Malick movie.
• Ice-Road Hand-Fishing is a reference to the TV shows Ice Road Truckers and Hillbilly Handfishin'.

Books at The Land of Forevermore include parodies of real-world books, mostly for children

• Books at The Land of Forevermore include:
  • A book about Afghanistan.
  • Are You There Darwin? It's Me, Margaret, a pun on Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
  • You're Tired! by Donald Trump, a reference to his catchphrase from The Apprentice, "You're fired!".
  • The Grinch Who Celebrated Hanukkah, a reference to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
  • The Wind and the Willem Dafoe is a reference to The Wind in the Willows and actor Willem Dafoe.
  • Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Very Bad Uncle, a pun on the children's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
  • The Magic School Bus: Otto's Trip is a reference to The Magic School Bus.
  • Corduroy vs. Paddington, a reference to both Corduroy and Paddington Bear.
  • Diarrhea of a Wimpy Kid is an obvious parody of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the cover art has the same color as Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever.
  • The Ugly Duckling Gets a Beak Job, a pun on The Ugly Duckling.
  • Kevin James and the Giant Peach is a parody of the real book, James and the Giant Peach, written by Roald Dahl.
  • A Child's Garden of Milli Vanilli Jokes is a reference to the book of poems for children A Child's Garden of Verses and to German duo Milli Vanilli.
• The Kuddle is a parody of the Amazon Kindle, more specifically the second generation Kindle DX in graphite color. The face on the Kuddle references the Magic Mirror from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
• According to Milhouse, he couldn't live a day without Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil and Sanjay Gupta, three doctors and media personalities.
• Milhouse sings The ABC Song.
• "Here Comes Your Man" by the Pixies is heard when Bart and Milhouse are acting like adults. The song is also heard during the credits.
• Milhouse calls Lisa via Skype.
• Barely Beagle, Playdude and Rustler are parodies of adult magazines Barely Legal, Playboy and Hustler, respectively.
• The Jazz Hole club is holding a tribute to jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
• At the Lithuanian Center, Marge, Lisa and Maggie watch a puppet show featuring Mstislav I of Kiev.
• Homer wants to subscribe to Highlights children's magazine.
• Homer finds Marge's earing in a bowl with N&N's, a parody of M&M's. He also finds a thimble from a Monopoly game.
• Homer looks through a Where's Waldo? book with extreme ease.
• Milhouse mentions Thomas the Tank Engine at the Staynight Hotel.
• When talking with Kirk, Milhouse mentions having voted for Marianne Williamson in the nonpartisan judicial election.

Continuity

• After Homer finds a $25 casino chip and hands it to Marge, she lets out a sigh of pleasure, indictating that she still has a gambling addiction, which began in "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)".

← Season 23 Season 24 References Season 25 →

Moonshine River • Treehouse of Horror XXIII • Adventures in Baby-Getting • Gone Abie Gone • Penny-Wiseguys • A Tree Grows in Springfield • The Day the Earth Stood Cool • To Cur, with Love • Homer Goes to Prep School • A Test Before Trying • The Changing of the Guardian • Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing • Hardly Kirk-ing • Gorgeous Grampa • Black-Eyed, Please • Dark Knight Court • What Animated Women Want • Pulpit Friction • Whiskey Business • The Fabulous Faker Boy • The Saga of Carl • Dangers on a Train