Treehouse of Horror XVII/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Credits

Quotes

	Season 18 Episode References
← 381 "Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em"	382 "Treehouse of Horror XVII"	"G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)" 383 →

Cultural references

Opening sequence

• The opening segment is a parody of the Tales from the Crypt television show. Mr. Burns plays the role of the Cryptkeeper.
  • The theme music from the show plays. The theme music was composed by Danny Elfman, who also composed The Simpsons' theme song.
• A hanging skeleton holds a coffee cup with "March of Dimes" written on it.
• Moe is tortured in an iron maiden.

Married to the Blob

• The name of the segment is a reference to the 1988 crime comedy film Married to the Mob.
• The segment is a parody of the science fiction horror film The Blob.
• Homer eats a tube of Pringles in his food binge.
• Sir Mix-a-Lot sings a parody of his best known song, "Baby Got Back" called "Baby Likes Fat", which plays when Homer starts eating people.
  • The song mentions the potato chip brand Lay's.
• Homer eats the cast of The Facts of Life on their reunion tour.
• A 50-foot Lenny is also attacking Springfield, a reference to the science fiction horror film Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
• Dr. Phil tells Homer to not sell him an outhouse and tell him it's the Taj Mahal.
• Homer says that Dr. Phil tastes just like Jeffrey Tambor.

You Gotta Know When to Golem

• The segment is a parody of the 1915 film The Golem.
• Krusty calls the Golem "a legendary defender of the Jewish people, like Alan Dershowitz".
• During the 1600s flashback the Old New Synagogue is shown.
• Krusty rehearses a "Desperate Houseflies" sketch for his show, a reference to the TV series Desperate Housewives.
• The Male Golem says that his voice makes him sound like he should be selling egg creams in Brighton Beach.
• The Male Golem says that his stomach feels like it's hosting the Chabad telethon, and Norm Crosby's going long.
• The Male Golem mentions people getting to watch Fiddler on the Roof if the town had good live theater.
• The Simpsons use Play-Doh to create the Female Golem.

The Day the Earth Looked Stupid

• The name of the segment is a reference to the 1951 science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still.
• The segment is a reference to the 1938 radio broadcast of "The War of the Worlds", which was narrated by Orson Welles. The broadcast led to widespread panic from listeners who didn't realize that the broadcast was of a fictional story.
  • When the radio announcer mentions cylinders from Mars landing around the country, Homer says that it's a "war of the worlds".
• The song "Gloomy Sunday", performed by Billie Holiday, plays in the opening of the segment.
• Springfield has a branch of the Salvation Army in Springfield.
• Springfield sign is shown as Springfieldland as a reference to how the Hollywood sign was originally Hollywoodland until 1949 when "land" part was removed.
• The radio announcer mentions that the broadcast was coming from Capital City's "Hotel Hitler".
• The sound effects designer during the radio broadcast uses Toasted Corn Flakes for the grinding noises.
• The Nathan Newley Orchestra perform "Young and Healthy" from the musical 42nd Street.
• Orson Welles mentions giving a good lead-in for Amos 'n' Andy.
• Chief Wiggum's line "Why don't I just punch you in the nose, Bud?" and Orson Welles' reaction "Nosebud" are references to Citizen Kane. 'Rosebud' is the final word of the protagonist in the film, Charles Foster Kane, played by Orson Welles.
• When Orson Welles tells Chief Wiggum that he's doomed them all, Wiggum responds with "tell it to The Great Gildersleeve."
• Kang and Kodos make reference to the Iraq War when Kodos says that they had to invade because they thought Earth was working on "weapons of mass disintegration", a reference to president George H. W. Bush claiming that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction to justify the war. They also reference Operation Enduring Freedom with "Operation Enduring Occupation".
• "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by The Ink Spots plays over a view of the post-apocalyptic Springfield. This may be a reference to the Fallout series of video games, which are set in a post-apocalyptic world and have heavily featured The Ink Spots in the soundtracks.
  • Despite The Ink Spots having been featured in the original Fallout game, "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" wasn't used in the games until Fallout 3, which was released in October 2008, two years after this episode aired.

Credits

• Matt Selman's credit "Selman of the Corn" is a reference to the Stephen King story Children of the Corn.
• Tim Long's credit "The Ghost of Tim Horton" is a reference to hockey player Tim Horton.
• John Frink's credit "Freaky Frinky" is a reference to the novel Freaky Friday.
• Dana Gould's credit "Plan 9 from Dana Gould" is a reference to the science fiction horror film Plan 9 from Outer Space.
• Larina Jean Adamson's credit "Pinhead Adamson" is a reference to Pinhead from Hellraiser.
• Dan Greaney's credit "Dan Greaney II: The Secret of the Ooze" is a reference to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.
• Matt Warburton's credit "Matt Warburton vs. Predator" is a reference to Alien vs. Predator.
• Max Pross' credit "House of Wax Pross" is a reference to the horror film House of Wax.
• Jeff Westbrook's credit ""To Serve Man" Is a Cookbrook" is a reference to The Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man".
• David Silverman's credit "Dav "The Impaler" Silverman" is a reference to Vlad the Impaler,
• Bonita Pietila's producer credit "La Femme Bonita" is a reference to the TV series La Femme Nikita.
• Yeardley Smith's credit "CSI: Barn-Yeard" is a reference to the CSI franchise.
• Bonita Pietila's casting credit "Bonnies on a Plane" is a reference to the film Snakes on a Plane.
• Norm MacLeod's credit "Norman "Bates" MacLeod" is a reference to Norman Bates from Psycho.

Trivia

• All stories make a reference to World War II.
  • In "Married to the Blob", before the 2 Germans die, the first one says "What did we Germans do to deserve this", then he says "Oh, right". Bart says in "You Know When You Need to Golem" "Oh it's always the Jew's fault". Finally in "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid", Lenny asks why Grampa called the First World War its current title and he says "You'll see".
• After Homer eats some fat German men at an Oktoberfest, he remarks "Must eat more fat people. Thank God I live in America."
• Al Jean's Halloween name references July 27, 2007, the release date of The Simpsons Movie in the United States

Goofs

You Gotta Know When to Golem

• The Yellow weasel is incorrectly colored black.

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The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer • Jazzy and the Pussycats • Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em • Treehouse of Horror XVII • G.I. (Annoyed Grunt) • Moe'N'a Lisa • Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair) • The Haw-Hawed Couple • Kill Gil, Volumes I & II • The Wife Aquatic • Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times • Little Big Girl • Springfield Up • Yokel Chords • Rome-Old and Juli-Eh • Homerazzi • Marge Gamer • The Boys of Bummer • Crook and Ladder • Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot! • 24 Minutes • You Kent Always Say What You Want