Homer Goes to College/References
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Debut Appearances
Cultural references
- The episode's plotline is a parody of the 1986 comedy Back to School starring Rodney Dangerfield:
- Both Homer and Dangerfield's character Thornton Melon are unqualified to be students, but gain admission through personal influence (Homer via Mr. Burns' going to the board of directors, Thornton by making a large donation to the college).
- Both Homer and Thornton find their real-life work experience placing them at odds with their professors.
- Homer and Thornton both wholeheartedly embrace the college partying lifestyle, but come up short in academics.
- Burns's escape pod resembles the one that C-3PO and R2-D2 use in Star Wars.
- In the movie School of Hard Knockers (which Homer sees on TV):
- The movie itself is an obvious parody of Animal House.
- The "bra bomb" prank is strongly reminiscient of the "laser-popped popcorn" prank at the end of the movie Real Genius.
- Springfield University dean Bobby Peterson says he used to play bass for the Pretenders.
- Star Trek and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - The nerds are involved in an online "Kirk vs. Picard" debate with "some guys at M.I.T."
- The song playing during the closing credits is "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen, which was also a staple of Animal House.
- The Monty Python dialogue that Benjamin, Doug and Gary perform for Homer is from the "Knights who say Ni" sequence in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
- Benjamin, Doug and Gary's dorm room number is 222, a reference to the TV show Room 222.
- The "Jade Monkey" request that Mr. Burns makes to Homer Simpson is a reference to The Maltese Falcon.
- Contrary to popular belief, it is not a reference to Looney Tunes: Back in Action, as this episode far predates the film.
- Mr. Burns' attempt at bribing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors is a parody of Let's Make a Deal.
- Mr. Burns' attempt to beat a member of Springfield University's Board of Directors with a baseball bat (which he barely notices, and which does no harm to him) is a reference to the 1987 Untouchables movie.
Trivia
- Homer steals a pig in this episode, causing a disaster. Ironically, Homer later acquires a pet pig that causes a disaster in The Simpsons Movie.
- According to The Simpsons Guide to America's Favorite Family (and shown in this episode), Homer did attempt to apply to college in his youth. His high school guidance counselor told him he was a shoo-in for admission, and the only remaining step was to sign the application form. Homer was just about to sign when he looked out the window, saw a dog with a piece of ham, and ran outside to fight with the dog for it. He never made it back into the counselor's office to sign the application, and the frustrated counselor crumpled up the form and threw it in the trash. Homer, recalling the incident, said that "fate stood in the way" of his going to college.
- When Mr. Burns tells Homer that he needs to go to college, Bart jokingly asks, "College? Barber or Clown?" Ironically, in a later episode, "Homie the Clown", Homer does end up going to a clown college.
- The idea of a "bra bomb" (as well as an "atomic bra bomb") is also seen in the Simpsons Comics story "Bart and Milhouse: Bore Us-The Movie-Gruel".
Goofs
- During the bra bomb prank in the movie School of Hard Knockers, the President is shown with five fingers instead of four while he dances in the rain of bras.
- When Mr. Burns tries to escape the meltdown in the Nuclear Inspection Van, his escape pod crashes, bouncing several times in the parking lot. In the next scene, he is completely unharmed, in spite of the crash and his failure to fasten his seat belt (just before he launches the pod, Burns is shown putting his feet up on the pod's other seat instead of buckling himself in).
