Radio Bart/References
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Contents
Cultural references
- The episode's plotline is based on (and pokes fun at) the media coverage of an incident involving Jessica McClure, who fell into a well in Midland, Texas on October 14, 1987.
- The media circus and carnival that result after the news breaks about "Timmy O'Toole" being trapped in the well mirror the plot of the 1951 movie Ace in the Hole.
- The movie in turn was based on the real incident and media circus that resulted when cave explorer Floyd Collins was trapped and died in a cave in Kentucky in 1925.
- The episode parodies charity singles. The song "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" is a spoof of various 1980s charity songs, including "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (on which Sting was one of the vocalists) and "We Are the World".
- The Superstar Celebrity Microphone is based on:
- The late-1970s era toy Mr. Microphone by Ronco. The television ad pitching the microphone is also very similar to the Ronco ads.
- The children's electonics product line "My First Sony", which appeared in the late 1980s. One of the products strongly resembles Bart's microphone and amplifier.
- The song in the commercial (used to demonstrate the Superstar Celebrity Microphone)—and later "performed" by Homer—is the 1975 novelty song "Convoy" by C. W. McCall.
- The Soul Mass Transit System, the TV dance show in the first act (on which Funky-See, Funky Do is guest performing) is a parody of the long-running syndicated program Soul Train. Funky-See Funky Do's single, titled "I Do Believe We're Naked", is a parody of the song "I Think We're Alone Now".
- The Wall E. Weasel's pizza restaurant ("We cram fun down your throat") is a parody of the family pizza restaurant franchise Chuck E. Cheese's.
- The song that plays as Bart descends the well (to retrieve the incriminating radio) is based on the theme song "Axel F" from Beverly Hills Cop.
- The Timmy O'Toole prank is obviously based upon the popular joke from the Lassie films, in which when one cannot understand the messenger, usually a dog, the receiver will reply, "What's that, boy? Timmy's stuck down a well?!"
- The Itchy & Scratchy cartoon "Cat Splat Fever" puns the 1977 Ted Nugent song "Cat Scratch Fever" (which was also the title of the album on which it appeared).
- Upon hearing Bart cry about being trapped in the well, Homer decides to dig Bart out himself, declaring "That's all I can stand, and I can't stands no more!" echoing a line that Popeye frequently used before getting into a fight.
- Homer stating that Sting is a good digger while he is helping dig Bart out of the well is appropriate and somewhat ironic due to the fact that Sting worked as a ditch digger (as well as a few other professions) before he became a full-time musician.
Trivia
- This is the first episode in which Sideshow Mel speaks.
- Two of the names on The Krusty the Clown Show birthday list are the names of people who would later become part of the Simpsons staff: Ken Keeler and Patric Verrone.
- The music session to record "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" is meant to parody the recording session for the song "We Are The World". Krusty's vocalizations during parts of the song seem to be parodying how Huey Lewis sang during the "We Are The World" recording session.
- Homer demonstrates the Superstar Celebrity Microphone for Bart by serenading Marge with "Convoy". Originally the idea was for Homer to sing "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot. However, Lightfoot told the Simpsons producers that he did not own the rights to the song, as he divided all royalties among the surviving families of the 29 men who perished aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald. Any displays of that song, such as on The Simpsons, would require permission from all 29 families. Since obtaining such permission was deemed too much trouble just to have Homer to sing a couple of lines from the song, the producers decided to have Homer sing "Convoy" instead.
- As the camera pans down the well after the excavation has begun, a flying saucer containing a skeleton of a Rigellian alien can be seen.
- Two of the kids in Wall E. Weasel's alook a bit like Waylon Smithers, Jr. and Moe Szyslak.
Debut appearance
Microphone pranks
Bart plays the following pranks with the Superstar Celebrity Microphone:
- Making Homer think that Martians have invaded Earth.
- Making Marge think that Maggie is talking (by hiding a radio under Maggie's pillow).
- Eavesdropping on Lisa's conversation with one of her friends by placing the microphone under her bed and listening to the radio in another room.
- Placing a radio under Mrs. Krabappel's chair and making farting noises when she sits down.
- Posing as God for the benefit of Rod and Todd Flanders (Bart sees them listening to the radio and goes into action): Making Rod attempt to walk through the wall and making both of them take all the cookies from their kitchen and leave them on the Simpsons' porch.
- Placing a radio down an old well near Springfield Elementary School to make Groundskeeper Willie (and, as it turns out, the whole town) think that a little boy named Timmy O'Toole had fallen into the well.
Krusty's Birthday Buddies
Continuity
- When Bart pretends to be an alien using the Superstar Celebrity Microphone, he calls himself "Bartron". This is the second time this name has been used. In "Space Patrol", an earlier episode that aired on The Tracey Ullman Show, Bart, Lisa and Maggie decide to play a make-believe game of "Space-Patrol". Lisa puts a vase over Bart's head, claiming he can play "Bartron, an evil robot gone berserk".
- Bart uses the microphone to play a fart prank on Mrs. Krabappel. Later, in "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister", he uses a pair of "borrowed" walkie-talkies to play a similar prank on Lisa.
- The video game Touch of Death is seen in the background at Wall E. Weasel's. It is more prominently featured in "When Flanders Failed".
