Trust but Clarify/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 28 Episode References
← 600 "Treehouse of Horror XXVII"	601 "Trust but Clarify"	"There Will Be Buds" 602 →

Cultural references

• The episode title is a reference to the phrase "Trust, but verify".
• During the episode's couch gag:
  • "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy can be heard.
  • Real art pieces seen at the Springfield Museum of Art include Discobolus, American Gothic and Girl with a Pearl Earring.
  • Many paintings of the Simpsons have the style of Cubism. When Homer finally seats on the couch, he transforms into a Ben Day dot version of himself in the style of artist Roy Lichtenstein.

The Itchy & Scratchy Show episode "Mousetrapping a Murderer" is a parody of Netflix's true crime documentary Making a Murderer

• The Itchy & Scratchy Show episode "Mousetrapping a Murderer" is a parody of Netflix's true crime documentary Making a Murderer.
  • The real-life documentary's theme by Gustavo Santaolalla is heard.
  • The story is a reference to Steven Avery, a man arrested for the murder of a female photographer in 2005.
• The Late Late Late Show with Jimmy Jimmy is a parody of the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live! shows. Jimmy Jimmy is a reference to both Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.
  • The "Talking Heads Sing Talking Heads" segment is a parody of the Talking Heads video "Once in a Lifetime", with Kent Brockman taking on the white-suited appearance and performing actions of David Byrne in that video.
• When Kent lied about his past, he said he was embedded with the 98th Airborne in Basra, Iraq. He also mentioned the Chinook helicopter.
• When Kent asked if he could get on the Fox News Channel, Kent Brockman's agent asked him if he could call himself a liberal and lose every argument.
• Grampa criticized that Rob Schneider was on a USO Show. Schneider participated on a USO tour in support of U.S. troops two months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
• The opening theme for Kent Brockman's "Apology of the Century" was taken from the first few bars of the Sunrise portion of the Richard Strauss tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra.
• Kent Brockman mentions Nelson Mandela and the Berlin Wall.
• Kent Brockman admits in his apology of the century that he was not present when Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was taken out, nor did he even see the film about it, the latter referring to either Zero Dark Thirty or the TV film Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden.
  • The cause of Kent Brockman getting fired is a reference to NBC News lead anchor Brian Williams' firing for misrepresenting events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003.
• Homer mistakes Kent for Anderson Cooper. Both have white hair.
• Marge reads a book titled Potboiler! The Thrilling Art of Making Great Soup, a reference to Potboiler books.
• "This Town" by Frank Sinatra plays when Homer and Marge walk inside Springfield Mall.
• Marge references Mad Men.
• Bart considers the young man from Latvia to be the "Uberkid", a reference to Uber.
• Dancing with the Press is a reference to Dancing with the Stars.
• Lenny asked Carl whether he was going to show the new song to Katy Perry.
• The Krustaceans contained formaldehyde, a compound that poses a significant danger to human health.

Professor Frink's bathing suit dryer is similar to the pod from the 1986 film The Fly

• Professor Frink's bathing suit dryer is similar to the pod from the 1986 film The Fly.
• BizzFad is a parody of BuzzFeed. The online news being written at BizzFad include:
  • 100 Actors Who Were Never Considered For James Bond
  • The 20 People Donald Trump Hasn't Insulted
  • The 6 Things You Don't Know About 6 Things
  • The Queen of England Met An Alligator. What Happens Next Will Amaze You
• The emotions inside Homer and Kent's heads resemble the characters from Pixar's Inside Out.
• The Texxon gas station is a parody of Texaco and Exxon.
• In the "Former Anchor Support Group Meeting", one of the former anchors speaks in a manner very similar to former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw (the one talking about "elocution exercises", a reference to the fact that Brokaw's voice sounded a bit slurred at times.) Dan Rather is also at the meeting: his time as CBS Evening News anchor ended when a story he did alleging that George W. Bush had not reported for his National Guard service used documents that appeared to be faked.
• One of the journalists at the meeting mentions a Lockheed L-1011 that safely landed in Bogalusa, Louisiana.
• The meeting host is eating a Bundt cake.
• Krusty was about to sing a Beatles' song so that Lisa and Kent won't be able to upload the video.
• Kent says it was torture watching Bill O'Reilly from The O'Reilly Factor, pretending it was an "older, stupider" version of himself.
• When Abe calls Charles Kuralt a "bigamist" he is alluding to Kuralt's decades-long secret second family, revealed two years after his death.

Continuity

• Homer asks if Anderson Cooper was fired. ("The Kid Is All Right")
• Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl appear in the opening sequence. ("Treehouse of Horror X")
• Kent Brockman was already fired before. ("You Kent Always Say What You Want")
  • Coincidentally, he also was replaced by Arnie Pye in the aforementioned episode.
  • This is the third time he was fired ("Krusty Gets Kancelled"). Unlike the previous ones, his firing had nothing to do with foul language he uttered on camera.
• Tibor Jankovsky was previously mentioned as a Power Plant employee who couldn't speak any English. ("Marge Gets a Job") This episode shows that Tibor has learned some English since that episode.
• Both Nelson and Milhouse mention that they've kissed Lisa. ("Lisa's Date with Density", "Homer Scissorhands")
• Texxon is seen. ("Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life")

Trivia

• The blackboard text makes reference to the episode being the 601st episode of the show.

Goofs

• When Homer puts his suit in the closet, his shirts went from white to gray.
• The vials inside the box Lisa stole from Krusty's factory change between scenes.

← Season 27 Season 28 References Season 29 →

Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus • Friends and Family • The Town • Treehouse of Horror XXVII • Trust but Clarify • There Will Be Buds • Havana Wild Weekend • Dad Behavior • The Last Traction Hero • The Nightmare After Krustmas • Pork and Burns • The Great Phatsby: Part One • The Great Phatsby: Part Two • Fatzcarraldo • The Cad and the Hat • Kamp Krustier • 22 for 30 • A Father's Watch • The Caper Chase • Looking for Mr. Goodbart • Moho House • Dogtown