Difference between revisions of "The Wettest Stories Ever Told/References"

Revision as of 10:38, December 13, 2021

Cultural references

• The title of this episode is a reference to the film The Greatest Story Ever Told.
• During the wraparounds, the first part of "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" from the series Popeye is heard.
• Homer refers to the anchor on the wallpaper as the Popeye tattoo, and the sailor's hat as Gilligan's hat from Gilligan's Island.
• When Captain McCallister suggests sending a busboy out to get something from a better restaurant, Marge suggests Red Lobster.
• When Bart mentions the Bounty, Marge says "like the paper towels", a reference to Bounty.

Mayflower Madman

• Lisa tells the story of the journey of the Mayflower.
• Lenny and Carl are Beefeaters.
• During the storm, Marge notices an albatross which Homer eats. This is a reference to the poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Unlike the poem, this action does not lead to unfortunate incidents.

Stupidity on the Bounty

• Bart tells the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty.
• Scenes of Fletcher Christian standing on the mast of the Bounty, and the use of music by Luigi Boccherini, are references to the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
• Queen Marge asks if Robert Fulton has invented the steamboat yet.
• "Island in the Sun" by Weezer plays during the montage of the Bounty crew in Tahiti.
• The crew of the Bounty sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", written by Eliphalet Oram Lyte. Willie then sings it on the rowboat.

The Neptune Upending

• Homer's story is a parody of The Poseidon Adventure, an action film. There are several similarities between Homer's story and The Poseidon Adventure. Several characters die in ways similar to the movie: Lenny falls off a ladder into surging water and Comic Book Guy dies while trying to tie a rope underwater, both quite similar to the deaths of major characters in the movie.
• The ship in Homer's story is called the Neptune. "Neptune" was the Roman god of the sea; the Greek name for the same deity was "Poseidon".
• The song played at the beginning of Homer's story is "Rock the Boat" by The Hues Corporation.
• "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" plays when Captain Burns comes onto stage.
• "Carl says "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" and Barney shouts out "Willie Stargell" when Captain Burns comes onto stage.
• Comic Book Guy has dolls of the Charlie's Angels.
• The song that the Simpsons play, "Heading for Disaster", is a parody of "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern. The song was written for the film The Poseidon Adventure.
• Burns makes references to Earthquake, The Towering Inferno, The China Syndrome, and The Apple Dumpling Gang, which were popular disaster films of the 1970s,except for The Apple Dumpling Gang.
• Comic Book Guy's "inspirational music" is "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan.
• At the end of Homer's story, the crew of the Bounty reappears as living skeletons, parodying Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Trivia

• Moezekiel breaks the fourth wall when he tells the audience that was how they talked back then.

Goofs

• In the second story, Richard is missing an arm; however, in the third story when the ghost bounty arrives, Richard has both arms intact.
• In the second story, the maritime flag of Great Britain is shown incorrectly. The correct flag in 1789 would have a blue background, red cross in the center, and white crosses running diagonally.