Dial "N" for Nerder/References
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Cultural references[edit]
- The episode title is a pun on the 1954 American crime thriller film Dial M for Murder, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
- The iconic transition effect from the 1966 TV series Batman is parodied when Homer gets kicked out of Moe's.
- Sneakers, the TV show Marge asks to catch Homer cheating on his diet, is a parody of the reality TV show Cheaters.
- The scene where Marge chases Bart and Lisa out of the house with a broom references a recurring gag in the comedy series Last of the Summer Wine.
- When Lisa pictures herself in prison, she asks for some material to read written by American writer Joyce Carol Oates, who is best known for writing literary fiction. However, Lisa is only offered material by Danielle Steel, who is best known for her romance novels instead.
- Homer mentions the law of conservation of mass.
- According to Zack, his father is the Reverend "Billy Graham, Junior", referencing American evangelist Billy Graham.
- During Martin's funeral held at Springfield Elementary School:
- The "Taj-Mah-All-You-Can-Eat" restaurant takes its name from the Taj Mahal.
- Elmo from Sesame Street is on the website Maggie uses to cover herself when playing online poker.
- The "Sabre Dance" is heard when Homer eats the lamb at Sleep-Eazy Motel.
- Bart and Lisa's guilt and paranoia over hiding Martin's supposed death parody the emotional strain experienced by Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) and Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) in the 1944 film noir Double Indemnity.
- The sequence in the Kwik-E-Mart directly parodies the scene from Double Indemnity in which Walter and Phyllis meet in a grocery store to discuss their murderous pact, with Lisa wearing sunglasses and closely resembling Phyllis in that scene.
- The episode's plot also shares elements from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, such as Lisa urging Bart to conceal their involvement in Martin's death, paralleling Lady Macbeth's attempts to calm Macbeth and cover up Duncan's murder, and her acknowledgment of a darker side to her personality.
- Nelson's method for investigating the murder of Martin is very similar to Lieutenant Columbo's from the American crime drama Columbo.
- The "Prelude in C minor, BWV 999", a composition for lute by Johann Sebastian Bach, is heard in Martin's tape and is also played by Nelson.
- The "non-reversing" tape player is a Sanyo.
- Martin paraphrases Mark Twain by saying "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated". The original phrase by Twain was actually "The report of my death was an exaggeration", and is commonly misquoted as "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated". The phrase was part of a death hoax to which Twain was subjected in 1897.
- The episode's closing sequence parodies the opening sequence of the The NBC Mystery Movie, the American TV anthology devoted to mystery series. The theme music, composed by Henry Mancini, is heard and characters are introduced as:
- After Bart steals Sideshow Mel's bone, we see his true hair.
- Some of Martin's nicknames are Martin Prince, Martin Princess, Martin Priss, Fartin' Prince, and Martin the Brown-Nosed Reindeer. The nickname references Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the term "brown nose". The first two names were used by a frustrated Bart in "Lisa's Substitute".
Continuity[edit]
