Dog of Death/References
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Contents
Cultural references[edit]
- Everyone is checking out "The Lottery" from the Springfield Public Library. This is a short story by American writer Shirley Jackson which depicts a fictional small American community that participates in an annual tradition known as "the lottery." Unbeknownst to the community, the chosen individual is brutally stoned to death by the rest of the townspeople.
- Things that Skinner imagines money can buy include:
- History books that know how the Korean War came out. The result of this war is inconclusive and no peace treaty was ever signed, making this a frozen conflict.
- Math books that don't have the base-6 numeral system. This system has been adopted independently by a small number of cultures.
- The veterinarian's appearance and voice is a take-off of the title character Dr. Ben Casey played by actor Vince Edwards in the Ben Casey TV series.
- Homer's story of "Doggie Heaven" includes the dog named Old Yeller from the 1957 American Western of the same name and eight Lassies, the fictional female Rough Collie from the 1954 TV series Lassie. The counterpart, "Doggie Hell", includes Adolf Hitler's dog Blondi, Richard Nixon's dog Checkers, which Homer calls "Chester", and one of the Lassies, the one that mauled Timmy Martin (Jon Provost).
The books that Homer burns in the fireplace include Fahrenheit 451, "The Lottery", Fatherhood and Canine Surgery
- The books that Homer burns in the fireplace include the 1953 dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, the already-mentioned "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, the 1986 parenting book Fatherhood by Bill Cosby and Canine Surgery.
- Volume IV of the Encyclopedia Generica goes from astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus to the infectious disease of Elephantiasis.
- Homer sings "Buffalo Gals", a traditional American song by John Hodges.
- Maggie wears a bag of whiskey brand Crown Royal as clothes. This whiskey used to come in a purple felt bag with a gold tasseled drawstring.
- Santa's Little Helper's adventure resembles the 1963 film The Incredible Journey where two dogs and a cat travel through the Canadian wilderness to return to their home.
- The musical composition Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev is heard during the scene.
- Santa's Little Helper dog passes through Swartzwelder County, which is a reference to John Swartzwelder, the writer of this episode. The dog is also going down the Michael Jackson Expressway, a reference to singer Michael Jackson.
- The Burns' Mansion is situated at the corner of "Croesus and Mammon". The joke refers to Mr. Burns greediness and wealth:
- Croesus was the king of Lydia in the 6th century BC, and was renowned for his wealth.
- Mammon in the New Testament is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain.
- The scene where Santa's Little Helper is brainwashed by having his eyes pinned open and watching footage is a parody of the famous rehabilitation of Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. The music heard is "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, just like in the film. The footage Santa's Little Helper is forced to watch include:
- The Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll.
- The Hindenburg disaster, that took place in 1937 in New Jersey.
- Former US President Lyndon B. Johnson lifting his dog Him by its ears. In 1964, President Johnson raised the ire of many when he lifted the dog by his ears while greeting a group on the White House lawn.
- Kent Brockman's pet llama bit American lawyer and politician Ted Kennedy.
- Mr. Burns is sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber as part of his longevity treatment.
Trivia[edit]
- A smaller headline in the Springfield Shopper states that the President and a rock star are to swap wives
- The ornamental lions outside the vet's have bandages.
- The Vet makes his first appearance.
Continuity[edit]
- Ned wears Assassins sneakers. ("Bart's Dog Gets an "F"")
- The "missing dog" posters are nailed over the Skinner missing posters. ("Bart the Murderer")
Goofs[edit]
- When Santa's Little Helper dies before being revived, the "Santa's Little Helper" sticker on the ECG heart monitor disappears.
- When leaving the vet for the first time after finding out Santa's Little Helper is sick and the family is in the car. It shows they are in Marge's station wagon since Bart and the dog are in the cargo area and the car is red. But when the camera changes to show the car going down the highway the car looks like Homer's sedan and it is also pink like his car.
