The Simpsons 136-140

Mother Simpson

This episode premiered on November 19th, 1995. The lead in show was Space: Above And Beyond and it was followed by Martin. It ran opposite Lois and Clark, Cybill and Mad About You.

There isn't a chalkboard gag in this episode, the couch gag is the family is put on the couch by a bowling pin setter.

Burns shows up to dedicate the section of highway his corporation has sponsored to clean up. As soon as the photos are taken he ditches his vest and stick and leaves the actual cleanup to the employees. In order to get out of work Homer uses a dummy to fake his death. He plans to make the most of the day but just spends it laying in the hammock. Friends and neighbors show up to express their condolences and when the power company shows up to shut off the power Marge has it out with Homer. When he goes to the Hall of Records to fix the mess he finds out that they still have his mother listed as alive, he finally visits her grave and finds out that Walt Whitman is buried there. (He's actually buried in Camden New Jersey). When he goes to the other grave marked Simpson it turns out to be the one Patty and Selma bought for him. Homer falls in the grave just as his mother shows up. The gravedigger complains that nobody in the cemetery is dead, Moleman opens up the lid to his coffin and says "Now that you mention it". Homer brings his mother home causing shock. Bart says grandma owes him $22,000 in back presents. Both Lisa and Mona say they hate John Knowles and his book A Separate Peace. When the police roll by Mona runs in the house and Lisa becomes suspicious, Bart confirms that something is up when he shows Lisa the fake ID's he found in Mona's purse. When they threaten to call Grandpa she tells them the story. We flash back to when she sees Joe Namath's hair in the '69 Super Bowl and becomes a hippie. Mr. Burns runs a germ warfare lab at the college, Wiggum is the security guard. The radicals set off an antibiotic gas bomb that kills all the germs. When Burns shows up the hippies run him over, Mona stops to help him and has to flee. In the modern world Mona takes Homer to the post office to pick up the care packages she had been sending him, while there they are spotted by Burns. There is a banging at the door and they try to hide Mona, just as Abe busts in. The FBI visits Patty and Selma to find out whose grave Mona was visiting, they are using Homer's tombstone for a coffee table. Wiggum puts out an APB on Uosdwis R. Dewoh, he's reading the stone upside down, and he's talking into his wallet. Homer gets a mysterious phone call warning that the house is about to be raided. Burns show up in a tank to bash in the front door. It turns out when the hippies set off the antibiotic bomb it cleared up Wiggum's asthma and he was able to go to the police academy, he felt he owed her so he tipped her off. In the end Homer drives Mona to an abandon gas station where an old hippie picks her up and the episode closes with him looking at the stars. 

Glen Close does the voice of Mona Simpson. (In the episode Bart's Girlfriend they mention Sarah Plain And Tall, a character Glen Close had played in a TV movie)

This Highway Maintained By BurnsoDyne "The Profit People"

One of the workers finds a straight jacket from New Bedlam Asylum (the mental hospital was first seen in the episode Stark Raving Dad)

Springfield Shopper headline: Local Man Loses Pants, Life "Beaver Rescue Falls Short (with photos of four beavers)

Patty and Selma's headstone for Homer: Homer J. Simpson "We are richer for having lost him"

Springfield Hall of Records "Not the good kind of records, Historical records" (first seen in the episode Sideshow Bob Roberts)

Mona Simpson's Fake IDs: Mona Simpson Beaver Dam WI, Mona Stevens Sedalia Mo, Martha Stewart Nome AK, Penelope Olsen Loveland OH, Muddy Mae Suggins Dyersburge TN.

Mona reads Steal This Book by Abby Hoffman. 

Homer's bedtime song is the jingle from Fig Newtons. 

In a flashback Abe Simpson is watching the 1969 Super Bowl in which the Jets beat the Colts 16-7. Abe complains about Joe Namath's haircut, he prefers Johnny Unitas' flattop. (Unitas did a cameo in the episode Homie The Clown)

Germ Warfare Laboratory "When the H-Bomb isn't enough". Protestor signs out front: Make Love Not Germs, Pax Not Pox, Anthrax Isn't Groovy, Take The U.S. Out Of Pus. Disease in the lab: Smallpox, Diphtheria, Typhoid, Rocking Pneumonia, Boogie-Woogie Influenza. (a reference to the song by Huey "Piano" Smith and a big hit for Johnny Rivers)

When Mona sees Joe Namath she hears Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream. When the radicals set off their bomb in Burns' lab All Along The Watchtower by Jimmi Hendrix plays. Mona and Lisa play The Answer Is Blowing In The Wind. When Burns goes to smash in the Simpsons front door he pops in a tape of Flight  Of The Valkyries by Wagner (from Apocalypse Now) but it then cuts to Waterloo by ABBA because Smithers taped over it (both a dated reference with the cassette tape and another hint about Smithers sexuality)

The hippies use a Spiro Agnew alarm clock on their time bomb (he was Nixon's Vice President and had to resign in disgrace, Gerald Ford became the first VP appointed to the office according to the 25th Amendment)

In 1969 Kent Brockman is doing the news as Kenny Brockelstein. 

Jobs Mona had: Marketing Jerry Rubin's health shakes, proofreading Bobby Seale's cookbook, doing credit checks for Tom Hayden's Porsche dealership. (all members of the Chicago 7)

Burns is at the post office to send a letter via aero mail to the Prussian consulate in Siam. He hopes to catch the 4:30 Auto-Gyro. 

The detectives Burns talks to about Mona are Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan who did his own voice) from the 60's tv series Dragnet. 

Burns has a Phrenology bust. 

When Mona mentions the Spirit of the 60's being alive in the kids they cut to Maggie covered in tattoos and dancing, this is a reference to Goldie Hawn and Laugh- In. Her main tattoo says "Ban The Bottle"

Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming

This episode premiered on November 26th, 1995. It ran in its usual time slot and opposite the regular programs. 

The title of this episode is from the 1977 movie Twilight's Last Gleaming which features a similar theme. 

The chalkboard gag is "Wedgies are unhealthy for children and other living things" and the couch gag is the family shows up as sea monkeys. 

Krusty has a food drive to collet stuff for his obstacle course. Homer wonders whatever happened to Sideshow Bob, the kids remind him of his crime streak (plot exposition). Bob accidentally destroys his Abbey model when the rest of the inmates are laughing at Krusty. The prisoners are sent to the Air Base to clean up for the air show, the Simpsons are very excited about going. Bob wants to get some sleep but his cellmate is watching TV. At the airbase Sideshow Bob runs off so Wiggum lists him as "beat to death". Homer sees a booth for beer with a sign that says Free Duff and he slams them down before the people walk away and he sees the rest of the sign that says Alcohol-Free Duff $6. He ends up owing $48, he fakes passing out and crawls off. At the display to Sit In A Real F-16 Fighter Milhouse pretends to shoot his mom, dad and Dr. Sally Wexler. He accidentally hits the eject button and crashes into a snack bar. Bob sneaks into Colonel Hapablap's private washroom and then pretends to be Private McGuckett to copy down what the colonel shouts. Grandpa gets his facts about the Wright Brothers plane all wrong because he learned his history from sugar packets. Imitating the colonel Bob convinces the guard at the restricted hangar to leave and then steals a 10 megaton nuclear bomb. The crowd is bored when Martin shows up with a parade of box kits. Sideshow Bob hacks into the air show screen and demand that they abolish TV or he'll set off his nuclear bomb. At a meeting with Quimby and the Air Force they decide to shut down TV. Krusty realizes he can stay on the air if he goes to the Emergency Broadcast tower in the Springfield flats in the badlands. Lisa starts to think about Bob's high tone voice and realizes he's hiding in the helium filled Duff blimp. Just as Lisa and Bart show up Bob pushes the detonation button, in the original run this is where the show cut to a commercial. There are a bunch of freeze frames of Springfield characters just as Bob's bomb goes off, however the bomb is from 1959 and mostly falls apart with a mini mushroom cloud. Bob decides to get his revenge on Bart and Lisa, Bart distracts him while Lisa types out a help on the Duff blimp zipper display. Bob kidnaps Bart but crashes a jet so he steals the Wright Brother's plane instead. Homer blows his tires on the base exit tire shredder. The jets are too fast for the old plane so they do a foot chase. Bob decides to crash the plane into the Emergency Broadcast building but it just bounces off since it's made of plywood and canvass. A tank runs over the plane and destroys it. After Bob says the ending of his crusade could have spewed from the powerbook of the laziest Hollywood hack (self aware joke) Grandpa shows up on a chopper and says he's going to Lollapalooza, just like in the show Bob's cellmate had been watching earlier. 

Bart's chalkboard punishment is paraphrasing the Vietnam protest poster "War is not healthy for children and other living things" by Lorraine Schneider.

R. Lee Ermey does the voice of Colonel Hapablap. At one point he shouts "What is your major malfunction Sideshow Bob?" This is a reference Full Metal Jacket. 

Krusty's obstacle course is based on the show Family Double Dare. 

When Sideshow Bob wrecks his model of Westminster in a bottle he says "My Dear Abby!" A reference to the newspaper advice columnist. He also mentions Edward the Confessor. 

Self Aware Joke, Rupert Murdock is in jail with Bob. Bob says he crusade comes to an end so formulaic that it could have spewed from the powerbook of the laziest Hollywood hack. 

U.S. Air Force Base "Not affiliated with U.S. Air (US Air was taken over by American Airlines in 2015)

The air show is on Saturday, November 25th. The day before this episode aired.

The show Bob's cellmate is watching features Vanessa Redgrave who is planing on hauling ass to Lollapalooza (the music festival started in 1991 and by 95 it had become a nationwide festival featuring the biggest musical acts of the decade)

Duff and the Air Force: 50 Years Of Flying High. 

The Air Force colonel shouts "Sweet Enola Gay", this is a reference to the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

The air show features The Wright Brothers Model "B" plane.

To gain entrance to the restricted hangar Bob claims McGuckett sprayed runway foam on Chuck Yeager's Acura. Chuck Yeager was the first person to break the sound barrier, Mach 1, and survive.

The Jumbotron at the air show is a Tyranno-Vision. 

The Colonel recites High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr., a requirement anytime anything has to do with airplanes. 

The air show plays Up Up And Away by The Fifth Dimension. 

Under the military base is an a abandon bomb shelter. 

The scene with Mayor Quimby in the underground command center is a spoof on Dr. Strangelove, complete with Professor Frink in a wheelchair. 

While search for Bob they find Grandpa Simpson in a porta-potty and he tells them the elevator only goes to the basement and someone made a mess down there. 

The colonel's search turn up a lot of porn magazines: American Breast Enthusiast, Granny Fanny and Cheek Week.

The representatives of Television are Kent Brockman, Bumblebee Man, Doctor Who (Tom Baker version) A grown up Steve Urkel and Krusty.

Events Kent Brockman mentions in his last broadcast, the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991), Premium Ice Cream Wars, Dogs with credit cards. He plans on writing a column in PC World magazine, "Getting The Most From Your Modem". This was the early years of the internet before online "Journalism" became a trend.

One of the Air Force people say "I'd rather take an order from Bill Clinton". He had been reelected the year before and was in his second term. 

At the Air Force base Hanger 18 has an alien with a probe, this is a reference to the 1980 movie of the same name and the hangar at Edwards AFB that was rumored to contain an alien ship.

The freeze frame on Simpsons characters just as Bob's bomb goes off is a reference to the 1964 movie Fail Safe. The zoom in on Maggie Simpson with the flower is a take on LBJ's 1964 campaign ad. 

The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular

This episode premiered on December 3rd 1995. It ran in its usual time slot and opposite the regular programs except for AFV on NBC

The title  came from the fact that it was the 138th episode in the series. 

The chalkboard gag is "I will only do this once a year" and there is a montage of couch gags from over the years.

Springfield Civic Auditorium. Tonight: Gala Spectacular, Tomorrow: Alternate Lifestyle Senior Prom (Would that joke fly in the modern world)

The show starts on a stage with a set of the Simpson living room and an audience. Troy McClure mentions  that the show is America's favorite non prehistoric cartoon family (Flintstones reference), then shows clips from The Tracey Ullman show. 

Troy McClure "you might know me from such Fox specials as Alien Nose Job and the five fabulous weeks of the Chevy Chase Show" (This was a reference to the short lived 1993 talk show starring Chevy Chase that was mercifully cancelled after 6 weeks)

"Twenty-Three percent New Footage, Not a significant source of U.S. RDA Original Entertainment."

 Matt Groening is seen as an old one eyed guy wearing a bolo tie and standing in front of the American flag saluting. James L. Brooks is seen as a fat cat surrounded by money and awards including his Oscar for Terms of Endearments. Sam Simon is seen as a Howard Hughes type hermit with a typewriter. 

Fake Groening comics: Damnation "Depart from me, ye cursed", Johnny Reb Comics, featuring a confederate stabbing a flag through a Yankee and True Murder Stores.

Answered Questions:

In the opening credits what does the cash register say when Maggie is scanned? "NRA4Ever "One of the right wing message inserted by Matt Groening"

I think Homer gets stupider every year. Yours, Professor Lawrence Pierce.  University of Chicago.  (McClure points out that this isn't a question)

Dr. Linus Irving, Sloan Institute "How does Matt Groening find the time to write and draw an entire episode every week? When they try to ask Matt he's slamming tequila and takes a shot at them. On the wall of his office is a poster for his book "Life In Hell" (I have an autographed copy.) They then run a list of the names of people who worked on the show.

The Hon. Henry Mwabwelumba Ambassador of the Ivory Coast "What is the real deal with Mr. Burns' assistant Smithers? You know what I'm talking about." The show gives a vague answer while running clips of the character

Which popular characters have died in the past year? The answer is "If you said Bleeding Gums Murphy and Dr. Marvin Monroe you are wrong, they were never popular." In the episode Who Shot Mr. Burns Part 2 they go to the Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital.

Cut Out Classics:

In the episode Krusty gets Kancelled he offers to send viewers a copy of his book Sex (this is a spoof of Madonna's 1992 book of the same name), the FBI shows up and arrests him. The network executives tell Krusty he's being replaced by a hemorrhoid commercial he tries to play one of the sufferers or one of the after guys.

 In $pringfield: Homer is dealing Blackjack to James Bond and Blofeld with Jaws and OddJobs behind him. Homer forgets to take the jokers and the rules of stud poker out of the deck so the villains seize Bond.

In Mother Simpson: Homer gets an old care package from his mother, it's full of old candy which he eats including Space Food Sticks. These were the first "energy bars", they mostly went out of production in the 80's but were still sold at the NASA gift shop until 2014.

In Treehouse of Horror IV: The Devil and Homer Simpson, Homer's head is used as a bowling ball and cracks open to reveal a note that says "I.O.U One brain, Signed God". Bart offers to sell his soul for a Formula 1 race car, when the Devil shows up he says "I changed my mind" (The car is sponsored by Duff and Laramie Cigarettes) Marge shouts at him for tempting Satan.

In Homer and Apu: the family watches a Bollywood film and mock it.

In Burns Heir: When Homer tries to get Bart back from Burns they sick a robot Richard Simmons on him. The robot runs amok and when Smithers shoots it with a shotgun it reforms like the T-1000 in Terminator 2. However it overloads and explodes.

In Who Shot Mr. Burns II:  In order to keep the conclusion a secret the producers created multiple endings. The characters featured pointing a gun at Burns: Barney, Tito Puente, Moe, Apu, SLH. The fake ending features Burns accusing Smithers who then remembers doing the shooting. Burns cuts Smithers salary by 5% for trying to kill him.

Troy McClure says "Who knows what adventures they'll have between now and when the show becomes unprofitable?" 28 years later and....

The show ends with a series of character nude shots while Shake Your Booty by KC and the Sunshine Band plays.

Marge Be Not Proud. 

This episode premiered on December 17th 1995. It ran in its usual time slot and opposite the regular programs. 

The title of this episode came from the 1949 book Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther (about the death of his son) It was also a Made for TV movie in 1975.

The chalkboard gag is "I will stop talking about the 12 inch pianist" and the couch gag is there is a drain plug in the middle of the living room and when Homer pulls it out the family gets sucked down the hole.

The Simpsons are watching Krusty's Christmas special. Lisa points out that Krusty is Jewish and Bart says Christmas is the time when all religions come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They then see a commercial for the new video game Bonestorm. Bart sees a copy for 99¢ at the comic book store but that's the rental price. Milhouse has a copy but won't let Bart play, despite the two player option, he claims Bart cursed so Luann kicks him out. When a horrible kid has his mother buy the game the clerk forgets to lock the case, Jimbo and Nelson come along and talk about shoplifting so Bart considers stealing the game, he is visited by Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Sonic the Hedgehog who all tell him to steal it, and Lee Carvallo (from Lee Carvello's Putting Challenge) who tells him it won't improve his short game. He gets to the door but is nabbed by the security guard Brodka who shows him a video on shoplifting and leaves a message on the Simpson's answering machine. Brodka tells Bart if he comes back to the store he'll be spending Christmas in juvenile hall. Bart switches the answering machine tape with Allen Sherman singing Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda. Marge tells the family that they are getting their Christmas photos taken, at the Try-N-Save. Bart Imagines spending Christmas in Juvenile Hall where he gets soiled wig as a present. Bart tries to wear a disguise, a hat with ear flaps, sunglasses, a fake nose and chin putty, he hopes they'll just get the photo and leave but the family plans on spending the whole day at the store. The wall of the photo center is covered with pictures of the Flanders. Just as they take the photo the security guard nabs Bart. The security guard pops a tape into the TV, Bart jumps in front to try to stop Marge from seeing it but its projected on the wall of TVs behind him. Marge is really disappointed and that night she doesn't tuck Bart in. Marge things she's been mothering Bart too much so she starts to treat him as more of a grown up, by not waking him up or putting a marshmallow in his hot chocolate. Bart goes to visit Milhouse he finds that he's gotten bored with the video game and now is playing with a cup and ball. When they get into a fight over it Milhouse yells at his mother that Bart is smoking. Bart asks to hang out with Luanne so she has him help stuff Christmas cards in the envelopes. When Bart gets home the family is making snowmen, all that's left for him is the mush from under the car, meanwhile they go inside to watch TV. Bart goes back to the Try-N-Save and comes home with something tucked under his coat, Marge forces him to turn it over and it's a photo of him with a paid receipt. Marge gives him an early present, Lee Carvello's Putting Challenge, Now With Scoring Pencil! The episode ends with Bart playing the game but instead of putting he hits the ball with the Three Wood, the ball ends up in the parking lot. 

The chalkboard gag is the punchline to a dirty joke btw. 

A Krusty Kind Of Khristmas (KKK), brought to you by ILG "selling your bodies chemicals after you die" and Li'l Sweetheart Cupcakes (a spoof on Little Debbies) a subsidiary of ILG (a Soylent Green joke). Krusty's guests are Tom Landry, Xoxchitla (Krusty can't pronounce her name) and Tupac Shakur. Krusty referred to Landry as "private citizen" since he had been fired as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, Xoxchitla is a spoof on Xuxa (The sexy South American children's tv host), Tupac would die a year later.

Marge says video games cost up to $70.

The scene of Milhouse entering his name in the video game is a spin on the Maxell High Fidelity commercial. 

"In honor of the birth of our savior, Try-N-Save is open all day Christmas"

Video cartridges at the store: Electronic Biathlon, Canasta Master, Rescue, Angus Podgorny's Caper Toss (a Monty Python character), A Streetcar Named Death.

Troy McClure in Shoplifters Beware. "You may remember me from such public service videos as Designated Drivers-The Life Saving Nerds and Phony Tornado Alarms Reduce Readiness". He does the video to fulfill his plea bargain with Foot Locker of Beverly Hills.  "Oh Sheheqazaramesh, will you ever learn?"

Diploma on the security office wall: Try-N-Save Security School, Donald J Brodka

Juvenile Hall "Proud Home Of The Soap-Bar Beating"

Other kids in juvenile hall, Kerney, Jimbo, Dolf and Nelson. 

Bart calls the photographer Ansel Adams, best known for his Black And White landscape work. 

When yelling at Bart for shoplifting Homer says "why do you think I took you to all those Police Academy movies? For fun? Well I didn't hear anybody laughing" Homer mentioned the movies in the episode The Springfield Connection.

Marge uses Clown Part Marshmallows in the family's hot chocolate.

This was the last episode of 1995. Only 28 more years to go, so far. 

Team Homer

This episode premiered on January7th, 1996. It ran in its usual time slot and opposite the regular programs except for Murder, She Wrote on CBS.

The chalkboard gag is "I am not certified to remove asbestos" and the couch gag is the family runs in and sits down and then the camera zooms in on the hole in the wall where a duplicate mouse family is also sitting down to watch TV.

At the comic book shop Bart buys a special edition of Mad Magazine that includes a t shirt iron ons. At Moe's business is so slow he decides to close up early, just as the Quimby family shows up for a drinking binge but since the place is closed the go away. Moe and Homer go to the bowling alley but it's league night so they can't get a lane. Apu is also complaining so they decide to create a team, with Otto but it's a $500 registration fee. At school Bart takes off his sweater to reveal an iron on t shirt that says Down With Homework, the kids all riot (when they turn over Mrs. Krabappal's desk it bursts into flames). Chalmers is doing an inspection and is going to give the school a 10 but he writes the zero first and then gets run over by the kids. Skinner talks about the time a private in Vietnam was wearing a shirt that said "Up with miniskirts", he didn't get the joke but because everyone was laughing they got captured by the Vietcong. Mr. Burns gets high on ether to have his nails filed and that's when Homer asks him for the bowling team entry fee. Burns thinks he's the Pillsbury Doughboy and gives him a check. Moleman asks for a new push broom but Burns thinks he's the Lucky Charms leprechaun and starts drilling into his head. Homer's team shows up at the bowling alley in t shirt with "Pin Pals" written on the back and is mocked by the other teams. When Otto bowls a 7-10 split the rest of the team starts cheering him on with a chant and he makes the split and wins the match. Because of the t shirt riot Skinner mandates a uniform policy. Mr. Burns is going through his register and finds the check he signed for Homer. Burns shows up at the alley and instead of firing Homer he says he wants to join the team. Otto gets kicked off the team and goes back to playing the claw machine. Chalmers comes back for another inspection and is happy with the zombie kids but a rainstorm causes the uniforms to run in multicolors and they riot again. Burns shows up at the alley with a bad knee and won't be able to bowl but Moe hits him with a tire iron and pops it back into place. (this is a take on the Nancy Kerrigan attack). The rest of the team is about to quit when Burns gives them bowling shirts with Pin Pals on the back with their images on top of bowling pins. The rest of the guys decide to keep him on the team even though they will lose. The game comes down to one pin and Burns is their last bowler. He misses on the first ball but actually hits the pins on the second one, just then Otto pulls out a screw on the claw machine causing it to crash into the floor and shaking the alley knocking over the pins. Burns takes the trophy and leaves. The team joins together to steal the trophy from Burns but Homer gets drug down by the dogs. 

Magazines as the comic book shop: Sick, Mad Magazine Special Edition, Cracked, Sniff, Poot, Punch and Bongo. (Cracked was a real magazine that ceased publication in 2007, Bongo is the name of the rabbit from Groening's strip Life In Hell)

The Mad Magazine Special Edition includes a strip on Spiro Agnew, Nixon's VP who had to resign. He was also spoofed in the episode Mother Simpson. Iron ons: Ban The Bath, Don't Trust Anyone Over 10, Sock It To Me (all based on 60's slogans)

The guy working at the bowling alley is Lunch Lady Doris' son. 

Krusty, Kent Brockman, Arnie Pie and Bumblebee Man are on the Channel 6 team, the Wastelanders. The name is a reference to when Newton Minow called TV a Vast Wasteland. Patty and Selma are on the DMV Regulation Kings. Ned and Maude Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy and his wife Helen make up the Holy Rollers. Springfield Police Framers are Wiggum, Lou, Eddy and Snake (who escapes). The Home-Wreckers have Princess Cashmere, Lurleen Lumpkin, Mindy Simmons and Jacques. The Stereotypes, Luigi the chef, Willie, Cleetus and the Sea Captain. (When the Pin Pals lose to them Apu says "They begged me to join their team")

The school uniform fashion show is to the tune of The Little Spanish Flea by the Tijuana Brass. The uniforms are Mr. Boy and Mr. Boy For Girls and only come in two sizes, extra small and extra large. 

Homer is talking on the phone and keeps says "sucked", when Marge gets mad at him he says "I gotta go, my damn wiener kids are listening"

One of the employees at the power plant is named Pops Freshenmeir. When Smithers does a computer search for the person who Burns would have mistaken for Poppin' Fresh the computer says Homer is a perfect match "Probability of error 1 in 44 billion"

Homer has a trophy case but the only thing on it is Don Ameche's Best Supporting Actor Oscar with his name crossed out and Homer's written in. (he won it in 1985 for the movie Cocoon)

And so I've reached episode 140 and the year 1996. Ever closer to the end, if they stop making episodes.