A Milhouse Divided/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ Bart After Dark

A Milhouse Divided

Lisa's Date with Density ►

Trivia

• The producers had contacted Sheryl Crow and asked her to record Kirk's song "Can I Borrow A Feeling" to play over the closing credits. Crow declined, and instead a sax version of the normal credits is played.
• The opening scene of the family eating dinner in front of the television with TV trays is used as a test for background artists who want to work on the show.
• This is the only episode written entirely by Steve Tompkins, although he had been a part of the writing staff for several years.
• The writers wanted to break a typical sitcom convention by having the Van Houten's divorce, and remained divorced at the end, as opposed to the stereotypical sitcom which often has a "reset button technique" of change being unchanged by the end, or the "happy ending in 30 minutes or less", in which actors neatly solve all their problems by the end of each show.
• The episode's subplot was originally about Bart wanting Homer and Marge to divorce after seeing that children of divorced families (like Milhouse) get extra attention. Milhouse of Sand and Fog would reuse the plot line of Bart nearly sabotaging Homer and Marge's marriage for attention purposes due to Milhouse and his parents, the only difference being that Homer and Marge's marriage being on the rocks was an unintentional result rather than deliberate, and Milhouse was the one who came up with the idea as he enjoyed the attention he got from his own parents fighting for it.
• The sign outside of the Cracker Factory reads: "Southern Cracker: The dryyyyyyyy cracker."

Cultural References

• Homer mentions that he pictured his marriage as is but he also thought they would be, "driving around in a van solving mysteries," referencing the cartoon series Scooby Doo, Where Are You?
• Milhouse's toy car is designed to look like a S-class Mercedes.
• Bart recognizes Luann Van Houten's new boyfriend as Pyro, from the syndicated game show American Gladiators.
• The Allied Biscuit box logo looks similar to the one for Nabisco.

Previous and Future Episode References

• The Simpsons have a dinner party similar to the one in "The War of the Simpsons", in which the Flanderses, Hibberts, Van Houtens and Lovejoys were invited. Both dinner parties resulted in later problems for a married couple that everyone else saw. The main difference is that this dinner party was "the straw that broke the camel's back", where tensions between Luann and Kirk reached a boiling point, whereas the earlier problems were started by Homer's boorish behavior when he had too much to drink.
• Kirk loses his job at Southern Cracker. It was previously established that he worked there in "Homie the Clown" and "Bart on the Road"; in the former, Milhouse states Kirk is "a pretty big wheel down at the cracker factory."
• The premise of this episode was partially inspired by a scene in a previous episode "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" where Milhouse, while playing in the cockpit of an F-15, pretends to launch missiles at his parents out of anger that they had to send him to a counselor, as well as mentioning the doctor by name, Sally Wexler, and pretending to attack her as well.
• Aside from the obvious long-term consequences of the Van Houtens' divorce, the events of this episode are referenced again in "Wedding for Disaster," which reveals that, due to a bureaucratic error, Reverend Lovejoy's clerical license had been invalid at this time, and therefore he was not legally able to remarry Homer and Marge (meaning that Homer and Marge were divorced and that Homer's marriage to Amber the Vegas barmaid should not have been recognized as bigamy).
• Kirk and Luann were remarried in Little Orphan Millie so the divorce lasted 10 years and 315 days (in real time).

Goofs and Continuity Errors

• In this episode, Kearney is riding the bus, but in "Lisa's Date with Density" (which came before this episode in production code order rather than broadcast order), Kearney has a car. It could be possible that Kearney is using the school bus as there is no student parking at the elementary school or the Hyundai he has could have been stolen, or so run-down that he can't drive it.
• In this episode, Marge wants to cook Bart butterscotch chicken as a reward for getting three cavities at the dentist, but in "Blood Feud," Marge reveals that Bart is allergic to butterscotch, imitation butterscotch, and glow-in-the-dark monster makeup.
• In the flashback to the quickie wedding at Shotgun Pete's and the inexpensive cake, Marge laments that there are no guests, especially not her friends to see this. In The Simpsons Movie, when Homer realizes his family left Alaska and Marge figures the only way for him to get the message was tape over their VHS footage of their wedding; at the very end there is a remnant of the original footage of the wedding, which shows Marge and Homer doing a solo dance while multiple wedding guests watch.

Cultural references

• The song "I Love the Nightlife" is sung by Luann when she packs away Kirk's clothes and sets them on fire.

Citations

◄ Season 7	Season 8 References/Trivia	Season 9 ►
Treehouse of Horror VII • You Only Move Twice • The Homer They Fall • Burns, Baby Burns • Bart After Dark • A Milhouse Divided • Lisa's Date with Density • Hurricane Neddy • El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer) • The Springfield Files • The Twisted World of Marge Simpson • Mountain of Madness • Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-D'oh-cious • The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show • Homer's Phobia • Brother from Another Series • My Sister, My Sitter • Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment • Grade School Confidential • The Canine Mutiny • The Old Man and the Lisa • In Marge We Trust • Homer's Enemy • The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase • The Secret War of Lisa Simpson