Million-Dollar Abie/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife

Million-Dollar Abie

Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore ►

Trivia

• Grandpa's age is revealed in this episode; he is 83.
• The teaser for the upcoming The Simpsons Movie, which had previously only appeared during the previews for Ice Age: The Meltdown, made its TV debut during this episode. Homer's dialogue is different: in the movie he expressed uncertainty; in the TV airing, he says "I forgot what I'm supposed to say!" Both versions end with him saying "Uh oh, we better get started" when the movie's release date of July 27, 2007 is given.
• When Abe is waiting for someone to call him, the simulated time lapse effect and music parody the movie Koyaanisqatsi, a movie parodied seven years earlier in the episode "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder."
• The bodies of the Blue Man Group can be seen in the Las Vegas garbage barge.
• During the scene where the citizens of Springfield are running from the bulls, you can see a bearded man with a hat in the corner. He is modelled after long time Simpsons writer George Meyer and has appeared in several episodes, notably as one of the writers in "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" and one of the bachelors in "Special Edna."
• An outtake shown during the closing credits shows a young Abe "naming names" to the House Un-American Activities Committee.
• The plot is similar to the episode "The Boys of Bummer", where Bart loses the baseball game, the town begins to hate Bart and Bart assisted suicide, like how Grampa assisted suicide, lost a football game like how Bart lost a baseball game and Grampa became the town pariah like how Bart became the pariah of the town.
• The sounds that can be heard in the basement when Homer was in there are:
  1. Power tool whirling
  2. Hammering
  3. Typewriter key clanking, return carriage dings
  4. Pinball machine jingling
  5. Bowling pins falling
  6. European siren wails
  7. Children in a ghostly voice saying "Ring around the rosy."
• The full name for the new Springfield Stadium is (as shown on Homer's model):
  DUFF BEER
  KRUSTYBURGER
  BUZZ COLA
  COSTINGTON'S DEPARTMENT STORE
  KWIK-E-MART
  STUPID FLANDERS
  PARK
• The names Rob Reiner covered up with his first and last name in the video are Carl Reiner, his father, and Rob Lowe.
• The euthanasia machine Abe is hooked up to is called the diePod, an obvious spoof of the ever popular iPod series of MP3 players created by Apple.
• This was the fourth episode of The Simpsons to be rated M in Australia (this time, for references to assisted suicide and animal cruelty).
• The people who Dr. Egoyan stated that Abe Simpson was going to follow in their footsteps are Greek philosopher Socrates (though Socrates killed himself because he was sentenced to drink a hemlock-laced drink after being found guilty of corrupting the minds of Athens' youth), British author Virginia Woolf (fell into a depression and committed suicide by walking into a lake and drowning herself), American author Ernest Hemingway (shot himself), American journalist and gonzo journalism founder Hunter S. Thompson (shot himself).
• This is the second time a Simpson costs Springfield a special event. The first was Bart costing Springfield the Olympics in "The Old Man and the "C" Student".
• During the credits, after young old Abe is taken away from the court and it cuts to the regular black background for the credits, the long credits theme from season 3 is heard and edited a little.
  • This is also the penultimate episode so far to reuse the season 3 long credits theme.

Cultural References

• The title of this episode is a play on the 2004 movie, Million Dollar Baby.
• The celebrities impersonated in the "Springfield Blows" video include Michael Jackson, Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg, Jim Jam Bonks (The Simpsons' parody of Jar Jar Binks), The Who, Bono, Sting, Barbra Streisand, Sylvester Stallone, Freddy Krueger and El Kabong.
• The euthanasia center is a spoof of the one in Soylent Green.
• One of the options on the diePod's menu is "Megadeath", an allusion to the thrash metal band Megadeth.
• The Doctor that helps Grampa try to kill himself an obvious reference to Dr. Jack Kevorkian.
• The name of the Glenn Miller Orchestra song that Grampa requested is Pennyslvania 6-5000.
• The song that plays when Abe 'lives it up' is 'Superman' by R.E.M. from their 1986 album, Lifes Rich Pageant.
• The song that plays while Grampa walks around Springfield being regetted by other Springfield citizens is Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out) by John Lennon.

Goofs

• When Marge makes her comments about the bull taunter and bull stabber, she points to them conversely. When she mentions the bull taunter, the picador who lances the bull is shown.
• After the diePod is hauled away, there is junk on the floor. In the next shot of the floor, it is clean.
• When Maggie's words are translated it is revealed that she thinks Homer is her "bald mommy." However, in "Lisa's First Word", she clearly knows who Homer is, as her first word is "Daddy."
• When the Simpsons walk into the house after Grampa has tied up the football commissioner, the carpet is brown instead of green.

Brown floor

Green floor