The Regina Monologues/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ The President Wore Pearls

The Regina Monologues

The Fat and the Furriest ►

Cultural references

• The Vagina Monologues - The episode title is a pun on Eve Ensler's play; Regina is substituted as the Latin word for Queen.
• Hertz Rent-a-Car - The Simpsons rent a BMW Mini Cooper from an 'Ertz" rent-a-car branch, a parody of the Hertz corporation.
• James Bond movies - The series is parodied twice: in the scene where former Prime Minister Tony Blair greets the Simpsons, then blasts off on a jetpack à la Thunderball (the 007 theme plays); and in the scene where Homer spots Bart and Lisa from the London Eye, pulls a lever and the whole car detaches from the Eye, before skimming across the River Thames.
• The Brady Bunch - The first act plot — where Bart happens upon a $1,000 bill and Marge subsequently tells him to advertise for its rightful owner — is inspired by the 1970 episode "The Treasure of Sierra Avenue."
• British Newspapers - After Homer is arrested and sent to the Tower of London, British tabloid newspapers are seen with various headlines; center-left tabloid The Mirror, centre-right broadsheet The Times, right-wing paper The Daily Mail and tabloid The Sun.
  • The Times and The Sun are owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
  • All of the newspaper shots are complete with correct typefaces, except the Daily Mail.
  • One of the newspaper headlines post-trial read "Judge threatens to go medieval on Homer's ass.", referring to a line Marsellus uttered in the Quentin Tarantino film "Pulp Fiction."
  • The "Topless Homer on Page 3" strapline in The Sun refers to the fact that, ever since The Sun was relaunched in 1968 as a popular tabloid, it has nearly always devoted Page 3 to a picture of a scantily-clad young lady.
• "The Cherry Orchard" — The play, written by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, is used as a sly dig at Joe Millionaire, where star Evan Marriott admits he does not have a cherry orchard, much like in the show where he admits he was not a millionaire.
• "Harry Potter" - When J. K. Rowling is met by the family, Lisa tells her that she shows deep infatuation with the titular character. After asking what would be the ending of the series, Rowling sarcastically replies that the character will grow up and marry Lisa., which is exactly what she wanted to hear.
• "Macbeth" curse — The old theater superstition is parodied when Sir Ian McKellen tells the Simpson family the name is bad luck. Homer says "What, Macbeth?", to which a car splashes McKellen. Homer says Macbeth again, to which an anvil drops on McKellen's foot. McKellen accidentally says Macbeth, to which he is struck by lightning. Bart then deliberately says Macbeth, to which Marge and Lisa accidentally say it too. When Bart says good luck to McKellen, the sign advertising the play crushes McKellen.
• "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is also referenced in this back-and-forth, where the Simpsons keep saying "Macbeth" instead of "it" from the scene with the Knights Who Say Ni. McKellen's line "Now I've said it!" is similarly taken from the movie, where the head knight avoids using the word "it" until he accidentally lets it slip near the end.
• Museum of Modern Art — The "Museum of Modern Bart" is an obvious pun.
• New Zoo Revue — Homer's insistence that The Queen's real name is Henrietta R. Hippo (thanks to the monogram on the Her Royal Highness' night bag although the Queen is "Her Majesty", not "Her Royal Highness") recalls the hippo character on the 1970s children's TV show.
• National Lampoon's European Vacation — The scene where Homer endlessly circles the roundabout spoofs a similar scene in the 1985 movie, where Clark Griswold keeps driving around the roundabout adjacent to the eastern end of Lambeth Bridge.
• Partridge Family 2200 A.D. — Bart's "Moon Party" sequence is likely a reference to the 1970s Saturday morning cartoon. Also appearing: Star Wars character R2-D2 (playing the bass).
• Sir Walter Raleigh - The tunnel leading from the Tower of London to the Queen's bedroom in Buckingham Palace may be a reference to a rumour that Raleigh carried out an affair with the never-married Queen Elizabeth I. This could also be a reference to the Michael Fagan incident, where an unarmed man broke into the Palace and surprised Queen Elizabeth II in her bedroom.
• Trainspotting — Bart and Lisa run through town on a sugar high as Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" plays in the background. When Bart and Lisa are running they go by the same route used by Ewan McGregor at the start of the film most notably as they go down the stairs (despite the stairs being in Edinburgh, not London). The scene ends with Maggie crawling across the ceiling of a lolly house and her head spins around like the baby in the withdrawal scene.
• The scene between Lord Daftwager and his "lover" is a parody of the premise of the musical My Fair Lady.
• Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs is mentioned by Homer when he questions the yellow card given to Giggs.
• In complimenting his half-sister, Homer says "You make Dame Edna look like a dude". Dame Edna Everage is a famous character of male comedian Barry Humphries.
• Homer sees Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page from the London Eye and calls him "one of the greatest thieves of American black music ever to walk the Earth," a reference to Led Zeppelin's frequent and frequently sued-over practice of "borrowing" of music, themes and lyrics from American blues music.
• The line "Feel the drunken wrath of Chuck Shadowski" heard in the Hockey Dads game is a sly reference to "Big Chuck" Schodowski, a Cleveland TV personality most recently co-host of the Big Chuck and Lil' John show.
• Trading Places - the two wealthy gentlemen who suggest a wager after meeting Bart and Lisa who are just coming down from there suger high.
• Dame Judi Dench - When the Simpsons are on the tourbus, they go to a restaurant called "Judi Dench's Fish and Chips". Dench is heard of the speakerphone beating up a worker at the restaurant.
• Michael Fagan Incident- When Homer escapes The Tower of London through Sir Walter Raleigh's escape tunnel, he finds that it ends in the Queen's bedroom. The Queen is shocked to see him, and blows her personal emergency whistle. Two Grenadier Guards immediately arrive to apprehend Homer, while commenting what a good idea it was to give the Queen an emergency whistle this time.
• The scene, where Homer slams into Queen Elizabeth II's horse-drawn carriage, is based on the part of series The Golden Girls, where Dorothy Zbornak slams into Mother Teresa.
• Bart's shirt in "Museum of Modern Bart" says: "200th episode". This could be a reference to "Trash of the Titans", which actually is the 200th episode on The Simpsons.

Trivia/Goofs

• Mr. Burns's First Bank of Springfield password is 4-2-4-0.
• The Queen sentences Homer to death after he hit her carriage. However in Britain, the death penalty was abolished in 1965.
• The chocolate shop clerk claims that British chocolate is sweeter than what Bart and Lisa are used to in America. However British chocolate actually contains less sugar than the American variety, although it has a higher milk and cocoa content.
  • He also refers to it as 'candy', whereas in Britain it would be referred to as 'sweets' or simply 'chocolate'. In British English "candy" usually refers exclusively to hard-sugar confectionery such as boiled sweets, the sole exception being "candy floss" ("cotton candy" in American English). Although the chocolate shop clerk might have said it so Bart and Lisa aren't confused to what he meant.
• Tony Blair recorded his part to the episode in April 2003. At first, David Beckham was originally sought to guest star in the episode, but producers later changed it, because Beckham isn't famous enough in America.
• Abe mentions that he met Edwina 59 years ago in 1944. This is exactly 59 years before 2003, so that is accurate.
• Abe is shipped away to war straight from London, but in real-life, World War II soldiers were shipped from Normandy, France.
• This is the last episode written by John Swartzwelder (barring his work on The Simpsons Movie)
• IGN.com wrote this episode is the best one from season 15. [1]
• Lisa gets J. K. Rowling's name wrong; her real name is actually "Joanne Rowling" with no middle name, and it rhymes with "bowling", not "towelling".
• When Homer emerges from the secret tunnel, into the Queen's bedroom, he describes it as "fit for a Duke, or even an Earl". In fact, Earl is a lower rank than Duke; Duke is the highest non-royal aristocratic rank.
• In the scene when Homer is taken to court, he pulls out a round suitcase with the initials H.R.H. and states they stand for "Henrietta R. Hippo". H.R.H actually means Her Royal Highness or in males, His Royal Highness.

Citations

◄ Season 14	Season 15 References/Trivia	Season 16 ►
Treehouse of Horror XIV • My Mother the Carjacker • The President Wore Pearls • The Regina Monologues • The Fat and the Furriest • Today, I Am a Clown • 'Tis the Fifteenth Season • Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays • I, D'oh-Bot • Diatribe of a Mad Housewife • Margical History Tour • Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore • Smart and Smarter • The Ziff Who Came to Dinner • Co-Dependent's Day • The Wandering Juvie • My Big Fat Geek Wedding • Catch 'Em if You Can • Simple Simpson • The Way We Weren't • Bart-Mangled Banner • Fraudcast News