The Simpsons

File:The-Simpsons-Title Card.jpg

On-screen title card.

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It has been on the air since December 17, 1989, with over 700 episodes across 33 seasons. There was even a theatrical film in 2007. Disney, having bought 21st Century Fox in 2019, started streaming Simpsons specials from 2020.

The series follows the Simpson family: Homer, his wife Marge, and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, living in the fictional town of Springfield. They are known for their yellow skin, quirky supporting cast, and Homer's catchphrase of yelling "D'oh" when something goes wrong. The series was originally popular for Bart's Dennis the Menace-like antics, but soon shifted towards the stupidity of Homer, cementing the series as a household name for both adults and kids alike.

The Simpsons is no stranger to making Hanna-Barbera parodies, especially of The Flintstones. In 1997, the series even overtook The Flintstones in being the longest running animated prime time series. Some of the jokes are in the style of the series' infamous Couch Gags.

You can find not only references to episodes, but also references in other media.

Banana Splits

Main article: The Banana Splits Adventure Hour

• "Day of the Jacknapes:" Kent Brockman reports that the outcry of anguish over Krusty's retirement hasn't been this bad since the small plane The Banana Splits were killed in.
• "Marge's Son Poisoning:" When Bart asks Marge who Neil Young was, she says he was a singer from the 60s, like The Archies and The Banana Splits.

Capital Critters

• "Treehouse of Horror III:" A grave for Capitol Critters is seen, which was created as a rival to The Simpsons but was short-lived.

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  Grave of Capitol Critters.

Fish Police

• "Treehouse of Horror III:" A grave for Fish Police is seen, which was created as a rival to The Simpsons but was short-lived.

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  Grave of Fish Police.

Flintstones

Main article: Flintstones (franchise)

• "Homer's Night Out:" When Apu asks whether Homer is on TV, Homer responds that Apu has mistaken him for Fred.
• "Bart the Murderer:" Yabba-Dabba-Do, named after Fred's catchphrase, is one of the race horses Fat Tony bets against.
• "Kamp Krusty:" The couch gag has the family running up to the couch, only to find the Flintstones occupying it. In 1999, there was a recreated limited edition cel, which was signed by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, and Matt Groening.
• "Marge in Chains:" Bart asks for "Flintstones chewable morphine."
• "Marge vs. the Monorail:" The opening of the episode parodies the opening of The Flintstones opening sequence, with Homer even singing a parody of the theme song.
• Bart Simpson's Guide to Life: In the evolution diagram, Fred is among the transformations from monkey to man.
• "Lady Bouvier's Lover:" Skinner tries to sabotage Mr. Burns's chances with Marge's mother by telling him the names of Homer, Marge, and Maggie are Fred, Wilma, and Pebbles, respectively. Mr. Burns then hands over a box of chocolates, eliciting a "Yabba-dabba-do!" from Homer.
• "Sideshow Bob Roberts:" When Sideshow Bob is elected the new mayor, he uses his power to send Bart to kindergarten, where he guesses correctly the shape of a triangle and is rewarded with first choice of a toy to play with, which is a talking Flintstones phone. Out of all the characters, he presses Fred's button, which says, "Yabba-dabba-do! I like talking to you!" Fred is voiced by Henry Corden.
• "Treehouse of Horror V:" During the "Time and Punishment" segment, when Homer gets crazy from time travelling into the Stone Age, he crushes fauna and flora alike in anger, which shapeshifts his house in the present into various different forms including the Flintstones' house.
• "A Star is Burns:" When The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones comes on TV, Bart complains about it being a cheap corporate crossover just before Jay Sherman from The Critic shows up for dinner.
• "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular:" In a semi-serious behind the scenes look at the series, Troy McClure monologue references The Flintstones and the titular family by referring to the Simpsons as "America's favorite non-prehistoric cartoon family."
• "The Day the Violence Died:" The Flintstones are brought up by Roger Myers Jr. when he explains that most animation is plagiarizing existing properties.
• "Homerpalooza:" There is a guy in the crowd wearing a t-shirt with Great Gazoo, although his skin is yellow, his helmet is red, and his clothes are blue.
• "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase:" At the end of the episode, one of the new season 9 storylines that Troy McClure previews is about a character named Ozmodiar who only Homer can see, a parody of the Great Gazoo who only Fred and Barney can see.
• Simpsons Comics #31 - "Radioactive Homer:" Dr. Hibbert and his wife are dressed as Fred and Wilm, respectively, at a masquerade ball.
• Simpsons Comics #52 - "A Springfield Christmas Carol:" Bart and Lisa write their own version of A Christmas Carol, in which Ozmodiar comes to Homer Cratchit who wants to rekindle the magic of Christmas for C. Montgomery Scrooge. Ozmodiar plans to take Scrooge on a trip to show Scrooge the error of his ways, but Scrooge is prepared for his arrival, and sends out his own companion in the form of Smilin' Joe Fission, which leads to a fight between the two, leading to the destruction of the world.
• Simpsons Comics #55 - "Duff Daddy!:" As Homer is lying in a hammock drinking Duff Beer, the drunken Barney Gumble comes over dressed as Barney trying to trick Homer into giving him his beer, by saying Betty needs to borrow some of his beer, and calls him Fred. But Homer tells him to stop calling him Fred and to leave.
• "Beyond Blunderdome:" At the Hollywood Auto Museum, when Homer stammers to find a getaway car for him and Mel Gibson to escape the Hollywood executives, he sees the Flintmobile with mannequins of Fred, Wilma, and Dino with his head accurately poking through the roof.
• "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder:" Nancy O'Dell calls Homer a "warmed-over Fred Flintstone" in her yesterday's news segment.
• "Missionary: Impossible:" Homer puts the tribe to work based on what he's seen in The Flintstones, using a pelican to mix cement. He then asks the pelican to make an "It's a living" joke, but it just falls to the ground, dead.
• "HOMЯ:" When Lisa is confused from watching an anime, Bart says that cartoons don't have to make sense, with Ozmodiar popping up only for Bart to see him agree. He then pops up after Homer gets everybody fired while the plant is brought up to code and calls him a "dumb-dumb."
• "Pokey Mom:" Bruce Vilanch, wearing Fred on his t-shirt, sits in the audience of Skinner's introduction of Jack Crowley.
• The Simpsons: Road Rage: A tombstone at the pet cemetery in Springfield Mountains is inscribed with Dino.
• "Treehouse of Horror XII:" In the opening sequence, Homer and Marge are dressed as Fred and Wilma, respectively, for Halloween.
• Bart Simpson #10 - "Bart's Beard:" In The Android's Dungeon, there is a comic called Flinstons on the wall which has a character resembling both Homer and Fred.
• Simpsons Comics #112 - "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase: Quickly Cancelled Comic Book Cavalcade:" At the end of the comic, host Troy McClure ends things by saying that if they ever run the dry well of spin-off ideas, there's always Ozmodiar, which is followed by a fake advertisement for a special winter issue of an already monthly series called Always Ozmodiar.
• "Mobile Homer:" While taking the RV by themselves, Bart and Lisa find a "Flintstones Fun Map" (which has the Flintstones, Rubbles, their pets, and Gazoo) instead of a real map. They find a note scribbled on the map by Homer wondering if Dino is short for dinosaur, with a reminder to "Ask Jeeves" (which incidentally closed down around the same year this episode ended).
• On October 9, 2005, TV Guide released nine tribute covers, which included one of Homer chiseling out the TV Guide's logo, while wearing Fred's loincloth, just as Fred did on the June 13, 1964 edition.
• Simpsons Comics #130 - "Marge Sells Out:" Homer still has a copy of the TV Guide from June 1964 with Fred on the cover because he hasn't finished the crossword puzzle yet.
• "Rome-Old and Juli-Eh:" In cutting back, Homer is "Flintstone-ing his car" by using his feet to drive. As he starts his feet up, they make a cartoony running effect and as Homer proceeds to then struggle, he strains out a "Yabba-dabba-do."
• "Little Orphan Millie:" Homer's song to Marge, "Beautiful Eyes," contains the line, "She's the Wilma to my Fred."
• "In the Name of the Grandfather:" An Irish tourist attraction consisting of a large pile of stones is called Blarney Rubble.
• Homer's tweet on July 26, 2009: "To that dude who keeps honking at me: I can’t go any faster. I'm pushing the car with my feet through a hole in the floor."https://twitter.com/HomerJSimpson/status/2846460780
• Simpsons Comics #175 - "It Came from the '70s:" Homer calls himself Fred Flintstone as a cover when Kearney asks for it.
• "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution:" The Adventures of Fatso Flanagan plays at the Museum of TV and Television, which Marge calls a rip-off of The Honeymooners. Homer jokes that everything is a rip-off of The Honeymooners, and grabs Marge calling her the greatest, to which Marge affectionately calls Homer several other fat sitcom husbands before getting to his name, which includes Ralph from The Honeymooners, Fred from The Flintstones, Archie from All in the Family, and Doug from The King of Queens.
• "Bart's New Friend:" During Don's retirement party, Homer begs him to stay and continue to look out for him, but Don is ready to leave, saying, "If I was Fred Flintstone, I'd be at the end of the dinosaur's tail," referencing what Fred does when he finishes work in the opening sequence of "(Meet) the Flintstones."
• "Paths of Glory:" Nelson operates a foot-powered dune buggy called Yabba-Dabba Dune Buggy.
• "Treehouse of Horror XXVI:" Falling underground with her camera still on, Lisa captures the skeletal remains of Fred sitting in the Flintmobile.
• "Whistler's Father:" Helen describes the Simpsons' house as visiting the Flintstones, which is followed by Santa's Little Helper walking through the living room with a giant bone in his mouth.
• "A Tale of Two Trumps:" President Donald Trump has a dream of being a better person and making amends with people he has had feuds with, including letting Rosie O'Donnell she was great in The Flintstones movie.
• "Lisa Gets the Blues:" When the theme song begins, "The Flintstones" comes through the clouds, then "Simpstones," then finally, "The Simpsons."
• "Left Behind:" A depressed Ned talks about having a Flintstone vitamin to fall to sleep, claiming that half of Bamm-Bamm should do it.
• "Diary Queen:" The running sound effect comes into play when Rod and Todd run in place while inside a wendy house.
• "The Wayz We Were:" In prehistoric Springfield, there is a man resembling Fred, carrying the corpse of Dino on a stick.
• "The Many Saints of Springfield:" When can't believe that "fatso" Homer has such a hot wife, says it's a sitcom thing, using Doug from The King of Queens, and Fred Flintstone as examples.
• "Pin Gal:" Homer imagines Marge bowling barefoot on her tiptoes like Fred with appropriate sound effects. A talking octopus picks up the bowling pins while commenting on his lot in life. After Homer finishes daydreaming, he asks Marge if they can have a brontoburger, but Marge says he isn't Fred Flintstone, which makes Homer say, "Yabba-dabba-Doh!"
• "Homer's Adventures Through the Windshield Glass:" In the special opening sequence of the 750th episode, when Homer gets knocked by Marge's car while in the garage, Great Gazoo is one of the background characters watching.

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  The Flintstones take over the couch.

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Huckleberry Hound

Main article: Huckleberry Hound (segments)

• "The Day The Violence Died:" Huckleberry is brought up by Roger Myers Jr. when he explains that most animation is plagiarizing existing properties.
• "Behind the Laughter:" The next episode of Behind the Laughter will be about Huckleberry Hound. During a sneak peek, Huckleberry confesses that he was so gay, but he couldn't tell anyone.
• "Treehouse of Horror XXVI:" In a special opening sequence animated by John K., Bart is wearing a Huckleberry mask and t-shirt.

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  Huckleberry being interviewed.

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  Bart with a Huckleberry mask and t-shirt.

Jetsons

Main article: Jetsons (franchise)

• Matt Groening was inspired by Hoyt Curtin's theme music for The Jetsons when creating the theme music for The Simpsons.
• "Bart Gets Famous:" The set of Match Game 2034, the celebrity guests wear Jetsons-like clothing and are sent out of chutes into their seats.
• "Lisa's Wedding": In the future, Homer has a short-sleeved version of George's shirt, while Bart also wears the same style but in pink. The cars also make the same sound.
• A Star is Burns:" When The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones comes on TV, Bart complains about it being a cheap corporate crossover just before Jay Sherman from The Critic shows up for dinner.
• "All Singing, All Dancing:" The couch gag has the floor turn into a treadmill, which Homer gets caught on and yells for Marge to "Stop this crazy thing" ala George Jetson.
• "Children of a Lesser Clod:" In Homer's basketball fantasy, he jumps into space and knocks a basketball through a planet's ring, but then gets hit in the leg by George's flying saucer, to which he yells, "JETSON!" in the same way George's boss, Mr. Spacely, does.
• Simpsons Comics #60 - "The Man with Two Wives:" When Smithers asks Homer about his job at the plant, Homer responds by saying that his job is like George's. Later, when his chair spins out of control, he yells, "Smithers! Stop this crazy thing!"
• Homer Simpson's Little Book of Laziness: The Sitter-Bot resembles Rosie.
• "My Big Fat Geek Wedding:" Lenny dresses as George at the bi-mon-sci-fi convention.
• "My Fare Lady:" At the beginning of the episode, Homer has a dream that references the opening theme song of The Jetsons.
• "Postcards from the Wedge:" Bart's class watches an educational short film loosely based on the futuristic setting of The Jetsons, featuring a similar family, buildings, robots teaching at school, and cars that have glass dome canopies and make the same kind of whooshing sound while moving.
• "Replaceable You:" As the robopets are roaming through town, they stop to watch TVs on display, with The Jetsons playing on it. On it, Rosie explains to George that if she doesn't get her green card (implying that Rosie is an immigrant), she'll be turned back into a washing machine. Spaceship-like cars fly around their Googie-influenced deco house.
• "The Man Who Came to Be Dinner:" A video at the Out-Of-Date Futureland exhibit is describing what an alternate futuristic 1994 will be like, where families drive.
• "My Fare Lady:" There are two opening sequences, with the second one being is a parody of the opening sequence to The Jetsons. Also, in the first scene, Homer yells, "Marge, stop that crazy thing" when the sound of her working their old printer wakes him.
• Simpsons Comics One-Shot Wonders #18 - "Future Cop!:" In Chief Wiggum's dream of being a cop in the future, he pulls George over for dropping his son out of the car just as he does in the opening sequence.
• "The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson:" When Homer believes the future will be bleak when machines taking over, Carl imagines a Jetsons-like future, with him taking the role of George at the end of the opening sequence where he lands outside the office with his space car that he turns into a suitcase, before lying back into his office chair.

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Johnny Quest

Main article: Jonny Quest (TV series)

• "Deep Space Homer:" An astronaut is named Race Banyon, a play on Race Bannon, the Quest family bodyguard.

Josie and the Pussycats

Main article: Josie and the Pussycats (TV series)

• "Jazzy and the Pussycats:" The episode title is a reference to both Jazzy Goodtime's jazz club and Lisa rescuing animals. Bart also starts performing with the White Stripes, although they are a rock band, instead of a pop band.

Magilla Gorilla

Main article: Magilla Gorilla (segments)

• "When You Dish Upon a Star:" Homer sings the theme song in his sleep, then talks like he's Magilla Gorilla telling Mr. Peebles not to take his banana, which then turns into wild offensive noises.
• "Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair):" Marge erects a giant statue of Homer in his underwear made out of popsicle sticks, which Homer is ecstatic about, but only because he thinks it's Magilla Gorilla.

Powerpuff Girls

Main article: The Powerpuff Girls (1998 TV series)

• "The Dad Who Knew Too Little:" Lisa says she looks like a Powerpuff Girl (specifically Buttercup) after painting her hair black with shoe polish.
• "Bart vs. Itchy & Stratchy:" In Lisa's room, there is a poster containing what Lisa believes to be historic moments in cartoon women's history, which includes the Powerpuff Girls for their debut in 1998.
• "Lisa's Belly:" Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were all crushed by the chunky sign that Marge put in Lisa's mind after having called her that.

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Scooby-Doo

Main article: Scooby-Doo (franchise)

• "Krusty Gets Busted:" When Sideshow Bob is exposed by Bart and Lisa, he says, "And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids."
• "Black Widower:" Bart explains how he figured out Sideshow Bob's plot in the same manner as Mystery Inc. explains a villain's plot. He also says he doesn't want to tell Chief Wiggum how to do his job, but Chief Wiggum wants Bart to as it's the only way he'll learn. After Sideshow Bob is taken, Bart says to the family they should leave the hallway because of the natural gas pouring through, which makes them laugh in the same corny manner Mystery Inc. would at the end of a case.
• "The Girl Who Slept Too Little:" Lisa says, "If Scooby Doo has taught me anything, it's that the only thing to fear are crooked real estate developers."
• "A Star Is Born-Again:" Upon hearing that Ned Flanders has a date with a movie star, a mall security guard sarcastically replies "Sure, and I'm going apple-picking with Scooby Doo!"
• "A Star Is Burns:" Homer makes a joke, "Scooby-Doo can do-do, but Jimmy Carter is smarter."

Smurfs

• "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire:" Bart mentions watching a Christmas special of The Smurfs on TV.
• "Treehouse of Horror X:" The Collector says that Xena can call him "Big Papa Smurf" on their wedding night.
• "Trilogy of Error:" During his drunken rambling, Homer mentions that The Blue Men Group are rip-offs of The Smurfs.
• "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore:" Homer claims that Papa Smurf is "pretty cool."

Snagglepuss

• "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song:" When Ralph sees Santa's Little Helper in the air ducts, Ms. Hoover claims that he also saw Snagglepuss
• "Lady Bouvier's Lover:" Comic Book Guy shows Bart a cell of Snagglepuss to show a cell that is worth something, as opposed to the cell of Scratchy's arm Bart was trying to sell him.
• "Treehouse of Horror XXXI:" During the Into The Homer-verse segment, Homer-Barbera turns into Snagglepuss and uses all of his catchphrases including "Heavens to Marge-atryod," "Even" and "Exit, stage left."

• CBG's Snagglepuss Cell.png

  Comic Book Guy's Snagglepuss cell in "Lady Bouvier's Lover"

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  Homer-Barbera as Snagglepuss in "Treehouse of Horror XXXI"

Tom and Jerry

• "The Bart Simpson Show": Springfield's version of Tom and Jerry are Itchy and Scratchy. However, it's much more gruesome than Tom and Jerry.

Top Cat

• "The Day The Violence Died:" Top Cat is brought up by Roger Myers Jr. when he explains that most animation is plagiarizing existing properties.

Wacky Races

• "Children of a Lesser Clod:" Comic book Guy is shown wearing a Muttley T-shirt to a basketball match at the YMCA.
• "Gone Abie Gone:" The couch gag is a parody of Wacky Races.

• CBG Muttley Shirt.png

  Comic Book Guy's Muttley Shirt in "Children of a Lesser Clod"

• Wacky Races Couch Gag.jpg

  Simpsons Couch Gag goes Wacky in "Gone Abie Gone"

Quick Draw McGraw

Main article: Quick Draw McGraw (segments)

• "Million Dollar Abie:" Quick Draw, as El Kabong, joins the crowd of celebrity look-a-likes during the "Springfield Blows" song.
• "Treehouse of Horror XXXI:" During the "Into the Homer-verse" segment, Homer-Barbera briefly turns into Quick Draw.

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  "Springfield Blows."

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  Homer-Barbera as Quick Draw in "Treehouse of Horror XXXI"

Yogi Bear

Main article: Yogi Bear (segments)

• "Much Apu About Nothing:" Moe tells the mayor a bear stole his "pic-a-nic" basket.
• "The Day The Violence Died:" Yogi Bear is brought up by Roger Myers Jr when he explains that most animation is plagiarizing existing properties or people; in Yogi's case it is Art Carney and possibly Yogi Berra.
• "When You Dish Upon a Star:" Homer dreams he's Yogi, with Bart as "Bart-Bart" and Ned Flanders as the park ranger.
• "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington:" Homer looks at a kid's menu featuring an activity where the goal is to help Yogi Bear find Washington.
• "Don't Fear the Roofer:" In the hospital, Homer jokes that he can see Yogi Bear.
• "Treehouse of Horror XXXI:" During the Into The Homer-verse segment, Homer Barbera turns into Yogi and tells Boo Boo that they should steal a "pic-a-nic meal."
• "Treehouse of Horror XXI": During Lisa and Edmund's date in the park, Yogi passes by them with Ranger Smith's head in a picnic basket.

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  Homer as Yogi Bear in "When You Dish Upon a Star"

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  Homer-Barbera as Yogi in "Treehouse of Horror XXXI"

Other

• "The Front:" Roger Meyer Jr.'s notes that animators reuse backgrounds to save cost as he, Bart and Lisa pass by the same door, water cooler and cleaning lady several times. This parodies the fact that Hannah-Barbera reuses their backgrounds many times.
• "HOMЯ:" The voice actor who copies other characters' voices and celebrity voices at the animation festival references how many early Hanna-Barbera "funny animal" characters' voices were often based off popular celebrities of the time.
• "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" and "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One):" The couch gag features the family in Hanna-Barbera poses running past the couch several times.

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  The Simpsons parody Hanna Barbera in "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" and "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)"