Homer Simpson In: "Kidney Trouble" - Cultural References

Cultural References

In a scene in the episode, the Simpsons, outside the Springfield Retirement Castle, try to turn on their car, while Grampa is slowly walking towards them. The scene parodies the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, with Grampa acting as a zombie from the film. The dancing robots in the Western bar were based on English charity campaigner Heather Mills, while the robot cowboy chasing the robot dancer around in a circle on the bar's balcony is a reference to a scene in the original Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, where the pirates chased women in a similar fashion. The design and voice of the tuxedo-wearing man in the "Ship of lost souls" were based on Austrian-American actor Peter Lorre. The scene of Homer nearly getting hit by a car during his second escape from the hospital is a reference to a scene in the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest, in which Cary Grant's character is almost hit by an oncoming truck. American actor Larry Hagman is also mentioned in the episode, when Dr. Hibbert says that Hagman took all the kidneys and livers needed for donors, while Homer states his desire to watch the episode of Inside The Actor's Studio featuring F. Murray Abraham. The hospital intercom calls for a "Doc Martens" and a "Dr. Bombay", referring to the British footwear brand and character from the sitcom Bewitched respectively.