Mayored To The Mob - Cultural References

Cultural References

The Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con science-fiction convention features numerous references to the genre. As well as Mark Hamill, guests at the convention include ALF from the television series ALF, Tom Baker in costume as the Fourth Doctor from the series Doctor Who, Gort from the film The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Godzilla from the film series of the same name and Jonathan Harris in costume as Dr. Zachary Smith from the series Lost in Space TV show, as well as the robot from the show. Real-life astronaut Neil Armstrong is also a guest.

Among the attendees is Üter, who wears a Futurama shirt; Futurama, an animated science-fiction comedy which was created by The Simpsons' creator Matt Groening, did not premiere until the following year. Seymour Skinner is dressed as Spock from Star Trek, as are several others, and Edna Krabappel is dressed as Barbarella from the comic and film Barbarella (1968). Other costumes include Xena from the series Xena: Warrior Princess, Terminator from The Terminator film series, Griffin from the novel The Invisible Man (1897) and later the comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, as well as a Borg and Geordi La Forge from Star Trek. When Comic Book Guy meets a girl with similar interests to him at the convention, Alexander Courage's piece "Under the Spell" from the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage" is played. A booth for the comic book Roswell, Little Green Man is seen at the convention; the comic was published by Groening's Bongo Comics Group.

The episode contains multiple references to Star Wars, the film series in which Hamill starred. Throughout the episode, Hamill wears the costume of his Star Wars character Luke Skywalker, and tells Homer to "use the forks," spoofing the line "use the Force" from the series. The convention features a tag-team wrestling match which sees "the mighty robots" (the Cylons) from the series Battlestar Galactica fight the "gay robots" (R2-D2 and C-3PO) from Star Wars. Somebody at the convention wears a costume of the Star Wars character Chewbacca. Homer and Mayor Quimby attend a production of the musical Guys and Dolls (1955), starring Hamill as Nathan Detroit, who sings the Star Wars-themed "Luke, Be a Jedi Tonight" to the tune of "Luck Be a Lady".

Leavelle's design is based on Texan detective Jim Leavelle, as he appeared when guarding Lee Harvey Oswald in the photograph of Oswald's death at the hands of Jack Ruby following the former's arrest for assassinating President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Leavelle trains the bodyguards by pretending to shoot their protectee from a grassy knoll on a cart. This is a reference to the grassy knoll at Kennedy's assassination location Dealey Plaza and a scene from the Kennedy assassination film Executive Action (1973).

The plot shares elements with the film The Bodyguard (1992), particularly Homer carrying Hamill away from the crowd at the end. Leavelle sings the song "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton which was popularized by Whitney Houston as the theme for The Bodyguard; it also plays at the end. After believing he has killed Mayor Quimby, Homer decides to take inspiration from the film Weekend at Bernie's (1989) and "use the body to stage an elaborate farce." The title of the episode is a reference to the film Married to the Mob (1988).