I really hope the one I originally typed shows up at some point, because it doesn't look like it really sent, and then it got lost to the ether. Here goes again... probably won't be as wordy.
More adventures with Homer's mom. Is she really dead this time? Probably, unless she fashioned an elaborate ruse with some sort of body double (not unlike Homer's in 3F06, actually!)... but it was interesting the way Homer reacted to her return (anger and such) and then death (guilt at that) - the actual moments after the reveal that she'd died was also in good taste without being too sappy. I liked Mona's revenge from beyond and the mini clip show... I think I liked the episode overall more than EABF18, but it's hard to top the last few minutes of 3F06. Other fun things: Apu and Ned's religion discussion (similar to GABF16), and Homer's remark to Lisa ("people are always really glad when they're corrected" - I've been on the correcting side of this sentiment often, but I like to believe/wish that it's true; I certainly would welcome corrections when I'm wrong!).
DYN: ...the "evolution" couch gag uses the original Marge line, unlike the second time it was used? ...Bart somehow got all the hippos to talk on their own? ...when they're sneaking up on the burglar, no one tries to block the other exit(s) from the kitchen? ...Homer's watch starts beeping before it changes to 3:00? ...what appears to be 3D smoke when the mountain blows up? ...full (otherwise normal) credits?
Previous episode references 7F21: Blackboard gag is not unlike this one AABF02: Seth and Munchie (both with gray hair) at the funeral home HABF03: Mason (Mona's other lover and potentially Homer's dad) there too 9F11: Video will of a family member 1F06: Bart gets a pocketknife 8F12, 5F16: Simpson mountain climbing moments I was reminded of AABF02: "Go Ask Alice" heard 3F23: Extended Bond parody
Mona Simpson 3F06, EABF18 (and deleted scene from 3F06 in 3F31): Glenn Close voices her 3F06, AABF02, EABF18: Clips from these episodes (that's all, I think) seen in montage at the end 7F16, 2F07, AABF02 (others? 3F06 capsule suggests possibly 7F04 but I can't figure where): Mona speaks but isn't voiced by Glenn It's also notable that in 3F06, Burns was the reason she had to flee (twice), as well as in EABF18 I believe, and here the missile launch she wanted to thwart was Burns's!
James Bond This episode seemed to feature an extended Bond parody near the end, and here's what I picked up: -Mountaintop launch base reminiscent of (among others) You Only Live Twice and Moonraker -Homer's Union Jack parachute is like Bond uses in The Spy Who Loved Me (if it's in another, I forget offhand)
Dedications (fingers crossed for repeats, syndication, DVD) Elsie Castellaneta: Dan Castellaneta's mother (died February 5th this year at 81) Dora K. Warren: Harry Shearer's mother (according to http://www.harryshearer.com/message_board/forums/1/topics/49 probably the same who died on February 24th)
Goof Smoke generally shouldn't waft down (maybe in the mountain air?) - and if that's an exhaust port, it shouldn't be able to get inside at all. (This isn't this episode's only weird gravity moment - look at Homer's upside-down climbing.)
Title triple triple Yes, tonight there's a new group of three episodes whose titles refer to the same thing... A Star Is Born: 2F31, EABF08, GABF13 The Old Man and the Key: 4F17, AABF16, DABF09 Mona Lisa: 7G06, HABF19, KABF12 (Note that in these titles, they're not always a reference to the same character.) I'm not counting 1F19/EABF03/GABF16, because I maintain that the "too little" episode titles were not the writers' *own* twists on the "too much" title... there's already a precedent (e.g. the Bill Murray movie "The Man Who Knew Too Little"). But if I'm missing something, let me know. (No, TOHs don't count either.)
But wait, there's more Watching a repeat of JABF21 tonight, I thought of something I hadn't before: the talk about the end of act 2 reminded me of 8F15's "Death Drives a Stick".