...the person in the couch gag putting the "Simpsons puzzle" together has five fingers and not yellow (possibly Matt Groening? It sounded like him)? ...the blue convertible parked next to Moe's? ...what appeared to be Zutroy at Lenny's surprise party (he has grey hair now- he's getting on in the years!)? ...Homer actually recognizes Stephen Hawking this time (he doesn't think he's Larry Flynt)? ...Homer has his car window down while it's raining? ...Bart wasn't circumcised at birth? ...SLH actually wears glasses at the Retirement Castle? ...When Homer wakes up at the mental hospital, the first thing he is worried about is where his shoes are? ...Bart actually saw Homer speaking to no one at the Builder's Barn, despite the setup of him having a stack of shingles in front of his face? ...Ray Magini as in anagram for - Oh, wait, Lisa pointed that out
Lisa's hamsters: 7F24: Lisa reads a poem about her dead hamster Snuffy 9F14: Hamster used in Lisa's science fair experiment DABF02: Nibbles the hamster is launched in a rocket GABF10: Lisa's hamster gets caught in the water of Homer's Hot Wheels track
8F19, 2F08, CABF20: Homer finds a new bar 1F07, 4F10: Zutroy appears AABF18: Stephen Hawking guest stars BABF20: Homer imagines himself in a political office 1F18: Someone pets SLH hard CABF11: Homer gets shot at with a nail gun 8F14: The picture Homer painted of Marge on the house is similar to the roaring face she makes when she stops her car in traffic on the bridge 4F07: Calmwood Mental Hospital appears 2F05: Bart has a turtle 9F04: Bart tries to bring a pet back from the dead 4F01: Milhouse (and possibly Bart) likes Vaseline on toast (c.f. Homer's rubber biteplate covered in Vaseline) 7G04: OFF gets electroshock therapy 7F24: Homer is labeled as insane 5F23: Homer cannot seem to understand simple information (how much and when a free resort weekend is/time, station, day, and medium on which that show where everybody loves that guy airs) AABF10: OFF plugs another network
- Little Caesar's Pizza The mascot, a small Roman caricature, spouts the catchphrase, "Pizza Pizza!" - Boost mobile A youth-focused cell phone carrier with commercials that feature old people partying with rappers and using slang (like the company's slogan, "Where You At?") - Home Depot Builder's Barn has a similar marquee (with the white font on orange background) to this all-in-one mega chain hardware and home improvement store
- How were Bart's crackers and Maggie's teddy bear soaked when the hole was in Homer and Marge's room? - How could Homer see Snowball II sinking in the litter box (which was in the kitchen) from the front door? - Zutroy's hair changes back and forth from black to gray - Members of Lenny's surprise party disappear and reappear - Carl's noise-maker disappears from the floor after he throws it down - Moe's position moves from behind the bar to in front of it when Homer leaves - Ray's pitcher of beer fills only one mug - The location of the hole in OFF's roof in inconsistent when shown from the attic - Homer never makes the gestures when talking with Ray that he makes in Bart's flashback to the Builder's Barn - Homer's "M" hairs disappear during his electroconvulsive therapy electrocutions - The chair Homer uses to hit Ray appears out of nowhere - The eye-patch the bartender was wearing would not have caused him to see a big black hole where Ray would had been - Homer was eating nachos much more ravenously than as seen in the bartender's flashback - If the bartender didn't see Ray, who did Ray buy the pitcher of beer from? - In Stephen Hawking's explanation, Bart was standing in front of Homer; in Bart's flashback, he was standing to Homer's right - The small ladder that was present when Homer and Ray were talking in Builder's Barn is not there during Stephen Hawking's explanation
"Don't Fear the Roofer" was a little light on laughs. But, despite its out-there premise, it was actually handled with a down to earth sensibility. Even the "improbable series of events," including Steven Hawking's final explanation, didn't feel too crazy (even though it was barely "feasible," I liked that Stephen Hawking had some more lines that had to do with his forte, black holes and such). The highlight, IMHO, was the ad-libbed dialogue between Homer and Ray during the credits ("...now if I wanted to see it on a certain day, what would be the best day to see it...?"). It had me laughing my ass off. All in all, this was probably the weakest showing of the "milestone" episodes; "Future-Drama" would have made a better 350th episode. Grade: B-
The long line of guest stars that don't play themselves but still look suspiciously like themselves: Kathleen Turner as Stacy Lovell (1F12) Patrick Stewart as Number One (2F08) Susan Sarandon as Ballet Teacher (2F15) R. Lee Emrey as Colonel Leslie Hapablap (3F08) Rodney Dangerfield as Larry Burns (4F05) Jack Lemmon as Frank Ormand (4F08) John Waters as John (4F11) George Carlin as Munchie (AABF02) Steve Martin as Ray Patterson (5F09) Ben Stiller as Garth Motherloving (DABF03) Jerry Lewis as Professor Frink's father (EABF21) Simon Cowell as the Admissions Officer (FABF09) Ray Ramano as Ray Magini (GABF10)
What happened to Mom & Pop Hardware - a subsidiary of Global Dynamics, Inc. - from AABF15?
The Simpsons have finally added a new character named Ray.