Good episode, I liked it. Except for a few odd bits that fell flat (and an unusual amount of violence, like locking a guy in a pizza oven and Homer slamming Flanders in the door enough to knock him out), anyway. The overall plot/mockery of the "preppers" was fun and the writing felt sharp with good lines and little bits of insight.
DYN: ...the opening setpiece didn't give way to the plot till act 2? ...after rarely seeing him for many years, we get Herman two episodes in a row?
Previous episode stuff 7F18: Homer's adventures in a slide (didn't get stuck this time) and - as we can see when he raids the cupboards - aversion to rice cakes EABF04: Homer's fearful tension after his traumatic experience is a bit like Marge's after getting mugged MG20, BABF12: Homer's apparently forgotten his WWIII drills, but does tend to wake his family up super early anyway CABF01: Snake's execution fails because of low/no electricity 2F11: Several doomsday themes but also the list of gay celebrities and the comet approaching Earth (there are several other doomsday episodes, such as GABF14, and so on, but they're kind of general in relation) 2F01: Driving through the cornfield reminiscent of Homer's "shortcut"
Meta -Carl calls attention to the oddness of saying "when the stuff hits the fan" -Moe, Lenny, and Carl apparently sit around motionless when Homer's not at the bar -Marge finds it reassuring to see that Homer is aware of the future (the context seems to imply that she means only the concept OF the future, which I'd take as a remark about his intelligence drift over the years)
For Don Football sorta ran late, I think? (Eastern time/Cleveland.) The game was over in plenty of time, I thought, but I noticed that the TV listings were for "NFL Postgame" and not "The OT"; maybe they wanted to have a certain amount of time to discuss. At about 7:59 they wrapped up and began a long preview for a new show, which then led to the NFL signoff and a few ads. The Simpsons didn't start till 8:03.