Thankfully, this wasn't really a Marge-centric episode as I had initially feared given the title, although to be fair, the Marge episodes this season aren't half bad.
On the "weird coincidence" note, when I was flipping through the channels after this episode, the local PBS station (KUHT) had a special about Henry VIII on, and I happened to tune in when they were discussing Anne Boleyn.
Review: Overall, I liked the episode. I think this will go down as a classic. It might not make my top 10, but it's a great episode nevertheless (A-).
= Homer VIII: not bad, but not great either. The whole "Lisa trying to grow a penis" scene was a bit disturbing. (C+)
= Sacajawea Lisa: decent, but the whole "dumb, insensitive Lenny & Carl" and "bitchy Lisa" shtick got repetitive. The Sacajawea Dollar joke was good. (B-)
= Bartholomew Jo-Jo Amadeus Mozart: In one word, excellent. "Mincing room only" and the (possibly) gay men who mimiced Emperor Burns, the headlines ("Mozart Flops as Fops Drop"), entrances for Fops and Dandies, Nelson's Beethoven's 5th laugh, the 'Nachtmusik' consisting of "Beans, beans, the musical fruit" -- many funny jokes, and few groaners. (A)
(trying to not repeat what's already been posted)
References: -Peanuts (comic strip/TV cartoon/Met-Life insurance shill/etc): Nelson/Beethoven is playing the piano hunched over like Schroeder = At first I wondered if this was an intentional ref, but the way the wide-angle shot is set up before it zooms in, it has to be, as it looks identical, lacking only Snoopy dancing on top of the piano.
-Animal House (movie): Homer makes up a song about the archetypal college party movie. Donald Sutherland's ass (actually his whole body) appeared as the dope-smoking hippy professor. Homer apparently takes the toga party theme to heart and dons a toga as his work attire the next day.
-American Graffiti (movie): I haven't seen it, but according to Homer _Animal House_ ripped off the "show what happens to everybody at the end" bit from it.
-Pocahontas (historical figure): Lisa/Sacajawea is misidentified as this Native American princess who aided the settlers in the Jamestown settlement, and whose story was made into a Disney movie that is about as historically accurate as _Amadeus_ was.
Musical Refs: -Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", arguably Mozart's most famous composition, has words from the grade school rhyme "Beans, beans, the musical fruit" set to it. = Bart plays some piano concerto of Mozart's, which unfortunately I can't identify. = "The Musical Fruit" parodies "The Magic Flute"
-Ludwig van Beethoven: Nelson plays Beethoven's 9th symphony (which was later set to the words "Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee" as a church hymn) on the piano, and adapts his trademark Ha-Ha! laugh to Beethoven's 5th.
-Johann Sebastian Bach, Haydn (the full name escapes me): Homer dismisses Bach and Haydn as has-beens -- "Haydn is in hiding"
Previous episodes: I can't remember where, but I could swear there was a time when Bart greeted the crowd as "courtesans and gentlefops". Perhaps someone else can fill in the details.
DYN: -Homer still hates Flanders, even in the alternate reality of medieval England?
-Lisa has a surprising knowledge of wines? [Port, claret, Riesling (sp?)] I wouldn't expect an eight-year-old girl, even one of her intelligence, to know such things, especially given the lack of culture in her surroundings. Heck, I couldn't tell you the difference. Then again, she's not really Lisa but Salieri, so all bets are off. Maybe Bart told her after returning from France in "The Crepes of Wrath"?
-When the Indian tribe (hey, they weren't called "Native Americans" in Lewis & Clark's day!) load arrows into their bows and take aim at Lewis, Clark, et al, the same "gun cocking" sound is repeated? (I can only assume this was intentional and not a goof.)
-President Thomas Jefferson (played by Mayor Quimby), who launched the Lewis & Clark expedition to map out the huge amounts of land gained by the Louisiana Purchase is not identified by name, but simply wears a sash saying "The 3rd president")?
-Carl wants the native tribe to clothe themselves, but they are already wearing pants (that would be "trousers" to you silly English types)?
-The crazy cat lady is in the "short bus" headed to the insane asylum (although I couldn't make out if she had any cats with her)?
Goofs: -Bart (as a Indian) supposedly scalps Milhouse the fur trader (Lisa/Sacajawea: don't forget the eyebrows!), but later we see Milhouse's decaying head, complete with trademark blue hair and eyebrows.
OK, enough over-analyzing. That's it, I'm out.
-Andrew