One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish/References

Cultural references[edit]

• The episode title is an obvious pun on the Dr. Seuss book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.
• The restaurant chiefs welcomed Simpsons by saying "Irasshaimase!" (いらっしゃいませ!^?), literally meaning "come in" in Japanese.
• The tune the Japanese master chef is whistling as he reenters the kitchen is the Japanese folk song Sakura Sakura.
• The image on Homer's bottle of Duffihama is a simplified rendering of "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Hokusai. The same image is on the wall behind Homer.
• The music heard on Abe's TV as Homer enters is Rule, Britannia! (1740) by Thomas Arne.
• References to the movie D.O.A. include the kids singing in the restaurant and the doctor saying, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
• At The Happy Sumo's karaoke bar:
  • Richie Sakai sings "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" by Cher.
  • Bart and Lisa perform "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes.
• The five stages of grief were first laid out in Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's book, On Death and Dying.
• Barney's answering machine message, "Nobody's Home", is sung to the opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
• The music playing when Homer runs home from Barney's broken-down car is similar to the music that plays in The Graduate when Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman's character} races to break up the wedding of Elaine Robinson and Carl Smith.

Goofs[edit]

• No matter how much sushi Homer wolfs down when gobbling it from his plate, at no point is Homer seen with less than two pieces on his plate.
• When Marge is telling Homer to wake up, Homer's five o'clock shadow is colored his skin color.
• Fugu poisoning doesn't progress in the way that Dr. Hibbert claims it does; what actually happens is that paralysis creeps through the body, and when it reaches the lungs, the victim dies of suffocation (unless s/he is on a ventilator by that time, and is kept on it until the paralysis wears off). Dr. Hibbert's error in this is what drives the plot of this episode.

Music[edit]

Karaoke lounge performances

• Cher - "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"
• Isaac Hayes - "Theme from Shaft"

Trivia[edit]

• The karaoke signer identifying himself as Richie Sakai is a caricature and namesake of The Simpsons producer Richard Sakai.
• Homer drinks a large bottle of "Duffihama" beer with his dinner at The Happy Sumo.
• The Simpsons have a mouse problem in their home: A mousehole is seen in the videotaped message to Maggie from Homer.
• The clock reads 7:00 when the kids run in for dinner, but during dinner, it reads 5:00.
• In the ending credits, Homer is eating and watching TV, this is a reused scene from the previous season episode, "Moaning Lisa".
• Homer's telling Bart that "cover for me" is a phrase he will find useful in his adult years is, ironically, the very phrase that lands Homer in his fugu situation when the Master Sushi Chef tells Toshiro to "cover for me" so he could go make out with Edna Krabappel, and ignoring Toshiro's pleas that he was too inexperienced to prepare an order of fugu.
• Fugu is in fact a poisonous fish if cut improperly. Sushi chefs must work for several years before being allowed to take tough tests in order to become certified to prepare it. The Emperor of Japan is also prohibited by law from eating fugu.
• On Homer's "Dumb Things I Gotta Do Today" list:

1. Make list (crossed off)
2. Eat a hearty breakfast
3. Make videotape for Maggie
4. Have man-to-man with Bart
5. Listen to Lisa play her sax
6. Make funeral arrangement
7. Make peace with Dad
8. Beer with the boys at the bar
9. Tell off boss
10. Go hang gliding
11. Plant a tree
12. A final dinner with my beloved family
13. Be intamit with Marge