Trivia[]

• This is one of few canon episodes to include blood.

Cultural References[]

• The title is a pun acronym of C.E.O. (Chief executive officer).
• Dr. Hibbert's former stripper name "Malcolm Sex" is a reference to 1960s civil rights activist Malcolm X.
• Mr. Burns attempting to seal Homer into the catacombs is a reference to Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amantillado.
• In one scene Lenny and Carl fight using plutonium rods as lightsabers from Star Wars. Lenny says "I say The Phantom Menace sucks more!" to which Carl replies "I say Attack of the Clones sucks more!". Their argument alluded to the controversial reception of the then-recent entries to the Prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones (at the time the episode first aired, Revenge of the Sith had not premiered yet).
• During the Itchy & Scratchy cartoon, Itchy is seen dressed like Fonzie from the sitcom Happy Days. The Season 1 and 2 theme of said show, Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets, is also played during this part.
• Scratchy meets J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly on the airplane. The three musicians died together in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, known as "The Day the Music Died."
• When Homer eavesdrops on Mr. Burns, Smithers stated that Mr. Burns is in trouble due to the U.S. Government discovering evidence that he has dumped nuclear waste under Legoland California.
  • In addition, one can catch a glimpse of Frank Grimes's portrait with a line crossed through it when Mr. Burns pulls down the chart showing the hierarchy of the staff. This is one of many references to the character's death from "Homer's Enemy".
• When Mr. Burns returns from Morocco and Homer asks where Smithers is, Mr. Burns explains that he's doing an 80-year sentence at a Turkish Prison, and also wonders aloud why Smithers would be so ecstatic about being sentenced there. This was a reference to The Midnight Express, where the main character was arrested and put into a Turkish prison because he attempted to smuggle drugs. Likewise, Smithers being pointed out as being "oddly happy" to be taken refers to the main character, during his prison sentence, committing a homosexual relationship with another prisoner, a further hint to Smither's orientation.
• During his time as CEO of the power plant, due to the long hours keeping him from his family, Homer laments that "Bart won't be ten years old forever" — a joke on the fact that Bart has been ten ever since the series started over 20 years ago, and likely will be for the rest of the run.
• When Marge tries to act nonchalant about Homer going to Moe's, she mentions "Gabba Gabba Hey", a reference to the Ramones' catchphrase and lyric from their 1977 song "Pinhead."
• In his continued use of archaic speech, Mr. Burns reacts to his firing requesting "Smithers, get this bedlamite an alienist". A bedlamite is a lunatic, and an alienist is a doctor treating the mentally ill.
• The closing music is "Best Friend," the theme from The Courtship of Eddie's Father.
• Bart and Milhouse make reference to MLB players Esteban Yan and Tomokazu Ohka.
• Nelson mentions actor Billy Crystal when talking about the most hated person in the ballpark. Billy Crystal is a huge Yankees fan and goes to many games.

Previous Episode References[]

• "Homer's Enemy": The paper revealing the order of potential plant ownership has a picture of Frank Grimes (which is crossed out because of his infamous mental breakdown and suicide).
• "Deep Space Homer": The inanimate carbon rod is also seen in the paper revealing the order of potential plant ownership (and, in keeping with the joke that the inanimate carbon rod is more respected at work than Homer, the rod's picture is above Homer).
• "The Old Man and the Lisa": Someone besides Mr. Burns (Lenny/Homer) runs the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
• "Secrets of a Successful Marriage": Homer takes a Learning Annex-style adult education class to improve himself.
• "They Saved Lisa's Brain": Homer does something erotic (have boudoir photos taken of him/take a class on how to do striptease) to spice up his marriage to Marge.
• "A Tale of Two Springfields" and "The Parent Rap": Homer and Bart break into the nuclear plant at night (to disable Old Springfield's power/to sit on the cooling towers and look out over the town/to find the papers that reveal who really owns the nuclear plant).
• "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily": Dr. Hibbert doesn't find something funny when, normally, he should.

Goofs[]

• In the classroom when Homer first enters, Superintendent Chalmers is brown.
• Homer said the line “Doctor Hibbert! You’re the teacher?”, but on Disney+, the closed captioning/subtitles reads “Doctor Hibbard! You’re the teacher?”
• Lisa bursts her hand through the wall of Homer and Marge's bedroom to wave, even though the wall is supposed to be an outside wall.
  • A similar error like this happens in "Catch 'Em If You Can."

Production Notes[]

• The final draft of this episode is dated June 20, 2002.^[1]

External Links[]