Cultural References[]

• Many parts of the segment, "E.T., Go Home", are references to the film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, with Bart in the role of Eliott and Kodos as E.T.
• E.T., Go Home is a pun on E.T.'s most famous quote, "E.T., phone home".
• The "Mr. & Mrs. Simpson" segment is a parody of the 2005 action comedy film, Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
• In the final segment, "Heck House", Groundskeeper Willie's tractor transforms into a robot and kills him, parodying Transformers. The segment parodies the 1995 American thriller film, Seven (Se7en). The film franchise would later be parodied again in the following season's Treehouse of Horror as a segment.
• Kodos mentioned Columbo in the segment, "E.T., Go Home."
• Ron Hauge's Halloween name is Enron Hauge, which is a reference to Enron and its scandal.
  • Enron had been parodied prior in "The Ziff Who Came for Dinner" and "Special Edna".
• The way Hell is depicted in this episode is a reference to the Hell panel in Hieronymus Bosch's triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights. Hell was also depicted in that homage in "Bart Gets Hit by a Car".
• Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney comprise a three-headed dog in hell, a reference to Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades in Greek and Roman Mythology.
• The credits music is a Simpsons cover of The Addams Family theme song, which was also played on Treehouse of Horror credits in "Treehouse of Horror IV".
• A multitude of aliens come through the portal to the music of The Sorcerers Apprentice by Paul Dukas, reminiscent of the multitude of broomsticks coming to life from Fantasia.
• Soldiers and helicopters come to battle the aliens to Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, reminiscent of that music used to similar purpose in the movie Apocalypse Now.
• When Kodos says "Columbo", is likely a pun to Disney's 1941 film, Dumbo.

Trivia[]

• This is the first Treehouse of Horror episode to have the opening credits appear on the same location as the title.
• Ned last appeared as a devil in "Treehouse of Horror IV".
• The last time Groundskeeper Willie got decapitated by an unusual device occurred in "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times".
• This is to date the first Treehouse of Horror that Maggie is absent in all segments.
• Ian Maxtone-Graham is credited as Executed Producer. Writer Marc Wilmore also has no scary name.

Continuity[]

• "Grift of the Magi", "Trilogy of Error", "Smart and Smarter": Funzo, Linguo and Phonic Frog all appear on Bart's toy shelf in "E.T. Go Home".
• The Radioactive Man comic read by Bart is the same issue seen in "Three Men and a Comic Book", specifically the one in which Radioactive Man fights the Swamp Hag.
• This is the second time Nelson lit a bag of crap. The first was in "Maximum Homerdrive".
• Plopper returns from The Simpsons Movie.

Goofs[]

• Grampa gets shot several times but no bullets actually strike him. This is most likely due to TV censorship, as Fox probably didn't want to let people show an elderly person die.
• Marge's making of Crème brûlée isn't right, as she doesn't cool them before caramelizing the sugar on top.
• Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney form a parody of Cerberus who guarded the Gates of Hades in Greek and Roman Mythology, but there is no such guardian in Christian Hell.
• Marge and Homer are hiding guns. But when Marge explains to the kids what happened, they vanish.
  • Also, Marge holds her guns with her left hand in one shot but then she clears her throat with the same hand in the next shot.
• When Bart, Lisa, Milhouse, and Nelson get sucked into hell they are suddenly wearing their average clothes.
• When the kids are rolling pumpkins down the road, one of the pumpkins has an orange stem.
• The 20th Century Fox Television logo in this episode has the 1989 music instead of the 1997 music. Most episodes from "Bart Star" onwards have the 1997 music instead of the 1989 music.