Top 6 Friday: Simpson's Movie References

Whatever the verdict on ‘The Simpsons Movie’, the series' consistently smart tributes, spoofs of and ridiculing of an endless number of movies has become a calling card for the show and one of the many sources of humour utilised.

6. In the episode ‘Bart the Murderer’, Bart begins working for the ‘Legitimate Businessmen’s Social Club’, the crime syndicate run by Fat Tony and his crew, Legs, Louie and Joey. The basis for the episode is of course ‘Goodfellas’ and on the whole is ‘supoib’. Quote: (Chief Wiggum): ‘Fat Tony is a cancer on this fair city, and I am the ...uh...what cures cancer?’

5. More Martin Scorsese pops up in the excellent ‘Cape Fear’ episode which essentially condenses the Robert DeNiro thriller into a half hour spoof as Bart and his family are pursued to ‘Terror Lake’ by arch-villain Side Show Bob. Some of the best slapstick I seen in the series is Sideshow Bob being ramped in the face by an unfortunately arranged set of rakes. Quote: (Bart) ‘But who’d want to hurt me? I’m this century’s Dennis the Menace!’

4. In the episode ‘Lady Bouvier’s Lover’, Grandpa Simpson interrupts the nuptials of Jacqueline Bouvier (Marge’s Mom) in a scene directly taken from ‘The Graduate’, where Dustin Hoffman races to the church to stop the wedding of his mistress' daughter whom he has fallen in love with, and so too the Simpsons episode finishes on the same bittersweet note, a bus journey arriving at reality all too quickly.

3. A Halloween episode must of course be mentioned and no horror movie of any repute has not been riled for the annual ‘Treehouse of Terror’. My personal favourite is the spoof of ‘The Shining’, the aborted car journeys in the opening minutes of the segment are hilarious enough before the outstanding resolution to Homer’s rampage courtesy of a mini-TV.

2. There are countless episodes spoofing Hitchcock, Homers outline being used to spoof the Alfred Hitchcock Hour at the beginning of a Tree House episode, the spoof of the ‘Psycho’ shower scene as Homer lies on the garage floor with red paint pouring down a drain, Homer stepping through a nursery full of soother sucking babies, spoofing the end of ‘The Birds’ as Hitchcock himself makes a cameo walking a dog outside and the outstanding episode where Bart becomes convinced Flanders has murdered his wife, as he is confined to his room with a broken arm as Jimmy Stewart was in Rear Window.

1. An oft-spoofed scene, the famous ending to ‘Planet of the Apes’, has never been done better than Homer’s realisation of the true meaning of the ending at a press conference in ‘Deep Space Homer’. Charlton Heston has got nothing on his earnest dismay.