page_title: The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
section_title: Cultural references
hierarchical_section_title: The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase / Cultural references
caption_attribution_description: Dr. John at the 2007 New Orleans Jazz &amp; Heritage Festival
context_page_description: "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" is the twenty-fourth episode of the eighth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 11, 1997. The episode centers on fictional pilot episodes of non-existent television series derived from The Simpsons, and is a parody of the tendency of networks to spin off characters from a hit series. As such it includes references to many different TV series. The first fictional spin-off is Chief Wiggum P.I., a cop-dramedy featuring Chief Wiggum and Seymour Skinner. The second is The Love-matic Grampa, a sitcom featuring Moe Szyslak who receives dating advice from Abraham Simpson, whose ghost is possessing a love testing machine. The final segment is The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour, a variety show featuring the Simpson family except for Lisa, who has been replaced.
  The episode was written by David S. Cohen, Dan Greaney and Steve Tompkins, with Ken Keeler coming up with the story and the general idea of intentionally bad writing. It was directed by Neil Affleck, and Tim Conway, Gailard Sartain and Phil Hartman guest-starred.
context_section_description: The entire episode is a satire of unoriginal, poor television writing and references and parodies many television series. When Troy McClure mentions that Fox can only fill up three slots for the next season, the three series are Melrose Place, The X-Files and The Simpsons itself. In the museum of television, Troy walks by posters of spin-offs, such as The Ropers (spun off from Three's Company), Laverne & Shirley (spun off from Happy Days), Rhoda, a show that Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge, once starred in, (spun off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and Fish (spun off from Barney Miller), to demonstrate the power of spin-offs. Troy walks by a poster of The Jeffersons (a spin-off of All in the Family) twice, because the writers could not think of any more spin-offs.
  Chief Wiggum, P.I. is a parody of police-dramas, such as Miami Vice, Magnum, P.I. and Starsky and Hutch. Skinner emulates Don Johnson from Miami Vice in order to look scruffier. The character of Big Daddy is based on Dr. John, who comes from New Orleans. The chef in the restaurant resembles Paul Prudhomme.
  The Love-matic Grampa is a parody of fantasy sitcoms such as Mister Ed, I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched as well as having similarities to My Mother the Car. The Love-matic Grampa machine singing "Daisy Bell" in a distorted manner when its electrical circuits are failing is a reference to HAL from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Grampa also references All Quiet on the Western Front, when Moe says he "wrote the book on love". Moe's date, Betty, looks somewhat like Tress MacNeille, the actress who voiced her.
  The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour is a parody of the 1960s and 1970s live variety shows. Mainly it is a parody of The Brady Bunch Hour, a short-lived spin-off of the 1970s sitcom The Brady Bunch. The replacement of Lisa in the third segment with another girl reflects the recasting of Jan Brady in the Brady Bunch Hour when Eve Plumb refused to participate. The Simpson family is made to look like The Partridge Family. Also, the segment holds numerous references to Laugh-In. Kent Brockman introduces the show from inside a broadcast booth in a style similar to Laugh-In, there is a joke wall similar to the one in Laugh-In where The Sea Captain opens a porthole. There is also a Laugh-In-like montage wherein other characters comment on the skit itself. When Hans Moleman reads a poem, it is based on Henry Gibson reading a poem on Laugh-In. Other shows parodied during the variety show include The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
  The songs parodied during the third segment are:
  "I Want Candy" by The Strangeloves, performed by the Simpson family.
  "Peppermint Twist" by Joey Dee and the Starliters, performed by Bart, "Lisa" and Maggie.
  "Lollipop" by Ronald & Ruby, performed by Jasper Beardley.
  "Whip It" by Devo, performed by Waylon Smithers.
  In the planned future for the show, Homer meets a green space alien named Ozmodiar that only he can see. This is a reference to The Great Gazoo, a character added into some of the final episodes of The Flintstones.
caption: The character Big Daddy is based on New Orleans musician Dr. John.
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