# TV episodes with (relatively) subtle movie parodies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102 "2014-01-17T21:55:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/21 "2014-01-21T03:40:46Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > _The Simpsons_ have done several parodies of _The Graduate_ (the part where Benjamin shows up at the church and starts pounding on the window during the wedding). It happened in the episode where Homer thinks he’s going to die from blowfish poisoning, and the one where Marge’s mom marries Mr. Burns. Even more directly, the episode that featured Dustin Hoffman (credited as “Sam Etic”) playing a substitute teacher and speaking the line “Mrs. Krabapple, you’re trying to seduce me.” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/22 "2014-01-21T03:49:16Z")
Although I misread the thread title, and didn’t limit to TV. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/23 "2014-01-21T08:29:53Z")
I was just watching the Simpsons episode where Komiko marries Comic Book Guy and i knew the minute the masked shadows showed up who they where going to parody. It’s a shame though that they didn’t have parodies of Porco Rosso, Pom Poko and Nausicaa. I guess the figured they’d be too obscure. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/24 "2014-01-21T12:31:57Z")
Continuing with the Simpsons theme…They did a Raiders of the Lost Ark parody when Bart stole Homer’s penny jar… The clip episode where Homer was in the hospital because Bart shook his beer in a paint stirrer has a One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest parody. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/25 "2014-01-21T12:40:17Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > The sitcom, **Get Smart** , was almost entirely movie spoofs… with the title some sort of pun-play on a cinematic title, and references to the movie’s plot and/or characters in the episode. In fact, as a kid, the series was an introduction, of sorts to many classics of cinema. Years later, I’d see a movie and start to say, “Hey, they ripped off Get Smart!” > > Ship of Spies > Rebecca of Sunny-Folk Farm > Casablanca > The Amazing Harry Hoo (Charlie Chan) > Bronzefinger It was actually Bronzethumb, IIRC. There was also a parody of Ironside (for which I can’t recall the title), and Valerie of the Dolls. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/26 "2014-01-21T12:47:23Z")
Archer does this a lot. Ok maybe its not so subtle. The best being their homage to Magnum PI’s “Did you see the sunrise?” ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/27 "2014-01-21T16:08:56Z")
_The Simpsons_ has also done _The Shining_ (The Shinning) and _2001: A Space Odyssey_. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/28 "2014-01-21T16:16:50Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > _The Simpsons_ has also done _The Shining_ (The Shinning) and _2001: A Space Odyssey_. Well, every segment of the Treehouse of Horror is a parody (movie or Twilight Zone episode), so they’re in a category by themselves. But The Simpsons have also inserted random hommage to The Birds and Psycho, in episodes that otherwise have nothing to do with Hitchcock. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/29 "2014-01-21T17:34:19Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > Continuing with the Simpsons theme…They did a Raiders of the Lost Ark parody when Bart stole Homer’s penny jar… > > The clip episode where Homer was in the hospital because Bart shook his beer in a paint stirrer has a One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest parody. They also parodied _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ in the Mr. Plow episode when God brought forth spring and the snowmen melted like the Nazis in _Raiders_. More subtly, _Arrested Development_ had Barry (played by Henry Winkler), casually take a small jump over a beached shark, referencing the infamous Happy Days episode where The Fonz jumped over a shark on water skis. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/30 "2014-01-21T18:55:21Z")
The underrated animated show Home Movies did this consistently where either the movies being made by the kids were direct rip offs (like their version of Tommy), or episodes had plotlines from classic movies, like a take on Rear Window. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/31 "2014-01-21T19:42:45Z")
MST3K did an homage to \*2001: A Space Odyssey \*in Joels last episode. The mads are discussing getting rid of their temp worker as Gypsy reads their lips a la HAL 9000. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/32 "2014-01-21T20:07:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Archer does this a lot. Ok maybe its not so subtle. The best being their homage to Magnum PI’s “Did you see the sunrise?” _Magnum P.I._ did a _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ bit. The gag was that throughout the episode, Magnum thought the entire case was like a movie, but he just couldn’t remember which one. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/33 "2014-01-21T20:17:40Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > They also parodied _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ in the Mr. Plow episode when God brought forth spring and the snowmen melted like the Nazis in _Raiders_. > More subtly, _Arrested Development_ had Barry (played by Henry Winkler), casually take a small jump over a beached shark, referencing the infamous Happy Days episode where The Fonz jumped over a shark on water skis. They also had Winkler do the almost hair brushing in the mirror thing. And then he was replaced by Scott Baio. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/34 "2014-01-21T20:20:13Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > _Magnum P.I._ did a _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ bit. The gag was that throughout the episode, Magnum thought the entire case was like a movie, but he just couldn’t remember which one. And of course Selleck had to drop out of Raiders because of scheduling conflicts with Magnum. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/35 "2014-01-22T15:29:08Z")
A 2012 Simpsons episode [Penny-Wiseguys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-Wiseguys) had Homer Simpson in a swarm of locust, a subtle reference to the movie Day of the Locust, based on Nathanial West’s book, where the protagonist’s name is Homer Simpson (and I cannot believe it took the Simpsons writers so long to make that reference). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/36 "2014-01-22T15:43:58Z")
An episode of **Pinky & The Brain** spoofed **The Third Man** very nicely. **Star Trek: Deep Space Nine** parodied the Bond films at least once, with Bashir as 007 and Sisko as Blofeld on the Holodeck. **30 Rock** did a Batman pastiche, with Tina Fey as the Joker and Alec Baldwin as Batman. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/37 "2014-01-22T16:02:26Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > An episode of **Pinky & The Brain** spoofed **The Third Man** very nicely. Which is doubly-appropriate, since The Brain’s voice is a dead-on impression of Orson Welles. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/38 "2014-01-22T17:44:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **Community’s** parody of **My Dinner With Andre** was fairly subtle. Except they actually say the name of the target out loud, revealing Abed was doing it on purpose. Community is good, but it’s about as subtle as a brick to the face. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102/39 "2014-01-23T00:23:20Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > [Dogma](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120655/?ref_=nv_sr_6), another Kevin Smith movie, features a couple, including an homage to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It also includes a character reciting Eddie Quist’s “Bright Boy” lines from **The Howling**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-with-relatively-subtle-movie-parodies/679102.md?page=1)