The Simpsons
The Simpsons is one of the first animation based prime time US TV shows to parody and reference Doctor Who. Doctor Who has often been mentioned by the Comic Book Guy in several episodes.
There have been several explicit references to Doctor Who within episodes of The Simpsons in the episodes;
- In 1995's Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming a caricature of the Fourth Doctor appears representing television.
- "Bart the Fink" which unambiguously refers to a "Doctor Who (episode watching) marathon".
- In "Springfield Up" in which Homer refers to a character voiced by Eric Idle as "Doctor Who".
Additionally the show's creator; Matt Groening is reportedly a huge fan of Doctor Who, with the Fourth Doctor being his favourite incarnation of the Doctor. [source needed] Consulting producer Don Payne is also apparently a fan.[source needed] In the "Treehouse of Horror" episode, he was credited as Don "He will knock 4 times" Payne — a reference to the prophecy begun in Planet of the Dead.
For one week in 1996 Doctor Who and The Simpsons shared the same network of origin, when the co-produced TV movie aired.
In-universe references
- Note, whilst references to The Simpsons have been made it has rarely been positively identified as such.
At his flat, Martin and Trix MacMillan drank tea from Simpsons mugs. (EDA: The Tomorrow Windows)
Several specimens of the construct known as Cuddlesomes could be heard to use catchphrases like "Ay Caramba!" and "Eat my shorts", which are closely associated to that used by Bart Simpson. (BFA: Cuddlesome)
Whilst outside the Railway Station giving away tickets for the museum, Odd Bob recieves an insult from one kid saying "Take a hike, Krusty!", most probably referencing the character Krusty the Clown from The Simpsons. (SJA: Day of the Clown)
Two Martian colonies established in the early 23rd century, perhaps by coincidence, share the names of the Simpsons' hometown Springfield and its neighbouring town Shelbyville. (NA: GodEngine)
At Ood Operations, there were various settings for the way Ood could speak. One of them included the catchphrase "D'oh!", a known saying of Homer Simpson, the main character of the show. (DW: Planet of the Ood)
Bart Simpson (or someone resembling him) attended Bonjaxx's birthday party on Maruthea. (DWM: Party Animals)