History Trivia / TheSimpsonsS4E12MargeVsTheMonorail

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The writers actually wanted Creator/GeorgeTakei to voice himself in this episode, but Takei refused to be on anything that satirized public transportation, as he's an advocate of it[[note]]There are disputes among fans about whether the episode actually is intended as an attack on public transportation as a concept, but it has been alluded to in anti-public-transportation campaigns in real life[[/note]]. The writers then turned to Creator/WilliamShatner, but he turned them down before to appear on the show, and feared he'd do the same this time around. Then they asked Creator/LeonardNimoy, he said yes, and the rest is history...

* CrossdressingVoices: The cackling old lady in North Haverbrook is voiced by Creator/DanCastellaneta. As a result, her voice bears an uncanny resemblance to Itchy the Mouse.

* TheOtherDarrin: This is the only time in the series Lurleen Lumpkin is voiced by someone other than Beverly D'Angelo. For her brief appearance here, Doris Grau provides the voice (though it's justified here, as Lurleen Lumpkin has had a hard life after Homer sold her to another manager to save his marriage).

* Matt Groening's favorite lines from this episode are "I call the big one 'Bitey'" and "Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?".

* MagnumOpusDissonance: Despite it often being considered one of, if not ''the'' best episode of the series (second only to "Last Exit in Springfield"), Creator/YeardleySmith has been vocal in her dislike of the episode. In a 1995 interview, she heavily criticized it for not fitting in well with the show's then-usual style.

* ActorAllusion: As the solar eclipse is shown a few bars of the Main theme from ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' (and ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'') are heard, this as Creator/LeonardNimoy himself narrates.

-> '''Homer:''' Well, how do I look?
-> '''Selma:''' Like Darth Vader without the helmet.

* It was [[http://splitsider.com/2012/03/and-the-best-sitcom-episode-of-all-time-is/ the runner-up]] in ''Splitsider''[='=]s 2012 poll of best sitcom episodes ever, but lost by a surprisingly wide margin to the ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "[[Recap/CommunityS3E04RemedialChaosTheory Remedial Chaos Theory]]".

* MagnumOpusDissonance: Despite it often being considered one of, if not ''the'' best episode of the series, Creator/YeardleySmith has been vocal in her dislike of the episode. In a 1995 interview, she heavily criticised it for not fitting in well with the show's then-usual style.
* TheOtherDarrin: This is the only time in the series Lurleen Lumpkin is voiced by someone other than Beverly D'Angelo. For her brief appearance here, Doris Grau provides the voice.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The writers actually wanted Creator/GeorgeTakei to voice himself in this episode, but Takei refused to be on anything that satirized public transportation, as he's an advocate of it. (There are disputes among fans about whether the episode actually is intended as an attack on public transportation as a concept, but it has been alluded to in anti-public-transportation campaigns in real life.) The writers then turned to Creator/WilliamShatner, but he turned them down before to appear on the show, and feared he'd do the same this time around. Then they asked Creator/LeonardNimoy, he said yes, and the rest is history...

* MagnumOpusDissonance: Despite it often being considered one of, if not ''the'' best episode of the series, Yeardley Smith has been vocal in her dislike of the episode. In a 1995 interview, she heavily criticised it for not fitting in well with the show's then-usual style.

* ActorAllusion: As the solar eclipse is shown a few bars of the Main theme from ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' (and ''Series/TheNextGeneration'') are heard, this as Creator/LeonardNimoy himself narrates.

* CreatorBacklash: Despite it often being considered one of, if not ''the'' best episode of the series, Yeardley Smith has been vocal in her dislike of the episode. In a 1995 interview, she heavily criticised it for not fitting in well with the show's then-usual style.

* CreatorBacklash: Despite it often being considered one of, if not ''the'' best episode of the series, Yeardley Smith has been vocal in her dislike of the episode. In a 1995 interview she heavily criticised it for not fitting in well with the show's then-usual style.

* CreatorBacklash: Despite it often being considered one of, if not ''the'' best episode of the series, Yeardley Smith has been vocal in her dislike of the episode.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The writers actually wanted Creator/GeorgeTakei to voice himself in this episode, but Takei refused to be on anything that satirized public transportation, as he's an advocate of it. The writers then turned to Creator/WilliamShatner, but he turned them down before to appear on the show, and feared he'd do the same this time around. Then they asked Creator/LeonardNimoy, he said yes, and the rest is history...

* By incredible coincidence, Creator/LeonardNimoy's name [[SignificantAnagram is an anagram of "Deny Monorail"]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The writers actually wanted GeorgeTakei to voice himself in this episode, but Takei refused to be on anything that satirized public transportation, as he's an advocate of it. The writers then turned to WilliamShatner, but he turned them down before to appear on the show, and feared he'd do the same this time around. Then they asked LeonardNimoy, he said yes, and the rest is history...