plow back onto the road. This joke was created by Conan O'Brien, and the writers liked it so much that they included it in the episode. The Simpsons team encountered trouble with the network censors in the scene where Homer answers the phone and pretends to be Tony Dow from Leave it to Beaver. After a brief pause, Homer replies to an inquiry by the person on the phone with "Yeah, they were gay." The censors refused to allow the line to be aired, fearing legal recourse for libel. The Simpsons crew protested, arguing that no one in particular was being implied, and that the "they" could be anybody. After numerous phone calls and arguments, the censors allowed the joke to air. Cultural references This episode contains several references that Al Jean referred to as "very obscure". Examples include the scene where Homer drives over a rickety bridge in the mountains, parodies a climactic action scene from William Friedkin's 1977 film Sorcerer, including a soundtrack similar to Tangerine Dream's work from the film. The scene in which Kent Brockman reports Barney's accident, in which his attire (including glasses), camera angles and facial expressions are in reference to the manner of Walter Cronkite's reporting of the Kennedy shooting. The revamped "Mr. Plow commercial" is a parody of a similar perfume commercial that aired at the time of the episode's production. The fast-moving clouds were taken from Koyaanisqatsi, a documentary film. The music that was used in the commercial was from "Casta Diva" from Vincenzo Bellini's Norma because the Simpsons crew would not have to pay for it. At the time the episode was made, Russia did not abide by American copyright laws. In return, America did not respect Russia's copyright laws. Homer's original jingle, "Call Mr. Plow, that's my name, that name again is Mr. Plow!", is based on a radio jingle for the Roto-Rooter, which had a similar tune, "Call Roto-Rooter, that's the name, and away go troubles down the drain." Adam West reprises as himself and is first seen signing autographs at a car show. When Adam West says he is Batman and worked with Robin, Bart does not know who Robin is, causing West to go into a tangent about how the 1990s Batman movies ruined it for the character. Other references to include the Carnival of the Stars television show seen at the start of the episode.