The Simpsons

(Fox, 1989—) animated comedy series

In S10E7, "Lisa Gets an 'A'," (aired November 22, 1998), a series of events leads to Lisa being unprepared for what should have been a simple test. As she draws blank after blank she begins to imagine that her failure will result in being locked out of first-choice Harvard, and that she will have to attend (shudder) Brown University instead, like bus driver Otto. Brown ('81) alumnus and Simpson's writer Ian Maxtone-Graham takes credit for chosing his alma mater as Lisa's less-than-top choice: "I chose Brown because I went there, and I felt like the school could take a joke," Maxtone-Graham wrote in an email to The Brown Daily Herald.

In S15E2, "My Mother the Carjacker," (aired November 9, 2003), an encrypted message in the newspaper reveals that Homer's mother, Mona, did not die in a fiery bus crash as everyone believes: "Homer. Your mother loves you. I escaped from the bus the moment before it plunged off the cliff. I then hitched a ride from a nice young couple. We had lunch at a lovely diner. They had clam chowder, Rhode Island style. I never knew there was such a thing! And the crackers kept on coming..."

In S18E6, "Moe'N'a Lisa," (aired November 19, 2006), Homer is greeted by a passel of law enforcement vehicles after having driven drunk all the way from Springfield to the Word Loaf Literary Conference in Vermont. "Wow," exclaims Homer, "troopers from every state in New England!" A tiny trooper on a Big Wheel responds, "Including Rhode Island. We're a small state but we give big tickets!"