Parasites Regained

Leela and the crew fight to save Nibbler from some all-too familiar parasitic worms, which are diminishing his intelligence.

Production
The writer of record for this episode is Maiya Williams. Much like "Children of a Lesser Bog," the overseas production for this episode was handled by Digital eMation.

Trivia

 * At the pet clinic, Nibbler exclaimed "Mon Dieu!" which is French for "My God!"

Allusions

 * The title of this episode is a reference to the 1671 poem .


 * Scoopy-Poo Dog Park is a portmanteau of  and the word "poo".


 * The name of the alien movie is Quizblorg, Quizblorg ℵ1 and is being played at Loew's ℵ0-Plex. The mathematical symbol (pronounced "aleph-one") is the next  after ℵ0, hence this is likely a sequel to Quizblorg, Quizblorg. The movie has won the "Palme d'Oorknob", alluding to the  prize.


 * In the game of 3D crossword, the puzzle is "What's a 2x3x5 letter name, for a 3x23x29 number name, for a movie featuring a 1x4x9 object?" with the answer being . Here, 2x3x5=30 is the number of letters in "Two Thousand and One A Space Odyssey", 3x23x29=2001 is the year that appears in the name of the movie, and 1x4x9 is the ratio of the featured in the movie.


 * The game of Quantum Wordle alludes to the word-guessing game , and the word is seen flashing between and.


 * "Betty Cockroach" frosting is a parody of the brand "".


 * Nibbler says that his mind has degenerated to the point where he "can no longer predict the ending of an movie", poking fun at the fact that many movies of the said director actually feature a twist ending.

Dune references
The episode heavily relies on references to the  franchise, including both the books and the movie adaptations. Here is a list of all spotted references.


 * The native people are who pronounce the word "dung" as "dune-g".


 * The dung beetles consider spitting and tear-shedding signs of respect (also Fry's pissing) due to the importance of moisture in the desert, just like the people in Dune.


 * Their messiah is referred to as " ", where as the original name is "". The dung beetle who pronounces that line is voiced by, the actor who portrayed the (i.e., the messiah) in the.


 * The roach-thopter spoofs the.


 * The dung beetle guide is named "Bilgar", spoofing the character.


 * The glitter chamber visually resembles the spice gas tank used by the in the 1984 film adaptation . The orange glitter is clearly a spoof of the drug.


 * The sandworms as well as their attraction to the rhythmic pattern of footsteps are from Dune. The pounder spoofs the original . (Sandworms that are actually giant have previously appeared in Into the Wild Green Yonder.)


 * The music, especially the tonal desert sounds and the mythical female vocals, is a reminiscence of the.

Continuity

 * Dave Spiegel, and his owner, Fluffers, from the episode The Day the Earth Stood Stupid, are seen in Scoopy-Poo Dog Park.
 * The coffee shop across the street from the Planet Express Headquarters is seen again, this time visited by Leela and Nibbler