Longtime Simpsons viewers know the opening "couch" sequence is never the same and often chock full of sly nods to popular culture.
Sunday night's opener, however, outdid many past efforts with a tribute to the AMC show Breaking Bad. In this sequence, set to Tommy James and the Shondells groovy 1969 hit "Crystal Blue Persuasion," Marge bakes some blue cupcakes, which she puts in a suitcase. Bart then takes them to a bake sale as Homer watches through binoculars. Then Marge counts her cash.
The final cut shows Breaking Bad stars Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston watching the show from their living rooms. It should be noted that the episode, "What Animated Women Want," featuring George Takei and Wanda Sykes, had nothing whatsoever to do with cooking meth -- or blue cupcakes for that matter.