Dr. Hazlitt (William Windom) shows significant weight loss (from previous appearances) and tells Sheriff Metzger (Ron Masak) that it is from his new diet which includes eating celery (which is what he is doing as he relays this to him.)
The title is based on a quotation from author Walter Scott (1771 - 1832): "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive!"
Augie Spector ( Charles Haid ) taps loudly on Jessica's ( Angela Lansbury ) bird cage containing a little yellow bird. In Oscar Wilde's movie The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) starring Angela Landsbury, she sings a song called "Goodbye Little Yellow Bird," about a caged yellow bird.