The initial running time was "way, way short", and the writers had to use "every trick in the book" to make the episode reach the minimum length. Even after greatly expanding the original script and adding an extra-long couch gag during the opening sequence, the episode was still one minute too short; "The Adventures of Ned Flanders" was added to address the problem. The segment, which plays at the end of the episode, was designed purely as filler and had nothing to do with the other events of the episode. Showrunner Mike Reiss later commented, "As always, when we try something bold and new the general reaction is, 'What the hell was that?'" The scene was also an homage to Archie Comics, which sometimes used a similar technique to fill a final page; the font used in the scene's title card is similar to the font used by Archie.
The Itchy and Scratchy credits parody the sequence seen at the end of the credits of many TV shows produced by Stephen J. Cannell, where Cannell sits at the typewriter in his office and throws a sheet of paper into the air, with it forming of part of his production company's logo. In the episode, Itchy and Scratchy are seen at their desks; Scratchy pulls a sheet from his typewriter and throws it into the air, where it forms an "I & S Productions" logo. Mike Reiss later met Cannell, who was so pleased with the homage that he hugged Reiss.
A cartoon writer for the Itchy & Scratchy Show expresses frustration at the show and says he wants to start a sit-com about a sassy robot. Six years later, Matt Groening & Co. made Futurama (1999) a main character of which is Bender, a sassy robot.
At the Annual Cartoon Awards, the clip from the nominated The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991) is merely a black screen with the text "clip not done yet". This was a counterattack against that series' creator John Kricfalusi, who had attacked The Simpsons staff by saying that "the show succeeded despite the writing", and similarly derogatory comments against the Simpsons and other animated series airing at the time. Notoriously, Kricfalusi was such a perfectionist that Ren and Stimpy episodes would often be delayed, sometimes for months, until Nickelodeon finally fired him halfway through production of the show's second season.
Grandpa while looking in the mirror getting ready for the awards show, says that he took a shot at Teddy Roosevelt. In 1912, there in fact was an assassination attempt made on Teddy Roosevelt's life during one of his speeches.