At the end of the episode, Peter and Chris mention Cartoon Network (where Family Guy is also aired) and Robot Chicken (Seth Green, who provides the voice of Chris, show that he produces.)

Blue Harvest received its own dvd release on January 15th, 2008 in both standard edition and a special edition that included a t-shirt, trading cards, a 3-D fight scene, 3-D glasses and an exclusive brochure.

It made its debut on Blu-ray December 21st. 2010.

Jon Benjamin (1966-) is credited for this episode even though his speaking role never made it past the animatic stage.

However, his character of “Coach John McGuirk” from “Home Movies” (1999-2004) does appear in the background at the Mos Eisley Cantina

The Opening Crawl

Episode IV
A NEW HOPE

It is a time of civil war,
and renegade paragraphs
floating through space.

There's cool space battles,
and the bad guy is the
good guy's dad, but you
don't find that out 'til the
next episode.

And the hot chick is really
the sister of the good
guy, but they don't know it,
and they kiss. Which is
kind of messed up. I mean,
what if they had done it
instead of just kissed?

Angelina Jolie kissed her
brother. Yeah, she did. You
know it, I know it, and
her dad knows it. That's
why they hardly ever talk
anymore. You can run away
to Africa, but you can't run
away from the truth.

Oh, by the way, here's
a tip for you: when this
is over, go out and rent
the movie "GIA." She's way
naked in it, and makes out
with another chick and
everything. It's awesome.
I stumbled across it late
night on HBO after I
had just got back from
hockey, and I almost
fainted. But I digest...

Princess Leia was coming
back from buying space
groceries when this
happened...

(After the show was split up into two parts during reruns the following crawl appears before the Part 2)

The last time we saw Luke and friends in space they were doing space stuff.
Let's watch more.

The episode title “Blue Harvest” was the fake working title for Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

The opening crawl mentions “Angeline Jolie kissed her brother. Yeah she did. You know it, I know it and her dad knows it. That's why they hardly ever talk anymore”.

This is an allusion to an incident at the 2000 Oscars. After her win, Angeline Jolie (1975-) “allegedly” french kissed her brother, James Haven (1973-).
The crawl also mentions her strained relationship with her famous father, actor Jon Voight (1938-)

The opening crawl mentions Angeline Jolie's (1975-) 1998 HBO movie “Gia”

The “Bush/Cheney” bumper sticker on the back of the Star Destroyer is a reference to the Mel Brooks' 1987 comedy “Spaceballs”

Rebel Soldier: “Damn, I was 2 days from retirement”

This line is a reference to the 1987 action movie “Lethal Weapon” starring Mel Gibson (1956-) & Danny Glover (1946-).
Danny's character “Roger Murtaugh” was always mentioning how many days he had until his retirement.

Leia: “I've hidden the plans in one of these 26 briefcases”

This is a reference to the NBC (& international) game show “Deal or No Deal” (2005-2009) hosted by Howie Mandel (1955-).
The object of the game being contestants would pick a case and eliminating the other cases betting they have picked one w/ the highest dollar amount while being offered large amounts of money from the banker.

Grey Poupon Mustard

The 2 sand crawlers pull along side each other & imitate the "Pardon me, but do you have Grey Poupon" tv commercials

Luke: “John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra everybody”

John Williams (1932-) created the music for all the Star Wars movies.

Luke: “Now play the theme to The People's Court”

“The People's Court” (1981-1993)(1997-Present) is the original televised court show.

Luke: “What the phantom menace is that guy's problem”

Obvious nod to 1999's “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace”

Leia: “....Joey Lawrence haircut....”

Former child star Joey Lawrence of “Blossom” (1990-1995) fame is mentioned in this episode.
In 2005, he received third place on tv's “Dancing w/ the Stars” (2005-Present)
He is currently starring in the ABCFamily sitcom, Melissa & Joey (2010-)

Watto: “Hey why would you hang that up, it looks so tantalizing”

This is the character “Watto” from 1999's “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace”

Luke: “Great, now we got to do the rest of this thing with Danny Elfman”

Composer Danny Elfman (1953-) is mentioned in this episode.

Obi Wan: “I'm a friend of Dave Navarro's”

Dave Navarro (1967-) is an American guitarist who plays in the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction and cover band Camp Freddy

Home Movies (1999-2004)

The character “Coach John McGuirk” makes an appearance in the background of the Mos Eisley cantina. (See Episode Notes)

American Dad (2005-Present)

Seth MacFarlane's character “Roger” makes an appearance at the Mos Eisley cantina.

Chewie: “Wokka Wokka”

This is a quote from the character “Fozzie Bear” from “The Muppets” tv & movie fame

Han: “Man hyperspace always looks so freaky”

While in hyperspace the face of Tom Baker appears from his starring role as the fourth Doctor from the world's longest running scifi tv series, Britain's “Doctor Who”.
The music and graphics from the series are used in this episode.

Han: “Oh my god, we came out of hyperspace into an asteroid field”

The Falcon has emerged into the video game “Asteroids”.
It was a video arcade game released in 1979 by Atari Inc.

Han: “Alright, just follow my lead and act real cool”

This is a reference to the 1980 comedy “The Blues Brothers” starring Dan Aykroyd (1952-) & John Belushi (1949-1982).

The music that follows the line is “Minnie the Moocher” by Cab Calloway (1907-1994)

Obi Wan: “You know Luke, this may be the last time we see each other. So there's something I want you to know.”

Obi Wan sings “(I've Had) The Time of My Life”. It was recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and was featured as the finale song for the 1987 film “Dirty Dancing” starring Patrick Swayze (1952-) and Jennifer Grey (1960-).
The same dance moves performed by Swayze & Grey from “Dirty Dancing”, are featured in this episode.

Droid: “I was just thinking about Tyra Banks”

Former supermodel, former talk show host and creator of America's Next Top Model (2003-), Tyra Banks (1973-) is mentioned in this episode.

Han: “This is Han Solo and I'm gonna be keeping you company for the next few hours, right here on the midnight shift”

Han plays the theme song from the 1982 comedy “Tootsie”, “It Might Be You” by Stephen Bishop.

R2D2: “I could sure go for some Tatooine, Wind and Fire right about now”

This is a take off of the real R&B music group “Earth, Wind & Fire” founded in 1969

Dr. Alan Rumack: “I just want to tell you both, good luck. We're all counting on you.”

Leslie Nielsen's (1926-2010) character “Dr. Alan Rumack” makes an appearance quoting his line from the 1980 comedy “Airplane!”.
The line wasn't recorded for the episode by Nielsen, it is the audio taken directly from the movie.

Former basketball great Earvin “Magic” Johnson makes an appearance in this episode

John Bender: “Yeah I got a question, does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe”

Judd Nelson (1959-) reprises his “John Bender” character from 1985's “The Breakfast Club” repeating his line he said to Paul Gleason's (1939-2006) character, Richard Vernon.
The scene includes Vernon's response of “Don't mess with the bull son, you'll get the horns”

“Red Buttons standing by.”
Academy Award-winning actor and comedian Red Buttons (1919-2006) appears in this episode.

“Redd Foxx standing by.”
Comedian/Actor Redd Foxx (1922-1991) appears as his character “Fred Sanford” from the sitcom “Sanford and Son” (1972-1977).
His iconic line “I'm coming Elizabeth” is used later in the episode when his fighter is destroyed.

“Red October standing by.”
Reference to the 1990 action/drama movie “The Hunt for Red October” starring Sean Connery (1930-).

“Helen Reddy standing by.”
Grammy winning Australian singer Helen Reddy (1941-), best known for her song “I am Woman”, makes an appearance as her herself in this episode.

“Simply Red standing by.”
British musical group Simply Red makes an appearance in this episode. Lead singer Mick Hucknall (1960-) provided his own voice.

“Clark” & “Ellen Griswold” from 1983's “Vacation” make an appearance during the Death Star battle.
Chevy Chase (1943-) & Beverly D'Angelo (1951-) reprise their roles from “Vacation” & use the quote, “Roll 'em up”.

R2D2: “What am I R2-Pac”

Reference to rapper Tupac Shakur (1971-1996)

C3PO: “And Leia's is getting laaaaarrrrrger”

This line is the second reference to the 1980 comedy “Airplane!”.
The original line being “Leon is getting laaaaarrrrrger” spoken by Stephen Stucker's (1947-1986) character “Johnny”.

Chris: “Yeah but didn't Robot Chicken already do this three months ago”

“Robot Chicken” (2005-Present) as Chris said, is the highest rated animated show on Cartoon Network.
Of course, Seth Green who voices Chris is the creator of Robot Chicken.