This is Phil Hartman's last appearance on The Simpsons before his death.

Couch Gag: Two firemen hold the couch as if it was a safety net. Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie land safely on the couch. Homer, however, falls through the floor.

(In the treehouse)
Bart: Hey fellas, good news! I found an extra seventy-five watt light bulb lying around!
(In the house, Homer carries a box to the basement, whistling. He switches the light on, but it does not come on and he falls down the stairs.)
Homer: D'oh! (Continues Whistling)
Lisa: One, they don't have beaks, two, they don't have feathers, and three, they're lizards!
Bart: You're a lizard!
Homer: Enough bickering! I know how to settle this.
Marge: No kickboxing!
Homer: Aw... (takes the pie) if anybody wants me, I'll be eating alone in the basement.
(He walks out, switches the basement light on, but it does not come on and he falls down the basement stairs yet again.)

Skinner: Well, I was wrong; the lizards are a godsend.
Lisa: But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?
Skinner: No problem. We simply release wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.
Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse?
Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas!
Skinner: No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.

Marge: Young man, you're coming home with me this minute.
Nelson: All right, finally, a real home!
Marge: Not you. Bart!
Nelson: Oh. See you later, Killer!
Marge: "Killer"? Why did he call you "Killer"?
Bart: Mom, you were right. Nelson is bad news. Can we go home?
Marge: What are you hiding there?
Bart: Nothing.
Marge: What are those cats doing behind you?
Bart: Uh...cats like me?

(Bart is pacing in his treehouse)
Marge: I wonder what he's doing up there.
Homer: Drug lab?
Marge: Drug lab?!
Homer: Or, I dunno, reading comic books. What am I, Kreskin?

The Andy Griffith Show

The main plot of this episode is a reference to the episode, "Opie the Birdman," of The Andy Griffith Show.

Octopussy

Nelson makes fun of Bart by calling him an Octo-wussy. This is reference to the 1983 James Bond film.