Trivia[]

• According to the DVD commentary, Mark Kirkland (the original episode director) had to hire Matthew Nastuk to direct parts of the episode as Kirkland was going through a divorce and had to take time off work to deal with it.

Cultural References[]

• This episode's title references Bob Dylan's song "Blowin' in the Wind".
• The end title for Mr. Burns' promo for the Nuclear Power Plant reads, "An Alan Smithee Film". From 1968 until 1999, this was a pseudonym used by directors who wanted to dissociate themselves from a movie that they felt was ruined due to loss of creative control or realizing that their project is a complete and utter failure.
• In the flashback to Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, Abe yells to bring on Sha Na Na, as well as promptly lifting up a sign saying "Bowzer for President".
• Seth's and Munchie's dog, Ginsberg, is named after the beat poet Allen Ginsberg.
• Seth and Munchie themselves may be parodies of:
  • Bartles & Jaymes, the wine cooler and malt beverage line; specifically, the men portraying Bartles and Jaymes in the product line's ads. The admen do have some similarities with Seth and Munchie, and both duos produce and sell beverages.
  • Ben and Jerry of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. This is the more likely possibility because Seth and Munchie have more in common with Ben and Jerry than they do with Bartles and Jaymes. Also, Ben & Jerry's most popular flavor is Cherry Garcia, which was named for Grateful Dead founder and frontman Jerry Garcia, and the episode contains some Dead references.
• Homer educates himself on hippie culture by watching an old Bob Hope performance, which also features Jill St. John and Phyllis Diller.
• When Homer tries to get Marge to go braless, saying "Free the Springfield Two," it is a reference to the 1960s protest slogan "Free the Chicago Seven".
• Some things in the freak-out and after—such as Homer becoming "The Cosmic Fool", the psychedelic paint job on the car, and the juice being spiked with drugs (albeit unintentionally in Homer's case) are loosely based on the antics of the Merry Pranksters.
• Homer refers to the "doors of perception" during the freak-out - this is Aldous Huxley's 1954 book where The Doors got their band name.
• Homer greets Munchie with the phrase "Good Morning Starshine", a reference to the musical Hair. The song previously appeared in the Season 8 episode "The Springfield Files."
• Dr. Hibbert states that he is a doctor, not a gardener, a reference to Dr. McCoy's famous catchphrase, "I'm a doctor, not a..." in Star Trek.
• In the closing credits:
  • The psychedelic version of the Simpsons theme is a knock-off of the Beatles song "Tomorrow Never Knows", performed by Yo La Tengo.
    • The opening few notes to the credits are also nearly identical to the opening notes of another Beatles song, "Love You To".
  • At the end of the credits Homer mutters "I buried Flanders", spoofing the "Paul is dead" conspiracy theory from the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever".
• During the Woodstock flashback, the song playing is "Star-Spangled Banner", performed on electric guitar by Jimi Hendrix. Later on in the episode, Homer hums the tune when he rests his dirty feet on the table. Later still, when the freak out hits Springfield Elementary School, they play the song on kazoos.
• When the trio first leave the farm, "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock is playing on the car's tape deck.
  • Homer changes cassettes and puts on "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel.
  • Right after they arrive in Springfield, "Hair" by Cowsills is playing.
• The song playing while Homer does his midnight harvest is "Time of the Season" by The Zombies.
• The song that plays while the town is tripping on spiked juice is "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane.
• When the farm is raided, Homer sings "Uptown Girl" as the police brandish their nightsticks and advance on him, Seth, and Munchie.
• Groundskeeper Willie sees Duchess Sarah (referred to as "Fergie") beckoning to him.
• Barney Gumble sees a three-eyed monster, which frightens him. He then throws down the bottle of juice and quickly drinks some Duff Beer in order to overcome it. A pink elephant marches through the door to Barney's aid and stomps on the monster. The elephant resembles the ones seen in the Disney animated film "Dumbo" when Dumbo mistakenly becomes drunk.
• Ned Flanders is driving and sees the Grateful Dead Dancing Bears, Melody and Verse, and the Skeletons, also from the Grateful Dead, who says "Mornin' Ned." They are followed by the Marching Hammers from Pink Floyd's The Wall marching across the street and the Rolling Stones' "Lips and Tongue". Series creator Matt Groening has admitted to being a huge Dead, Floyd and Stones fan.
• Abe and Jasper sit on a bench laughing goofily, in a scene referencing the MTV animated series "Beavis and Butt-head".

Goofs[]

• When the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant Employees are trying to open Mr. Burns' jar of pickles, Charlie's glasses are white instead of aqua.

Production Notes[]

• The final draft for this episode was published on April 9, 1998.^[1]

Citations[]