When the Good Witch says the Punchkins have been watching too much Magnum, P.I. (1980), she is referring to the fact that Fame was losing in the ratings to Magnum P.I. (which was broadcast in the same time slot opposite it) every week. Fame would in fact be canceled by NBC at the end of the second season, but was kept on the air in syndication thanks to combined efforts of the BBC and Rai-Radiotelevisione Italiana TV2.
The TV series Fame was filmed on the very same sound stage as The Wizard of Oz (1939) at MGM studios in Culver City, California. During the filming of this episode, original scarecrow Ray Bolger visited the set and was photographed with Fame scarecrow Gene Anthony Ray.
As part of his Scarecrow make-up, Gene Anthony Ray had pieces of straw braided into his hair. He had to sleep with these all during the filming of this episode.
Near the end of the second season, the series writers were running out of story ideas when a production assistant spotted a poster for The Wizard of Oz (1939) and suggested they based an episode on it.