'Round Springfield

This episode marked the first time a recurring character has been killed off on the show. The writers and production team felt that it would be a good, emotional storyline, which, through Lisa, could focus on the theme of grief. They decided that it could not be one of the main characters; Al Jean joked that "we wouldn't want it to be someone like Mr. Burns, that we'd obviously want to see in the show again." Eventually, Jean decided on Bleeding Gums Murphy, a character introduced in the season one episode Moaning Lisa (1990); a flashback to "Moaning Lisa" is featured in the episode. Murphy was a fairly minor character, only appearing in a couple of episodes, but he appeared in the show's opening sequence and remained there after this episode, until the opening was redesigned in season 20. Steven Dean Moore's first ever job on the show was in the animation department for "Moaning Lisa," so he appreciated being able to direct this episode. Mike Reiss stated, "I had been polling for years to kill Marge's mom but this was a better idea."

Bart's appendectomy scar is on the wrong side - it's on the left, but the appendix is located on the right side of the body.

Featured in Simpsonit: The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular! (1995)