Episode director Neil Affleck was praised by the staff for his directing in this episode. Affleck was also praised for his ability to create three new elaborate settings in the episode: the science museum, the Springfield penitentiary, and the large toy store.
The robot that was introduced early in the episode was influenced by Dan Greaney's experiences working with a USA Today themed robot. While at a baseball game with the robot, the robot led the stadium in singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". The robot was not well-received, and the spectators threw objects at it. The robot's operator had to stay close to the robot during the baseball game, and was also teased and bothered in the same way as the operator in the episode.
In the scene where Bart goes through several files in Chief Wiggum's police closet, he briefly shudders when he finds the file for "Terwilliger, R" (referring to Robert "Sideshow Bob" Terwliger). Other files are for "Riviera, N.", "Krustofsky, H." (Krusty), and of course "Simpson, H."
When Milhouse touches a star, the animation resembles the cover illustration of "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Mike Scully had pitched an idea to Dan Greaney on Marge forcing Bart to become Ralph Wiggum's friend. Scully gave the idea to Greaney due to his ability to write Ralph's lines and actions well, and his overall liking of the character.