This episode features a green shading in the color palette of the camera. This is common in various crime films and TV shows.
First episode featuring Professor Ian Duncan (John Oliver) since season 2, episode 22, Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts (2011), when he runs out in the middle of class.
In the scene where Jeff and Annie are searching for faculty members who are fans of The Dave Matthews Band, Jeff turns on the radio which briefly plays Air on G-String by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is a reference to a similar scene in Se7en (1995), where Detective Sommerset is researching the seven deadly sins.
The song sung by Shirley's sons is called "Creep" by the band Radiohead. With the episode being inspired by the works of David Fincher, this song was famously used in the trailer for Fincher's The Social Network (2010).