After gaining enough signatures, Mayor Quimby agrees to turn off the streetlights, leading to a clear view of the stars, at which many people from Springfield marvel.
Yet the light level is set too high which means that no one can sleep so Lisa, still wanting to see the light pollution reduced, and Bart, still wanting to steal Fat Tony's hood ornament, take a now sleep-deprived Homer to the power plant and overload the generators causing a power outage, which ends the light pollution, but before the angry citizens can attack, Lisa points out a meteor shower and the town looks on in wonderment while Bart sneaks off and steals Fat Tony's hood ornament, with Don McLean's song "Vincent" playing in the background.
[2] The writers included a line where Carl Carlson mentions his Icelandic heritage, as well as the fact that Homer, Moe and Lenny show absolutely no interest in what he's saying.
[4] On Four Finger Discount, Brendan Dando liked both Lisa and Bart's stories while Guy Davis felt the episode was pieced together from many different writers' ideas.
[5] English musician Jake Bugg credits hearing Don McLean's "Vincent" in this episode as his formative musical moment.
[6] Director Steven Dean Moore won the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production for this episode.