[1] The episode averaged 10.15 million viewers, winning in its time slot[2] and receiving a 12 percent audience share.

[4] One winter morning, Homer wakes up in a pile of snow and does not remember the events of the previous day, commenting that he must have drunk heavily the night before.

The flashback ends and, instead of falling to his death, Homer lands on a moon bounce, which is at the surprise party on board a ship.

Lenny and Carl appear and cause a flashback which shows Homer telling his bar buddies that he felt very guilty for finding out about the party that Marge worked so hard on.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly regarding the renewal of the show in season 23, showrunner Al Jean discusses what episodes that have previously aired might serve well as a series finale.

Whenever we do a last episode, we just hope that it would be sweet, true to the characters, funny, and give you a nice feeling for where the Simpsons would be headed.

"[5] The episode's title and the plot of Homer trying to erase an unpleasant memory refers to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

[7][8] Scrat, the squirrel from Ice Age, makes an appearance trying to catch an acorn off a tree, but is beaten and swatted away by Groundskeeper Willie.

When Chief Wiggum asks Homer if he knows who Jack the Ripper was, he answers Queen Victoria's personal doctor.

In its original American broadcast, "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" was viewed by an estimated 10.15 million households, won in its time slot, and received a 4.8 rating/12 audience share.

[3] Robert Canning of IGN enjoyed the episode, saying it "did both very well by putting Homer in his own head as he tried to recall the events that transpired the previous day.

[9] TV Squad's Richard Keller wrote that "by far, this was the most interesting episode of [the nineteenth season], incorporating humor, romance, and a little bit of science fiction into a tidy little plot.