He, Nelson, Ralph, Kearney, Dolph, and Jimbo are driven to Capital City by Otto, along with Principal Skinner, who was pushed on board the bus by Superintendent Chalmers for the same reasons as the other passengers.
He has to keep the entire book club safe while he is still uninsured, but ends up throwing a knife in Mr. Burns' head at 3:01 as he randomly walks onto the Simpsons' property.
[2] In an earlier draft of the third act, Skinner and the boys would learn that the Vice President is in Capital City, and plan to meet him to explain why they missed taking the test.
[1][4] Ralph believes a rat is the character Elmo from PBS's Sesame Street, while Skinner reads the students Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
[4] The episode's couch gag includes the family recreating scenes from sitcoms from different decades: The Honeymooners from the 1950s, The Dick Van Dyke Show from the 1960s, The Brady Bunch from the 1970s and Cheers from the 1980s.
As an in-joke, Sideshow Bob walks in on the Cheers segment of the gag dressed as Dr. Frasier Crane; both characters are played by Kelsey Grammer.
9, Frédéric Chopin's "Fantasie Impromptu 66" and "Gonna Fly Now", the theme from the 1976 film Rocky are both played in the episode, while Ralph sings "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls.
[8] Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict commented: "Despite three strong set-ups and a great first act, the episode barely got off the ground, crash landing long before its what-the-heck Footloose finale.
"[1] Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode an 8.8/10, calling it "a smart, very funny half hour" and praising the couch gag and Homer's sub-plot but adding that the ending "didn't quite live up to what preceded it".