Trivia / The Simpsons S 7 E 13 Two Bad Neighbors

• Accidentally-Correct Writing: The writers at the time say that they did not know that George H. W. Bush actually had a son named George Jr. (they knew about Jeb, though) — and neither did most of the 1996 audience not living in Texas (George Jr. had just become Governor at the time). So what was supposed to be Homer being an idiot as usual by creating a cardboard cutout of a son that didn't exist nowadays looks like he knew all of the Bush family members.
• Development Gag: Bart invoking Dennis the Menace is this. Matt Groening has often said that Bart's personality was born out of his frustration with how Dennis never lived up to his name and rather did mildly frustrating things rather than actually being anything worthy of being called a menace. Bart was Groening's way of saying "That's not a menace. This is a menace!"
• Distanced from Current Events: Originally, Richard Nixon was supposed to be the new neighbor who moves in to the mansion across the street at the end. Following his death, this was changed to Bob Dole, then changed again to Gerald Ford.
• First Appearance: Of Disco Stu.
• The Other Marty: Phil Hartman was supposed to voice Disco Stu, but when the animators needed to do a model change, Hartman wasn't available, so Hank Azaria played Stu and has done so ever since (which worked out fine given that after Hartman's death in 1998, his other characters, Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz, got retired from the show out of respect).
• Reality Subtext: The episode gives life to the snark traded between Bush and the show during his presidency, namely the show's famous retort to Bush's statement that he wanted American families to be "a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons" ("Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the depression too"). Notably, Barbara is seen as a more accepting and laid-back soul who likes the family and makes a "Not So Different" Remark about her and Marge's situations, likely reflecting her good-humored response to a letter "from" Marge in 1990.
• Technology Marches On: Bush typed out his memoirs on an old-fashioned typewriter instead of a computer (though justified as a man his age is probably used to typewriters rather than computers).
• What Could Have Been: The script originally contained a musical number In the Style of Tom Lehrer's satirical recordings, although this ended up being cut.

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