The idea behind the Itchy & Scratchy cartoons is nothing more than an "extremely violent" version of the old Tom & Jerry cartoons. Their names however were inspired by Pixie & Dixie, a backup feature on The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958). Pixie & Dixie were mice who were "the best of friends" and always overcame Mr. Jinx the Cat.
The original teleplay, written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, was 78 pages long and many scenes had to be cut. One scene that had to be cut down was the scene where Patty and Selma show the slideshow of their vacation; it originally contained images of them being detained for bringing heroin into America.
James Earl Jones was considered for the voice of recurring character Sideshow Bob Terwilliger. The job went to Kelsey Grammer, however James Earl Jones would go on to be a recurring voice contributor throughout the series.
Properly introduces Sideshow Bob, Kent Brockman, Scott Christian, Judge Snyder, Krusty the Clown.
Matt Groening listed this as his ninth favorite episode and added "I have a peculiar love of TV clownery"