This was the first episode directed by Steven Dean Moore. Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia, who were writers on "The Critic" and were big fans of "The Simpsons", were happy to be able to write an episode.The original story was based on a story idea by Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The main story of the episode's first act sees Bart get appendicitis from eating a jagged metal Krusty-O. Mike Reiss's father, being a doctor, "sort of" acted as the medical consultant on this episode. He stated that "you can't get" appendicitis from eating a piece of metal, but the writers decided to do it anyway. In his flashback, Murphy is shown as having a "$1,500 a day Fabergé egg habit"; Jean "didn't realize just how expensive" Fabergé eggs actually were, so the joke does not make much sense.