The Simpsons opening sequence Bart writes "Being right sucks", a reference to the 2000 episode "Bart to the Future" where Lisa succeeds Trump as Commander-in-Chief. During the opening sequence, Lisa is seen being ejected from band rehearsal due to her non-conformist saxophone playing. She exits the room playing a saxophone solo, which sometimes changes. Some of the solos have similarities with pieces by Donovan, Frank Zappa, James Brown, and Charlie Parker. "The Simpsons" composer Alf Clausen said that the session musicians who perform her solos do not try to play at the second grade level and instead "think of Lisa as a really good
The Call of the Simpsons realistic with many observational details such as trees, rocks, fences and the way the cars were positioned. Burger King figurines were made out of the camping designs of the Simpsons family in this episode. In its original American broadcast on February 18, 1990, "The Call of the Simpsons" finished third place in the ratings for that day, with a Nielsen rating of 14.6 and a 22 percent audience share. The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1990 in the category "Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special". IGN.com named Albert Brooks' guest performance in this