Beware My Cheating Bart Club" gave the episode a C+ saying that "A stellar Bill Plympton couch gag is the best part of a mediocre "Simpsons"". Different chalkboard gags appeared for different airings of this episode. The original U.S. broadcast version was "The true location of Springfield is in any state but yours", a response to reactions to a Matt Groening interview in which he revealed that the name of Springfield was inspired by Springfield, Oregon, which was widely misinterpreted as Groening revealing that "The Simpsons" Springfield was located in Oregon. The montage featuring Simon & Garfunkel's "April Come She Will" is a reference
Politics in The Simpsons in an interview that "We [the show] are of liberal bent." The writers often evince an appreciation for progressive ideals, but the show makes jokes across the political spectrum. In the DVD commentaries, creator Matt Groening and the majority of people who work on the show state several times that they are very liberal, but some, such as John Swartzwelder (the writer of many episodes), are libertarian. So the two main political parties of Springfield, the Republicans and the Democrats, reside in a stereotype Draculan castle, and in a public salad bar respectively; the on/off Mayor, Joe Quimby is represented