The episode features the death of the character Maude Flanders, who had previously been voiced by cast member Maggie Roswell. This kill-off was the result of Roswell leaving "The Simpsons" in spring 1999 after a pay dispute with the Fox Broadcasting Company, which airs the show. Since 1994, she had been flying between her Denver home and Los Angeles twice a week to record episodes of "The Simpsons". She eventually grew tired of this, and the price of plane tickets was constantly increasing. As a result, she asked Fox for a pay raise from $2,000 per episode to $6,000 per episode. However, Fox only offered her a $150 raise, which did not cover the travel costs, so she decided to quit.