The Fox Network executives had wanted the season premiere to be "Homer Goes to College" because it was an "Animal House" parody. However, the writers felt that "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" would be a better episode because of George Harrison's involvement. During the episode, Homer sings "I am so smart! S-M-R-T... I mean S-M-A-R-T!" while he lights his high school diploma (and the house) on fire. During the recording session, Dan Castellaneta was singing the song and accidentally misspelled "smart". The writers decided that it was much funnier that way, because it seemed like something Homer Simpson would do, so they left the apparent joke in. The song has since become a fan favorite.