The Why of Fry - Continuity

Continuity

David X. Cohen notes that he was particularly enthusiastic to write this episode because of how it tied into other episodes, feeling that it was something that was rarely done in sitcoms, particularly cartoons. He points out that the writing staff tried to tie as many episodes together as possible regardless of whether they were originally written with that intent. The episode contains flashbacks to the events of "Space Pilot 3000" when Fry is originally frozen. Cohen points out that Nibbler's shadow is present in the pilot episode, a point which is explained in this episode, and that this was a plot point which was planned since the pilot. This indicates that Fry was intentionally frozen. Jokes about the extreme mass of Nibbler's feces and mention of Vergon 6 call back to "Love's Labours Lost in Space". The planet Eternium, the Brainspawn and the delta brainwave concept were originally introduced in "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid". A joke about Fry becoming his own grandfather is also included (i.e., "I did do the nasty in the pasty"), a reference to the events of "Roswell That Ends Well". Cohen also notes that in the episode "Jurassic Bark" a shot of Nibbler's third eye sticking out of a trash can is included as a reference to these events as well, an item which many fans had noticed.