said in the episode's DVD commentary. "You definitely lose touch with what the movies you're supposed to see, what's good on TV..." "Weekend at Burnsie's" is the second episode Vitti wrote in which a character forgets to vote at an election, and the second episode he wrote in which Homer takes a chemical that causes him to be promoted by Burns and run into conflict with Smithers. "You can't do anything for the first time at this point", Vitti quipped. Producer and former showrunner Mike Reiss has stated that he thoroughly enjoyed working on "Weekend at Burnsie's". "I gotta say, this was the most fun I ever had working on an episode", he said in the episode's DVD commentary. "Everyone but me had stories to tell [about various things]. There would be about four hours of recollection before any rewriting happened." Because the use of medicinal marijuana is prominently featured in the episode, Fox had "incredible fears" about it and were very hesitant to have it broadcast. They especially disapproved of a scene in which Homer smokes marijuana for the first time, since they did not want to instruct children how to smoke. The staff discussed the scene for a long time with the network until they came up with a compromise. Just before the joint touches Homer's lips, the scene cuts to a psychedelic sequence that transpires from the joint's tip. Despite their concerns, Jean opined that the network gave the staff a "pretty good amount" of creative freedom with the episode. "[...] obviously, the network didn't want us glorifying casual marijuana use", he said in an interview with the music magazine Relix. "[...] like we usually do, we look at everything from two sides and it's supposed to be a thoughtful look at a serious thing". Despite the modification of the scene, the network and the series' staff members were still worried about how the episode would be received. "Weeks before it aired, we were going 'This is really going to kill everything...'", Jean said in the episode's DVD commentary. After being attacked by the crows, Homer is seen being treated by Dr. Hibbert at the Springfield General Hospital. While there are no visible scars on him, the character instead has a slightly curled hair. During a color screening of the scene, Homer's body looked "a little too bloody" and damaged, prompting the staff to change it. "One