taken from the episode "Bart the Daredevil". The Simpsons''' staff were concerned that this would make people think the episode was in fact a clip show, so they kept the clip short. The staff also debated how horrific Smithers' father's corpse would look. The first design was "more horrific" than the one seen in the episode, and it more closely resembled Smithers. The corpse seen in the episode was an altered version of the first design. The video recorded by Mr. Burns' security camera was originally supposed to be shot in the same angle as a real security camera, but according to director Steven Dean Moore, to follow the narrative, the staff "had to lose [the camera angle]". This led to some confusion, since one of the shots was from inside the core, making it look as if the security camera was actually inside it. The staff intended to cut the shot, but they later decided to keep it in; Jean explained in the DVD audio commentary for the episode that "Nobody ever notices it". The end of the episode originally had Chad Sexington showing up for his date with Marge, causing Homer to scream uncontrollably again; however, it was cut in favor of Hank Azaria's improvisation as Moe, which, according to Simpsons writer Carolyn Omine, was Azaria's "favorite thing [he] had ever done" on The Simpsons. American actor and director Paul Newman guest starred as himself in the episode, however, he had only one line of dialogue. Newman recorded approximately five or six takes of his line over the phone from the set of a movie he was shooting at the time. According to Maxtone-Graham, Newman recorded his line with no rigmarole; "He just said, 'Sure, I'll do it', and he did it instantly." The episode also features Joe Mantegna, who plays a young Fat Tony. Welsh singer-songwriter Judith Owen, wife of Simpsons cast member Harry Shearer, also makes an appearance in the episode. Cultural references The episode's title is a reference to the television show The Wonder Years. Homer's flashbacks to his childhood were based on the plot of the film Stand By Me, which in turn is based on Stephen King's novella The Body. However, the scenes in the quarry were based on the coming of age film Breaking Away, directed by Peter Yates. Burly, the brand of paper towels featured in the episode, is based on