Quest for Ratings/Trivia

Trivia

 * Neither Stan nor Kyle wear their trademark hats at any point during this episode; Cartman only wears his in a flashback.
 * Whislin' Willy's was formerly know as Crust E. Krotch's in the episode "Child Abduction is Not Funny".
 * This is one of the few episodes Kyle and Stan call Cartman by his first name, yet Cartman pronounced it "Ric".
 * When Kyle does the report on the girls' basketball team, he talks about how that had to forfeit their last game and haven't won one at all. However, Cartman makes the error saying they have been on a 6-0 slide instead of 0-6 slide.
 * During the report on cough syrup abuse, they show Middle Park Elementary. This is the only time it was shown in the series.
 * Matt Stone's dog Mr. Yes, and Trey Parker's cat Jake, can both be seen in Close-Up Animals with a Wide-Angle lens.

Cultural References

 * While the boys have hallucinations from the cough syrup you see a video clip of the intro from the new Doctor Who.
 * The appearance of the boys as newscasters is a parody of 1970's-1980's newscasters, who were famous for big poofy hairstyles. It may also be a reference to the Will Ferrell film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
 * The cough syrup news report is made to look similar to the news reports done by Nightline and 20/20.

Goofs

 * At one point when the guys are at 'Whislin' Willy's,' you can see Kevin Stoley sitting at table, but he is also seen standing behind Stan. At another point, Kevin is still sitting at a table, but he is also watching Craig's "Animals Close-Up With a Wide-Angle Lens." The debate of whether this was a mixed-up duplicate or that these could be different kids who look very similar is still up for debate.