The Way We Was/References

Debut appearances

 * Rainer Wolfcastle
 * Raphael
 * Artie Ziff
 * Clancy Bouvier
 * Harlan Dondelinger

Cultural references

 * The episode's title is a reference to the 1973 movie .
 * Another episode title referencing this movie is season 15's "The Way We Weren't".
 * When Homer is driving his car, he is disappointed to hear "" by the Carpenters, but is in better spirits when he changes the station to hear "" by the Steve Miller Band, to which he sings along. However, "They Long to be Close to You" plays in Homer's mind when he first lays eyes on Marge, indicating love at first sight. "The Joker" plays over the closing credits.
 * The television show they are watching in the beginning is a parody of the television series .

Trivia

 * Grampa and Homer dined on a bucket of Shakespeare Fried Chicken.
 * This is the first episode where we see Homer smoking (he smokes cigarettes in the bathroom as a teen). He would also smoke cigars and pipes in later episodes.
 * This is the first episode where Patty and Selma smoke as teenagers, this was influenced by their chain smoking father, Clancy Bouvier.
 * The articles in "Ms. Magazine" are: "Why all men are bad," "Hating and Dating: Do they mix?" and "25 reasons not to shave your armpits"
 * The Larry Davis Experience (from 7G01) play at the prom.
 * Mr. Seckofsky (the shop teacher) is missing a finger.
 * Homer has posters of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.
 * Marge says they were seniors in high school together, so that would mean that they are the same age. However, it has been established that Homer is 39, and Marge is 34. Is it possible that Homer got held back in school five times? He sure didnt look 23 when he was a senior. This is just one of the many weird things in the show about Homer aging, but nobody else.
 * A spoof of Barry White song is played when Homer invites Marge home for French guidance. The voice, nor the lyrics, belong to Barry White at all, but he does make an appearance later on in the "Whacking Day" episode.

Goofs

 * Homer's guidance counselor's door reads M-Z, but the counselor says N-Z.
 * During the prom photos, the couple with the Afros turn from yellow to brown.
 * On the leaflet, Montgomery Burns looks his current self.

Music

 * Elton John - ""
 * Elton John - ""
 * Elton John - ""
 * Elton John - ""
 * Elton John - ""

Continuity

 * Homer dismisses English class as worthless because "I am never going to go to England!" However, Homer tours England in the Season 15 episode, "The Regina Monologues".
 * A brief scene of the Season 3 episode, "I Married Marge" is shown, but it would not be until the following season that the story would be told in its entirety.
 * Although they think it is the first time they met, Marge and Homer will find out that when they were little kids they met at a summer camp in the Season 15 episode, "The Way We Weren't".
 * They Long to Be Close to You is heard again in The Simpsons Movie (2007), when Homer watches his wedding video.
 * When Homer is given the pamphlet about Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, he is told he does not need a college education to work there, yet in the Season 5 episode "Homer Goes to College" he does. (Debunked: Homer was later promoted to safety inspector, in the Season 1 episode "Homer's Odyssey". It's possible that Homer didn't need college for an entry-level job, but it was required for the inspector position. Burns might have glossed over the college requirement at the time he promoted Homer, only to be caught out later by the NRC Inspectors in "Homer Goes to College".)''
 * In the Season 24 episode, "Treehouse of Horror XXIII", in the segment "Bart & Homer's Excellent Adventure" a number of scenes are taken from this episode. Most prominent is the scene in the detention, which is where Bart ends up altering the timeline and stopping Marge and Homer from falling in love.