PRODUCTION/CULTURAL REFERENCES (written 10/2/16)
-Along with "Mort & Carl's Man Cave" and the next two episodes, this episode was one of the first ideas I came up with specifically for season five.
-This episode is actually something I wish I had done in the first two seasons because of how simple the idea is. The story was based off of real-life events. In elementary school, everybody was making a big deal about the drink Tropical Fantasy causing sterilization in men, and because of that, some kids didn't want to drink it. I heard the rumors all the time in fourth and fifth grade, and in junior high. However, despite the rumors having been disproved several years ago, kids still believed in them.
-I always wanted to talk about the whole thing on Thank You, Heavenly so I finally got the chance this season. I knew it was going to be about RK and Jaylynn trying to stop the rumors about Cowboy Pop but other elements (RK's newspaper job, student council, David) were added as I planned the episode out in my head.
-When I finished the script, I was really proud of it because I felt like it was another one of those episodes that flowed really well and let me know how much I have grown as a writer. It also let me know that even though this felt like a season one or two idea, it came out a lot better now than it would have in 2012-2014 because of how much more developed the characters are.
-I chose Curtis Armstrong as David because I love his voice and when I wrote the script, I imagined him doing a great job with David's lines.
-I decided to leave the type of drink that Cowboy Pop was vague because I didn't really think it was that important. And also, I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be a juice or soda. In reality, Tropical Fantasy (the real-life inspiration for Cowboy Pop) has several juices, sodas, and iced tea.
-The Crazy Squirrel dance was inspired by the dancing of professional wrestler Enzo Amore.
-The back and forth between Buster and Jaylynn at Ike's was inspired by a similar conversation between Quagmire and Joe in the Family Guy episode "Call Girl."
-RK's line about hard times is a reference to the late professional wrestler Dusty Rhodes' classic "Hard Times" promo from 1985.
-When David mentions taking RK to court, RK references judge Marilyn Milian from the reality court show The People's Court.
-In the library during the court case, Jaylynn references "Lose Yourself" by Eminem.
-Malik Bryan's name is a combination of two guys I knew from high school.
-During the court case, Buster mistakes David's name for Dan, which is a reference to the titular character from Dan Vs., one of Curtis Armstrong's voice roles.
-The Spokane Bottling Company is a reference to the Milton, New York-based Brooklyn Bottling Company, the company responsible for manufacturing Tropical Fantasy.
-RK's research about the Cowboy Pop scandal was based off the real-life story involving Tropical Fantasy back in 1990. D&G Soda, Mr. King, and Larry & Steve's Wings are respective references to C&C Soda, Top Pop, and Church's Chicken. They were all accused of male sterilization as well.
-Larry & Steve's Wings was named after Larry & Steve, the Seth MacFarlane animated short film released in 1997.
-While celebrating at Ike's, RK references Joey Gladstone's catchphrase "Cut. It. Out." from Full House.
-Cowboy Pop's health-related changes is a reference to Tropical Fantasy's health-related changes which took effect last year. It was for this reason that I had to stop drinking it completely with the exception of the pineapple flavor, which was unaffected by the changes.
