Peter Robbins, who plays Tyler Tattledove in this episode, was the original child actor selected to perform the voice of Charlie Brown in A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) and several of its successors, including the full-length A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969). His voice became the standard that producers of later Peanuts animation used when casting child actors for the part, so that there would be as little noticeable change as possible in Charlie Brown's voice.
The noise that the "little black box" makes is the same sound effect used for phasers on Star Trek (1966).
The Chinese gong which appears as a prop in the restaurant scene was used just a few weeks earlier by the villain Dr. Yes.
A character named Dr. T is in the film The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953) by Dr. Seuss about a boy's nightmare involving his piano teacher.