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Trivia[]

  • The title references a line from "Fly Like an Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band. ("Time keeps on slippin'... into the future")
  • Various elements of the story, a challenge from extraterrestrial basketball players, plus the growth of mutant basketball players, parody the film Space Jam, in which Billy West voiced Bugs Bunny. The song "Fly Like an Eagle" which the title of the episode references is also featured in the movie.
  • The Globetrotters' saucer looks identical to the one Klaatu lands on Earth in the classic 1951 sci-fi movie The Day The Earth Stood Still.
  • The Globetrotter named "'Curly' Joe" is a dual reference to real Harlem Globetrotter Fred "Curly" Neal and to Joe DeRita, who was one of the Three Stooges from the late 1950s into the 1970s, and was called "Curly-Joe" to distinguish him from the original "Curly", Jerome Howard.
  • In a previous episode, "A Fishful of Dollars", Professor Farnsworth states he was called mad because he "dared to dream of my own race of atomic monsters, atomic supermen". This is a reference to a line Bela Lugosi delivers in the film, Bride of the Monster: "I will show the world I can be its master! I will perfect my own race of people. A race of atomic supermen which will conquer the world!"
  • The nuclear mutant with a chest-mounted cannon backs up Farnsworth's claim made in the episode "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" that he could graft a cannon on Fry's chest, to "crush those who disobey him".
  • The mutant with the dark skin and yellow hair is modeled after Dennis Rodman, according to the audio commentary.
  • The Professor throws or, at least, attempts to throw a folding chair onto the court. This references former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight throwing a chair in a fit of rage during a 1985 game against Purdue.
  • The concept of a peculiar time distortion is the main plot of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "We’ll Always Have Paris".
  • Fry wants to be put in the game to show Leela his skills; Professor Farnsworth replies: "Hmm. Will said skills pay the bills?" This references the song "Skills To Pay The Bills" off of the Beastie Boys 1999 album, The Sounds of Science. The album is, itself, a reference to the Simon and Garfunkel song "The Sounds of Silence". The Beastie Boys appeared in the earlier episode, "Hell Is Other Robots".
  • The song Bender whistles at the end is "Sweet Georgia Brown", which is the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters. It can also be heard when their spaceship first lands.
  • The check for "All the Earth's Money" has question marks for the date.
  • The artist referred to as "Wendy" is modeled after Britney Spears. The image shown during the news time-skip shows the album cover to ...Baby One More Time.
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