Who's to Flame?/Trivia

Trivia

 * When the cat is playing with Cuddles' tail. The background music on the DVD version of this episode is different from the Television and YouTube version.
 * Cuddles and Lumpy are the only characters who were firemen and didn't kill at least one character.
 * This is the only TV episode to barely focus on the starring character (Mime). Most of the other characters have their own sub-plots within the episode, some of which surpass the amount of overall screen-time Mime has:
 * Petunia and Giggles attempting to put out the fire only to have both of them set ablaze.
 * Toothy, Sniffles, and Disco Bear trying to fix the situation.
 * Pop and Cub's overall screen time.
 * Handy trying to obtain water to put the fires out, and his later attempt at ejecting from his helicopter.
 * Lifty and Shifty fighting over Pop's wallet.
 * The Mole exploring the sewer.
 * Lifty and Shifty switch roles somewhat in this episodes. Shifty would likely beat up Lifty and win, seeing as how he has often sacrificed his brother in previous episodes for his own gain or to save himself from death. This is the only time so far that Lifty has done something similar to Shifty.
 * This episode features the only instance in the television series, and one of only four instances in the entire series, that Lifty dies before Shifty.
 * Out of all of the numerous deaths, Handy is the only character who wasn't killed by someone.
 * If every debatable death counts as a death, then Mime would be one of only four characters to star in an episode with a large cast and be the only survivor. The other three are Giggles (Dunce Upon a Time), Splendid (Breaking Wind, Wrath of Con) and Lumpy (Aw, Shucks!, Remains to be Seen).
 * This is one of the few episodes in which all of the featuring and appearing characters die or are presumed dead while the starring character survived.
 * This is one of the darkest episodes of the TV series and the episode with the third most deaths (behind Wrath of Con and Class Act). Though there were a couple of other episodes with 16 deaths, this one shows almost every death and most of them are separate from one another.
 * Flippy, Cro-Marmot, and Splendid are the only three characters who didn't appear in this episode, yet they also could have died when the town exploded.
 * Handy's death is similar to Cuddles' death from Party Animal, Toothy's death from Mime and Mime Again, and Pop's death from Havin' A Ball.
 * This is one of the few TV episodes where a starring character doesn't kill anyone. The others are A Change of Heart, Home Is Where the Hurt Is (Debatable), and Tongue in Cheek.
 * This episode is another example of Lumpy's stupidity in that he is a firefighter in this episode, yet he enjoys playing with matches.
 * This is the only episode where Mime stars and survives without killing anyone.
 * This is one of the few episodes where Lumpy's antlers don't change directions.
 * This is the first time Disco Bear kills Pop.
 * When Cuddles gets Mittens down, he makes the same noise as in A Hole Lotta Love.
 * Disco Bear's scream from when he used a hose filled with gasoline was reused in the episode A Vicious Cycle.
 * Mime and Mittens were the only survivors of this episode.
 * Since Petunia started the fire, she's indirectly responsible for all the deaths in this episode.
 * The deaths of Giggles, Sniffles, and Cub mark as her first kills besides herself in the previous episode.
 * This is the first and only time she killed Giggles, rather than the other way around.
 * This is one of the few instances where Nutty shows concern for another character.
 * While on the phone, Mime's eye triangle face paint briefly lower to act as makeshift eyebrows.

Cultural References

 * While dialing for help, Mime performs the old gag that he’s forgotten the number to 911.

Superlatives

 * Sniffles' death is similar to his injury (before death) in Take a Hike.
 * Cub's death is similar to Toothy and Flaky's deaths in the comic strip Lost Claws.

Production Notes

 * The inspiration for this episode came from a traumatic incident from when Ken Pontac was a toddler. He saw his mother catch on fire while making breakfast because she was talking to his grandmother on the phone and didn't notice that she was next to the stove.
 * When this episode aired on YouTube along with Easy For You to Sleigh and Wishy Washy, the alternate title for the conglomeration of segments was "Four on the Floor".
 * According to the commentary on this episode, the writers needed to make a cheat sheet to keep track of the characters that died and how they did.

Continuity

 * The kitten that the fire-brigade saves from the tree is none other than Mittens, first seen in Tongue Twister Trouble.
 * Although it could have been a different cat with a different type of eyes.
 * Numerous items in the piles of garbage that Russell's boat carries have appeared in other episodes. These include:
 * The Cursed Idol.
 * A Lumpy doll from The Wrong Side of the Tracks.
 * A crushed rollercoaster cart from The Wrong Side of the Tracks.