In this Halloween special, Bart introduces the last segment by saying that they have "the most terrifying painting of the evening." Looking at it makes you go mad. The camera then pans to a giant picture of "A Friend in Need," and Homer is there screaming "Ahh, they're dogs...and they're playing poker." He then runs away screaming. Bart concludes with stating that the story for the poker dog painting was too scary, so they just whipped something together with Vampires.

Santa's Little Helper is taking his dog-lady friend for a night on the town. One of the wholesome activities in which they is getting their photo taken though one of the "stick your head through a hole" scenes. The scene that the pooches find themselves in is "A Friend in Need". The most ironic part about this picture (which I really doubt the writers intended) is that Cassius Coolidge (the guy who created the dogs playing poker paintings) actually invented these "caricatures" where you stick your head through a hole, and you appear to be in the scene painted on the front. Pretty cool, eh?

Bart and Lisa are trying to win a photo contest for the new phone book cover so that they can win a new bike. One of their attempts is this mockup of "A Friend in Need" around their kitchen table. In her suit of perfection, Lisa even complains that the "bulldog didn't ante." Just before Lisa takes the picture, however, Nelson sticks his head through the window with a camera and snaps the picture before the Simpsons do.

Interestingly (as in a mistake) the picture shown to the left does not have the dog passing an Ace under the table. Later in the series though, the dog magically does get a card in his paw to give to his friend.

In this episode the Simpsons house sit for Mr. Burns. While they are walking through one of the hallways, a spoof of "A Friend in Need" is seen hanging in the hallway. In the photo Mr. Burns is sitting at the back of the table, with the dogs cheating against him.