The story line is that Gus only misbehaves when Drew is present. The episode title is derived from "Michigan J. Frog", the singing frog in 'Chuck Jones'' cartoon One Froggy Evening (1955), in which a man finds Michigan J., a singing frog, whose talent he hopes to exploit for profit. His hopes are dashed when the frog refuses to sing when anybody else is present. Michigan J. Frog, who was never named in the original cartoon, eventually became the trademark character for the WB television network. He also resurfaced in Jones' sequel, Another Froggy Evening (1995).
In the closing scene, the woman to whom Oswald is talking is an obvious representation of a black widow spider, all black with a red hourglass design.