April's yellow spacesuit resembles the jumpsuit she had in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987); the blaster she wields is shaped like a camera, homaging her journalist profession in that show.
The episode is dedicated to McKaylee Belle Grampp, the 3-year-old daughter of Eddie Grampp (a computer animator at Nickelodeon), who died in a car accident on August 12, 2015.
Lord Dregg is based on his appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) (an alien warlord) and Maligna, the ruler of an insectoid alien race.
The Turtle's spacesuits and new weapons is similar to the gear in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)'s sixth season, where they were sent back in time and to a world filled with alien beings.