Ernest Borgnine was offered a guest role because the staff liked his work on the films Marty (1955) and From Here to Eternity (1953). He wasn't too familiar with the show when he was asked to be a guest star. But his grandchildren were fans so he accepted the offer.
Matt Groening thought the recording sessions with Ernest Borgnine were "so much fun". Hank Azaria commented that Borgnine "had no idea what the hell he was doing. He's a good actor, and he read his lines just fine, but he had no idea what the show was, no idea what we were doing."
Bart's 'Junior Camper' badges include Archery, Debt Collecting, Embalming, TV Trivia and Patch Forgery
In the final scene, Ernest Borgnine plays a guitar and sings campfire songs with the children. Borgnine was a guitar player in real life, so he brought his own guitar with him to the recording studio. Borgnine apologized because he felt that he was not being able to sing very well, but Nancy Cartwright thought his voice "added to the authenticity of his character".
When Bart and Milhouse 'go crazy broadway style', the signs behind a laughing Apu read 'Models and Model Decals', 'Triple G rated', 'Sweet tooth', 'Bootleg Records' and 'All Nite Arcade'