Harry Potter

Harry Potter is the title character of the eight-book series written by J.K. Rowling, about a boy who lives in his dirty cupboard, with his unloving uncle, aunt, and cousin after his parents were killed by a magical serial killer named Tom Riddle, and he grew up not knowing he himself was a wizard or anything about magic for eleven years.

In Breaking News, nasty news editor Amanda is a homage to Rita Skeeter, the Harry Potter equivalent of Amanda. She also writes untrue stories and makes everyone she interviews look bad.

In Commercial Break, Edward, the arrogant cameraman, claims he could take down John is he tried to blow up the commercial set. This is a reference to conceited Hogwarts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart who was also very arrogant until he admitted his incompetence to Harry and Ron shortly before he erased his own memory.

The title of the episode, Through the Trapdoor, is a reference to the title of the sixteenth chapter of the first book. The chapter also had the title Through the Trapdoor.