The first season finale, Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut (1998), ended on a cliffhanger in which the identity of Cartman's father was to be revealed. But Trey Parker and Matt Stone played a joke on the viewers with the second season opener, "Terrance & Phillip in 'Not Without My Anus'" which aired on April Fool's Day. Instead of revealing the identity of Cartman's father, the episode was all about Terrance & Phillip trying to stop Saddam Hussein from taking over Canada. As a result, Comedy Central was flooded with phone calls from angry viewers. They were outraged that the cliffhanger was not resolved after waiting for five weeks. Viewers became even more outraged when they learned they had to wait another three weeks for the next episode Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut (1998) in which the identity would finally be revealed. This notorious episode has rarely been rerun since.
When Terrance & Phillip first get to Tehran, there is a salesman selling shirts with Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman on them.
Terrance and Phillip love the product Kroff Dinner, which is a parody of Kraft Dinner, an easy to make macaroni and cheese made by the Kraft company. A common Canadian stereotype is that Canadians all love Kraft Dinner.
Due to the outrage caused by this episode, it has only aired three times in the US on Comedy Central, however, in other countries, it continues to air frequently as the series is played in chronological order. It has also been aired in syndication.
This is the first appearance of Saddam Hussein in the series.