Scenes from the spin-off proposals come from stuff that already existed at that time: Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus (1998) and Young Hercules (1998).
There are two classic formats for fast, cheap, easy TV episodes: recap, and bottle. Recap episodes utilize footage from previous episodes. Bottle episodes have almost all the action in one restricted location to save on time and expense of transportation and set up. Bottles also mean few if any extras are needed.
The title spoofs a 1897 newspaper article in The New York Sun about an 8 year old girl named Virginia O'Hanlon asking if there really was a Santa Claus. The reply was: Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. She later became known as Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas.
When the staff are preparing for the arrival of BS Hollinsfoffer, the soundtrack resembles the Mission: Impossible (1966) theme, but uses a copyright-friendly sound-alike tune rather than the theme itself.
Elizabeth Hawthorne: as newscaster Mary Contrary. Hawthorne was the original Alcmene in this series, before the role was recast with Liddy Holloway beginning in season 2.