The scene where Griffin's father, played by Harold Gould, pretends to be a painter to gain access to Metropolis Power and Light is a duplication of a scene he played in The Sting (1973) 20 years earlier where he pretends to be a painter to gain access to a telegraph office.
Reference is made to the events of the12th episode of Season 2: The Eyes Have It, in which Superman was blinded.
In the scene where the pranksters father enters the metropolis power and light building, he is wearing Acme Overalls. A nod to Acme inc. mostly linked woth Wiley Coyote and Road Runner (as the father of the prankster is a toy maker).
The slapstick-comedy like interactions in which the Prankster bullies his henchman Victor, is strongly reminiscent of the way Moe Howard used to mistreat the other stooges on The Three Stooges short films
At around the 38' mark, Clark comes into the newsroom talking about meeting an informant. He's wearing a dark red coat, blue shirt, and a textured tie in shades of red and gold-yellow, in his usual working clothes fashion. The entire look color scheme clearly resembles that of Superman's suit.