All the cars have 'J' registration plates. The series was made in 1988 when the current registration letter was 'E'; the producers obtained permission to use fake car registration plates to establish that the action was set in the future.
Channel Four re-ran the series over Christmas 1988, edited into 1x3 hour version, akin to a 2.5 hour movie edit - removing the end titles of episode 1, start and end credits of episode 2, and the opening credits of episode 3. The continuity announcer referenced that it had won an Emmy. This was the version that was shown on US TV in January 1989.
The series takes place from 1991 to 1992.
The Football match shown when the floodlights are turned off by the striking power workers was Luton Town v Bradford City in the League Cup played on January 19th 1988.