Graham Williams disliked the story, thinking it wasn't strong enough. It was made because there were no other scripts available. It was placed in the season's fifth slot in the hope that it would quickly be forgotten once the finale, Shada, began transmission. Shada would ultimately never be completed.
This story was inspired by the legend of the Minotaur. Many names are similar - the Minotaur became the Nimon, Theseus became Seth, Daedalus became Soldeed, Athens became Aneth, Knossos became Skonnos, and the Greek city-state of Corinth became Crinoth. The Labyrinth itself inspired the Power Complex. This was originally called the Complexity, while the Skonnans were initially referred to as Skonnians.
Anthony Read thought Tom Baker and Graham Crowden delivered their lines in a way that made the characters more humorous than he had written them to be.
Romana reveals that she has her own sonic screwdriver (and is quite adept at using it).
Both the Pilot and the Co-pilot were unnamed on-screen, but were given the names Sekkoth and Sardor respectively by Terrance Dicks for his novelisation of the story. This was not derived from any information given in the televised version.