In the opener, Detective Ed Green tells Detective Lennie Briscoe that this could be his 'big chance', to which Briscoe quips "I'll wait for the musical version". Jerry Orbach had a successful stage career on Broadway before being cast in Law & Order (1990). He actually originated to role of El Gato in the off Broadway production of The Fantasticks, the longest running off Broadway play in history. YouTube has a clip of Orbach singing "Try to Remember", the signature song from the play, recorded from the Ed Sullivan Show. For fans who know Orbach only from Law and Order, it's quite a revelation. He also voiced, and sang for, Lumiere in Disney's animated Beauty and the Beast (1991), prior to portraying Lennie Briscoe in Law & Order.
A network vice president asks if "Brillstein" set him up for a fake arrest. Bernie Brillstein was at the time a major American television producer.
This episode features a reality TV show which appears to be based on real-world programs such as Big Brother (2000) and The Real World (1992).
This is the only time Nancy Ticotin as Det. Reina Perez appears outside the detective squad room. She questions the cast members in the loft with Det. Green.
Nancy Ticotin portrayed four different characters over the course of the series:
- Episode 3.15 Mother Love (1993) - Miss Gomez.
- Episode 7.5 Corruption (1996) - Club Bahia Hostess.
- Episode 11.8 Thin Ice (2000) - Alma Nogales.
- Episode 11.14 A Losing Season (2001) - Detective Reina Perez
- Episode 11.15 Swept Away - A Very Special Episode (2001) - Detective Reina Perez.
- Episode 11.17 Ego (2001) - Detective Reina Perez.
- Episode 11.20 All My Children (2001) - Detective Reina Perez.
- Episode 11.22 School Daze (2001) - Detective Reina Perez.
- Episode 11.24 Deep Vote (2001) - Detective Reina Perez.