Though it had been seen previously in The Boogieman - October 31, 1964 (1990), Miss Deep South - June 7, 1958 (1990), and Black on White on Fire - August 11, 1965 (1990), the new "Tetris Block" handlink is officially introduced here, after Al "kills" the older "calculator" handlink during the courtroom scene. This would seem to indicate that The Great Spontini - May 9, 1974 (1990) was produced first and aired out of order.
This new style handlink, which looks like a mash of flashing "Lego" pieces with no readable controls, was used for the duration of the series. In "The Complete Quantum Leap Book" it is explained that while series creator Don Bellisario did not design the new handlink, he was very pleased with it, as it made another part of the sci-fi aspect of the show as vague as possible.
Spontini was planning to audition for Bill Bixby's "The Magician". The final episode of that show aired on April 15, 1974, almost a month before Sam jumps in. They didn't know at the time that it was the end of the show. The "Table of Death", which Jaime refers to, is the plot device in the final Magician episode ("The Illusion of the Evil Spikes") in which a fellow magician (named Harry, just like Spontini) dies while doing a trick. The Table of Death was really invented by Andre Kole, or the magician who plays Harry in The Illusion of the Evil Spikes (1974).
This episode has two people who were in a Friday the 13th movie. Actress Amy Steel, who plays Maggie Spontini, was in Friday the 13th: Part Two and actor Erich Anderson, who plays Steve Slater, was in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
Al's third wife was named Sharon.