The shot used in this story of the town of Castrovalva sitting on a cliffside, and the name of the settlement, was inspired by a print by M.C. Escher. Later in the serial, the collapsing world of Castrovalva takes on a distorted appearance, reminiscent of Escher's surrealist work.
Nyssa's costume gradually transforms into the standard outfit she would wear for the rest of the season: first, she exchanges her "fairy skirt" for a pair of trousers when she falls into a brook while attempting to catch the runaway wheelchair before she and Tegan begin carrying the Zero Cabinet to Castrovalva; along the way, she abandons her velvet jacket, and finally she loses her ornamental hair-comb when it gets caught by a tree branch. By the time she and Tegan reach the base of the cliff, she is more-or-less outfitted as she would be for the remainder of the season. This was mainly done behind the scenes to make her outfit more practical for regular filming.
This episode was watched by 8.6 million viewers on its original transmission.