The murdered physician was initially identified when a light was shone on his collar device - a gold leaf with a silver acorn is the insignia for the medical corps.
Palmer makes a joke regarding the Commander taking a stroll on the lido deck, referring to The Love Boat (1977). Mark Harmon actually was a guest star on two episodes of The Love Boat.
This episode is an example of a show mirroring real life. In 1988, the U.S.S Farragut DDG-37 hit a storm while coming out of the English Channel, heading south. the chief medical corpsman, HMC "Doc" Boccia was tossed out of his bunk, hurled across the compartment and slammed into a hatch. While he didn't die, he sustained injuries to his head causing him to be evacuated by helicopter to the nearest medical facilities. He was able to be returned, several weeks later. All medical duties during his absence was handled by an HM2. Small ships do not carry medical officers.
Jamey Sheridan (Admiral McGee) played Ozzie Nelson in 1999s Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol. Ricky Nelson married Mark Harmon's sister Sharon Harmon.
There is no DDG-154 listed in the US Navy, The highest DDG registration is DDG-127 Gallagher (the new Zumwalt class start at DDG -1000). There is a DDG-154 Xiamen in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force.