Items that are nods to other Star Trek stories that can be seen as part of the 'collection' include the diorama showing the 'spear through the back' Abraham Lincoln skeleton and the silicon life form from The Savage Curtain (1969), the salt monster/vampire from The Man Trap (1966), one of the addictive eye pieces from The Game (1991), one of the Vulcan pugil sticks from Amok Time (1967), a box of wine from Chateau Picard, the visor worn by Data when he dealt poker, Riker's trombone, the photon tube Spock was buried in from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), one of the mind spheres from Return to Tomorrow (1968), Sulu's fencing foil from The Naked Time (1966), a Kadis-kot board which was a game favored by Seven of Nine and Naomi Wildman first seen in Infinite Regress (1998), a pulse cannon from Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), Terran Empire flag from Mirror, Mirror (1967) & In a Mirror, Darkly (2005), Picard's Kurlan naiskos given to him by Professor Galen in The Chase (1993), a Horta egg from The Devil in the Dark (1967) and the necklace Khan made out of the Starfleet insignia from a uniform belt buckle in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
The giant skeleton wearing the tattered blue Starfleet uniform belongs to the Spock clone, Spock Two, from The Infinite Vulcan (1973).
This episode originally aired on the 100th anniversary of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's birth.
As Boimler leaves Riker with his transporter clone, Riker instructs the computer to play Night Bird. Night Bird was a gag on Star Trek The Next Generation. It is a fictional composition that is never actually heard, but is said to be very complex. Troi takes great delight in Riker's inability to successfully play the song's solo portion on his trombone despite many years of practice.
The new security officer Kayshon is one of the Children of Tama. The Tamarians first appeared in Darmok (1991).