The episode features a reference to Star Trek (1966), one of the creative sources for the series. In the historical broadcast of the Teal and Vandor tournament the announcer states, 'Space, the final frontier...."
While Steven Pacey enjoyed filming the duel scenes, he didn't enjoy filming Deeta's death scene, as it involved him lying on a cold ground for a long time while the crane shot was set up.
This is the last episode in which Servalan is identified as President of the Federation.