In a 2013 interview, Shelley Morrison said, "David Janssen was a prince. And he had a wicked sense of humor. Joseph Campanella was playing my husband, and Don Medford was directing, and it was the first time I'd worked with Janssen. Campanella had to give me a kiss. Both David Janssen and the director were gonna show Joseph how to kiss me. Well, I turned every color under the sun. They were teasing me relentlessly."
The use of straw man in the title alludes not only to the scarecrow made of straw, but also to a mode of fallacy whereby something is presented as substantive when it quite the contrary has no real substance at all.
This is the second of four appearances Diana Hyland makes in the series, and the second of two appearances in which her character is emotionally troubled in a similar kidnapping scenario. The other such appearance occurs in When the Bough Breaks (1964).
Joseph Campanella and David Janssen's careers coincided only in this series, this episode being the second of four in which the two men appear, the others being: The End Game (1964), The Other Side of the Coin (1967), and The Judgment: Part I (1967).
This is the third and final appearance Edward Binns makes in the series, each time appearing as a different character. The other two appearances occur in Glass Tightrope (1963) and Cry Uncle (1964).