In the scene with Castillo and Ernesto at the coffee shop, Castillo laughs and holds an extended conversation in Spanish. This is the only scene in the series where Castillo laughs.
According to an interview with Jan Eliasberg, the original story was to be about the Catholic Church refusing aid for gay AIDS patients, but after a meeting between the Church and NBC, the story was altered to its broadcast form.
Rosanna DeSoto and Esai Morales also appeared as mother and son in La Bamba (1987) the same year as this episode. The star of that film was Lou Diamond Phillips, who was a guest star on the previous season of Miami Vice.
-This was one of the few 1980s shows to cover the AIDS epidemic. It was first reported in 1981 and few TV shows then would touch the controversial subject.
The merchandise includes "Trinitrons." Trinitron was the model name for a large range of highly color-accurate CRT televisions and, eventually, computer monitors. The name refers to the "trinity" of three electron guns. The design was superior to competing TVs because the colors were projected as tiny vertical red, green, and blue bars of light projected through a vertical mesh rather than as dots showing through a dot mask screen, which was used on conventional TVs. This meant that Trinitrons were 25% brighter. They were more expensive and more desirable for theft.