Stuart Margolin who plays Hank, the inmate who tries to sell the songs he "wrote" to the Partridges, was a songwriter in real life. He and his partner, Jerry Riopelle, co-wrote several songs for the group the Parade. Margolin also was a member of the group Shango, who had a minor hit with the novelty record "Day After Day (It's Slippin' Away).
The title is from the mandatory instructions found on a Take a Chance card in the game Monopoly: Go directly to jail. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.