As Mark Craig (William Daniels) comes into transplant patient Eve Leighton's room, she is reading "Ten Days that Shook the World," about the Russian Revolution in 1917. Two years earlier, Daniels appeared in the film "Reds," based on the book.
Dr. Daniel Craig (William Daniels) states that his Thanksgiving turkey recipe is from renown French chef Paul Bocuse. Bocuse stressed the importance of fresh ingredients and helped popularize the Nouvelle cuisine (French, "new cuisine") during the 1960s.
The title is from a World War II song "Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer" (1943), by Harold Adamson and Jimmie McHugh, which tells of a damaged warplane, barely able to limp back to base.