The introduction of a sexual rapport between the characters of Audrey Horne and Dale Cooper was a suggestion of director Duwayne Dunham, who felt it would benefit both characters. Dunham felt that the central mystery in the series - the murder of schoolgirl Laura Palmer - was simply a "MacGuffin" to compel what he saw as the real focus, the interaction of the large ensemble cast.
The origin of the fish in the percolator comes from a past experience of co-creator David Lynch. During breakfast at the studio of his friend Bushnell Keeler, he discovered that he and David Keeler drank coffee made with a bar of soap in the percolator.
Guest corpse Craig MacLachlan is Kyle's brother.
The episode was viewed by approximately 14.9 million households upon its initial airing, which represented over a quarter of the available audience.
When Twin Peaks was rerun on the Bravo cable network in 1993, David Lynch wrote new introductions for each episode that were performed by Catherine Coulson as The Log Lady. The one for this episode was thus:
"I carry a log, yes. Is it funny to you? It is not to me. Behind all things are reasons. Reasons can even explain the absurd.
Do we have the time to learn the reasons behind human beings' varied behavior? I think not. Some take the time. Are they called detectives? Watch, and see what life teaches."
"I carry a log, yes. Is it funny to you? It is not to me. Behind all things are reasons. Reasons can even explain the absurd.
Do we have the time to learn the reasons behind human beings' varied behavior? I think not. Some take the time. Are they called detectives? Watch, and see what life teaches."