The title of this episode comes from one of the most famous lines spoken in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" from 1969. Pursued by the "super posse," Butch and Sundance end up trapped on a rocky mountain outcropping, with the posse closing in. Butch proposes that instead of fighting they jump to the river far below, assuming the posse members won't make a similar daring leap. Sundance initially refuses and finally admits that he doesn't want to jump because he can't swim. Butch responds, "Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill ya."
Jon Wolfe Nelson who plays Marlee Matlin's (Joey Lucas) interpreter Dale also plays her interpreter Tom on several episodes of the L Word where Marlee Matlin played Jody Lerner
The agricultural poll pretense for bringing in Joey Lucas (we're eating more beets) is another tribute to Doonesbury. When USA Today was in its infancy, Doonesbury poked fun at it and its use of graphs and "We're eating more beets!" was a line in one of the strips. It's also the title of the collection in which the series is found.
It is revealed that Abbey Bartlett (Stockard Channing) graduated from Harvard Medical School, and is board certified in internal medicine and thoracic medicine.