The scene where Ginsburg spies Lou and Jim talking in the glassed-in computer room is staged like the scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) where HAL reads the lips of the astronauts, right down to the rapid pan of the camera between the two sets of silently-moving lips. The episode that aired directly previous to this one was titled "The Monolith"; a large black monolith plays an important (if mysterious) role in the plot of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Furthermore, both HAL and Ginsburg grow increasingly paranoid.
The last three episodes had connections to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). In Field Trip, Don watched the film Model Shop (1969) starring 2001 actor Gary Lockwood; the next episode was titled The Monolith; and as noted, this parodied the lip reading sequence that in 2001 involved Gary Lockwood.