Screenwriters Steven Bochco and Dean Hargrove pay tribute to Steven Spielberg, who had directed Murder by the Book (1971) earlier in the series: the boy genius character is called Stephen Spelberg.
Perhaps the most unusual "guest star" in the entire "Columbo" series is the robot who is programmed to provide Marshall Cahill with his alibi. Robby the Robot is best known for having starred in the Sci-Fi classic Forbidden Planet (1956) directed by Fred M. Wilcox, as well as in The Twilight Zone (1959).
The main computer room scenes are made up of old sets from The Andromeda Strain (1971). This is clear by the entrance door with the two rectangular warning lights above the door. Also above the rectangles are two blank circles which in the film were a clock and a countdown counter.
The "black boxes" used to program MM7 are actually eight-track cartridges.
Columbo makes reference to his "wife and kids," intimating a larger family than perhaps previously believed. This is the only time that there are any children, but his wife is often mentioned but never seen. In another episode he tells someone that he and his wife never had any children.
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