Dr. Simon Barnard is a marine biologist with a television show. This turned out to be a dry run for actor John Reilly, who just a few weeks later on January 7, 1983 made the first of his six appearances as television talk show host Roy Ralston on Dallas (1978)
Shep asks the gate guard if he's ever seen "Jaws." Actor Louis Gossett Jr. would the very next year star in the third film in the franchise, Jaws 3-D (1983). In fact, "Jaws 3-D" was Gossett's first project following the cancellation of "Matthew Star."