A two-week Engineers Strike at CBS Television City that lasted from September 24 to October 5, 1979 forced "Jack the Ripper" and "The Life Saver" to be taped at Metromedia (where the final two seasons and "Three's a Crowd" would later be taped at) instead. This would explain why the videotape quality looked noticeably better during those two weeks of recordings.
Towards the end when the kids are in Mr Furley's apartment, you can see two velvet paintings near the phone. One is of a nude. The other is over a fantasy plaza at night, with tiny lights lighting up the plaza's lamps and candles. At the time, velvet paintings were starting to be identified as tacky and light up velvet paintings were considered even tackier.