Willow has a "Nerf Herder" poster in her locker. The Buffy theme is by "Nerf Herder", and it was Alyson Hannigan, who plays Willow, that turned Joss Whedon onto using them for the theme.
This and the season six musical Once More, with Feeling (2001) contain specific references to each other. When the group is trying to figure out what magical issue they have to overcome, Xander says, "our dreams are coming true," and Giles responds, "Dreams? That would be the musical comedy version of this," which is basically a description of "Once More With Feeling". In "Once More With Feeling,", Willow sings "I've got a theory: some kid is dreaming, and we're all stuck inside his wacky Broadway nightmare," which is close to the plot of "Nightmares."
Although they were only dreams, this is the first time The Master and Buffy actually meet face to face.
A line of Xander's was cut from the original script due to length:
"Okay, despite the rat-like chill that just crawled up my spine, I'm going to say this very calmly: Helllppp ..."
An exchange between Giles and Buffy was also cut from the original script due to length:
- Giles - Are you all right? You look a bit piqued.-
- Buffy - Hospital lighting. It does nothing for my fabulous complexion.
- Giles - Are you... sleeping all right?
- Buffy - I'll sleep better when we find this guy. Nothing like kicking the crap out of a bad guy to perk up my day.
This marks the first occurrence of Astral Projection.