The red button Wash rigs to call the shuttles back and return the crew to Serenity was removed from the set on one of the last days of filming by Alan Tudyk, as by that time the cast and crew knew they were being canceled. Scenes on the bridge for Out of Gas (2002) were filmed the next day, and the button is noticeably absent. Alan then mailed the button to series creator Joss Whedon, with a note saying "When you get your miracle, just hit this" (quoting Wash's line). Whedon was hoping to revive the series, which he did, in the form of the film Serenity (2005).
Gina Torres' character spends most of this episode unconscious in the ship's medical bay, partly because Torres was absent for part of the shoot. She was on her honeymoon with husband Laurence Fishburne.
Mal narrates the pre-credit opening rather than Book.
The introduction at the beginning of the show in this episode is somewhat different from the normal introduction, but close-captioning displayed the words for the normal introduction.
The highest rated episode of Firefly.
The character name Bester refers to writer Alfred Bester who won the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953.