Not only is Carl Reiner playing the same name as when he was on the Dick Van Dyke Show, they also had another hat-tip to the classic sitcom. When Paul and Jamie have Alan Brady over to dinner and the business deal seems to be falling through, Helen Hunt goes on a crying jag in true Laura Petrie/Mary Tyler Moore fashion.
Carl Reiner plays Alan Brady in this episode. He played Alan Brady in The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Paul asks Aunt Lolly if she's dated Milton Berle. Her response "It's true," is a reference to the rumors that Berle was spectacularly well hung.
During the ending credits scene, another tribute to the Dick Van Dyke Show is shown, this time in black and white, with Alan Brady trying to get Paul to trip over the ottoman, the way Dick Van Dyke often did in the opening credits of his show.