The reason behind John Diehl leaving the series varies. One report stated Universal and NBC cut costs because ratings were down, another said that Diehl was tired of the underwritten role, and a third stated that Diehl enjoyed the role but wanted to go into theater and expand his creativity. Diehl himself has stated that a combination of the last two was his main motivation.
One year after this episode aired, the "Sunshine Sports Network" launched, now called "Bally Sports Sun", a joint venture of Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Diamond Sports and affiliated with Bally Sports.
Zito's overall portrayal in this episode is noticeably deeper and more serious than in his previous appearances. The same thing would happen later in the series with Switek, who becomes a far more troubled character in the show's final season.
This is the only two-part episode that was actually originally aired in two parts. Brother's Keeper (1984), The Prodigal Son (1985) and Freefall (1989) originally aired as two hour episodes that were changed to two part episodes in syndication; "Calderone's Return (Part I)/(Part II)" and "Golden Triangle (Part I)/(Part II)" were initially separate episodes with different titles ("The Hit List"/"Calderone's Demise" and "Score"/"Golden Triangle" respectively) that only became two part episodes in syndication.
This is one of several episodes that does not end on a freeze frame.