The BBC's Head of Serials, Graeme MacDonald, was so unimpressed by the set designs in this story that he ordered that designer Don Giles was never to work on the series again. By coincidence, the episode includes a line of dialogue in which the Doctor criticises the decor of the Swampies' execution chamber and recommends its architect be fired.
This episode was watched by 8.9 million viewers on its original transmission.