Because the characters of Nikki and Paulo had to be convincingly incorporated into the plane crash scene featured in the pilot, the editing crew meticulously watched hours of original footage to determine where additional scenes could be placed, which camera angles had not been used before, and which characters could be used for additional shots. The original beach set (still largely intact) was revisited and additional shots with Nikki, Paulo, and several original cast members were filmed. In some instances, acting was performed in front of a green-screen to incorporate the actors in existing (unused) footage. The resulting scene is a seamless cut of old, new and altered shots.
Sawyer is seen reading Agatha Christie's 'Evil Under the Sun'. The book centers around diamonds, and the mystery is played out on an island.
This episode is a take on a play called 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead', which chronicles the lives of two characters played out against the backdrop of events from Shakespeare's Hamlet. In Hamlet, the two characters are charged with determining Hamlet's motives and plans. Instead they themselves are killed. The characters are thrust into the universe of Hamlet in much the same way that Paulo and Nikki were thrust into the Lost universe, by the will of the writer. Inasmuch, they seem to serve no valid purpose and are generally mocked throughout for being the extraneous folk they are. In "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead", however, much like in "Expose" for Nikki and Paulo, the playing field is reversed and they are the major characters, with Hamlet seeming to be the character with misappropriated importance.
Episode director Stephen Williams cast a fictional Stephen Williams as the director of the fictional Exposé. You can see his name on the clap board and on the back of the director's chair. The gentleman in the sleeveless shirt is the phony Williams, the man in the lower right is the real Stephen Williams.
In the flashback of the plane crash, Boone is seen running around looking for a pen. This is because in the first episode of the series Boone asks Jack if he needs to find a pen to perform an emergency tracheotomy on Rose.