Voyager is depicted as being severely damaged in this show. To achieve that effect without lasting damage to any of the permanent sets, acrylic sheets similar to those used when the sets are in storage was draped over most of the "clean" bulkheads, and were then sprayed with charcoal dust to simulate the effects of multiple explosions. Unfortunately this resulted in many surfaces having a "wrinkled" appearance.
This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series.
Main engineering is not seen through this serial. Neither is sickbay; to reduce the costs associated with preparing the sets to be seen as battle-damaged, the writers were asked to place the action on as few of the Voyager standing sets as possible. As such, the events aboard the ship take place almost entirely within the corridors, the bridge, and the mess hall.
After leaving Star Trek, producer Ronald D. Moore used this script as an example of how Star Trek: Voyager should have proceeded all along.
One of the most recognizable musical themes in this episode is that of "A Busy Man" from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), which was also used in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) for that film's main theme.