This is the only episode of the series to feature the word "frack" in dialogue.
There are numerous fan fiction stories and fan edits of this episode that have a new ending of Starbuck modifying a Cylon Raider to enable him to leave the planet and return to the fleet.
Kent McCord and Barry Van Dyke were both highly displeased by being completely excluded from the episode. Subsequently the two, along with Robyn Douglass, planned to protest by sitting out production of planned future episodes had the series continued.
The voice of Cy (Gary Owens) is slighter deeper and easier to understand through conversation than the usual steely, mechanical sounding Cylons.
The Return of Starbuck is widely considered by many fans to be the only good episode in Galactica 1980 (which was otherwise poorly received).