As always, many of the sound effects heard in the Nimbus (i.e. bridge alert siren, computer activation sounds in the holoshed, the Doctor's medical scanner, etc.) are lifted directly from the original Star Trek (1966) series. The Nimbus' Doctor is also a blatant parody of DeForest Kelley's portrayal of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the original series.
In a deleted scene, Zapp is examined by the ship's doctor, whom he calls "Veins," a nod to Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of Star Trek (1966).
The giant pill to be delivered is based on a Contac cold remedy pill from the 1960s.
Fry has only nine lines in this episode.
The "Holo-Shed" Kif and Amy use is a clear reference to the "Holodeck" in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) which works the same as this.