Bradbury rays are named after the acclaimed science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, who wrote for both The Twilight Zone (1959) and The Twilight Zone (1985).
Most of the main characters are named after actors who appeared in 1950s science fiction films or their directors: (1) Kevin Carlson is named after Richard Carlson, who played Dr. Jeffrey Stewart in The Magnetic Monster (1953), John Putnam in It Came from Outer Space (1953) and David Reed in Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), (2) Sheriff Haskin is named after Byron Haskin, who directed The War of the Worlds (1953), (3) Major Whitmore is named after James Whitmore, who played Police Sgt. Ben Peterson in Them! (1954) and (4) Faith is named after Faith Domergue, who played Dr. Ruth Adams in This Island Earth (1955).
H.G. Orson is named after H.G. Wells and Orson Welles. The former wrote the seminal 1897 science fiction novel "The War of the Worlds", among others, while the latter became famous as a result of his radio adaptation of the same novel on October 30, 1938, which caused widespread panic.
Although Beaumont is the name of an actual Texas town, the fictional town was named after Charles Beaumont, a frequent writer for The Twilight Zone (1959). A town referred to later, Matheson, is similarly named after Richard Matheson, another frequent contributor to the series.
This episode is a parody of 1950s science fiction films. Four of its guest stars were well known for their appearances in such films: Kenneth Tobey (Sheriff Haskin) played Captain Patrick Hendry in The Thing from Another World (1951), Jeff Morrow (H.G. Orson) played Exeter in This Island Earth (1955), John Agar (Pop) played Dr. Matt Hastings in Tarantula (1955) and Professor Clete Ferguson in Revenge of the Creature (1955) and Warren Stevens (Major Whitmore) played Lt. "Doc" Ostrow in Forbidden Planet (1956).