* AccidentalAesop: Jodie accepts a date with an attractive nurse, the night when Peter Campbell gets killed. When Jodie becomes a suspect, Burt says that he couldn't have done it because he had a date, only for Jodie to then admit [[spoiler:that he did not show up for the date, so he does not have an alibi.]] This could be a [[SpaceWhaleAesop good lesson]] [[spoiler:to show up for dates, so that if somebody gets murdered at the time, this would prevent one from being a suspect.]]
* AwardSnub: Richard Mulligan and Cathryn Damon both won Lead acting Emmys in 1980, but the show lost to ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' for Outstanding Comedy Series that year. Robert Guillaume's Supporting Actor win the year before was ''Soap'''s only other Emmy. Robert Mandan never getting a nomination despite his impressively deft navigation of Chester Tate's truly bizarre character arc is a notable snub.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: When the show started airing in Sweden in 1978 (under the name "Lödder", meaning "Lather"), it became a surprising success despite [[ParodyDisplacement the type of show it was parodying being almost unheard of in the country.]] One possible factor is that Arthur Peterson actually visited Sweden while the show was airing there, making some appearances on TV to advertise upcoming episodes.
* HarsherInHindsight: This series isn't [[Series/TheGoldenGirls the last time]] that Creator/HaroldGould played a character who lost his [[HappilyMarried beloved wife]] to a DrunkDriver.[[note]]Which was also a Junger-Witt production[[/note]]
** The treatment of Chester re: his infidelity is alternately played for laughs or to show him as a scoundrel. On closer examination, Chester displays many of the signs of sex addiction, a psychological condition far better understood and sympathized with in the 21st Century.
* InformedAttractiveness:
** While Jessica Tate was by no means difficult on the eyes (and [[ThePollyanna her personality]] and [[RedheadsAreRavishing red hair]] certainly didn't hurt), the way the show set her up as being simply irresistible to virtually ''any'' man who crossed her path was a little over the top.
*** Likely done for humor: for example, when Jessica is in her hospital bed dying, her nameless physician suddenly declares he has fallen madly in love with her!
** Billy's Teacher. While she was certainly not unattractive, the way everyone was taken aback by her was also over the top.
* RetroactiveRecognition:
** Quite a bit of the cast, especially Billy Crystal (and for those of us that are old enough, Creator/RobertUrich).
** The announcer was Rod Roddy, who later did several game shows including ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' and ''Series/PressYourLuck''.
** Stu Silver wrote 47 episodes. Silver is best known as creator and executive producer of ''Series/{{Webster}}'' and for co-creating ''Series/ItsALiving''.
** Dick Clair and Jenna [=McMahon=] wrote 12 episodes. Both are best known for creating ''Series/MamasFamily'' and ''Series/TheFactsOfLife'' and for co-creating ''Series/ItsALiving''.
** Danny Jacobson wrote seven episodes. Jacobson is best known as co-creator and executive producer of ''Series/MadAboutYou''.
** Creator/RobertEnglund as a member of the Sunnies cult only slightly less sadistic than Freddy Krueger.
** Howard Hesseman and Gordon Jump sharing a scene a year before they'd become ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'''s Dr. Johnny Fever and Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson.
** Himmel, the German detective Ingrid hires to find out who murdered Peter was played by Creator/WilliamDaniels.
** Jodie's hospital room mate from season one, Creator/HaroldGould, was one of the inmates from ''Film/PatchAdams'', as well as Kid Twist in ''Film/TheSting''.
** Juan One was played by Creator/JoeMantegna in one of his earliest screen roles.
** George Wendt played a diner employee in a fourth season episode, a year before landing his iconic role as Norm Peterson on ''Series/{{Cheers}}''.
* TheScrappy: It's pretty easy to see why Carol is so [[BitchInSheepsClothing hated]] [[TheBabyTrap by the]] [[ManipulativeBitch fandom.]]
** El Puerco doesn't have a lot of fans, either, given his unpopular storyline. This is also a BrokenBase as those who do like him, really like him
* ValuesResonance: Even though he ultimately doesn't go through with it and the whole thing rests heavily on being FairForItsDay (including correlating being gay with being trans which is now known to not necessarily always be the case), Jodie's desire for a sex-change operation in the first season, in particular the scene where he explains his reasons to Mary (telling her very firmly that he knows he should be a woman and has always felt that way and is glad to have surgery as an option to be his true self), is surprisingly well presented and not PlayedForLaughs nearly as much as one would think. All of this makes the plotline surprisingly resonant since the late 2010s with the increasing visibility of trans people and their experiences.