This episode marked the last appearance of Dan Blocker and Ray Teal in their respective roles as Hoss Cartwright and Sheriff Roy Coffee. Although Teal was said to have started experiencing signs of terminal illness that forced his departure, nobody knew when this episode aired in April 1972 that this would be Blocker's last appearance in his signature role in his lifetime. (Dan Blocker, just 44 years old, died in May 1972 after complications from surgery.)
This was also the final original episode to feature the famed watercolor prints, which by now was relegated to the opening title and writer/director credit sequence after the first commercial break. The prints had been in use since the 10th episode of the first season.
