Ellen Burstyn won an Emmy for her portrayal of "Bernie Stabler" in this episode.
In this episode Detective Elliot Stabler's mother Bernadette is introduced.
The song Kathleen is heard singing in the shower at the beginning of the episode is the opening of the 19th century English music hall song "The Keeper of the Eddystone Light," which was popularized in the mid/late 20th century by such performers as Burl Ives, The Weavers, and Peter, Paul, and Mary:
"My father was the keeper of the Eddystone light And he slept with a mermaid one fine night Out of this union there came three A porpoise and a porgy and the other was me!"
"My father was the keeper of the Eddystone light And he slept with a mermaid one fine night Out of this union there came three A porpoise and a porgy and the other was me!"
Kathleen's full name is Kathleen Louise Stabler.