Near the beginning, Ace briefly appears wearing the Fourth Doctor's trademark scarf and Mel's top, as seen in Paradise Towers: Part One (1987).
Captain Cook and Mags are a deliberate parallel to The Doctor and all of his female companions.
Sylvester McCoy was coached in magic by Geoffrey Durham, otherwise known as the Great Soprendo, for the sleight-of-hand and other magic trick scenes. This was the first time that a magic consultant had been involved in the production of a Doctor Who (1963) story since The Talons of Weng-Chiang in 1977.
This story was originally a three-parter but was expanded, at the request of the producer, to four.
This story was originally intended to be the second story transmitted in the season, before The Happiness Patrol and Silver Nemesis. When the broadcast order was changed by John Nathan-Turner due to a delay brought about by the 1988 Olympics, two errors suddenly presented themselves. They weren't, strictly, continuity errors, as nothing demanded that Season 25 be watched in the order of original transmission. Nevertheless, if the season were viewed in transmission order, two things about Ace were incongruous:
- Flowerchild's earring could be seen on Ace's jacket in the preceding serial, Silver Nemesis, despite the fact that she only acquired it during this serial.
- During part one, Ace searches for her rucksack, which she blew up during the events of Nemesis.