Meeting Robert Blake, musician and actor Paul Williams mentioned that he would like to appear on the show sometime, and Blake challenged Williams to write an entire episode instead.
Changing one character-actor for another, Dana Elcar is replaced by Ed Grover as Baretta's boss.
Ed Grover as the new Lt. is more a working-class type, in cahoots with Baretta wherein Baretta was always getting chewed out by Dana Elcar, like a rebellious kid by a Vice Principal.
Both Baretta and Paul William's character Sandy defend cocaine by selling, "Coke doesn't kill". Which was rare in any cop show to defend any drug, even pot much less cocaine. Although it was an extremely popular drug in Hollywood, and Paul Williams wound up an addict (and later successfully quit the drug).
Sandy is wearing a Vancouver Canucks hockey jersey when he first meets Baretta.