France Nuyen is believed to be the first person of Vietnamese descent to appear on American television.
The story includes elements of both Homer's "Iliad" (Helen of Troy, represented as Elaan of Troyius) and William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" (the battle between the clever rational male and the unreasonable temper-tantrum-throwing female).
When the camera slowly tilts up Elaan's skimpily clad body (bikini bottom and top) in the transporter, her belly button is covered as per the 1951 Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters, which prohibited female navel exposure. However, by the fall of 1966, this guideline was no longer being enforced. While its true costumes on Star Trek often obscured women's navels, the network did not require it, contrary to a popular myth. In Mirror, Mirror (1967), both Nyota Uhura's and Marlena Moureau's navels were often seen, and the first time this happened was in Shore Leave (1966).
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated during the filming of this episode. France Nuyen, a huge supporter of Kennedy, had been deeply shocked by the news while shooting her role as Dohlman Elaan.
The red "armor" of the Elasian guards' costumes was constructed from a popular 1960s table place-mat, made of tiny plastic discs embedded in a plastic sheet. This is the same as the red stand-up collar worn by Galt in The Gamesters of Triskelion (1968).