Al Rosen's first appearance in the Cheers bar, although unbilled and without dialogue.
The episode's title comes from "The Boys In The Band," the groundbreaking Off-Broadway play which was one of the first to deal with homosexuality in a serious manner. The play's title in turn comes from a line in the Judy Garland version of A Star Is Born.
Carla says, "Say it ain't so, Tom." This is a reference to the legendary (but apocryphal) story of a little boy outside a Chicago courthouse saying to "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, "Say it ain't so, Joe," in the wake of the infamous "Black Sox" scandal.
This episode won a Media Award from GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
This episode aired less than four months after Glenn Burke of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first MLB player to come out as gay.