In one scene, Mindy drools as she eats doughnuts, much like Homer does. To get the right drool sound, Michelle Pfeiffer put broccoli and water in her mouth.
Many scenes in the animatic portrayed Mindy as flirty. David Mirkin did not like this because the secret of the episode was Homer and Mindy are two good people who are thrown into the situation and "can't help that their libidos are going crazy upon seeing each other". He added that the two characters have "so much in common" that it is "not just a physical relationship, but a mental connection as well", and that Mindy is not a seductress but rather a woman just as nervous as Homer. Mirkin also pointed out that while Homer is being tempted by a "seemingly perfect" woman at work, his wife could not be more "imperfect" since she has got a cold and looks sick. "He's trying to connect with his family, but with Marge looking sick and Bart looking like a nerd, everything is just not working," Mirkin said.
When Homer is nervously talking to Mindy and looking at the garbled, illegible notes on his hand, one of the things he says is "nam myoho renge kyo". This is a chant used in the practice of Nichiren Buddhism.
David Mirkin said Werner Klemperer was a "fantastic sport". Since Hogan's Heroes (1965) had gone off the air in 1971, he had forgotten how to play Klink. Mirkin therefore had to do an impression of Klink that Klemperer could imitate to get it right.