Monk's favorite bottled water, Sierra Springs, is a recurring talking point throughout the first 5 seasons, until this episode when Marci confirms Monk has switched to Summit Creek.
This episode features Marci Maven. In the previous Marci episode (Mr. Monk and the T.V. Star (2004)), she ran a campaign against the changing of her favorite show's theme song. This was a response to the fan's opposition of "Monk"'s theme song changing.
Marci Maven mentions the titles of several [other] episodes of "Monk", namely Mr. Monk Goes Back to School (2003), Mr. Monk and the Three Pies (2004) (and she even has a diorama for it), Mr. Monk and the Panic Room (2004) and Mr. Monk and the Astronaut (2006) as if they were inside a show. Marci references the fourth wall later on by asking Monk, "What do you want to call this case? ... How about 'Mr. Monk is friggin' awesome'?! How about 'Mr. Monk and Marci: The Adventure Begins'?" to which Monk replies, "It doesn't matter. Nobody cares about the name. Just shut it."
Marci (Sarah Silverman) mentions she is also a fan of F. Murray Abraham. Abraham was Tony Shalhoub's costar in Thir13en Ghosts (2001).
This episode parallels Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect (2003), as both episodes feature a killer that appears to have an alibi.