Heavily influenced by Who Watches the Watchers (1989) (the religion angle) and Blink of an Eye (2000) (the time dichotomy).
The opening title sequence is amended for the first time, updating J. Lee's credit to Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr, reflecting the character's recent promotion.
The Orville was ordered by Fox network for a 13 episode first season. Shortly into its run, it was renewed for a second season, also consisting of 13 episodes. The final episode of season 1, Ja'loja (2018), was held back for inclusion with season 2, thus making season 1 a 12 episode season and season 2 14 episodes. Primal Urges (2019) was reassigned to from season 1 to season 2, and Mad Idolatry became the de facto season 1 finale.
Mention has been made here and elsewhere of Seth MacFarlane's fondness for musicals. The broad idea for this episode, a place that only appears periodically for a short period of time after a long passage of time, is the same as the musical "Brigadoon."
Takes place over approximately 34/35 days (11 days between each reappearance of the planet, plus 12+ hours of the planet being in phase with the Orville's universe).