The story for this two-part episode bears striking similarities to the Stargate SG-1 (1997) episode, Beneath the Surface (2000), which aired a few months earlier. Both are inspired by the silent film Metropolis (1927).
The natives of the planet are called Quarrens, which is another Star Wars name. The Star Wars Quarrens are squid-faced people.
Harry and Neelix refer to their away mission in which they encountered the "Nar Shaddans." In the expanded Star Wars Universe, Nar Shaddaa is the largest moon of Nal Hutta, home planet of the Hutts.
Among the aliens on Quarra whom Voyager had met previously were Kraylor, Benkarans, Brunali, and a somewhat more purple species that closely resembled the Benzites.