This episode also features several references to Doctor Who. When Parker imagines Jimmy Ford using a time machine, the music playing mimics the Doctor Who theme music. She imagines him traveling back to 1962, the year Doctor Who began. And after this conversation, she suddenly notices that Hardison is wearing a bow tie, to which he responds "Bow ties are cool," in reference to a then-recent episode of the show.
At 32:57 the visual effects and music theme are an homage to Doctor Who. The tune is as close as possible to the original without infringing on the copyright.
This episode features many references to the film Die Hard (1988). Eliot's character of an off-duty cop caught inside a building while apparent terrorists hold hostages mirrors the plot of the film, and the FBI agent, Dennis Powell (named after Die Hard character Sgt. Al Powell) calls him "cowboy" over the walkie talkie, as the villain does to Bruce Willis' character in the film. Upon taking down the henchmen, Eliot quotes Willis' famous line "Yipee ki yay, mother--." Eliot also quotes Willis' line "Welcome to the party, pal."
The theft at the federal building with hostages is a spoof of the film "Die Hard"
When Eliot gets a cell phone from one of the henchmen, he says the last incoming call was from Rockford, Illinois. This is one of many references over the entire series to The Rockford Files.