The episode is loosely based on the Lubbock Lights incident of August and September 1951.
Adam Greydon Reid, a handsome and youthful-looking actor, was cast as famed UFO investigator Major Donald E. Keyhoe, author of several respected books such as "Flying Saucers are Real" and "Flying Saucers from Outer Space". Unfortunately, in 1952 (when the series takes place) Major Keyhoe was 55 years old, mostly bald, and with a very lean face which had a nose like a hawk's beak. He was a totally humorless man who was fanatically dedicated to promoting the idea that UFOs were spacecraft from other planets. However, Reid portrays him as a vain and comical character, eager to sign autographs for fans of his books.