War of the Coprophages featured insect-like robots designed by roboticist and author Rodney Brooks. Morgan was also inspired by Orson Welles's 1938 radio broadcast of H.G. Wells's book "The War of the Worlds" (which had caused mass hysteria), with the episode's title being a direct reference to the novel (with the last part of the episode's title, "coprophages", referring to a dung eater). The town featured in this episode also takes place in—Miller's Grove—is a play on Grover's Mill, the setting of Orson Welles's 1938 radio adaptation. Originally, a scene featuring the sheriff discussing a noted case of hysteria from the 1930s was planned
Orson Welles in a film for Cohn for no further fee. The stage show soon failed due to poor box-office, with Welles unable to claim the losses on his taxes. In 1946, Welles began two new radio series—"The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air" for CBS, and "Orson Welles Commentaries" for ABC. While "Mercury Summer Theatre" featured half-hour adaptations of some classic Mercury radio shows from the 1930s, the first episode was a condensation of his "Around the World" stage play, and is the only record of Cole Porter's music for the project. Several original Mercury actors returned for the series, as