Al Pacino in "Kramer vs. Kramer"—a role that Pacino had declined. During the 1970s, Pacino had four Oscar nominations for Best Actor, for his performances in "Serpico", "The Godfather Part II", "Dog Day Afternoon", and "...And Justice for All". Pacino's career slumped in the early 1980s; his appearances in the controversial "Cruising", a film that provoked protests from New York's gay community, and the comedy-drama "Author! Author!", were critically panned. However, his performance in "Scarface" (1983), directed by Brian De Palma, proved to be a career highlight and a defining role. Upon its initial release, the film was critically panned due to
Say Hello to My Little Friend (Awake) only directing credit for "Awake". The installment was rated TV-14 in the United States during its original broadcast. Killen noted that, during the filming of the episode, he became "hungry" and wanted to "bend the rules" with the installment. He stated that the installment was a model episode that he wanted to "pursue with the show going forward". Killen also thought the last "three or four episodes" of "Awake", including this episode, represent what the show's writers were able to accomplish throughout "Awake" original run. "Say Hello to My Little Friend" marked the first appearance of Hawkins, a detective who