Although it has since developed a cult following due to Cook's presence, "Consequences" was released as punk was sweeping the UK and proved a resounding commercial failure, savaged by critics who found the music self-indulgent. The script and story have evident connections to Cook's own life – his then-wife Judy Huxtable plays Walter's wife. Cook's struggles with alcohol are mirrored in Haig's drinking, and there is a parallel between the fictional divorce of Walter and Lulu and Cook's own divorce from his first wife. The voice and accent Cook used for the character of Stapleton are similar to those of Cook's "Beyond the Fringe" colleague, Alan Bennett, and a book on Cook's comedy, "How Very Interesting", speculates that the characters Cook plays in "Consequences" are caricatures of the four "Beyond the Fringe" cast members – the alcoholic Haig represents Cook, the tremulous Stapleton is Bennett, the parodically Jewish Pepperman is Miller, and the pianist Blint represents Moore.