The episode explained the backstory to the character of Lt. Worf and Michael Dorn was pleased with the outcome. Rob Bowman thought that the episode worked well. He included an overhead shot on the engineering set which had not been done before on the show and tweaked the ending. Shots of the Klingon starship were reused from ', while the freighter model would be reused as various freighters throughout the various "Star Trek" television series. Guest stars included Vaughn Armstrong as Korris in his first role in the franchise and only appearance in "The Next Generation". He appeared in a further eleven roles in the franchise, including the part of Admiral Maxwell Forrest in '. The episode was watched by 10.7 million viewers during the initial broadcast, and reviews by critics were mixed.