 The story of the episode was influenced by the film Casablanca , and was affected by the timing of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike . Because of the strike , the script was written in five days and it was only when it was filmed that it was discovered to be incomplete . Shearer was not happy with the result and felt that the on @-@ screen chemistry of Stewart and Phillips was lacking . Reviews of the episode have been mixed , with one reviewer <unk> it up by saying " there ’ s nothing I can point to at this episode and say is wrong , but it ’ s one of the more forgettable episodes . " 
