quashed rumors, which had circulated over the summer, that the strong-willed Shelby would become a regular character, in the wake of Wesley Crusher's (and actor Wil Wheaton's) departure from the series, later in the fourth season. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)

The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion notes that this episode is highly female-centric; it is Dr. Crusher who determines the Borg's fatal flaw, and Troi who realizes that Picard is attempting to fight through his Borg programming. According to Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, Michael Piller was intent on servicing even the lesser-used members of TNG's ensemble, including Troi, from the beginning of the fourth season onwards. As such, he had Troi "make some critical contributions to the solutions or problems."

The script drafts ofPicard and Riker was "cut out of Part II for length, including a scene between Riker and Troi where Riker expresses his concerns and doubts about Picard. We lost a little character to justify all the action that had to go in there." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)

Although the two parts of "The Best of Both Worlds" are depicted as taking place roughly within the same few days, subtle changes were made (such as to sets and costumes) during the hiatus between production on the pair of episodes. Thus, when the second episode begins, minute details seem to have miraculously changed in the blink of an eye; most noticeably different are the lighting on the main bridge set and the hairstyles of performers Jonathan Frakes, Gates