In the kitchen scenes, which parody One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), the tall, silent Native American man is played by the son of the actor who played the tall, silent Native American man in the film. At the time the episode was made, he was in London performing the role in a Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of the play version, alongside Gary Sinise.
Mark Morriss, lead singer of British indie band The Bluetones, can be seen at the end of the episode when the characters are all in the pub. The Bluetones' music features in several episodes of Spaced.
Movie reference: the subplot that involves Daisy's latest job at "Neo-Nachos" is modeled after the film "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," with the stuttering, shy man, the mute Native American & and the overbearing female in charge of the area, among many others.
As Dexter smashes up Tim and Mike's robot he says "You're no better than Big Trak!", which was a programmable electronic futuristic toy vehicle launched in 1979 by the board game company Milton Bradley (MB).
The opening sequence is in homage to RoboCop (1987), when Peter Weller is being transformed into the title character.