In the introduction to Edward Bryant's novelization of his award- winning script, Harlan Ellison wrote that "Six months of my life were spent in creating a dream the shape and color of which had never been seen on television. The dream was called 'The Starlost' and between February and September of 1973 I watched it being steadily turned into a nightmare." (Reference the Fawcett Books novelization, "Phoenix Without Ashes", published 1975). Ellison describes that Ben Bova and Douglas Trumbull also quit the series after contributing to this first episode.
Early TV trailers for this series included scenes from the movie Silent Running.
Harlan Ellison's original title for this episode was "Phoenix Without Ashes". His script was rewritten by Norman Klenman and retitled "Voyage to Discovery". Ellison's original, unproduced script won the Writer's Guild Award.
Ellison writes extensively about his troubled experiences with the producers of this series, and why he insisted on the use of his pseudonym, in the introduction to the novelization of his original script. The novelization, "Phoenix Without Ashes", was written by Edward Bryant and published by Fawcett Books in 1975.
Both Keir Dullea and guest star Sterling Hayden (Old Jeremiah) appeared in Stanley Kubrick films. Dullea played astronaut Dave Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Hayden played Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove.