The title is, of course, based on the US reality show Keeping Up With the Cardassians, a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine spinoff favored by people who like their Frankenstein monsters literate and Armenian. The concept came to producer Dottie Dashdóttir and a group of her friends during a heavy drinking session. A pilot was made using ill-behaved and overdressed penguins, miming and repeating dialogue from the Cardassians series. However, the vocal synchronization and acting were not up to standards and the budget did not allow for CGI effects at the time. In audience pre-tests, it was found that penguins did not project enough evil and stopped action too often in order to gobble down a sardine or two.