The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend

“Alaska” (Season 3, Episode 5 of Under The Dome) was a game-changing episode. Dale started questioning the Kinship, Hunter was injured in an accident, and James “Big Jim” Rennie and Julia made for strange bedfellows as they dug to uncover the truth about the Dome.

Check out these exclusive behind-the-scenes photos and insider stories—like where all of the goo came from. Click through to the end and read a special questionnaire from the episode’s writer!

Who could forget seeing Big Jim finally get locked up? The cage was custom built by the art department. It was designed specifically to help the story along while remaining true to a practical bird cage.
 

Saving your enemy can require a little practice. While rehearsing, Dean Norris used his hand instead of the prop gun, which Kip (1st prop asst.) was holding in the back of the room.

Pay attention: The crew puts insane detail into the sets! When town hall was being torn apart by Christine and the folks of Chester's Mill, set decorators were sure to include reminders of what the offices once were for.

Each department (make up, hair, and wardrobe) would stand by to give the actors a proper “gooping” before stepping onto set. What a way to start the day!

This scene was particularly interesting for production to shoot because it brought a lot of the main cast together. With Hunter (Max Ehrich) injured on the table, Joe (Colin Ford) and Norrie (Mackenzie Lintz) being blamed by Junior (Alex Koch), and Barbie (Mike Vogel) trying to figure out what to do, there were a lot of different beats to work out. Writer Bronwyn Garrity stood by while Director David Barrett and DP Walt Lloyd explained their plan to the set full of stars.

During “Alaska,” we learned that a team of scientists discovered another egg 25 years ago. While experimenting with it, the group unknowingly began following their leader (sound familiar?)—right off the roof of the building to their deaths.

In order to safely film the deadly scene, four "high fall specialists"—some with a background in high diving—were used. A big focus for this type of stunt is having a good idea of “air aense,” a specific style of training. It's essential for the dramatic scene because of the level of difficulty involved in landing in such a confined space. For a large jump like this no detail is over looked—the hair department was sure to choose a hair style that didn’t require any hard pins as to reduce any possible of injury.

While trying to physically force Norrie off the roof of a house in "Alaska," Hunter took a 20-foot spill to the brick walkway below. A crane was brought in to get the camera up to the roof while stunt players stood by to assist with safety. The dramatic scene was filmed at a local home in Wilmington, NC.

We all saw Junior’s impertinence destroy the town hall, which is now taking days for the Kinship to fix. In actuality, it took a lot of crew members (working no less than 12 hours a day, five days a week) to set up the elaborate town hall set. 
 

This week's Writers' Room Questionnaire is answered by Co-Producer Bronwyn Garrity.