Production
Chris Carter was inspired to write this episode based on an interest in dendrochronology; a subject that involves analyzing annual growth rings found in non-tropical tree species; as he believed that trees that were "thousands of years old" might end up acting as "time capsules" which would shed light on past events or species. Carter also credits the episode's ominous ending with his experience growing up in the era following the Watergate scandal, having spent his life coming to mistrust the government profoundly. The green insects in this episode were primarily computer-generated and added in during the post-production process. The close up shots of the bugs were done using microscopic photography of mites.
The episode was intended to be a bottle episode, meaning that it would be an episode that would be based in a single location and help save money, but bad weather plagued production and it was one of the toughest episodes for the crew of the season. The episode was shot on location in Lynn Valley, British Columbia, in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve—known as the Seymour Demonstration Forest. The atmosphere amongst many of the crew had grown quite tense towards the end of the shooting schedule, which culminated in a heated argument between director Joe Napolitano and first assistant director Vladimir Steffof, after which Napolitano would not appear on location again. "Darkness Falls" would be the last episode of the series Napolitano would direct. The weather delayed production at the site so much that pick-up shots and inserts had to be filmed at a later date to finish the episode. Delays were also caused by the inaccessibility of the location, as only generators, camera equipment and first aid crew were able to stay on-site, and time was wasted commuting staff in each day. Jason Beghe, who played Ranger Larry Moore, was a childhood friend of David Duchovny and helped convince him to pursue an acting career. The camaraderie between the two actors is said to have helped lighten the mood during the episode's difficult production.
Read more about this topic: Darkness Falls (The X-Files)
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—Charles Darwin (1809–1882)