Valley of Darkness - Production

Production

Much of the action in "Valley of Darkness" set on Kobol and Caprica was originally written as part of "Scattered". This produced a script that was too long for one episode but too short for two. The Cylon boarding party plot was conceived to fill enough time for a full second episode.

According to Moore, the production and post-production for "Valley of Darkness" was unusually contentious; it and "The Farm" were the most contentious episodes of the second season.

• After most of the shooting had concluded, the episode was viewed as too heavy. Moore and executive producer David Eick responded by adding the scenes between Dee and Billy before and after the crisis. Moore felt that these "bookends" provide better context for their relationship at the expense of sense of urgency in the episode's first minutes. The scene between Tyrol and Cally and some extra time between Starbuck and Helo on Caprica were also added to lighten the mood.
• The drowning scene was controversial because of its perceived brutality, but Moore and Eick fought to keep it in the episode. Ultimately the scene was shot and edited to minimize the screen presence of the drowning itself. Moore acknowledged that the scene would disturb some viewers but enjoyed the way it advanced the show's mythos.
• Socinus's death was controversial because of its emotional impact, but Moore considered it an important part of the episode. He had second thoughts about including it after learning that actor Aaron Douglas (Tyrol) had suffered a personal loss, but Douglas "really embraced it. He really wanted to do these scenes." Asked in a December 2005 interview what was the most difficult scene in the series to shoot, Douglas said, "The scenes where someone dies in the Chief's arms are difficult to do because they take a really long time to shoot and you are constantly in a state of loss and sadness. They are very draining."
• Moore pushed for the scenes between Tigh and Apollo that were ultimately deleted to be included but changed his mind after they had been filmed. He called that element of the script "a misstep".

The piano piece Starbuck and Helo listen to is "Metamorphosis One" by Philip Glass. It is reprised at the end of the episode. Glass's music was often used for temp tracks during production of the series. The microcassette format she uses is an homage to the film A Clockwork Orange.

When Tyrol and Cally rejoin the others, they use a kind of challenge-response authentication in which one party says "flash" and the other "thunder". These were the challenge and password, respectively, used by Allied soldiers on D-Day during World War II.

Actress Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) played a large role in planning the look and feel of Starbuck's apartment. She and actor Tahmoh Penikett (Helo) did much of the painting on the walls and the canvases strewn about the room.