• Each episode is shot in three days. At the end of every show, all of the tape, the script, continuity notes and the director's half-inch cut are quickly shipped back to Cinetel's post facility in Knoxville
• Tucson's heat and dust made shooting a challenge.
• The producers chose to shoot on location to convey a sense of realism that the Knoxville sound stages could not provide.
• In addition to Arizona, other sites considered were California, Colorado, Nevada and Texas.
• Tucson's cooperative film commissioner, Tom Hilderbrand, greatly facilitated the producer's choice of Tucson, which was conveniently close to the talent pools of Los Angeles and Phoenix.
• Tucson's weather was very dependable. Out of 65 episodes, representing 195 days of production, there were only two days of bad weather.
• A mobile control room (dubbed "the Beta Bug") was constructed. The Bug is an 18'x10' air-conditioned trailer pulled by a pickup truck.
• A Steadicam was used to shoot scenes in early episodes, but the cables limited operator movement and got twisted. The camera operator preferred using a dolly.
• A cameraman related a joke. "We've got one trick we'd play on newcomers. We put a rubber snake on a fishing line, and bury it in the sand. Then just to break the ice, we'll pull it out fast and watch the person jump."
• The cameraman also remembers a scene that took place in the lodge interior, when one of the grips was entertaining cast and crew by donning a sombrero and doing impersonations. "Then he took it off, and when he turned it over, a scorpion crawled out. It had been in there when he had it on his head. We learned then to check everything before we pick it up." Authenticity does have its risks.

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