the inspiration for the episode came from the "sg-1" writers wondering for years what george hammond, the sgc leader from seasons one through seven, does while sg-1 is away on missions. imagined scenarios ranged from the general dealing with minor decisions like bunting and lunch buffet, to averting major emergencies and threats. the episode's working title was "a day in the life of general o'neill", but writer robert c. cooper felt "zero hour" was more appropriate, referring to the president's visit at the end of the episode. the subplot of the sgc being overrun with plant life originates in a season 4 idea by writer and producer brad wright. to not interrupt the shooting process, the set was decorated with various plants and vines overnight. some plants were plastic, but real plants were used for the torching scenes, sprayed to be flame retardant so as not to burn the whole set. jim menard as the director of photography was responsible for the green lighting when the emergency lighting goes off. he achieved depth by using differently-colored lights in the control room and near the gate.