Going Under the Dome: Neal Baer Answers Burning Questions on "Dome Fever"

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Monday's episode of Under the Domeas well as the Stephen King novel the series is based on. Read at your own risk.]

Let the crazy begin!

As the residents of Chester's Mill found themselves three days into being sequestered from the rest of the world on Under the Dome, the cabin fever began to set in as people demanded justice for Paul (Kevin Sizemore) killing Freddie. But when Paul escaped, a manhunt brought new allies together in a surprising way. Elsewhere, Junior (Alexander Koch) continued his own crazy train as he kept Angie locked up and beat the hell out of the dome for locking him in. Seriously. With Chester's Mill down to one law enforcement officer, how will the town continue to function? TVGuide.com turned to showrunner Neal Baer to get some answers:

Going Under the Dome: Neal Baer addresses the mechanics of the dome

Is the dome causing craziness, or is it just cabin fever?
After accidentally killing Freddie during the last episode, Paul escaped police custody and headed for the woods. He evaded those pursuing him, though he actively tried to shoot them and cause more harm, showing that he is increasingly becoming more unstable. The promo for next week's episode shows people getting even more frustrated with their predicament, especially once they start to realize supplies will run low soon.
Baer's response: We call it "Dome fever." If you're stuck in a dome for a couple days and can't get out, I'm sure people will start to get a little nutty and we start to explore that. This is a day-by-day show and it's only been a few days, so give them time. We're thrilled the audience is staying under the dome with us because the episodes get better. We have to set up the characters and fall in love with them so we can start unfolding the mythology of the dome. In the next episode, you start to see people at their best and at their worst.

Is Barbie's presence in Chester's Mill a mere coincidence?
Julia (Rachelle Lefevre) questioned the odds of Barbie (Mike Vogel) being in Chester's Mill when the dome dropped, proving that her suspicions of her new housemate are growing by the minute. After Junior told her that Barbie beat him senseless for no reason, Julia became even more curious about Barbie and discovered a map in his bag that is presumably marked with Peter's (R. Keith Harris) cabin. Does she immediately recognize the location or will we see her travel there next week? And why did Barbie avoid DJ Phil (Nicholas Strong)?
Baer's response: There's a big surprise next week. The show is filled with Easter eggs every week. Does Barbie know anybody or have a past there? Don't take everything at face value. You got a glimpse into something that will be coming next week. Julia being a journalist, it's safe to say that she does an investigation into this map. She doesn't know that circle on the map. It's not what you'd expect. That's what I love about the show. You expect the cabin. Well, you're wrong. [Laughs]

Going Under the Dome: Showrunner Neal Baer dissects the series premiere

Are we ever going to see the dome cut through water?
We've seen it cut through just about everything else. What kind of damage does it cause being cut through a lake or a water main?
Baer's response: We're definitely going to be talking about that in Episode 6.

When will people begin to realize that Junior is unstable?
Big Jim (Dean Norris) noted that Junior was missing during the house fire when the town needed his help. Junior also independently told Julia and Big Jim that Barbie beat him up, which has raised their suspicions of the newcomer, but what happens when they begin to realize it's not Barbie they need to worry about? Oh, and even Rose (Beth Broderick) realized something is fishy since Angie (Britt Robertson) has apparently given up on coming to work.
Baer's response: Junior keeps saying to Angie, "You're sick." Poor Angie, she's in big trouble. As the bomb shelter is filling with water, it's not a good thing. This will all come to fruition next week and there's a scene at Big Jim's house towards the end of next week's episode that's one of my favorite scenes we've ever done. It's also one of the craziest scenes we've ever done. All the years I did SVUand looking for clues, I never did this.

How will CBS' Under the Dome differ from Stephen King's novel?

Are the seizures connected?
After Norrie (Mackenzie Lintz), who had lied to Joe (Colin Ford) so she could crash at his house, touched his hand, the pair both fell into the seizures in the premiere while saying, "The pink stars are falling in lines."
Baer's response: We're going to get much more into what this is about next week. [Norrie and Joe] will find common ground over this. Now things will rev up. Next week has a jaw-dropping end.

How will Barbie and Big Jim continue to work together in the coming weeks?
Big Jim enlisted Barbie to help track Paul down, where they found some common ground. But just before Paul was killed, Big Jim was talking about an eye for an eye, presumably discussing how Paul should be killed since he killed Freddie. But what if Big Jim was talking about Barbie, who beat up Junior? When the manhunt ended, Big Jim and Barbie planned to celebrate or commiserate over a drink, but Junior arrived home, so Barbie left. But Big Jim's conversation with the irate Junior seemed to indicate that Big Jim has bigger plans for Barbie.
Baer's response: It's the key dramatic relationship in the series, so we're going to see a lot of dancing and unexpected changes and switches. It will all make sense by the end. We're writing the last episode right now and it'll all come together.

Under the Dome's Britt Robertson: Will Angie survive?

The police department is now down to one person. Will we see other people recruited to help?
With Duke, Paul and Freddie dead, only Linda (Natalie Martinez) is left to be in charge as the new Sheriff. Big Jim suggested new deputies, so who might we see in that group and what process will recruits go through to join up? 
Baer's response: Yes. There's plenty of trouble on the way.

What did you think of this week's Under the Dome? Submit your questions in the comments section below for next week's edition of Going Under the Dome.

Under the Dome airs Mondays at 10/9c on CBS.

(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS.)