SciFiAndTvTalk

Star Trek: Voyager's Roxann Dawson Talks Directing

During Star Trek: Voyager's seven season run, Star Trek fans got to know actress Roxann Dawson as the show's half-human/half-Klingon Lt. B'Elanna Torres. While on Voyager, she was given the chance to try her hand at directing. Dawson found she had a real knack as well as passion for working behind the camera, and over the past few years has focused more and more on that side of the business. TV dramas have encompassed the bulk of her directing, including such genre shows as Lost, Heroes and Caprica.

"Lost was heaven," says Dawson. "You're directing in Hawaii and you've got this beautiful scenery in front of you, all of which made things rather magical. What was really wonderful is that you felt like you were part of the show's mythology and exploring as well as discovering the clues to it at the same time as the audience. I think when you're a fan of a TV show, which I was of Lost, to be able to get out there and be involved like that was something quite special.

"With Heroes I was really fortunate to direct during its first season, when I thought the show was at its full tilt. There was so much potential there, and all the actors and their characters were on fire. Like Lost, there was the scope of Heroes along with the mythology and your being a part of shaping where the show was going. It was an exciting place to work; they really were respectful of directors' input and the actors were so receptive to working with you. It really was just a hoot and I loved every minute of it.

"Coming back to Heroes in its last season was a little more difficult because it was trying to rediscover itself. The budget wasn't as big, and the program had obviously gone through a bit of an identity crisis and, again, was trying to find itself. The thing is, though, that it was constantly trying to move in a direction of growth. Whether it succeeded or not, it didn't matter. It never stopped trying, so you always felt part of this creative process that was growing as opposed to doing a show that was sitting there just running by the numbers. It was thrilling to be involved in that process.

"As for Caprica, I have to say that it's one of the most exciting shows that I've ever done," she enthuses, "and it's probably because of the way that it's shot. They use three cameras all the time, there was a lot of improvisation, and the actors were just hot as well as, again, very receptive. It was an adrenaline-filled show to do and challenging on every level. We had a lot to do in a very short period of time, but it was all extremely creative and everyone there was incredibly positive about wanting to do the best work possible. It really was a joyful experience."

Dawson also took great pleasure in revisiting her Star Trek roots when she directed multiple episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. "My favorite episode is probably the first one I did [The Andorian Incident] because it was right at the beginning of it all," she notes. "It was about being on the ground level of still doing a franchise that had been around for 30 years. However, because this was sort of a prequel, it was a matter of going back and deciding, 'Well, when did these characters discover this? When did this knowledge come into being?' etc. On top of that, we were bringing in the whole Andorian element.

"So helping create something that had already been established was a great deal of fun, especially when it came to working with the cast. They treated me with a lot of respect because they knew I had done it for seven years and that I 'got it.' It was a very, very generous group of actors on Enterprise and all trying to find their characters, knowing that they were part of the franchise, but still looking to find their own voices, as we did on Voyager. It was neat for me to have that understanding and to look at them and go, 'I know what your days are like. I know what you're feeling right now and what you're going through.' I think that insight allowed me to better communicate with them. Again, they were all very nice, generous actors as well as people and I enjoyed getting to know them."

Steve Eramo

Stargate Universe's David Blue - Team Player

David Blue as Stargate Universe's Eli Wallace. Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel. 

Have you ever had an uninvited guest show up at your front door and had no choice but to let them in. That is pretty much what happens to our heroes on Stargate Universe in the two-part first season finale Incursion. Several members of the Lucian Alliance use their Stargate to get onboard the Destiny, taking hostages in the process.  Eli Wallace and Chloe Armstrong manage to escape, but not before Chloe is shot.

As the final five minutes of Incursion, Part 2 tick by, Eli is forced to leave the injured Chloe in order to try to save Lt. Scott and Sergeant Greer, who are trapped outside Destiny and facing certain death. It was a heart-pounding experience for Eli, while the actor who plays him, David Blue, could not have enjoyed himself more.

"Any time I get to work with Elyse Levesque [Chloe] is a lot of fun because of the dynamic between our two characters," says Blue, dressed in his familiar Eli attire - jeans and T-Shirt- and sitting in his trailer on SGU's Vancouver set. “It was kind of strange, though, when we were filming the season one finale. It felt like we were on a different show because Eli and Chloe were separated from the others. Everyone else was fighting the Lucian Alliance, while Eli was carrying Chloe around the ship. It was cool, though, because although it wasn’t quite a resolution, it was a build up to everything that had been going on, even under the surface, for so long with Eli and Chloe. So I thought it was nice that they both got to say things to each other that had been on their minds.

"The final scenes of Incursion, Part 2 were pretty much shot in the order that you saw them.  I spent my last day of work running through various corridors and jumping up on things. I had an idea of what it was all going to look like when we shot it, but it wasn’t until I watched those last few minutes of that episode for the first time that it really blew me away. I went up to [director] Andy Mikita immediately afterward and was like, ‘I bow down to you,’ because it was all so powerful  - everything from Eli’s slow motion running to Chloe passing out or dying or who knows, and then the final shot of Colonel Young [Louis Ferreira], which is so beautiful and touching.

"I'm very proud of SGU’s first season, but it’s funny how when you’re working on a show, there are episodes that stand out. Even while shooting season one, I loved everything about it, but I’d tell fans, ‘Oh, Time is going to be great, Justice is going to be great, so is Human, and then there’s the finale.’ Again, there are certain ones that stand out, but here we are, a little more than halfway through filming season two, and I just think every episode we’ve shot so far is equally freakin’ amazing. I can’t choose one that I’m the proudest of, and that’s because I’m proud of them all. I haven’t even seen them yet, but just in shooting them, I think they're all great."

 

The cameras began rolling on the second season of SGU with an episode entitled Pathogen. Airing fourth this year, it was directed by Robert Carlyle (Dr. Nicholas Rush). “It’s a relatively Eli-heavy story,” notes Blue, “so after having had a few months off and spending it back in Los Angeles living my life, my first episode of the season was being directed by someone who I really respect and it’s quite a significant one character-wise for Eli. So for me it was a combination of, OK, who exactly is Eli again, and it being a very intense episode for him.

 

“I knew the basics of the story going into it,” continues the actor. “They [the producers/writers] had given me a heads-up that we would be doing a story like this one in season two. I had a lot of expectations when I first read the script, and it exceeded them. As an actor it was challenging because it explored so many aspects of Eli that you don’t normally get to see, as well as a relationship that we only briefly touched upon in the [first season] episode Earth.

 

“Each of our characters has a relationship back on Earth – Camille [Ming-Na] has Sharon [Reiko Aylesworth], Scott [Brian J. Smith] has his son, Chloe has her mom – and these are the anchors that have helped keep them going and given them a reason to fight to get home. In Pathogen, Eli comes to realize that he’s here for a reason, and possibly what that is, and along with that, he has to solidify his life back home in order for him to move forward.

 

"That was a really important thing for my character because right from the start he was sucked into this world not by choice, and since then he’s slowly had to find his way. Unlike everyone else who doesn’t really want to be here, I think Eli does. This is his fantasy of what he always wanted to be true, but there’s always been something itching in the back of his mind telling him that he needed to get back to Earth. So this story is important for him in dealing with and possibly overcoming that.”

 

Pathogen puts Eli through the emotional wringer, and Blue was there every step of the way with his character. "it was some of the more raw stuff that I've had to do as an actor, at least since doing theater years ago," he says. "It was really neat and cathartic, but draining as well.

 

"At the time I'd just moved back to Vancouver from LA and was living in a hotel while trying to find an apartment. I remember a few days when I would get back to the hotel, having worked for something like 14 hours, and being absolutely exhausted, emotionally and physically, and literally having to choose between eating dinner or going to bed. It was also a dialogue-heavy episode for me, so it was a challenge all around. Looking back now I can say it was fun," says Blue with a smile, "and I'm curious to watch it. I think i'm going to be proud of it, if that makes sense, just from feeling it on the day [during filming] and working with Glynis Davies, who plays Eli's mom. She's such a great actress and so much fun to work with as well."

 

The actor also has nothing but positive things to say about being directed by Robert Carlyle. "I'm a director myself and I sort of view myself as an actor's director. I love pulling performances out of people, so it was terrific being directed by somebody like Robert, who views everything the same way," he enthuses. "He's a very gentle, supportive director, and if you have an idea, Robert will let you go with it and then work with you so that your idea comes to life in the way you both want it to.

 

"I have to admit that it's incredibly intimidating, too, being directed by an actor who you respect so much. You don't want to let the program or the producers down, and you don't want to let your character down, either. And on top of all that, you're working with someone who you work with every day and who you really want to impress and make look good. So it truly was a flawless experience from beginning to end."

 

Once they had completed work on Pathogen, the SGU cast and crew began shooting the season two opener, Intervention, in which the mounting tensions between our heroes and the Lucian Alliance come to a head.

 

"I couldn't wait to get the script and find out how everything got resolved, how the characters overcame challenges, or didn't, and how our story then continued," says Blue. "I feel as if season one focused a great deal on introducing our characters and the viewers getting to know them. The story then started picking up speed when different things happened, specifically us meeting the aliens as well as the outside threat of the Lucian Alliance. This year, we've just continued picking up more and more speed. As I said to some fans at the end of season one, 'It's like you're strapping in for the roller coaster ride now,' and so far I feel like all of this year has been the actual roller coaster ride.

 

"As for Eli, I thought the first season was a lot about him growing up and into this new role, and if you were to compare my character from the SGU pilot to the Eli now - in episode 11 of season two - you would see that he's very different, physically and emotionally. Part of that is because I've lost weight. I've probably lost 35 pounds since filming began last year, and that was actually my idea. I went to the producers and said that I had gained a lot of weight for Ugly Betty, and I not only wanted to lose some of that weight for myself, but also in the situation that Eli is in, it would just make sense that he'd lose weight, too.

 

"So physically, my character is definitely becoming more active. He's not just sitting around because he can't afford to; Eli is fighting for his life. And then emotionally, here was someone who looked at Dr. Rush and Colonel Young, probably more so Young, and thought, 'These guys will save my life. I don't have to fight very hard.' However, throughout season one, Eli began realizing more and more that he couldn't necessarily trust these people for his well-being. He had to take responsibility for himself. And then I feel like at the beginning of season two and up to now, Eli has been trying to find ways not to just pitch in, but actually make a difference. He's trying to be somebody who can be counted on and who is coming up with his own ideas to help himself and the others.

 

"Besides all that, he's maturing as a human being as well. Instead of being the guy who, not necessarily had a crush on but was interested in a girl who was unrequited, Eli has accepted that he has a friend in Chloe. He's looking at all his relationships in a more adult way. This year, Eli's and Chloe's relationship definitely becomes further defined for what it is. My character's relationship with Lt. Scott further grows and becomes more of a real friendship. With Eli and Sergeant Greer [Jamil Walker Smith], they've had a very timid relationship of mutual respect and disdain, but things are finally getting to the point where they're realizing each other's worth. In fact, there are some Eli/Greer moments in the first half of season two that I wasn't expecting and that are awesome.

 

"Of course, relationship-wise, the most fun for me continues to be the one between Eli and Rush, which really did start out with the both of them disliking one another. I love the Amadeus [Mozart] and [Antonio] Salieri dynamic with those two characters, and that it's grown to a place where they're not fighting any more, but understanding that they have to work together, and in doing so, can learn something from each other. That's been a cool change, and we're actually shooting more scenes either tomorrow or the next day along those lines. Eli still doesn't completely trust Rush, but he's also realizing the scientist's worth. I think a lot of this season is about these characters discovering each other's worth as well as their own purpose in the scheme of things."

 

While he might have a tough time choosing a favorite season two SGU episode, there are memorable ones that immediately spring to the actor's mind. "Cloverdale is a neat story for everyone because it's just so different from anything we've done so far on SGU," he says. "The episode was written in such a way that we got to show our characters in a totally new light, and shooting-wise it was a nice break because we went on-location for some of it. Again, I'm dying to see this episode, and after doing ADR [Automated Dialogue Replacement] for certain scenes, it made me want to watch it even more.

 

"So Cloverdale stands out for me, and so does one called The Greater Good. I'm guessing fans are going to flip out when they watch it as well as Trial and Error."

 

Blue goes on to talk about Deliverance, the current (early July) episode being shot. "In this one we're getting to do stuff that none of us as actors have really done before. That's actually one of the cool things about this show that a number of people have come to realize. We can have an episode like Life, which is very character-heavy, and then we'll have something like Space, with these insane space battles.

 

"So we go back and forth, and Deliverance is one of those stories where there's plenty of explosions and other really, really neat stuff going on. Again, talking about acting challenges, this episode involves a whole other side of that. Not only are you playing with your imagination way more and still doing all your character moments, but there's all sorts of action talking place, so you have to try to focus on multiple things at once."

 

Thanks to his down-to-Earth and friendly nature, Blue is an easy person to like, and the same can be said of his SGU character. However, while both the actor and Eli have fast become fan favorites, it has taken a bit of time for some loyal Stargate viewers to warm up to SGU as a whole.

 

"I think a lot of people have come to realize that SGU is what it is," he says. "It's a different take on an existing franchise, and many of those who have accepted that have also come to like the show along with its characters.

 

"And I'm so incredibly flattered and humbled by fans who like the Eli character. I can't thank them enough for appreciating what I do because for me it's just a lot of fun. It's cool when people come up to me and say that they connect with Eli, which has always been the goal, to kind of feel like he's them in that situation. So it seems to be working, and that's a real testament to the writers and the directors more than it is me. I just show up here and play, and I love that people are enjoying it."

 

Steve Eramo

 

As noted above, photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Chuck's Josh Gomez And Chris Fedak

L-R: Greta (Olivia Munn), Morgan Grimes (Josh Gomez) and Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) in Chuck's season four premiere episode "Chuck Vs. The Anniversary." Photo by Jordan Althaus and copyright of NBC. 

OUR favorite secret agent, Chuck Bartowski,  is back in the one-hour action-comedy series, Chuck, airing Monday nights @ 8:00 p.m. EST/PST on NBC. Zachary Levi (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squakquel) returns in the title role as a regular guy who also happens to be the government's most vital secret agent. Now that those closest to Chuck know his secret, he must try harder than ever to keep his spy life from interfering with his personal life. But this has never been more difficult - his relationship with super spy Sarah Walker is getting serious, and he's about to take on his most personal mission yet: finding his mother.

This season, Chuck's assignments take him far from Burbank, with each mission bringing him closer to uncovering what happened to his mom, Mary Elizabeth Bartowski (guest-star Linda Hamilton, The Terminator. Terminator 2: Judgment Day).

The ever stoic Colonel John Casey (Adam Baldwin, My Bodyguard, Firefly, Serenity) returns with partner Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski, the upcoming The Killer Elite), one of the CIA's top agents and Chuck's new girlfriend.

Also starring are Joshua Gomez (Without A Trace) as Morgan Grimes, Chuck's best buddy,; Sarah Lancaster, What About Brian?) as Chuck's ever-supportive sister Ellie; Ryan McPartlin (Living With Fran) as Devon Woodcomb (also known as "Captain Awesome"), Ellie's husband. Chuck's Buy More team consists of Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence, The Pursuit of Happyness) and the Nerd Herd, which includes Lester (Vik Sahay, Time Bomb) and Jeff (Scott Krinsky, The O.C.).

Chuck is co-created by Josh Schwartz (The O.C., Gossip Girl) and Chris Fedak, and is executive produced by Schwartz, McG (Charlie's Angels, Terminator: Salvation), Fedak, Robert Duncan McNeill (Star Trek: Voyager) and Nicholas Wootton.

On September 14th, Josh Gomez a.k.a. Mogan Grimes and series co-creator/executive producer Chris Fedak took some time out from telling spy stories to speak with myself as well as other journalists about what's to come this season on Chuck. The following is an edited version of that Q & A. Enjoy!

Josh, the last time we saw Morgan and his buddies they had accidently blown up the Buy More, so is your character still part of the spy team and what can we look forward to in the new season with him?

JOSH GOMEZ - Yes, he's definitely still part of Team Bartowski. I don’t know how much the CIA loves him, but I guess the Buy More is actually rebuilt and taken over by the CIA and my character is basically in charge of keeping the Buy More's CIA cover, so he's there to make it look and run like a real Buy More. Meanwhile, it's owned and operated by the CIA. Is that right, Chris?

CHRIS FEDAK - That's absolutely correct. And also one of the things we realized last year is that Josh Gomez is just wonderful in the spy world, so we do look forward to bringing his character of Morgan back on missions at some point.

The season premiere has a whole bunch of guest-stars in it, which isn't something that the show is really known for. There's an expectation for there to be even more guest-stars throughout the season. Was that something, having been renewed for a fourth season, where you decided you were going to try to get people like Linda Hamilton to appear on the show?

CF - Absolutely. I think when we got Season 4 it was a matter of not only do we get to tell a big exciting new story this season, but we also get to use this show as a great way to kind of meet and bring people into the world of Chuck. And there’s nothing cooler than meeting and bringing into the show people like Linda Hamilton and Timothy Dalton. It’s great, too, because they fit so perfectly into our world, and we’re super-jazzed to cast the kind of actors that people are going to get excited about. It makes our set a really exciting place to visit, too.

JG - Not many people get to go to work and play with James Bond (Dalton), so it's pretty cool.

So obviously the Chuck fans are very excited you have another season, but I was also thinking maybe people who haven’t watched before will say, you know, this show has stuck around. Maybe I should check it out. What are new viewers going to get out of the fourth season if this is their first time watching?

CF - They're going to get a big, exciting action/comedy TV show. Even though we have a mythology and a big story going on, I think we still design our show in a way that people can sit down and watch it on a Monday night and they're going to know where they are. We kind of remind you at the start of the season where we left off last year and then it's off to the races. We're off to the comedy world of Buy More and then we bring in the big exciting spy world. And part of the fun of bringing in guest-stars like Dolph Lundgren or Olivia Munn in our season opener, or Harry Dean Stanton, is that it's a fun way back into this world.

So I think new viewers, if they decide to start watching, are going to get a really fun, big story that they can jump right into.

Are there any cool new action scenes that you can preview to get people excited?

CF - Cool new action scenes. I’ll just talk about our first couple of episodes but in our first episode, Chuck Vs. the Anniversary, we have some really great action stuff. We wanted to go into the kind of classic spy world of Russian bad guys, so we have Chuck (Zach Levi) and Morgan getting into some trouble inside a Russian bad guy base and it’s really fantastic. And it’s not only just great action, but you have Zach and Josh just being so funny together. One of the things that we really love is their kind of great repartee. I want to do an old reference to Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. It's like Zach and Josh are so much fun to watch together.

So that's a great episode and then our second episode for those requiring some Sarah Walker action, we have a fantastic fight that takes place in Milan during fashion week between Yvonne Strahovski and another woman. It's one of our best fights yet.

Josh, what continues to be the acting challenge with playing a character like Morgan?

JG - You know, the wonderful thing about playing Morgan is that every season he’s sort of had these evolutions and none greater, I guess, than in Season 3 when he finally got to learn about Chuck, so it’s a blast. And the challenge, I guess, is trying to find ways to have a character evolve and mature and yet keep him the same from when you first started, you know? You want to keep whatever was originally likable about that character; you want to keep the core the same, but also find little differences, little changes. I don't know if that's necessarily a challenge, but it’s definitely been a blast.

I just have so much fun every season because it's never felt stale. It’s almost like not playing the same dude because he has changed so much, and that’s been really cool.

Why do you think people keep tuning in to watch Chuck?

JG - At the end of the day, I just think it's because it's a fun show. There's plenty of good television but a lot of it, I feel, is a bit of a downer, and I think Chuck is the opposite of that. At the end of an episode you feel good, and it's fun and you laugh as you go along for a fun car chase and hang out with characters that you like. Chris, Josh (Schwartz) and the rest of the writers have created characters that are fun and that you want to see again week after week. I think that's a big part of it.

CF - Just to go off that point, our cast is one of the most fun casts on TV, and like Josh said, you want to be with the Buy More gang each week. They're such a warm and caring kind of family. Great TV shows are about families and we have just a splendid, splendid family on our show.

How did you guys convince Timothy Dalton to come onboard?

CF - We tried to be as charming as possible. When we started breaking the season, we were looking at this specific part and thinking how fantastic it would be if we could get someone like Timothy Dalton. So we started the process - we sent the show to Timothy, he watched it and really dug it. We started having a couple of conversations with him, and as we're about to start filming his first episode, I've got to say that there's just nothing more exciting than Timothy Dalton, again, kind of digging it and savoring his character.

So it's a lot of fun, and it just speaks to the fun of casting this season. Our casting director, Patrick Rush, has done a fantastic job filling out the ranks of this show and helping make each part colorful, exciting and dynamic, and "T-Dal,," if you will, is going to be amazing. I think you guys are really going to love him.

If Chuck is no longer officially with the CIA, can you tell us a little bit about the plans for Sarah and Casey?

CF - Well, Sarah and Casey are still with the CIA, and as we open season four they're still the best spy, NSA/CIA team and traveling the world working on missions. I'll also say that the person they're focusing on is a man by the name of Alexei Volkov, who's our big bad this season.

Josh, how far do you think Morgan would follow Chuck in his rogue endeavors?

JG - As far as Chuck wanted him to go. Beyond being just completely loyal to his friend, this is to Morgan, as we saw in the episode Chuck vs. The Beard, just the coolest thing in the world. I mean, we're living out our every video game we've ever played, every movie we've ever watched, etc. Although I think he's starting to "get it," there's still a part of Morgan that doesn't quite realize the full ramifications of this whole thing. It's still, I think, a fun time for him in a weird way, as bullets occasionally whiz past him or ginormous men grab Morgan and throw him around.

Now that Morgan's been brought into the CIA fold, I wanted to know if his combat skills will be upgraded at all? I just keep thinking back to the season one pilot where he had to  fight that ninja in Chuck's house

JG - He went for that golf club pretty quickly, didn't he? As for upgrading Morgan's combat skills this year, I would say, no. It's not Chuck's or Morgan’s forte, although, yes, Chuck does some, but he’s got to cheat, you know. But Morgan, definitely not. He's still the same Morgan, but he wants to learn and get better. He’s got a sort of mentor and the best mentor in John Casey, but what we've been doing there with him is more funny than anything else. Adam and I play with this thing where every time we’re in a scene together, Morgan is usually just trying to stare at him and mimic him and do anything like John Casey does - stand like him, grunt like him, whatever. I’m hoping that eventually Casey can teach him a few fisticuffs, but nothing as of yet. It’s still Morgan from season one in that regard.

As an Adam Baldwin fan myself, I’ve enjoyed the shout-outs to Firefly and Serenity and some of his other roles. Was that you guys or did he start doing that or how did that come to be?

CF -You know, we’re, of course, huge fans of Adam and Firefly and Full Metal Jacket, so usually we try to start peppering that stuff in pretty early in the script. And then sometimes, like when the guys are on set, they essentially have the writers’ version of the story, but then as actors will find chances and opportunities to embellish and add in things. We also do a bit of improv from time to time. Our guys are great at that, so sometimes there's something that slips in very late in the process, and there are times when we even flip something in during ADR, which is after we've already cut the episode and we drop a line in that someone says. So throughout the process we're always looking for inside jokes and things we can add in.

We started out the first season with Chuck having to hide his CIA status from everyone, and now here we are at the beginning of season four and pretty much everyone in the main cast knows that he's a spy. Do you ever worry about too many people being in on the secret or it being too much out in the open?

CF - Absolutely. We're always concerned about the core dynamics of the show, which is kind of based on sort of the classic TV structure of Chuck does a job that nobody can know about. However, throughout three seasons of the show, and now a fourth, the dynamic has changed and the show isn't solely about Chuck keeping that secret from his family. This is, though, a deception, still happening within the show. You have a giant Buy More filled with spies that nobody can know about, and also at the end of last season, Chuck told his sister that he had quit the spy life per her request because she didn't want him in harm's way. But now Chuck has been given this mission from his father to find Mom, so that conflict is something that he'll be dealing with this season.

Josh, I thought last season when Morgan discovered Chuck's secret, that it was probably one of the greatest emotional moments the show has had and I thought you played it perfectly.

JG - Well, thank you.

You're welcome, and I was wondering where would you like to see Morgan progress in an emotional way. And we've seen so much of Chuck's family, are we going to see more of Morgan's, maybe?

JG - I'm not sure. We met Mama and we know how that turned out. Big Mike took care of that. So I don't know if we're every going to meet any more of Morgan's family, but as far as where I'd like to see my character go emotionally, I think, oddly enough, he and Chuck are fairly similar in that way. They're just both really decent guys who really just want the simple things. For Chuck, it's to find his love and to have that life and his family and friends. Simple core things, you know? And I think Morgan has very similar wants. Honestly, the view that the audience follows is the one of Chuck through Morgan's eyes. I think there are things that he wants for his friend, and in some respects I think he's one of those friends who'd actually take a backseat on his own happiness to probably have Chuck achieve it first or whatever. So right now, all eyes are on Chuck, and because we all love him so much, he's priority number one.

What have you guys been able to do with season four that you've never been able to do with the show before?

CF - Well, I think two big things. Actually, halfway through last season when we had Chuck and Sarah Walker together as a couple, what it allowed for us to do there and now here in the fourth season is to make the show a relationship show. Not make it only just the world they want, but to expand it and make it about this Chuck/Sarah relationship. And then with episode nine of last season, bringing Morgan into the spy world. Those are things we wanted to do and were really excited to do.

Now being season four, it's exciting to kind of take that that to the next level, so you'll see early on in episode one that Chuck and Morgan are on their own kind of rogue mission, which is great because it's not only a spy mission, but it's these two guys, these two good friends kind of doing something together and that's exciting for us. We love to see that. Also, the new Buy More is another exciting thing this season that's allowed us to bring the spy world back into that setting. So everything's a little bit closer and more tense, and there's always the chance of trouble popping up more organically into the show, so that's been another great thing for us.

The other thing about season four is that we've been able to bring back guest-stars from previous seasons, so in our third episode we're bringing back Stone Cold and Nicole Richie And then in our fourth episode, the Generalissimo, Armand Assante returns, so it's just neat to see those characters again.

What does having mother issues this season do for Chuck?

CF - Well, you know, mother issues like all mother issues, there's always a lot of story and mythology to get into and figure out. So for us, really, as the writers of the show, we've broken out this season and there's a lot of great material. But also like with most mother issues. there's also great comic material for us to have fun with. So this season there's the search for mom and what her story means to Chuck and the mythology of the show.

Obviously General Beckman has been a big part of the show from day one.  What made you decide to make Bonita Friedericy a regular this year and why didn't you do it sooner?

CF -What originally began with General Beckman as kind of the Charlie-voice-on-a-box and assigning the missions has become, as you've pointed out, very much an important character in the show. As we worked on season three, we realized just how much fun that was and how much more we wanted to do with General Beckman, so you may have noticed that at the end of last season, something strange was happening every time you saw that character. Bonita is so fantastic and we knew going into season four that we were going to require a little bit more of her time, so we made her a series regular and she's been wonderful. It's exciting to have her be a (bigger) part of the show.

As noted above, photo by Jordan Althaus and copyright of NBC, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

AMC Releases Key Art From The Walking Dead

Promo poster for AMC's The Walking Dead. Photo copyright of AMC.

AMC has released the key art for its upcoming original drama "The Walking Dead," which premieres Halloween night, October 31st @ 10:00 p.m. EST/PST on the AMC Network.

Executive produced and written by three-time Academy Award nominee Frank Darabont, The Walking Dead tells the story of the months and years that follow after a zombie apocalypse.

The series stars Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually), Jon Bernthal (The Pacific), Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), Laurie Holden (The Mist), Jeffrey DeMunn (The Green Mile), Steven Yeun (The Big Bang Theory) and Emma Bell (The Bedford Diaries) as a group of survivors traveling in search of a safe and secure home.

As noted above, photo copyright of AMC, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Syfy Puts The Bite (And The Squeeze) On Viewers WIth Sharktopus

If you thought Jaws was nasty, just wait until you see Sharktopus! Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel. 

THE wait is over! After months of Internet viral buzz, Roger Corman’s eagerly anticipated Sharktopus-- starring Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Eric Roberts -- will premiere on The Syfy Channel, Saturday, September 25th @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST.

In Sharktopus, Roberts (The Expendables/The Dark Knight) playsa research scientist who, with his talented daughter (Sara Malakul Lane/Belly of the Beast), develops a secret military weapon -- a hybrid shark/octopus that can be controlled by electrical implants.  But when the controls break down, the monster goes on a killing rampage at the resort beaches of Mexico.

 
The long slimy arm of Sharktopus latches onto yet another unsuspecting victim! Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel. 

Roberts received Golden Globe nominations for his starring roles in King of the Gypsies (1978) and Star 80 (1983). He was nominated for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Runaway Train. In 1987, he won the Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut performance in Burn This.

In The Dark Knight, Roberts portrayed Sal Maroni, a Gotham City Mafia boss who hires The Joker (Heath Ledger) to kill Batman (Christian Bale). His other memorable roles include The Expendables, Raggedy Man, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Nobody’s Fool, Final Analysis and A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. 

Roger Corman, who received an Honorary 2010 Oscar, is the legendary director and producer of numerous low-budget cult classics, among them It Conquered the World, Teenage Doll, The Little Shop of Horrors, House of Usher, Pit and the Pendulum, Premature Burial, The Raven, The Masque of the Red Death, The Wild Angels and The Trip.

Sharktopus is produced by Roger Corman and Julie Corman, and directed by Declan O’Brien (Wrong Turn 3, Cyclops, Monster Ark, Rock Monster).

Destination Truth host and creature expert Josh Gates will be on hand to offer his take on the film, and will be joined by special guests Corman, director Declan O'Brien and star Ralph Garman.

Check out the following link for the latest Sharktopus trailer -

http://video.syfy.com/movies_events/syfy_saturday/promos_trailers_8/sharktopus--shark--octopus/v1250093

As noted above, photos copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

The Big Bang Theory Comes To The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson (center) welcomes the cast of The Big Bang Theory to his show. (L-R): Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, Johnny Galecki and Kunal Nayyar. Photo copyright of CBS. 

TONIGHT, the cast of The Big Bang Theory takes over The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson @ 12:37 a.m. EST/PST on CBS. The late night show will kick off with Ferguson on the set of the new comedy where he interviews to be the new friend of Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar). The cast of The Big Bang Theory will then be featured throughout The Late Late Show including tweets and e-mails, a comedy sketch and guest interviews.

The Big Bang Theory season premiere airs on a new night, Thursday, September 23rd @ 8:00 p.m. EST/PST on CBS.

As noted above, photo courtesy/copyright of CBS, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Lone Star's James Wolk And Amy Lippman

James Wolk as Robert/Bob Allen in Lone Star. Photo by Patrick Ecclesine and copyright of Fox Television. 

From Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman, the creators of Party of Five; Marc Webb, the director of (500) Days of Summer, and creator Kyle Killen, comes Lone Star, a provocative new drama set in Texas and airing Mondays @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on Fox.

Robert/Bob Allen (James Wolk) is a charismatic and brilliant schemer who has meticulously constructed two lives in two different parts of Texas. He's juggling two identities and two women in two very different worlds - all under one mountain of lies.

As "Bob," he lives in Houston and is married to Cat (Adrianne Palicki), the beautiful daughter of Cline (Jon Voight), the patriarch of an ultra-wealthy Texas oil family. More than 400 miles away in the suburban west Texas town of Midland, he's "Robert," living a second life with his sweet, naive girlfriend Lindsay (Eloise Mumford). In Midland, he plays the perfect boyfriend while secretly bilking local investors of their savings. In Houston, he's a devoted husband, charming Cat and her family to cement his position in the rich family business he aims to clean out.

Bob has lived both lives successfully for years without arousing any suspicions...so far. While one brother-in-law, Drew (Bryce Johnson), admires Bob, his other brother-in-law, Trammell (Mark Deklin), is growing suspicious of his motives. With the cons closing in on him, Bob begins to fear his secret lives may unravel as he becomes divided by his love for two women; his loyalty to his father and mentor, John (David Keith), and his respect for his father-in-law, Clint. Now as he tries to hold his two lives together, while fending off angry investors and the growing suspicions of those around him, Bob puts it all on the line hoping he can beat the odds, leave the schemes behind and keep two separate relationships afloat.

The week before Lone Star's debut on Monday, September 20th, the show's leading man James Wolk and executive producer Amy Lippman spoke with myself as well as other journalists about the series. The following is an edited version of our Q & A. Enjoy!

James, you had experience working in your Dad's shoe store and then later on being a DJ while you were at college and in New York. How do you think that might have shaped or given you this ability that is similar to Bob's, the ability to talk to people.

JAMES WOLK - I think the two things that those jobs have in common is an ability to connect with people and to make them feel not only comfortable but also believe in you. No one is going to buy a pair of shoes unless they feel comfortable with the person who's talking to them. No one is going to get on a dance floor or feel like they want to be part of a function unless they feel comfortable and at home. So to translate that to my character, Bob wants to make people feel comfortable. One of his greatest tools as a con man is to make people believe in him, So, yes, of course, I get to borrow things (from real life) all the time.

When did you first realize that you liked to do this (act)?

JW - I was about nine or ten and my parents used to sit me down in front of old Jimmy Durante or Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra "Rat Pack" movies. There was an energy that came off that TV that I knew I was attracted to.

James, I wanted to ask you about David Keith and Jon Voight; since you are a relative newcomer to the scope of a show like this, I'm curious if they were people that you relied on in terms of seeking counsel or them offering counsel in working on the show.

JW - Well, you know, the great thing about those guys is that they're always there. They're always present on the set. They're generous people and so it's a real honor as a young actor to be in a scene with them. I mean that wholeheartedly for no other reason than this is where most of the counsel comes from. It just comes from being in the moment with them and them looking into your eyes and giving you all the material that you need to react and act. You learn a lot by osmosis and just being around people who's done it for a long time. And I think it's wonderful to be on-set with those guys. They're very kind people, and very generous, too.

Amy, how important was it that this role go to someone who wasn't well known?

AMY LIPPMAN - Well, I think our feeling was well-known or not, you just need someone who's really right for the part. The interesting thing about the way James came to the part is that it was (originally) conceived as an older character, and when we met him, we began to rethink the character because we thought he had so many of the qualities that were really, really important to us. James had a warmth as well as a directness and a charm and a charisma that made us rethink what it meant to have an older actor in the role. And I have to say I do think that we are really advantaged by the fact that people will discover him and that they don't bring other roles that he's done into the mix. James is a new face, a new talent and he can inhabit this character without other people thinking, "I've seen him do this," or, "I've seen him do that." So I believe there'll never be a moment in time like this for him again, where people don't know who he is. Again, I think we're going to take advantage of that as much as we can.

James, your character has a lot going on in the show where, for example, he has this relationship with his father as well as Jon Voight's character, and he's also got the two loves and the two lives, of course. What do you find the most challenging about the role now that you've walked in Bob's shoes for a while?

JW - That's a really good question. I think the most challenging thing for Bob is, of course, being everything to everyone, and we touch on that. It's more difficult than one would imagine, to fully live two lives. I think Bob's greatest challenge is to give his all to these people, and really, he can't. He's in two different worlds.

AL - Also, if I can jump in, having seen Jimmy's work on the show. I see how conflicted he is about hurting people, just as a person, not just as an actor, but as a person. So what I see as being a challenge for him is to actually inhabit the role of someone who is selfish or deluded or has put his own need to have a real life ahead of the people who sort of comprise that life in some way. And it's an interesting struggle that all of us have in sort of the conceiving of the show, which is what is that balance? What is that balance between him truly being a sympathetic character and wanting the best for the people around him, and at the same time really being responsible for putting himself in a position where everyone could potentially lose?

Amy, how long to do you think you can keep this con going and keep it realistic?

AL - That's really the challenge of it. That's what's giving us grey hairs and keeping us in the story room very, very late at night. I think what you will find is that there's lots of intrigue in the show. There are sort of overarching cons that may last the entire season as well as smaller cons that Bob is forced to participate in to keep his two lives going and separate. And we're trying to balance that with a realism, and even though he has two lives, each marriage needs to have issues that don't necessarily relate to the deception, and I think we will be successful if we can interest an audience in what goes on in each of those marriages.

Also, what goes on between those two father figures isn't always related to a secret, lie or con that's being told. So, again, it's very intriguing, and it's a very complicated premise, too. Bob is certainly the most complicated character we've ever written because he's got a lot of demons. He comes from a very dysfunctional past. The character is striving for a really honest, functional future, and in the present, extricating himself from one world to be free to go into the other is very, very difficult. The good news is that it's really dramatic and emotional. Hopefully, that is what will bring an audience in, is the fact that they will like Bob and want him to succeed as well as feel for his conflict because it's a genuine conflict when it comes to what he's doing.

Is Bob essentially playing two different characters in himself in two different worlds, because there's a line where someone says that Bob made the mistake of playing himself.

JW - When David says, "You've made the mistake of playing yourself," that means that means that you've exposed yourself. You've opened yourself up to these people. It's hard to con people and walk away from them when you've made a real emotional connection with them, and that's what Bob's father, John, is great at doing - holding very little emotional connection so he's able to walk away from his cons.  And one of Bob's faults is that he opens himself up to these two girls in these two worlds, and so he's played himself.

As for the character, he is himself in both places. Bob is himself in Midland, and he is himself in Houston. Now, he does tailor the way he interacts with people in Houston. He has to demand the respect of an oil company as well as the respect of a man like Clint Thatcher, played by Jon Voight, and in order to demand the respect of someone like Jon Voight, you've got to hold yourself up high.

So he has to carry himself with a certain self-respect as he walks through the office of Thatcher Oil.  When he's in Midland, he can take more of a breath.  He can relax, or so he thinks at this point, but he is himself altered a little bit in each place in order to get what he wants, in order to make these people believe in him and go with him on this journey.

Amy, not being flip or anything, but I'm curious, what came first in the creation of this show, the setting or the characters?

AL -Kyle Killen, who's from Texas, created the show, and speaking for him I would say that the idea evolved over time. I think there were various versions of it where Bob wasn't a con man, and then he immersed himself in some Texas history and looked at these oilmen who were profiled in books like The Big Rich, which is a really interesting book. You look at a character like H.L. Hunt, whose success gave him a kind of confidence to lead double lives. He had three families. I think two of them knew about each other, but he was just very bold about it. It gave him a kind of carte blanche, the success he had, to just take what he wanted. I think Kyle started with that and then kind of opened it up.

So I think it was always a Texas setting because he was interested in the history of the oil business and those kinds of characters.  I think as he began to work on it and as we became involved, our goals were to really make that character very rich and figure out how someone in this situation can be sympathetic.  How can you root for someone who's doing this?  That was the trick of it, and I think it's what he handled really, really well in the pilot is that you are on the side of someone who is doing something that's really amoral.

What are some of the challenges you face producing this series?

AL - Well, the first one is just the practical challenges. This show has a huge scope, and we, the writing staff, are in Los Angeles and the show is shooting in Dallas. So practically speaking, it's difficult to be far away from production, and we go back and forth a lot. So that's a huge challenge.

Creatively, I would say the challenge is to do two things. It's to tell really dynamic, intriguing, kind of fantastic stories, but at the same time you don't want to get too far away from reality. Early on before people saw the show, there were a lot of questions asked about us being a soap. What were the comparisons to a show like Dallas? And I think the more people see the show, the more they understand that the differences between sort of a traditional Texas-like soap that you might envision is that this man's character, which is tragic, is also compelling and there's a certain degree of realism to it. Bob is not all bad, and he's not all good.

And for us, the challenge has been to sort of walk that fine line as we move through the stories - that Bob is not all sympathetic and he's not all evil, either. That he is human as well as flawed and to find a way that you can continue to root for him even when he does things that are kind of despicable, but with good intentions. So it's the practical difficulties of distant production that have been challenging and figuring out how to walk this line between a character who is both good and evil is kind of where we find ourselves right now.

As a con man or a schemer, why does Robert/Bob keep his Midland identity with Lindsay when his Houston life seems to be the bigger score for a con man?

AL - Well, I'll answer that in terms of how we writers understand it, and that is that Midland was a fluke. It was never his intention to fall in love with someone, and I say this because at the moment, Chris and I are embroiled in an episode that will reveal the origins of both those relationships.

Bob always had Cat in his sights as his mark and then made the mistake of falling in love with her. And initially he's not working for Thatcher Oil, either.  It was a long con.  He met her.  He knew he wanted to get into the family business, but in the interim, before they welcomed him in, he had a life that he needed to maintain.  And he did that by going around doing these smaller cons, and Midland was one of them. He sold these oil and natural gas leases in Midland, and over the course of selling Lindsay's parents on this con, he met and fell in love with her.

So Lindsay was just a glitch in a way, and I think that speaks to how vulnerable he was to the life that Lindsay had to offer him, which was simple and uncomplicated, far less citified, if that's a word, and Bob was drawn into it and then couldn't extricate himself. So Jon Voight's character's argument, certainly through the pilot, is that you could've gotten out clean.  We had a goal.  You are now in.  He only gets into Thatcher Oil in the pilot, but the truth is that's probably been two or three years in the making.  And Lindsay was just a detour that he made because he couldn't help falling in love with her.

As noted above, photo by Patrick Ecclesine and copyright of Fox Television, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

The Syfy Channel Gives Viewers A Re-Caprica

GET ready for the return of Caprica with the ultimate catch-up video! Whether you missed the first nine episodes or just need a reminder about how the frak a Holoband works, look no further than The Syfy Channel's definitive "re-cap(rica)." Season 1.5 of Caprica begins airing Friday, October 5th @ 10:00 p.m. EST/PST on The Syfy Channel.

Check out "Re-Caprica" at the following link:

http://video.syfy.com/shows/caprica#////shows/caprica/promos_trailers_6/recaprica--caprica/v1250237

Stargate Atlantis' David Nykl In The Beast Of Bottomless Lake

David Nykl as Dr. Paul Moran in The Beast of Bottomless Lake. Photo by Fabrice Grover and copyright of Provost Pictures. 

PROVOST Pictures' independent feature film, The Beast of Bottomless Lake, will have its first Vancouver screening at the 2010 Vancouver's Convention of Science Fiction and Fantasy (VCon). The film will screen on Saturday, October 2nd at 1:00 p.m., followed by a panel discussion with Kennedy Goodkey (writer, Stewart Murphy), Craig March (director), David Nykl (Dr. Paul Moran), Bronwen Smith (Dr. Leslie Morgenstern), Roger Haskett (Neville Bernard Vincent St. John Honey III), Melanie Blackwell (The Pegleg Princess), Phil Mahoney (composer), Mike Jackson (editor), Scott John (producer), and Rebecca Coleman (publicist).

The Beast of Bottomless Lake follows Paul Moran (Nykl), Cryptozoologist, as he leads a team of dedicated and not-so-dedicated adventurers on a expedition to Okanagan Lake to prove the existence of the legendary lake serpent, the Ogopogo.

A labor of love eight years in the making, Beast was originally conceived by author Keith Provost, who was a prominent actor in the Kelowna theater scene in his youth (Provost's parents still live there), and went on to a career in Vancouver as a writer and actor in film and TV. In 2001, Provost died suddenly after a tragic bicycle accident. After his death, March and Goodkey have carried their friend's idea to fruition in his memory.

The Beast of Bottomless Lake features an incredible cast, helmed by David Nykl (Dr. Radek Zelenka on Stargate Atlantis) as Dr. Paul Moran; Leanne Jijian Hume (The L Word) as Sondra Blackburn, his "assistant;" Kennedy Goodkey as Stewart Murphy, the physicist; Bronwen Smith (Gunless) as Dr. Leslie Morgenstern; Roger Haskett (Saved, Flight 93) as Neville St. John Honey III, and Fabrice Grover (The L Word) as Ernie, the team's documentarian, who is much more interested in the demons that plague the team internally, than the serpent they seek.

Beast was filmed over 22 days at various locations in and around Kelowna, on Okanagan Lake and in Vancouver. It has screened at the Mississauga International Film Festival (VISTEK Award for Best Feature Film) and at the Okanagan Independent Film Festival (People's Choice Award).

Provost Pictures is in the business of creating commercially viable digital media for an international market. By focusing on inherently Canadian stories with a broad appeal and a strong sense of artistic integrity, Provost Pictures will challenge themselves to make excellent quality work, and to "let" it be Canadian.

The Best of Bottomless Lake screens at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 2nd as part of VCon. The screening will take place in the Seymour/Whistler rooms at The Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel, 7571 Westminster Highway, Richmond. Admission is by full-day pass only. The price for the weekend is $60 (Students: $45; Kids 7-12: $30 (6 & under free); or $35 just for Saturday. Info and tickets - www.vcon.ca

As noted above, photo by Fabrice Grover and copyright of Provost Pictures, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Syfy Orders Script Development Of Metadocs

THE Syfy Channel is developing the drama script Metadocs, with co-producing partners Universal Cable Productions and FremantleMedia (American Idol, America’s Got Talent).  The project will be produced by Landscape Films (Bob Cooper/Three Inches) and Platinum Studios (Scott Mitchell Rosenberg/Cowboys & Aliens), and written by Michael Chernuchin (Law & Order, L&O: Criminal Intent). 

Based on the Antarctic Press comic book series created by Joe Dunn and Rod Espinoza and controlled by Platinum Studios, Metadocs follows a team of specialists tasked with treating a small percentage of the world’s population who have become "afflicted" with extraordinary abilities -- how do you perform surgery on a man with unbreakable skin? The hypothetical becomes the actual as great powers now also come with great medical complications. Metadocs treats these patients when and where no other hospital can, using real world science and medicine.

Metadocs follows the recent partnership announcement between Syfy, Universal Cable Productions and FremantleMedia to co-produce the new series Ball & Chain, currently in development. Also produced by Landscape Films, both projects are a result of the first look deal FremantleMedia share with Bob Cooper.