SciFiAndTvTalk

Star Trek's Susan Diol - Intergalactic Storyteller

 
Jennifer Lien (as Kes) and Susan Diol (as Dr. Denara Pel) in Star Trek: Voyager. Photo copyright of UPN.

I recently discovered several interviews I did a number of years ago that, for one reason or another, were never published. Rather than have them continue to gather "dust" in my computer, I thought I would share them with you. In this interview - actress Susan Diol talks about her career including guest-starring roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager.

Telling stories has been a part of human history ever since prehistoric man first began drawing pictures on cave walls. Nowadays, of course, the process is far more sophisticated with stories being passed on to audiences in a variety of ways including films and television. It is this art of storytelling that Susan Diol feels is one of the most rewarding parts of her job as an actress.

“I love the challenge of trying to get someone else to understand my character’s point of view and, perhaps, foster some compassion for her,” she says. “If that fails, then I’ll at least try to show audiences why this person does the things they do. I always search for the vulnerability in the character even if it’s somebody who is an evil or a supposedly evil person.  I think it’s interesting, not only to the actor playing the character but to the people watching, to discover  how and why they’ve gotten to this point in their lives. So to me, being a good actor and a good storyteller go hand-in-hand.”

Six years ago the actress played a small part in telling a story of galactic proportions with her work in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Silicon Avatar. Diol played Carmen Davila, a colonist whose life is tragically cut short when her planet is attacked by an old nemesis of the Enterprise crew: the Crystalline Entity.

“I had first auditioned for the role of Data’s daughter in another episode of The Next Generation [The Offspring] but I didn’t get the part” she says. “The show’s casting director Junie Lowry-Johnson remembered me, however, and brought me in for the part in Silicon Avatar. I’d watched and enjoyed the original Star Trek as a kid, so I was thrilled to have the chance to work on The Next Generation.”

In Silicon AvatarCommander Riker and Data are helping Carmen Davila and her fellow colonists adjust to their new surroundings when the planet is attacked by the Entity. Riker and Data manage to save all but two of the colonists, one of which is Carmen. Although her on-screen time with Jonathan Frakes (Riker) and Brent Spiner (Data) is limited, Diol was able to enjoy a few laughs with the actors behind the camera.

“The cast on that show is very bright and a lot of fun to be with,” says the actress. “Everyone would be sitting around and talking to each other about current events or politics and, of course, telling jokes. I just remember the witty repartee between Jonathan and Brent. I had actually gone out on a date with Brent a couple of years before so we already knew each other. My friend Roy Brocksmith was working on an episode of The Next Generation [Peak Performance] and when I came to the Paramount set to have lunch with him he introduced me to Brent. I thought Brent was a very nice man but I had started dating someone else at the same time and things ended up getting serious between this other gentleman and myself. So with Brent it was pretty much wrong timing but he’s a very attractive and extremely intelligent man. It was great fun to see him again and work opposite him on the show.”

Diol’s work on The Next Generation was only the beginning of her association with Star Trek. Not only did she audition for the part of Jadzia Dax on Deep Space Nine, she returned two years later to try out for the role of Dax’s former spouse Lenara Kahn in the episode Rejoined. Although she lost out on both these parts, Diol would be remembered once again by Junie Lowry-Johnson. In 1996 she was cast as the Phage-ridden Vidiian Doctor Danara Pel in the Star Trek: Voyager episode Lifesigns.

Unlike her character’s fleeting appearance on The Next Generation, Diol had the opportunity to explore many facets of Danara Pel’s personality including her struggle living with the Phage disease. “I’d describe Danara as a very passionate individual who’s truly striving to find a cure for this disease that is decimating her race,” she explains. “At the same time she’s ashamed of the way in which the Vidiians must keep repairing themselves by using the vital organs and other body parts of various alien species.”

The actress was also able to delve into Pel’s softer side when the woman becomes romantically involved with Voyager’s holographic doctor. “I don’t think she’d truly experienced love before meeting the Doctor, so the relationship they share is really an extraordinary one for her.”

When Voyager rescues Danara the Doctor discovers that the Phage has seriously damaged her physical body. He is able to stave off her death by transferring her Vidiian brain waves into a holographic image that is free of the disease. Although this meant a bit more time in the makeup chair for Diol, the actress felt that the transformation helped with her portrayal of the character.

“Well, even when I was the beautiful Danara,” laughs the actress, “I still had a pretty extensive forehead piece that had to be put on over my head. That took, I think, two-and-a-half hours. When I was the disfigured horribly diseased Danara they had a prosthetics piece that covered my entire head except for a small area where my real face was exposed. That application took about three hours and the end result was very claustrophobic but also quite realistic. When I looked in the mirror I truly felt as if I were a hideous monster. This was great in terms of helping me play the character because I was really able to relate to what she must experience every day of her life.

“One of the reasons why I love the Danara character so much is because of the underlying message she conveys to the audience about the emphasis that we in our society place on looks. She didn’t feel as though she was a very worthy person because of her appearance and the fact that she had always been prejudiced against as well as teased and taunted. Of course, all this turns around for her when the Doctor becomes attracted to her. So the story had a very important moral message to it and I like that.”

Diol has nothing but good things to say about working with Robert Picardo (The Doctor) and the rest of the Voyager cast and found the whole filming process to be extremely organised. “It just seemed like everything was very well thought out in terms of schedules and when they needed you on the set. Everyone was so supportive including the cast and the director of the episode, Cliff Bole, and, of course, the crew. I think we were leaving for Christmas vacation or something like that and the sound guys came by and gave everyone microphones shaped like little ice cream cones. It was a real family atmosphere on the set and everybody respected and cared about each other.  So it was a wonderful experience for me.”

The actress returned to the Voyager set several months later to briefly reprise her role of Danara Pel in the episode Resolutions. As her character only appears in the story via a viewscreen Diol had no interaction with the rest of the cast when it came time to film her scenes. “It was very fast,” she recalls. “I basically went in for a couple of hours, shot it and left. I was hoping that I would at least get to see Bob Picardo but he had filmed his material on another day so I had to play my scenes opposite someone reading the Doctor’s lines off-camera. The person did the best they could but it wasn’t the same as when you have a rapport with someone. I’d love to play Danara again but I think probably too much time has passed for her to come back. The character didn’t die, however, so I guess that potential still exists. That’s one of the wonderful things about Star Trek - you never know what can happen.”

Teacher or thespian? This was the question Diol pondered while she was growing up. Because her father and both her grandmothers were teachers it would have been no surprise if Diol followed in their footsteps. After she graduated college the actress moved to New York and it was not long after this she began working in the theatre. It was because of this early success on stage that Diol decided to pursue acting instead of teaching.

“Teaching will always be in the back of my head because I just love children and being able to teach or share things with people. I guess that’s another reason why I like acting because it allows me to give something to the audience. When you’re doing theatre the connection with them is much strong because they’re sitting right there in front of you. It’s more difficult when you’re working on film but you’re still able to pass on something to the audience. It all relates back to storytelling,” she says.

The actress was hired right out of college to appear as Viola in a production of Twelfth Night for the Alaskan Repertory Theatre. At the time Diol was working for a New York casting company and was responsible for auditioning actresses for the role. "I’d go home every night thinking, ‘Gosh, I could do this part. I just know it.’ One day I went to the director and said to him, ‘You know, I really feel like I could play this part and I’d like to audition.’ He kind of jokingly said, ‘OK, sure. We’ll let you read.’ So I went in and read and he was amazed. So he hired me. By the way, the director’s name was Roy Brocksmith, whom I’d mentioned earlier. That was the first time we had met and since then we’ve become dear friends. To get my first job doing Shakespeare was such a thrill but Roy’s efforts as a director made the work so much more exciting. He really involved the audience in what was going on and in doing this allowed them to form a true connection with the characters.”

When Diol returned to New York she took a job as a perfume spritzer girl in Macys department store to help pay the bills in between acting work. Her next big starring role was opposite Uta Hagen, Victor Garber, Amanda Plummer and Phillip Bosco in the Broadway production of You Never Can Tell. “I remember standing backstage the day of the opening and it was as if I were dreaming,” she says. “First of all I couldn’t believe I was actually in a Broadway play but to then be in one with Uta Hagen, the queen of acting teachers, and Victor Garber, who’s a marvelous actor. It was the biggest thrill of my life and probably of my acting career so far.”

Since coming to live and work in Los Angeles, California Diol has guest-starred in several television shows including Murphy Brown, Wings, Seinfeld, Party of Five and Touched By An Angel. She has also appeared in various made-for-television movies including Alien Nation: Millennium in which Diol plays an alien woman named Marina Del Ray. “That was another three hour makeup job. I get cast in all the large foreheaded parts,” chuckles the actress. “I love the director of the Alien Nation films, Ken Johnson. He’s a very compassionate and caring individual who really loves his work. We had some long hours on the film and I remember us doing a long scene on the roof of this building in a very seedy section of Los Angeles. Ken made things a lot of fun and it was an enjoyable atmosphere in which to do your job.”

Over the past year Diol has been busy with other television work as well as working on a screenplay which she hopes to eventually produce or direct. “So that’ll be my next hurrah,” she says confidently. “In the meantime it would be nice to get a somewhat steady acting job.”

Steve Eramo

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

Sci-Fi Blast From The Past - Victor Webster (Mutant X)

 
Victor Webster as Brennan Mulwray in Mutant X. Photo copyright of Tribune Entertainment.

In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, actor Victor Webster talks about his electrically-charged character of Brennan Mulwray on Mutant X.

Most children fantasize about what they want to be when they grow up. Victor Webster’s dream was to become a superhero. “That’s what more or less fueled my desire to study martial arts,” he says. “I wanted to have the ability to save someone’s life.”

The actor had no idea that his wish would one day come true, at least on the small screen. He is currently playing the super-charged Brennan Mulwray on the hit syndicated action/adventure TV series Mutant X. His character is, in fact, a new mutant whose body can generate enough electricity to light up a small city.

Brennan is recruited to join Mutant X, an elite team of crime-fighters, all of whom possess unique abilities. Their mission includes among other things stopping fellow new mutants from being caught and neutralized by Mason Eckhart, security chief at the biotech firm Genomex. Brennan may never have been on the FBI’s most wanted list, but his shady past initially makes him reluctant to accept an offer by Mutant X’s leader Adam to become part of the team.

“In his younger days, Brennan was a loner and a man of criminal intent,” explains Webster, relaxing in his trailer after an early morning shoot on the Mutant X set in Toronto. “He secretly used his powers to commit crimes in order to get whatever he wanted. However, he eventually became tired of being a rogue and an outcast. He’s now reformed and is paying his dues by doing things for the benefit of humanity. Brennan is really a good-natured person but he can also be a little sarcastic at times. He loves to fight, too. He doesn’t always depend on his powers because he doesn’t have to. My character would rather beat the hell out of a guy than shoot him across the floor with a bolt of electricity.

“Although he’s now part of a team Brennan feels that he can get up and leave any time he wants. If he needs time to think he’ll go off somewhere. If he feels the need to go after somebody he’ll handle it by himself like the Lone Ranger. He’s used to and is very comfortable with being on his own. At the same time, Brennan has found a home and a family so to speak and he doesn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize his place on the team.

“This is the first time I’ve played kind of a bad boy, and I’ve got to tell you I’m having fun,” smiles the actor. “The challenge for me so far has been trying to find the balance between being cheeky and sensitive, you know? There are times when you can act like a smart-ass and it can be annoying. Other times you can throw out these little one-liners and they’re funny. It’s learning where to draw the line. Up to now I really haven’t had to rein Brennan in so I guess I must be doing OK.”

After a painless but drawn out audition process, Webster was hired for the role of Brennan Mulwray on Mutant X. As with most new TV shows, the cast and crew filmed the third episode first and then the two-part opener, The Shock of the New and I Scream the Body Electric. As Webster says, “this gave us a chance to work out some of the kinks and get into the groove of things.” A Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, the actor also holds an undefeated record in the heavyweight Black Belt division and in kickboxing. These skills came in handy during the shooting of the pilot, and, of course, in subsequent episodes.

“We did a lot of wirework in the pilot, which I’d never done before,” recalls the actor. “However, I got right in there and loved every minute of it. So far I haven’t had my stunt double do anything for me except jump through fire, which the producers wouldn’t let me do. Otherwise it’s me doing all the flips, kicks, etc. I enjoy it all but it does take time. The fight scene in the climax of The Shock of the Newtook us around eight hours to film and that was mainly because I hadn’t had a chance to really practice any of the moves. The final cut ended up looking cool, though. There’s another neat scene with Forbes March [Jesse Kilmartin] and I in the opening teaser of the episode Crime of the New Century. Again, that was eight or so hours worth of shooting but it translated to four action-packed minutes of butt kicking the bad guys.

Along with displaying some fancy footwork during fight scenes, the actor has also created a series of intricate hand movements he uses when Brennan discharges electricity. “Making believe electricity is shooting out of your hands is easy,” says Webster. “The hard part for me is finding new and creative ways to ‘throw it.’ I’ve tried to make it an art and something beautiful to watch rather than simply having Brennan extend his arm and hand and zap someone or something.

“As Brennan works more with Adam [John Shea] to develop his powers he’ll find different ways to use them. Perhaps he might electrify his fist and punch somebody as opposed to firing an electrical charge from his fingertips. Or maybe he’ll be holding a steel pole and electrify it to use against his opponent. There are endless possibilities. What’s great is the action on this show can be as comic book-like as we want. The dramatic stuff can’t be, though. That’s where we have to be careful and make sure we’re grounded in order to be believable.”

Steve Eramo

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

This Week On Being Human (US) - 01 - 31 - 11

 
Aidan's (Sam Witwer) efforts to fit in have some unexpected consequences this week on Being Human. Photo by Jill Greenberg and copyright of The Syfy Channel.

SPOILER ALERT!! - Still haunted by his past, Aidan (Sam Witwer) faces the brunt of the curse bestowed upon him: endless time. He makes an effort at normalcy by inviting the neighbors over for a neighborhood watch meeting. Josh is thrown by the gesture, but all seems well until Michael Garrity, a local police officer, eyes Aidan suspiciously...almost like he knows something...

 

The next day, Aidan and Josh (Sam Huntington) introduce Sally (Meaghan Rath) to Tony - also a ghost. Unfortunately he's a bit of a sleaze, but once they make physical contact, Sally is overjoyed. Tony shows her how to teleport, opening new possibilities for her.

 

At the hospital, Bishop (Mark Pellegrino) delivers Aidan troubling news: Garrity, the cop from the house meeting, searched Aidan's history on the police database. Unsure as to why, Aidan heads to Garrity's watering hole - instead of the neighborhood watch patrol he and Josh signed up for. Josh is upset, but instantly hits it off with Jesse; a young man who is everything Josh could have been. At the bar, Garrity pulls out a police sketch of the man who killed his father some 25 years before - a sketch that eerily resembles Aidan. Aidan tries to convince him how absurd it is, but the officer wants proof - in the form of a tattoo the killer had over his chest. Aidan leaves, knowing this can only get worse.

 

Meanwhile, Sally has learned how to leave the house (with Tony's help). She's ecstatic, but he misinterprets her glee as an invitation to romance. She quickly sets him straight, and he disappears, shunned.

 

Outside the bar, Garrity tries to tear Aidan's shirt off to see if Aidan has the tattoo. They struggle, and Aidan stumbles and lands on a piece of metal, puncturing his torso. Garrity gets his proof, but not before Aidan reveals his true self. Horrified, Garrity runs, leaving Aidan alone - and impaled. Some Thing To Watch Over Me airs Monday, January 31st @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on The Syfy Channel.

 

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

Sci-Fi Blast From The Past - Tony Shalhoub (The X-Files)

 
Tony Shalhoub as Monk in the TV series of the same name. Photo copyright of The USA Network.

In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, former Monk star Tony Shalhoub looks back at his guest-starring role on The X-Files.

Directors of mystery and horror films often use shadows as a method of injecting fear into their audience. These shadows are usually followed by a much more terrifying and solid menace. What if a person's shadow was to become more of a threat than the person who casts it? This is what Doctor Chester Banton discovers when an experiment in dark matter turns his shadow into a form of instant death.

“He's basically a good man,” says actor Tony Shalhoub, who guest-stars as Banton in The X-Files episode Soft Light. “Banton's not evil or a killer. It's his scientific inquisitiveness about this dark matter that gets the better of him. Suddenly he's in way over his head and he tries to figure out how he can reverse the process or, ultimately, do away with himself so that he doesn't harm any more people. He's someone who's too bright and too curious and it's this curiosity that becomes his downfall.”

Shalhoub, who costars as Antonio Scarpacci in the successful NBC comedy series Wings, was not that familiar with The X-Files before being offered a part on the program. “Because of my schedule I don't really watch that much television. They sent me the script, I read it and liked the sound of it. When I was growing up I was a big fan of The Twilight Zone, and The X-Files reminded me of that.

“When I mentioned to people that I was going up to Vancouver [British Columbia, Canada] to shoot an episode of the series the response was unbelievable. Obviously, others were much more familiar with the show than I was, and I soon found out that it was a bit of a cult hit, which made the prospect of appearing in it even more appealing.”

One of the things that enticed the actor to accept the role of Banton was that the character was so different from the one he portrays each week on Wings. “The first thing that attracts me to a part is if it's a contrast to what I'm currently working on, and, just as importantly, is it going to stretch me as an actor? My character on The X-Files is about as far away from Antonio as I could get, so, that was kind of a nice thing.”

Shalhoub chuckles when asked about his most vivid memory from working on the series.  “One of the castmembers kept singing Me and My Shadow,” he answers. “I really enjoyed working with both David Duchovny [FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder] and Gillian Anderson [FBI Special Agent Dana Scully]. They are consummate professionals and terrific people. David is very funny. He's a closet comedian, really, with a very dry and wonderful wit.

“What struck me most about working on the program was the schedule they keep on these hour-long shows. Basically, the show is just the two of them and the guest-stars, but, compared to the half-hour show I do, their schedule is much more gruelling. It's like shooting a feature in eight days. Sometimes they overlap and start shooting the next episode before they finish the first. It's incredible. They put in at least twice the amount of hours as I do on Wings. Obviously, they've developed a very successful and top-flight series out of The X-Files and it's a tribute to their skill.

“I was also surprised at the amount of location shooting they do,” he adds.  “Ninety-nine percent of our filming on Wingsis done on a soundstage, while most of their material is shot on location in and around Vancouver.  It's an ideal city because it gives producers so many options.  They can make-believe that they're anywhere in the country.  A half-hour out of the city you can be anywhere you need to be - the deep forest, the mountains, the ocean, in a modern city, or even an old small town.”

Steve Eramo

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

Sci-Fi Blast From the Past - Tracy Scoggins (Babylon 5)

 
Babylon 5's Captain Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins). Photo copyright of Babylonian Productions.

In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, actress Tracy Scoggins chats about booking her role of Captain Elizabeth Lochley on Babylon 5.

In the world of television science fiction and fantasy actress Tracy Scoggins is known for her brains as well as her beauty.  In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode Destiny she played a Cardassian scientist looking for love in all the wrong places when it came to Chief Miles O’Brien. In Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman her character of Catherine (Cat) Grant was never one to pussyfoot around Clark Kent/Superman, while as the immortal Cassandra in Highlander she enchanted Duncan MacLeod and audiences as well.

The actress’s recent work as Captain Elizabeth Lochley on Babylon 5 has gained her a whole new legion of fans.  Her character of Lochley replaced the departing Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) in the show’s fifth and final season. Lochley serves alongside ex-spouse Commander John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) and helps keep things ship-shape aboard the bustling space station. She eventually tales complete charge of Babylon 5 when Sheridan’s work as the President of the Interstellar Alliance begins to demand more and more of his time. Never one to shy away from hard work Scoggins was thrilled to sign up for space duty.

“The casting directors of Babylon 5 are the same ones who cast me in Highlander, so we already had a good relationship,” notes the actress. “They brought me in and I must say they were very supportive of my efforts in getting this role. I used an English accent for both of my auditions and during the second time around one of the producers asked me, ‘Would you mind going out and preparing it with an American accent?’ I asked, ‘Which state?’ and they said, ‘Yes, use that attitude and come back.’

“I really wanted this role. I’ve had a real take-it-or-leave-it- attitude with a lot of things in my career but this was not one of them. I was already a fan of the show and had heard good things about the producers and what a happy set they had, which is something that matters very much to me.

“What I truly like about Lochley is that she has the capacity for using diplomacy in situations that call for it, but if that doesn’t work she’s just as capable of saying, ‘Attack!’ She’s not afraid of a good fight and is equally comfortable with words or warfare. Lochley has a lot of integrity, too. It truly matters to her to try to take the correct path. I believe that in her mind it’s not about self-aggrandizement and getting promotions; it’s about doing the right thing.”

A casting call for Lochley went out after contract negotiations between Claudia Christian and Babylonian Productions fell through. The character of Susan Ivanova does appear in the program’s finale Sleeping in Light but it was filmed long before a fifth series of Babylon 5 was officially commissioned and when Christian was still part of the regular cast. While Lochley did assume Ivanova’s position she was never intended to be a carbon copy of the character. Scoggins made sure viewers understood that Elizabeth Lochley was a new face in the crowd but beyond that left them to form their own opinions about the stalwart captain.

“One of the things we, Tracy and Elizabeth, have in common is a tendency not to concern ourselves with things that we absolutely cannot control,” she says. “I can’t force people to like Lochley but what I can do is use my energy creating the most watchable character I possibly can. Notice I didn’t say amiable. In the beginning I purposely didn’t make her that likable because I think there were different steps to go through in her development. So I feel my responsibility was to create an interesting character and then let people decide.”

Steve Eramo

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

Fringe's John Noble And Christopher Lloyd

 
John Noble and Christopher Lloyd in Fringe's "The Firefly." Photo by Liane Hentscher and copyright of Fox Television.

In the season three Fringe episode The Firefly (broadcast last Friday, January 21st on Fox), an Observer makes contact with the Fringe Team to help rectify a mistake. Meanwhile, Walter (John Noble) befriends Roscoe Joyce (guest-star Christopher Lloyd), keyboardist for Walter's favorite 1970s band, "Violet Sedan Chair." Walter learns the real reason the band broke up and discovers that his life and Roscoe's, two men who have never met before, overlap in strange and unexpected ways.

Last Thursday, Fringe regular John Noble along with guest-star Christopher Lloyd spoke with myself along with other members of the press about the above episode as well as the series in general. The following is an edited version of our Q & A. Enjoy!

Christopher, can you share with us a little bit on what to expect from the upcoming episode?

CHRISTOPHER LLOYD - Oh, what to expect?  Gee, I don’t know. I’m only speaking for myself; I was very excited about the role that had in this episode. It was very interesting piece to work with. My character goes through an experience that he never realistically anticipated would ever happen to him, and [we see] his efforts to adapt to that, adjust to that, and hope for a good outcome.

John, were you excited to have Christopher guest-star as your [character's] musical hero?

JOHN NOBLE - Absolutely. I mean he’s one of my heroes anyways, so when they said that Christopher Lloyd was coming on it was like a dream come true, and of course to have him play the musician from Violet Sedan Chair, which was this creation of ours, made it even more interesting. We had an amazing time together, these two old guys, reminiscing and getting the music back up again. It was a great deal of fun.

Christopher, how much do you really know about the keyboard? Do you really play?

CL - Oh, I am not a piano player. I had the obligatory piano lessons growing up but I have not really touched a piano since then. [On Fringe] they adapted a piano so that I could pound on the keys without making any noise and sort of go with what they had written at that point for me to play and pretend I was playing it. I grew up in a household where everybody was playing the piano all the time, so fortunately I had kind of a feeling of the type of body movement that went along with it. Hopefully that helped me through it.

Christopher, having played so many great characters can you talk about what you drew from as reference to get inside the mind of Roscoe?

CL - Ahh, let’s see. Well I feel he’s a man who is sort of retired from life. He’d had some big losses in his life and his life as a rock star has faded, and he’s lonely and wants to be in a place around other people at this home. And then surprising things develop that sort of force him to come out of himself and deal with a new reality. The script really gave so much information and clues that hopefully I was able to follow him and make it happen.

Chris and John, can you talk about how dealing with alternate time and universes makes the acting experience more rich for an actor?

JN - We’re not playing the ordinary universe; it’s the real universe, so I don’t think of it as the ordinary. I think that that's provided me and the other actors in our show a great opportunity to play slightly different versions of our characters. And it’s been amazing for our set design people to be able to create a world just like ours, but slightly different, and socially slightly different as well, and we go back and we play within those roles. So from an actor’s point of view it’s been a really wonderful opportunity for us.

CL - Yes, I mean my character, I feel, had been living kind of a very introverted sort of distant life from anything. He’s kind of pulled out, retreated from society, and he has a lot of trouble grasping exactly what's going on with the things that happen in this parallel universe because they are quiet extreme and affect him very personally. It was just really a challenge and also a lot of fun to kind of play that bewilderment with the situations that came up for him, and try to make him believable, credible, and real for himself and, again, hopefully for the audience.

Christopher, I was wondering if you could discuss what it was like joining a cast that already has such a great chemistry going already?

CL - I loved it. I love working with John Noble. I mean not to say that because he’s on the phone with me here, but it was just such a pleasure. And the cast, the director, everybody was very supportive and I really felt I was being included in a very special ensemble and it was a thrill to experience that.

JN -And speaking from our point of view, we were all just pretty excited about having Christopher Lloyd join us. He was just amazing and had some huge scenes and just hit it every time. We were so impressed and thrilled that he joined us.

Will we get the chance to see your character again, Christopher?

CL - I have no idea.

JN - Wouldn't that be wonderful, Christopher?

CL - It would be wonderful, and I would so love that.

John, this episode features The Observers. How does the episode advance the mythology of the series and what do we really have to look forward to this season?

JN - Well, I think The Observers have been that one thing since the beginning of Fringe that have sort of kept us way up there. Who are these strange bold people that appear everywhere?  And so to have Michael Cerveris as the principal observer back in the 26th episode, I think, was fantastic and he got to do some really fine things.

There's the whole question of finding out what the role of these Observers are. I mean, do they stand outside of the universe? Do they stand outside both universes? Are they observers or should they be hands-on? And I think what we’ve discovered is that if they do become hands-on at any stage then they wreck the natural order of things, and then they try to correct it. One of the founding premises of Fringe is that because of the interference of an Observer, we ruptured the two universes. That happened because one of them interfered in an issue. So it’s really interesting to have them return and try to repair the damage, try to put things right. At the end of the episode, The Observer has the last scene and he says something incredibly telling, which I’ll leave for you to see, but it just demonstrates how much danger and drama there is ahead.

John, have you ever considered the possibility that Fringe’s real universe, you know the one that you’ve spent most of your time in thus far, is in fact yet another alternate universe?

JN - Absolutely, my friend, absolutely. It’s interesting that when I’m playing in the other universe and playing the character of Walter in the other universe, obviously this universe is the alternate universe. We have the other universe, and I imagine from whichever hill you stand on, the opposition is standing on the other one. So yes, I’ve thought about that quite a lot, and if there were more universes, and there could be, they would all be alternate to the one you’re standing in.

John, I wanted to know if you have any personal favorite kind of crazy science fiction moments over the course of the series, either for your character or just to see realized on the scene?

JN - Now let me tell you, and it’s not because Firefly airs tomorrow, but probably the best scenes I've had is the stuff with Chris Lloyd because there were these two crazy old guys just trying desperately to communicate with each other. We had a lot of laughs and there was the common thread of trying to find the music again because Christopher’s character had forgotten how to play the piano. So we go through this journey of bringing the music back to him and the thrill to Walter. This happens all the way through this very complicated episode, but in terms of pure joy in the lab I think it’s probably the episode you see tomorrow night was the one.

John, in what ways would you say your character has further grown and developed in your eyes this season, and what continues to make Walter both exciting and also challenging for you to play?

JN - A bunch of things happen this season. Walter came from a very big fog when we first knew him and slowly he’s put the pieces back together and rebuilt his life, and that’s all history. Then he went through the terrible second season of realization that Peter (Joshua Jackson) had to know, had to find out, so we did that. We start the third season with this rift between the two men, and that causes a great deal of loneliness and frustration in both men.

The major problem Walter faces is that he thinks he's no longer capable of solving problems because he’s been ill and had part of his brain removed, so it’s this incredible struggle. He keeps saying, “I’m not smart enough to do this anymore,” and Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) keeps encouraging him to do it.  And through the course of this season you’ll see him finally accept his limitations but also he accepts his strengths, which are more than enough to deal with situations here. It’s a beautiful journey really of acceptance for Walter, and he goes through all the emotional stages to get there, but a gorgeous journey of accepting where he is and then moving forward.

Chris, I wanted to find out what would you say makes a career in this industry rewarding for you so far?

CL - Well, certainly the fact that I’m still working at the moment, but I’ve been able to continue working means a lot to me. I’ve always admired actors who may have their moment of flash and great success but above all keep sustaining their work, doing their work. Fortunately, being an actor does not have a cutoff time. There’s not a retirement age. You just keep going and keep going until you can’t go anymore, which is fully what I intend to do and hopefully the work will be forthcoming.  It’s just sustaining a career today and keep working, which I love doing so much and discovering new roles and discovering yourself in the process is very rewarding.

Christopher, with one of your most famous characters, Doc Brown in Back to the Future, you were able to create this over-the-top and comedic character, and yet you were able to make him seem like a real person. Now you’re in a science fiction program that’s more dramatic, and there’s still very outlandish scenarios going on. What would you say is the secret to sort of bringing these outlandish characters or outlandish scenarios and making them seem real?

CL - I don’t know. I feel like I’ve witnessed a lot of people in my own life who were pretty much on the edge at one time or another and I just try really hard to find the reality of a character. How he perceives things. The way he feels about things and try to put that all together and create a person, a character and it’s something I do kind of whatever the role is. It’s just a matter of the way I work and I know a lot of other people that work the same way. So no matter how outlandish or far out the character is there is somewhere a line of reality, which I try to connect with and hope for the best.

John, are there any tidbits you can give us on the alternate universe and Walternet? Are we going to be seeing more of that?

JN - Sure, I can give you a few tidbits. We can’t resist the alternate universe and having created it we have to go back there because of this huge conflict. We all go back. The character of Walternet [Noble's character in the alternate universe] will be developed, I think, at this stage he’s seen as sort of a nasty cold man. We’ll give you a little bit more background on why he’s like he is over the course of this season, and we spend a few wonderful episodes back in the alternate universe. So I think you’ve got that to look forward to as the season continues to unfold.

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

This Week On Primeval - 01 - 29 - 11

 
Hannah Spearritt as Primeval's Abby Maitland. Photo copyright of Impossible Pictures 2010.

SPOILER ALERT!! - Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts) and Abby (Hannah Spearritt) come across myths, fraudsters and a deadly Labyrinthodont as they investigate odd anomaly signals in the small coastal village of Witchfield Cove. Meanwhile, Emily's (Ruth Bradley) disappearance sets Matt (Ciaran McMenamin) on a journey to hunt her down. Episode five airs Saturday, January 29th @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on BBC America.

As noted above, photo copyright of Impossible Pictures 2010, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Sci-Fi Blast From The Past - Jeri Ryan (Dark Skies)

 
Jeri Ryan as the sexy and brainy Borg Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager. Photo copyright of UPN.

In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, Jeri Ryan goes  pre-Seven of Nine and Star Trek: Voyager and talks about her work (as Jeri Lynn Ryan) playing Juliet in Dark Skies.

The year is 1964 and the cold war between the United States and Russia continues to push the world’s two superpowers further apart. As always in politics, however, there are certain instances where two warring factions must come together in a unified show of strength. Such is the case when extra-terrestrial beings threaten the very existence of humankind. In Dark Skies, the Soviets recruit a highly-trained, no-nonsense and strikingly beautiful comrade named Juliet to assist in this epic and covert struggle between humans and aliens.

“Originally, I was offered a guest-starring part on the program,” reveals Jeri Lynn Ryan, who plays the feisty Juliet. “This was two weeks before the role of Juliet was even created. They had been auditioning people for this guest spot but just couldn’t find anyone who they felt fit the character. The casting people knew me and showed the producers my tape. After they saw it they said, ‘Great, let’s offer her the job.’ I was in Chicago [Illinois] at the time, so when they told me this I thought, ‘Bonus! I don’t have to go for an audition. They’re just going to give me this part. I’ll fly to Los Angeles for a week, do my work and come back home. It’ll be great.’

“I had dyed my hair auburn for an independent film I’d done last summer. When they realized that my hair was no longer blonde they said, ‘Oh, we’d love to have you do this role but we really need a blonde for the job.’ I said to myself, ‘Oh, what the heck. It’s no big deal. I didn’t have to audition anyway.’ Ironically, if I had been a blonde and gotten this particular job I wouldn’t have been able to play Juliet.

“Two weeks later the breakdown for a new female series regular came out and it actually specified someone who was dark and mysterious. So I went in and auditioned for the part of Juliet. When I didn’t hear anything for a couple of weeks I just assumed that my audition was abysmal,” she laughs. “Out of the blue the producers of the show called to tell me that they wanted me to audition for the network executives at NBC. I went in to read for them one afternoon and three hours later they offered me the job. After all this, however, they decided to make Juliet a blonde. The next thing I knew I had to immediately go to the set to have my hair dyed before starting work the very next day. So once it took off it was as if I was being caught up in a whirlwind.”

In Dark Skies, Ryan’s character is the latest addition to Majestic-12, a top-secret government organization whose main objective is to shield the public from anything having to do with the alien invasion. Armed and very dangerous, Juliet has been compared to the lead character in the film and now television series La Femme Nikita. Ryan herself, however, likens her alter ego to a Russian female version of the very British James Bond.

“Juliet is a tough cookie,” says Ryan. “She’s very intelligent as well as independent and self-motivated. When you first see her it’s 1964, a time when military organizations weren’t exactly welcoming women with open arms. She comes in and literally busts down the walls of this old boy’s club. Juliet is more than capable of taking on any man in the room as well as handling any situation that may arise and she demands to be taken seriously. She knocks a few heads around and shakes some people up a little bit including John Loengard (Eric Close). Juliet is very much a woman ahead of her time.”

Ryan made her debut on Dark Skies halfway through the show’s first season in an episode entitled The Warren Omission. In this story Attorney General Robert Kennedy makes a move to expose Majestic when the Warren Commission begins investigating the death of his brother President Kennedy. “It was kind of a nerve-wracking experience,” recalls Ryan. “The series had already been around a while before my character was introduced. At this point people had been working together for almost a year. They all knew each other and were like a big family. All of a sudden here was this new girl coming into the picture. I really wasn’t sure how the dynamics of everything was going to work. Up to now Megan Ward [Kimberly Sayers] had been the only female regular in the entire cast. I needn’t have been worried. Everyone, particularly Megan, has just bent over backwards to make me feel comfortable.

“Another reason why I was nervous had to do with the fact that in my very first scene I come in and take out three Federal agents and then throw Loengard across the room. Juliet is not exactly subtle,” laughs the actress. “She knows how to make an entrance. When I got ready to do this scene I assumed that you have a stunt double who does the stunt and that’s just the way it works. It didn’t take me long to find out that they only do the really, really dangerous work like pulling Megan down a flight of stairs and things of this nature. When it comes to everything else you’re pretty much on your own.  It’s you who’s in there doing the kicking, hitting and other physical work. I learned very quickly how to do all these things and, once I got over the initial fear and shock, I found it to be a lot of fun and a great tension release.  I was ready to take on the entire crew,” jokes the actress.

Ever since Juliet burst onto the scene in Dark Skies the show’s writers have continued their efforts to further develop the character. Stories such as White Rabbit and Shades of Gray give viewers the opportunity to sit back and delve into Juliet’s past and they find out exactly what makes her tick. “I really enjoyed the one we just finished yesterday called Pray in Darkness which takes place during the 1964 New York blackout. At this point in the programme the relationship between John and Juliet has changed, so there was a bit more for me sink my teeth into and that made the work a lot more fun.

“I can’t wait to start work today on our latest episode because it’s very much a Juliet story. Most of the action takes place in the Soviet Union and Majestic and it gives you an even greater sense of what goes into the making of Juliet. They reveal more of her background and training as well as talk about all of the people with whom she’s dealt with in the past. There’s also a great deal of physical action. I get to shoot my little AK-47 assault rifle and whatever else we’ve got, so I can’t wait to kick some alien butt,” she chuckles.

Steve Eramo

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

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome Casting Update

THE Syfy Channel has announced that Luke Pasqualino (Skins - UK) and Ben Cotton (Stargate Atlantis, Hellcats, Riese: Kingdom Falling) have been cast in Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, the highly anticipated 2-hour pilot. The all-new chapter in the Battlestar saga unfolds in the thick of the 10th year of the first Cylon war, as the battle between humans and a sentient robot race rages across the 12 colonial worlds.

Pasqualino will star as the young, talented fighter pilot William Adama, a recent Academy graduate who finds himself assigned to the newest Battlestar in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica. Full of ambition and in pursuit of the intense action that the Cylon war promises, Adama quickly finds himself at odds with Coker (Cotton), the battle-weary officer to whom he reports. With 45 days left in his tour of duty, Coker desires an end to battle just as much as Adama craves the start of it. Though they clash at first, the two men forge an unlikely bond when a routine mission turns dangerous and becomes a pivotal one for the desperate fleet.

From the award-winning producers of Battlestar Galactica, this new action-packed chapter of the BSG canon was written by Michael Taylor from a story by David Eick, Taylor and Bradley Thompson & David Weddle. David Eick will serve as executive producer. Universal Cable Productions will produce the 2-hour pilot with Syfy, utilizing cutting edge CGI and virtual technology.

This Week On Law & Order: UK - 01 - 28 - 11

 
DS Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh) and DS Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber) in Law & Order: UK. Photo copyright of Kudos, Wolf Films and NBC Universal.

SPOILER ALERT!! -  When three people are brutally murdered in a shop in central London and a fourth left for dead, DS Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber) and DS Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh) are up against the clock to find the killer who they fear could strike again. Prosecuting the offender proves surprisingly challenging for Senior Crown Prosecutor James Steel (Ben Daniels) when he finds himself pitted against a defense lawyer he hadn’t bargained for. Season 2 - Episode 3 airs Friday, January 28th @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on BBC America.

As noted above, photo copyright of Kudos, Wolf Films and NBC Universal, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!