Andromeda's Captain Beka Valentine (Lisa Ryder). Photo copyright of Tribune Entertainment.
In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, the lovely Lisa Ryder talks about her experiences playing Captain Beka Valentine in season three of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenbery's Sci-Fi series Andromeda.
In the first-season Andromeda episode The Pearls That Were His Eyes, Beka Valentine had a reunion with her father’s former business partner Sid Barry, whom she calls Uncle Sid. It did not take him long to reveal why he wanted to see her. He wanted Beka’s father’s personal journals and records, which he thought she had. She and Trance managed to escape her uncle’s clutches and Beka was happy to see the back of him. Much to Beka’s disdain, she finds him back in her life in the third-season story Cui Bono? This May afternoon on Andromeda’s Vancouver-based set, Kevin Sorbo (Captain Dylan Hunt) and Lisa Ryder (Beka) are filming the scene in which Dylan tells Beka that her uncle is, in fact, running for office in the new Commonwealth and wants to be its leader. To make matters worse, the Andromeda Ascendant has been ordered to escort him to the elections.
“Beka is not at all pleased about this,” explains actress Lisa Ryder, who is taking a break in-between takes. “She tells Dylan, ‘They’ve got to be kidding,’ and he says, ‘Well, perhaps he’s turned over a new leaf. Anyway, we have to do what the Commonwealth says.’ This is the new thing for us in season three – we have higher-ups. In the first two years we were pretty much renegade Commonwealth establishers, but now that it’s basically been established there’s a hierarchy we have to answer to. They’ve more or less told Dylan that he has to make a big deal over Sid and give him transport. Of course, Beka totally freaks out,” she laughs. “Ironically, she winds up handling the investigation when there’s an attempt made on Sid’s life. Dylan puts her in charge not only because Beka is familiar with her uncle but also in a way to test her.
“So Cui Bono? is a very Beka-centric story in which John de Lancie returns to play Uncle Sid. He actually has, I think, far more to do in this episode than he did in his first one, and there’s already talk of having him back again later on this season. John is a very inquisitive and challenging actor and has such interesting opinions on the script. He can get a difficult scene to work just by changing a line or adding something you wouldn’t have thought of. He’s a terrific influence to have on the set and Kevin and I both enjoy working with him.”
Uncle Sid was surprised to see just how much Beka had changed when he laid eyes on her again in Andromeda’s first season. She certainly is not the same person she was when she first came aboard the Andromeda. Back then, Beka was captain of her own ship, the Eureka Maru, which had a crew of three, Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett), Trance (Laura Bertram) and Rev Bem (Brent Stait), a Magog. They rescued the Andromeda Ascendant from a black hole with the intention of turning it into salvage and making a tidy profit. The foursome had no idea they would end up serving under its captain, Dylan Hunt, and joining him on his quest to re-establish the Commonwealth.
“I think Beka was a little confused during season one of Andromeda,” says Ryder. “She basically surrendered control over the Maru and its crew as well as her values to Dylan. Here’s a man she knew nothing about yet was still willing to trust him and believe in this thing called the Commonwealth. When the second season came around there was some difficulty when it came to defining a few of the characters, including Beka. She was a captain and so was Dylan. It was tough for the show’s writers to try to put her in a position where she needed to be a strong woman but also be Dylan’s subordinate. Some writers tried to make it look as if Beka had a ‘thing’ for Dylan and was unquestionably loyal to him. Meanwhile, others were going, ‘No, no, no, Beka is still rebellious,’ and were writing her that way. So the character was being pulled in opposite directions.
“With season three we’ve reached a point where Beka has shared a number of adventures with Dylan and the rest of the Andromeda crew,” she continues. “They’ve put their lives on the line for her and vice versa. I’ve come to the conclusion that Beka’s toughness manifests itself to the outside world, but to her crew she’s a bit of a softie. She’ll do anything for them because of all that they’ve been through. We have a director, Jorge Montesi, who’s worked on quite a few of our episodes. He’s actually directing the next one [The Lone and Level Sands]. The first time he directed me on Andromeda I did a take and he said to me, ‘Excuse me if I’m wrong but I understood Beka to be a very tough woman.’ I told him, ‘Yes, she is,’ and he said, ‘Well, she didn’t seem like it in that take.’ I thought, ‘OK, I’ll swallow my pride and do another take.’ Every time Jorge directs the show he tends to push me to that place because he thinks it’s good for the character. So I guess it’s my task this year to find that toughness but also temper it when Beka is dealing with the crew.”
Captain Dylan Hunt had his hands full at first when he offered a safe haven as well as a cause to fight for not only to Beka and her crew but also a Nietzschean mercenary, Tyr Anasazi (Keith Hamilton Cobb). While it was clear to him that Beka was best suited to be his first officer, it wasn’t easy helping her settle into the position. “Dylan’s and Beka’s relationship was very problematical, especially in the first season,” says Ryder. “There was a lot of uneasiness. I think Beka and Dylan are the type of people who grudgingly respect each other but can’t really express how they feel about one another. I hope that makes sense. They can’t come out and say, ‘I respect you.’ Instead, they tend to imply it.
“This season, Beka and Dylan are finally more comfortable with one another. I found that to be especially true during the filming of Cui Bono?They’ve discovered that they don’t always have to be so serious with each other. I’d also have to say that Beka has become a loyal second-in-command. At the same time, she’s no Will Riker [Star Trek: The Next Generation],” jokes the actress. “Beka isn’t about to start acting all military and I think Dylan has come to accept that. She gets the job done but in her own way.”
Dylan is not the only person aboard the Andromeda with whom Beka has butted heads. She and Tyr usually don’t see eye to eye in most situations. However, in Andromeda’s second season, they appeared to be getting along better. In one episode Tyr even prepared dinner for Beka. Unfortunately, the way to this woman’s heart isn’t through her stomach. There may not be any romance in the future between Try and Beka, but their relationship isn't about to stagnate.
“Oh, it gets more interesting, believe me,” smiles Ryder. “Again, Beka is not an open book. She’s not going to suck up to anyone. When she finds herself caring for someone she has to find another way to show it because she can’t get all mushy. I think Beka truly respects Tyr. Actually, I’ve always considered her to be a bit of a Nietzschean. She’s all about survival, so the Nietzschean way really appeals to her. I felt that very much in the second-season story Una Salus Victus when Beka bonded with that Nietzschean female Quechua [Kendall Cross]. Then there was her flirtation with Charlemagne Bolivar [James Marsters] in Into the Labyrinth. I think that had to do with the whole Alpha male thing. Beka is intrigued by that and in my opinion it’s part of what she finds fascinating about Tyr. On the other hand, though, Tyr can be arrogant and infuriating. It’s safe to say that he and Beka aren’t going to fall in love or even go on a date. However, there’s definitely tension there – physical, sexual, philosophical, etc. I find that interesting and I hope the writers don’t try to resolve it anytime soon.”
Halfway through Andromeda’s second season Beka lost not one but two friends and crewmates when Rev Bem and Trance decided to leave Andromeda. However, Purple Trance was replaced by a future version of herself. While Gold Trance knows what’s to come with regard to her and Beka’s friendship, Beka is not privy to the same information. As such, it’s taking her time to get used to having her new old friend around.
“I’m a big fan of Beka’s and Purple Trance’s relationship,” notes Ryder. “What they had was so obvious to me and, I think, the writers as well. I mean, it was big sister/little sister, but the little sister had something going on that the big sister didn’t know about. I loved the sweetness of that. With Gold Trance it’s a much different and tougher relationship to try to define. Trance is a pretty tough cookie now and so is Beka, which makes it difficult for them to bond. So Beka certainly isn’t as close with her as she was with Purple Trance. I’d like to see them hang out more and for us to explore their relationship so that my character can find out what Gold Trance is all about.
“I feel the same about Beka’s and Rommie’s [Lexa Doig] relationship. It’d be great to have an episode where the two of them go down to a planet and kick some butt. Up to now we’ve pretty much only had what I call ‘observation scenes’ where they’re saying to each other, ‘Dylan’s doing this,’ or ‘Dylan’s doing that.’ To be honest, I’d rather not have them standing around gossiping about the captain. Again, Beka needs to spend more time with Rommie in order for us to find out her true feelings about A.I.s [Artificial Intelligence]. I’m guessing that Beka hasn’t had much exposure to A.I.s. I seem to recall reading an interview in which Lexa talked about the Eureka Maru’s A.I. being subordinate to Andromeda’s. Perhaps where Beka came from A.I.s weren’t as advanced or even sentient beings. Even after two years of being around her, she still doesn’t know quite how to deal with Rommie. Beka probably still sees her as ‘just a machine.’ I’d like to find out why.”
Of all her relationships with the Andromeda crew Beka is most secure in the one she has with Harper. “He’s very much like her little brother,” says Ryder. “Harper is indispensable as the ship’s engineer but like any young sibling he can sometimes be annoying with his little rants and ramblings. Nonetheless, Beka is truly loyal to him and cares a great deal about him.”
When asked to pick her favourite Beka Valentine episode, Ryder chooses It Makes A Lovely Lightin which her character becomes hooked on the drug Flash. “As an actress I like to go to those wacky places, and being on Flash was an opportunity for me to do that,” enthuses the actress. “It sort of harkened back to my theatre days where I could play ten characters in one show, including a man and a four-year-old. In It Makes A Lovely Light I got to really be ‘out there’ and unpredictable as well as angry and still do all the action stuff. It made a fun change from being the straightforward tough chick.
“I’m a big fan of the Sci-Fi concept of people inhabiting other people’s bodies. You see it a lot on Star Trek and I’ve always wanted to do it. I’m a real mimic and think it would be neat to play, let’s say, Dylan or Harper for an episode. I guess that partly comes from being on a TV series and having to play the same person every week. You know the boundaries of your character and maybe for just one story would like the chance to break through those parameters. I don’t want Beka be taken over by an evil demon, but a funny and/or weird one would be OK. She is actually possessed in a very subtle way in the third season opener If The Wheel Is Fixed. However, I’d like to do something that’s a bit more obvious, so we’ll see.”
Besides her work on Andromeda, the actress has been busy with her boyfriend producing/writing and directing a short independent feature film. The project is currently in post-production and they are hoping to enter it into a film festival. “That was a blast to do,” she says. “The entire Andromeda cast made cameo appearances in the film, which was very sweet of them.” Ryder was also seen recently on the big screen in the Sci-Fi horror movie Jason X.
“Jason was a great experience,” recalls the actress. “I got to work with such people as Lexa Doig, Peter Mensah, Chuck Campbell and Derwin Jordan. The director [James Isaac] is a real professional and he made it enjoyable for all of us. Everyone realized it was a B-movie in the extreme sense insofar as you had girls asking guys, ‘Do you want to have premarital sex?’ So we couldn’t get too ‘deep’ about it and therefore took it all at face value. That said, I thought my character of Kay-Em 14 was somewhat special in that she got to go through quite a transformation for a B-movie gal. She went from being a naïve innocent android to an ass-kicking machine. I enjoyed my scenes with Kane Hodder [Jason]. Not too many people get to kill Jason, and I did, even if just for a moment, so that was cool.”
Back in the 1960s, Gene Roddenberry introduced TV audiences to a number of take-charge women, including Lieutenant Uhura and Nurse Chapel, on the classic Star Trek. That continues today with Andromeda and characters such as Beka Valentine. “Our show does a great job of promoting strong women characters,” says Ryder. “You’ve got Rommie, Trance and Beka. I think that’s a big reason why we’re gaining more female viewers, and I’m very encouraged by that. I love it that girls are watching. In recent years we’ve seen gals like Max on Dark Angel, Scully on The X-Files, and Queen Amidala on Star Wars take the lead when it comes to solving problems. It’s a sign of the times that the fairer sex are doing things for themselves, and I’m proud that Beka Valentine is part of that movement.”
Steve Eramo
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