SciFiAndTvTalk

Q & A With Merlin's Bradley James

Bradley James as Merlin's Arthur Pendragon. Photo copyright of the BBC.

At one time or another, most men are faced with trying to measure up to their father’s expectations. That is sometimes easier said than done, especially when others are involved. In BBC’s Merlin, Prince Arthur Pendragon has been trained to fight since birth, and his father, King Uther Pendragon, plans for his son to one day take over as the ruler of Camelot. Much to their surprise, that day comes earlier than expected in the show’s fourth season. With his servant, protector, friend (and magician) Merlin by his side, Arthur must now look after the well-being after every man, woman and child in his kingdom and protect them from those scheming to end his reign by using magic against him.

Since the first episode of Merlin, actor Bradley James has delivered a convincing and thoroughly enjoyable performance as Arthur. Following in the footsteps of his series costar, Colin Morgan (Merlin), James has done a BBC Press Q & A (see below) to talk about his character’s story arc in the show’s fourth season, which has its North American premiere on Friday, January 6th @ 10:00 p.m. EST/PST on America’s Syfy channel, and Saturday, January 7th @ 8:00 p.m. EST/PST on Canada’s SPACE Channel. Beware of spoilers and enjoy!

What has happened to Arthur since we last saw him?

Bradley James: Arthur has to take the responsibility for the kingdom on his shoulders because his father has lost his mind. All eyes in the kingdom are now upon Arthur, looking to him, not to Uther (Anthony Head), who is hiding in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth. Morgana (Katie McGrath) poses an enormous threat to the kingdom Arthur is trying to protect.  He has been thrown into the deep end of a very grave situation indeed.

How does Arthur cope with the responsibility?

BJ: It's not always easy for him. He constantly has to learn lessons from his mistakes. But I would say he's the man you would want in a crisis. He always sticks by what he feels is right, which is a very good quality.

Has this changed the relationship between Arthur and Merlin?

BJ: Their friendship has grown, and Merlin comes up with pearls of wisdom more and more often. It's harder for Arthur to turn those into a joke and pretend Merlin is just being stupid. They are now forming a much closer relationship.

How does Arthur deal with Lancelot (SantiagoCabrera), his rival for Gwen's (Angel Coulby) affections?

BJ: Camelot always comes first for Arthur. If his love for Gwen causes friction, it holds back the kingdom. But if being with Gwen works for the kingdom, then he feels it should happen.

This season, the Knights of the Round Table become an integral part of the story.  Do you enjoy working with them?

BJ: Absolutely! The Knights have a great camaraderie, which is what the Round Table is all about. They have a passionate dream, which they all want to achieve. The actors each bring a touch of individuality to their characters, and they are a joy to work with. Off-screen, we all get on famously. It's great to be part of that. When I celebrated my birthday, they all came along to my place to celebrate. We made a great day – and night – of it. It's been an absolute pleasure to have them around, and I'm quietly confident that that will translate to the screen.

Another important addition is Agravaine (Nathaniel Parker). Has he brought something extra to Merlin?

BJ: Definitely. Very early on, the audience becomes aware that Agravaine’s allegiance is to Morgana. Naturally, Arthur is completely unaware of this, which creates great dramatic tension. Someone has to play dumb – and as we’ve come to find out in Merlin, it's usually Arthur! But it also adds to the drama of the series that someone so close to Arthur can be the one that digs the knife in and twists it. As far as Arthur is concerned, his mother's brother is someone to be trusted implicitly. But the audience can see the cloaked dagger. Nathaniel Parker is very lively as Agravaine and has a great, dark look.

Based on their reaction to you at Comic-Con, can we assume that fans have come to recognize you for your role as Arthur?

BJ: Yes, I do get stopped quite a bit more now, but people are always very flattering – they love the show and want pictures and autographs. It's lovely when what you do for your work comes across so well!

What do you think is the reason that Merlin, particularly, has been a great success with viewers?

BJ: People relate to the ideals of the Arthurian legends and the myth of the Round Table, especially when it’s told in a way that is so entertaining and accessible. Everyone can identify with the tale, not just the British. On top of that, you have these great characters and this amazing magic and this astonishing period. All that shines through, and people love to get lost in that world.

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

Tracey Gold (Growing Pains), Ethan Phillips (Star Trek: Voyager), Edward Furlong (Terminator 2) and Bug Hall (The Little Rascals) Star In Syfy's Arachnoquake

Actress Tracey Gold.

Tracey Gold (Growing Pains) will star in the new Syfy Saturday Original Movie Arachnoquake, scheduled to premiere on Syfy in 2012. Joining Gold will be Bug Hall (The Little Rascals), Ethan Phillips (Star Trek: Voyager) and Edward Furlong (Terminator 2: Judgment Day).

In Arachnoquake, massive earthquakes unleash giant albino spiders. Freed from their ancient subterranean prison, the spiders go on a murderous rampage through New Orleans.Currently in production in Louisiana, the movie is a production of Active Entertainment. Arachnoquake is directed by Griff Furst, who also directed Swamp Shark, one of the highest-rated Syfy Saturday Original Movies of 2011.

James Marsters Stars In Syfy's Three Inches - Airing Tonight (12 - 29 - 11)

Actor James Marsters.

James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Torchwood) plays one of the leads in Three Inches, the feature-length pilot for a TV series that, unfortunately, never made it to the small screen. Airing tonight, Thursday, December 29th @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on Syfy, the story focuses on a man who, after being struck by lightning, discovers that he has ability to move any pbject three inches with his mind. He subsequently joins forces with a group of individuals who also possess unusual powers. Marsters shares his superhero exploits with other familar genre faces including Stephanie Jacobsen (Battlestar Galactica: Razor, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Naoko Mori (Torchwood) and Kyle Schmid (Blood Ties).

Sci-Fi Blast From The Past - Rob LaBelle (Smallville, The 4400 & Eureka)

Rob LaBelle in the 2009 feature film Watchmen. Photo copyright of Legendary Pictures.

In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, always-busy actor Rob LaBelle talks about his guest-starring work in Smallville, The 4400 and Eureka.

As Crazy Eddie Nambulous a.k.a. Larry Pisinki on First Wave, actor Rob LaBelle risked his life to help stop an invasion of Earth by an alien species called the Gua. The show ran for three seasons on the Sci-Fi Channel and was then relegated to the world of TV syndication. Since leaving the confines of Crazy Eddie’s Air Stream trailer, LaBelle has worked on a variety of big as well as small screen projects. Some of the actor’s post-First Wave appearances include roles on such TV series as Dark Angel, Monk, DaVinci’s Inquest and Smallville in which he played Dr. Fredrick Walden in a three-episode arc.

“Smallville was great fun and I worked with a wonderful group of people,” recalls LaBelle. “Most of my scenes were with Michael Rosenbaum [Lex Luthor], who is a real dynamo as well as extremely sharp and on top of things. Michael is a very collaborative actor, but at the same time he kind of wants to inject, not his vision of things, but rather wants to help make sure that as a guest-star you’re up to speed on what’s happening on the show. By that I mean when you come in as a guest-star on a TV series it’s sometimes tough because of everything that has already been established. Michael is someone who looks out for you in that regard. He’s really a team player and makes the creative process more dynamic, which is a dream come true for an actor.

“Being in more than one episode, I was able to get to know the cast and each time I returned I felt more at ease doing my thing. To top it off I got to try to kill Superman, or young Clark Kent, so that was kind of neat. While on Smallville I also had the chance to work with three different directors, each of whom had their own style and knew precisely what they wanted. It’s always such a thrill to take part in shows like Smallville that have a place in pop culture. I felt much the same way when I did, for example, Lois and Clark [The New Adventures of Superman], The X-Files and, of course, Star Trek: Voyager.”

More recently, the actor appeared for a second time on the hit genre show, The 4400. He reprised his role of Dr. Nicholas Clayton, who made his debut back in season two. “When I originally tried out for The 4400it was for the pilot and the role [of Orson Bailey] that Michael Moriarty eventually got, so I guess The Powers That Be decided to go a different way,” chuckles LaBelle. “However, my audition went very well and I got a callback. Funnily enough, this time around it was to read for Richard Kahan’s character of Marco Pacella, which was written for a guy in his 20s. The producers explained to me, ‘We just want to try something a bit different,’ and I was the only actor there who was older than everyone else in the room.

“Once again, they liked my audition but I didn’t get the job. I kept getting called back in, though, until eventually this role of Dr. Clayton came along in the year two opener Wake-Up Call. He’s the head of a psychiatric hospital that some of the 4400 are in. So I shot that episode and thought, ‘Hmm, I wonder if there’s a possibility that they’ll bring my character back?’ This past March or April I got a call from the producers asking if I’d like to do another episode this [third] season, Graduation Day, and I said,’ Sure.’

“Most of my work in this story as well as my previous one was with Joel Gretsch [NTAC Agent Tom Baldwin], who is a pleasure to work with. I was also given the opportunity to act opposite a few of the other 4400 cast including Mahershalalhashbaz Ali [Richard Tyler]. In fact, I ran into him on the street here in Vancouver not too long ago. I hadn’t worked with Ali before this program and that was an enjoyable experience, too.

“I spent the majority of my time on Wake-Up Call and Graduation Dayout on-location at Riverview Hospital, which is a working mental institution outside of Vancouver. It has several disused wings that they rent out to companies shooting films and TV series. I’ve actually shot there on a variety of occasions, including an episode of First Wave where Crazy Eddie was trapped in an insane asylum. It’s a very creepy place, especially at night, and one that’s full of mysteries, which makes it an ideal filming locale.

Not long after his second appearance this past summer on The 4400, LaBelle guest-starred in two successive episodes of the new Sci Fi Channel series Eureka. He played yet another egghead, Walter Perkins, one of the residents in a little Pacific Northwest town where geeks rule and strange things often happen. “We did the pilot for Eureka about a year-and-a-half ago,” says the actor. “I had my audition with Peter O’Fallon, who directed the pilot for Blade: The Series as well as for programs like All Souls and Mysterious Ways, which he also created and executive produced. Peter is an amazing, creative and dynamic guy and I had a lot of fun in the audition process with him. He told me to bring it up a notch with my character of Walter and make him a little crazier, which is always a dangerous thing to tell someone like me,” jokes LaBelle.

“The Eureka pilot was fantastic to work on because it was a five-week shoot and I only worked for part of that time. Although the series is now made here in Vancouver and on-location in a town called Chilliwack, the pilot was done on Vancouver Island, which is an absolutely beautiful place. We’d fly out there for a few days, do our thing, and then fly back to the mainland. I know I must sound like a broken record, but once again I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by a group of genuinely kind and talented people such as Maury Chaykin [Sheriff Cobb], Joe Morton [Henry] and Colin Ferguson [Sheriff Jack Carter], who’s a very funny individual.”

Eureka was eventually picked up as a weekly series by the Sci Fi Channel and given a 13-part first season, which recently finished airing in the States. LaBelle along with actress Jennifer Clement, who played his wife Susan in the pilot, were both hired to reprise their roles in the opening episode Many Happy Returns. “Originally, our two characters were supposed to die,” explains LaBelle. “At the end of the pilot, Walter gets sucked into a vortex, and Susan is murdered, but it’s made to look like a suicide.

“Apparently, the producers liked our work so much that they decided to bring our characters back. Not unlike a TV show called Northern Exposure, they wanted a number of residents to populate this little town of Eureka. So the ending of the pilot was altered in such a way that you didn’t quite know what happened to Walter, and Susan’s situation could go either way. So they returned in the first season opener, which began with their double funeral, and Jennifer got to play a different version of her character, and that was really cool. At the end of the story, one of the local geniuses manages to rescue Walter from the vortex he’s trapped in, but then that was it. We never see him or Susan again. It was like, ‘Why go to all the trouble of bringing us back and then not use us.’ My feeling, though, is that the show already has a large regular cast and the producers first want to develop those characters and storylines before bringing in anyone else, which I totally understand. Nonetheless, I had a ball and would be happy to guest-star again on the show if the opportunity ever arose.”

Besides The 4400 and Eureka, LaBelle recently finished a multi-story arc in another Canadian-made TV series, Three Moons Over Milford. The actor also has a cameo in the feature film Fido, which had its premiere last month at the Toronto Film Festival. “It’s a zombie flick that’s quite dark as well as very amusing,” he says smiling. “The film stars Carrie-Anne Moss, Tim Blake Nelson and Billy Connelly, who plays the title character, a six-foot rotting zombie named Fido. It has a 1950s sensibility to it but it actually takes place in the present. I’m hoping audiences will get a kick out of it.

“I’ve also begun working with Infinity Pictures as their executive in charge of TV features and trying to get that division off the ground. Along with my acting, I’ll be developing shows on the other side of the camera. It’s my first time having to go to an office every day, which is slightly disconcerting,” laughs LaBelle, “but the work is thoroughly rewarding. So it’s all good.”

Steve Eramo

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

Sci-Fi Blast From The Past - Erica Cerra (Eureka)

Eureka's Deputy Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra).  Photo copyright of Syfy.

In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, actress Erica Cerra talks about her early days plays Deputy Jo Lupo on Eureka.

If you’re a criminal and end up caught by Eureka’s Josefina “Jo” Lupo, you might as well give up and take what’s coming to you. As deputy sheriff of a small town where averting major catastrophes is often the order of the day, Jo Lupo takes a no-nonsense approach when protecting the citizens of Eureka. On this particular Thursday afternoon, however, the deputy is decked out in a slinky black dress, nylons and high-heeled shoes. It’s all part of a plan to help an aging scientist who holds the key to stopping a death ray from destroying the town. For the beautiful Erica Cerra, who plays Eureka’s Deputy Lupo, it’s also a chance to let her hair down on the show.

“I don’t have to work too hard at playing a tomboy,” smiles Cerra, sitting outside her trailer on Eureka’s Vancouver lot. “I am a tomboy, so that part of the job is easy. There have been some changes made to my character since the pilot episode of Eureka. The show’s producers wanted Jo to be more feminine, which is great. At first, I think they had this vision of some big, strong woman, and then there’s me,” jokes the actress. “I’m not exactly that, so I was trying my best to act really tough and, I guess, overcompensate for any physical shortcomings.

“Now it’s nice because Jo is a little bit more human and behaving more like a woman. For example, in the episode we’re working on at the moment [Dr. Nobel], Jo is wearing a dress and her hairdo is ‘non-regulation’, and that’s been fun. Of course, she’s still carrying her gun. Why wouldn’t she? But it’s concealed in a garter belt that the props’ guy trimmed with some lace, so we’re still showing her feminine side. Don’t worry, though. No matter how much lace I wear, Lupo is not going to lose her edge,” she jokes.

It’s not surprising to hear that Jo Lupo’s tomboy-ish demeanor is what originally attracted the actress to the part. “I was down in Los Angeles reading for pilot season when I received an e-mail from my manager in Vancouver telling me about the part,” recalls Cerra. “I’ve been a client of hers for quite a few years and she knows I like to do the tomboy stuff. I grew up in a household full of men, so this type of character is perfect for me. As soon as I read the [script] sides I fell in love with the role.

“I returned from LA on a Friday and auditioned for the Eureka people on the following Monday. I had a callback on a Saturday and this time I tested with Peter O’Fallon, who directed the pilot. He worked with me a bit and then threw a whole bunch of new stuff at me to try.

“Not too long after that I found out I got the job and pretty soon I was working on the pilot. Talk about a great experience. Everyone had wonderful chemistry right off the bat. It’s nice when you meet a group of strangers and it feels like you’ve known them your entire life. I mean, within a short time, Colin Ferguson [Sheriff Jack Carter] reminded me of a member of my own family. So I felt completely at ease with him and the rest of this cast as well as crew and it has been that way ever since. That was the best part about working on the pilot, along with learning how to disassemble and assemble a gun. Now that was cool,” she chuckles.

It’s established in the Eureka pilot that Deputy Lupo has had a long and affable professional relationship with her boss, Sheriff Bill Cobb (Maury Chaykin). When he becomes a victim of a scientific mishap caused by one of the locals, US Marshal Jack Carter, who is stuck in town along with his daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson), offers to lend a hand. The government subsequently reassigns Carter to Eureka as its new sheriff, and that takes Lupo some getting used to.

“Initially, the idea in the season one opener was that Carter and Lupo would share a kind of a brother/sister vibe,” notes Cerra. “Then, however, she said, which I found really funny, that they act more like two brothers. Carter and Lupo definitely have a sibling rivalry going on. He still tends to be very protective of her, but there’s that animosity between them where they’re always competing with one another, which I enjoy. Working with Colin is great, too. He’s funny, extremely creative and brings tons of excellent ideas to the table.”

As Eureka’s first season continues to unfold, Cerra promises audiences will see additional layers to her character. “In the next story we’re filming I get to explore Jo’s more sensitive side for the first time, so I’m looking forward to that,” says the actress. “The episode Alienated was terrific to work on because it gave me and Colin a couple of more personal moments that revealed another facet of my character. You got to see that she has feelings, which is important, I want to make sure people know that Jo is not always the tough rock.”

Prior to signing onboard to uphold law and order on Eureka, Cerra guest-starred on a variety of series including The Dead Zone, Cold Squad, Smallville and The L Word. Eagle-eyed fans of Battlestar Galacticaknow the actress as Maya, the woman who adopted the human/Cylon baby towards the end of the show’s second season.

“With my hair down it’s a little easier to recognize me,” she says. “When a lot of the network execs watched Galactica they had no idea it was me. I really want to be a mom someday, and I’ve been around quite a few babies in my life, so I found it very easy on Galactica to be able to accept this baby and to love it. I actually worked another day on the show this past Monday. We were on-location filming some scenes at the Richmond Sand Dunes for season three. It’s a somewhat dreary place, but it looks spectacular on film.

“So between Galactica and Eureka I’m keeping busy, and I like that.”

Steve Eramo

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

Sci-Fi Blast From The Past: Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1)

Actor Michael Shanks.

In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, actor Michael Shanks talks about his character of Dr. Daniel Jackson's adventures in season 10 of Stargate SG-1.

There’s quite a crowd in the dealer’s room this Sunday afternoon at the 2006 Timeless Destinations convention in Vancouver, and, in particular, a long line of people waiting to meet Stargate SG-1’s Michael Shanks. On Saturday, he and SG-1 castmate Christopher Judge [Teali’c] spoke onstage to an enthusiastic group about their2007 Women of Sci-Fi calendar. They were joined by Shanks’ wife Lexa Doig and Brandy Ledford. Both actresses, who posed for the calendar, are Stargate alumni (Doig played Dr. Carolyn Lam last year on the series, while Ledford guest-starred in the eighth season SG-1 episode Endgame and the year two Stargate Atlantis story Inferno). The foursome kept the audience entertained for over an hour, only taking a brief break when the hotel’s fire alarm accidentally went off.

Prior to his Timeless Destination appearance, Shanks finished shooting a made-for-TV movie called Under the Mistletoe. Before that, he and the rest of the SG-1 cast and crew were on a brief summer hiatus from their work on season 10, which has been an enjoyable one for Shanks and a busy one for his alter ego of Dr. Daniel Jackson. “I think the most memorable episodes for me so far this year are the ones that are mostly to do with the Ori story arc,” says the actor. “Last season we left off with the episode Camelot and the SG-1 team in a precarious spot. We then began this year with Flesh and Bloodand having to bail all our characters out of their respective dilemmas and everyone ended up surviving the Ori attack.

“Of course, Claudia Black [Vala] is now a series regular and we’ve been having a ball working together again. This year there’s the storyline with Vala’s child, the Orisi, or Adria, and we see her in episode seven, Counterstrike, in the twentysomething beautiful form of Morena Baccarin from the Firefly series and Serenity film. Her character is peppered throughout the season and causes no end of problems for our heroes. There’s also a little bit of tension or some weird kind of love tension that develops between Daniel and Adria, which puts an interesting spin on his relationship with Vala.

“In Flesh and Blood, Daniel sneaks onboard the Ori ship where Vala is being held prisoner in order to rescue her. The very first scene between the two characters was rather strange. Remember now, they hadn’t seen each other for basically an entire year. Even when Vala came back towards the end of season nine [in the episode Crusade] she was in Daniel’s body and talking with the rest of the group, so he never interacted with her directly. She’s now on this Ori ship having just given birth to this rapidly growing child, and Daniel walks in disguised as a Prior. He asks, ‘What the hell is going on?’ and she just launches into exposition. It was written that way because we couldn’t dwell too much on the personal interaction between our characters, and both Claudia and I knew that. The story had to move forward and viewers had to be brought up to date. It was a bit clunky, but Claudia found a way to make it work and fit her character, too.”

An early season 10 episode that the actor is quite fond of is a crossover story that he and his fellow SG-1castmembers did with the cast and crew of Atlantis called The Pegasus Project. “Daniel finally makes it to Atlantis,” smiles Shanks. “I remember watching the Atlantis pilot and really wishing that he had been there when they first discovered the city. When Daniel arrives at Atlantis in The Pegasus Project it’s one of those revelation moments for my character that I enjoy having with him. I mean, he’s all about exploration and here’s the biggest discovery he’s ever had and it was neat to do that scene with Daniel standing on the observation deck and looking out at the city. He spent seven years searching for this damn place and now he’s finally here with this awesome view in front of him. It was a joy to play that.

"As far as filming this episode, the Atlantis cast and crew did a great job of making us feel at home. It was especially fun doing the briefing room scene and having most of the both casts interact. I really wish that Chris Judge, Jason Momoa and Rachel Luttrell [Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagan from Atlantis] had been there, but it was nonetheless a treat to sit in a room with the actors we had and listen to David Hewlett [Dr. Rodney McKay] talk. I loved finding out that there's actually someone on the planet who speaks faster than me and who sometimes trips over his tongue like I do. Seriously, it's always a pleasure to watch David act and I think he does an incredible job as McKay.

“If I had one complaint about The Pegasus Project, and again I realize It was for story purposes, it’s that Daniel finally makes it to Atlantis and then ends up stuck in a ‘broom closet’ with Vala and talking to a hologram [Sarah Strange] for most of the episode. What’s really nice, though, is that one of the executives from the Sci Fi Channel commented to Claudia at one point that we were able to stand in a room and still make those scenes entertaining just through the words and the interplay between the characters. I thought Sarah did a terrific job in her role of Morgan le Fay. She didn’t really know too much of the history of Stargate and yet she managed to be believable as that entity as well as deliver the exposition and create a fascinating antagonist in what was a very absurd kind of situation.”

The SG-1 team sets off on what Shanks describes as a “Monty Python-esque journey” in this show’s mid-season two-parter The Quest. “At one point in this story there are seven of us walking through the forest in search of our ‘Holy Grail’ as it were,” notes the actor. “It’s the five SG-1 members, another character who winds up becoming one of the bad guys, and Cliff Simon [Ba’al]. We were waiting for General Landry [Beau Bridges] to show up and join the group, or Gary Jones’ character of Walter Harriman. Why not have everyone wandering around and talking at different times,” jokes Shanks.

“It was a directors’ nightmare for poor Andy Mikita because he had all these big epic scenes to shoot as well as battle sequences and seven people standing around involved in them. So coverage of all that as a director wasn’t easy. It was the hardest episode he’s had to shoot so far in his history on Stargate but he got through it with flying colours.

“Just before we wrapped for the show’s summer hiatus we did an episode called The Shroud that picks up after the end of The Quest where something bad happens to Daniel. It’s one of those stories where a lot of people have asked me, ‘Is he really bad or is he just kind of playing bad?’ I’ll leave that up to you to decide when you see the episode,” he teases.

When it comes to “jumping the shark,” Stargate SG-1 did a masterful job of it in the show’s 200th episode. “Fans have asked me what this story means in the grand scheme of things and, really, it’s a standalone story in the sense that we take time out from every story arc we have going and poke some fun at ourselves and the Sci-Fi genre,” explains Shanks.

“It’s basically our characters sitting around with Martin Lloyd [Willie Garson, who guest-starred in season four’s Point of No Return as well as the show’s 100th episode Wormhole X-Treme!] and hashing out ideas for a Sci-Fi feature film script. In the process we tear apart every Sci-Fi show cliché a la Galaxy Quest and literally do the ‘what would happen if’ thing where we as actors get to act out vignettes that everyone is pitching out as proposition points.

“So for example, we see SG-1’s version of The Wizard of Oz, which we’ve been dying to do since the beginning of the series. There’s also a little homage to Farscape as well as Star Trek that oddly enough Brad Wright [SG-1 co-creator/executive producer] is part of.

“It was a treat being able to break free of the confines of taking ourselves seriously and camp it up a bit. No doubt some fans won’t like some of the things we talk about and do, but like I said it’s all in good fun.”

In addition to the SG-1 summer hiatus, Shanks also took two episodes off to spend time with his family. Having used up some of that time to film Under The Mistletoe, he still has one more week left before heading back to work on the SG-1set. “On Tuesday, me, Lexa and the kids are going up to the lake and I’m going to spend one week actually talking with my wife and children, playing ball with the kids and all that stuff. So I’m looking forward to that.”

Steve Eramo

Sci-Fi Blast From The Past: Lexa Doig (Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda)

Lexa Doig's as Andromeda's Rommie. Photo copyright of Fireworks Entertainment.

In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, the lovely Lexa Doig talks about her work on season four of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.

It’s been all go this past year on Andromeda for the sentient warship the Andromeda Ascendant and her crew, led by Captain Dylan Hunt. After risking life and limb to help rebuild the fallen Commonwealth government, they watched it become corrupt from within. While trying to figure out which of the government’s leaders they could trust, our heroes also had to deal with the bloodthirsty Magog, the omnipotent Abyss and a host of other enemies. This left time for little else, as Lexa Doig, who plays both Rommie and Andromeda, points out.

“We didn’t really have an opportunity to learn much more about our characters or delve further into their relationships with one another,” notes the actress. “We shot a lot of things as well as blew a few things up and Dylan [Kevin Sorbo] killed several agents of the Abyss, and that’s mainly it.

“I would have loved for the writers to have done more, first off, with [new series regular] Steve Bacic’s character of Telemachus Rhade. There is so much material to mine there. Steve himself is a very fun and well-liked guy. He’s got a terrific sense of humour and it's a pleasure to work with someone as experienced as he is. We already considered Steve a part of our extended family on the show because he’d been a guest-star so many times before. So he fit nicely in with the rhythm that had already been established on the series.

“As for Rhade, I’m not sure how to view him. Andromedais an action-adventure show, and that means it’s difficult to spend an entire episode seeing how a character, in this case Steve’s, is fitting in. I did enjoy the scenes between him and Beka [Lisa Ryder]. I thought they were very funny and the on-screen chemistry that Steve and Lisa had was great. Otherwise, though, we really didn’t see how Rhade necessarily related to the other characters, including Rommie. I mean, we know he respects her as a fellow warrior but that’s it. Conversely with Tyr [Keith Hamilton Cobb], the writers brought forth his obvious contempt for my character because she’s a machine, and that was a cool dynamic to play.

“Something else that would have been nice to see this past season is more interaction between the females. The gals seem to have relationships with the men on the show but not with each other. Please believe me, I don’t want to sound like I’m criticizing. I’m not. These are just my observations. There are so many agendas, I think, that need to be met when you’re doing a TV show, and I wouldn’t know what half of them are. As an actor, it’s easy to sit there and say to the producers and writers, ‘Gee, I’d love it if we could do this.’ However, when these people are already juggling a hundred different balls in the air at the same time the last thing they want is for you to toss them another one.”

Although her character of Rommie was involved in most of the action during Andromeda’s fourth year, it wasn’t until near the end of the season that Doig had the chance to take centre stage in the episode A Symmetry of Imperfection. In it, Rommie’s emotions start to interfere with her decision-making process. As a result, her link with the Andromeda is severed and this leaves the ship vulnerable to an attack by the Magog.

“I have mixed feelings about this episode,” muses Doig. “The original draft of the script was problematical in that it didn’t really follow any continuity that had been established with Rommie. It’s no the fault of the writer, Naomi Jantzen. She wasn’t around during the show’s first three seasons and didn’t know the details of what had gone on with my character. Unfortunately, given the schedule constraints of both the writers and producers there wasn’t time to address those problems within the script.

“Having said that, the story did afford me some real acting challenges, especially when it came to working opposite myself. I’d already shot a third if not half of my Rommie scenes before going in to film the scenes with me as the A.I. and hologram. We shot all those in one day. I had to remember what I’d done as Rommie in order to respond correctly as the A.I. or hologram. So technically it was quite challenging and it kept me extremely busy that day, which I love.

“Symmetry was also fun to work on thanks to its director, Allan Harmon, who’s one of our first assistant directors. He used to be an actor many years ago, so not only does he understand the technical side of directing but the acting side as well. Allan likes to get jazzed when he works with the actors and discover new ways of doing a scene. He has a keen eye insofar as recognizing when you might be having an off day and perhaps not giving it your all. Allan has a way of helping you work through that and deliver your best performance possible.”

Things go from bad to worse for Dylan Hunt and his crew in Andromeda’s two-part fourth season finale The Dissonant Interval. They meet a race whose mantra is peace and goodwill towards all, including the Magog. Dylan eventually manages to convince these people that the Magog are, in fact, their enemy and are planning to kill them. When the Magog ship arrives, he must make a decision that affects his future and that of everyone around him.

“This episode is full of action and mortal danger as well as exploding spaceships and people potentially dying. However, at the same time there is a fascinating underlying esoteric argument, which, I feel, is what allowed us as a cast to commit to the work,” notes Doig. “I better appreciate stories with good arguments on either side. It’s easy to write a story that’s black and white with a villain who’s bad but for no defining reason. It’s far more interesting when things aren’t so cut and dry with your characters and as a viewer you’ve got to pick a side and then sit back and watch to see if you’ve made the right choice.”

The cliffhanger ending to Andromeda’s fourth year left the show’s fans poised on the edge of their seats and wondering what would happen next. Well, they were nearly left sitting in the dark. This past April, Fireworks Entertainment, the show’s production company, closed its doors for good, leaving Andromeda’s future unclear. Thanks to a variety of factors, the show was given the green light for a fifth season. Filming began at the end of May and the entire cast, including Doig, is returning, but her participation in the program is likely to be less than in previous years.

“I’m pregnant [she and husband Michael Shanks are expecting their first child together],” enthuses Doig. “I haven’t spoke yet with Bob Engels [executive producer] but I’m guessing he and the writers would probably see a pregnant android as being problematic,” she jokes. “So I have a sneaking suspicion that Rommie might not be back, but the A.I. will be.

“I’m pleased we’re doing a fifth year, mainly because at the end of last season there was no closure. The cast and crew didn’t have a chance to turn to each other and say, ‘Hey, this is the last one.’ So it’s great to go back and work with people that I truly like and respect as professionals and friends.”

Steve Eramo

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

Q & A With Merlin's Colin Morgan

Colin Morgan as Merlin. Photo copyright of the BBC.

Next month, season four of the BBC's hit fantasy drama series Merlin makes its North American debut in the States on Syfy (Friday, January 6th @ 10:00 p.m. EST/PST) and on Canada's SPACE Channel (Saturday, January 7th @ 8:00 p.m. EST).

In the fourth season premiere, The Darkest Hour (Part 1), Morgana (Katie McGrath), empowered with her magic stronger than ever, summons the mighty Callieach to tear open the veil between the two worlds, effectively opening the gates to the Other World. Hellish creatures pour forth, killing any who succumb to their touch. With Uther (Anthony Head) a shadow of his former self, it falls to Arthur (Bradley James) and his loyal knights, including Lancelot (Santiago Cabrera) to protect the kingdom of Camelot. Nothing will prepare Merlin (Colin Morgan) when he discovers that the only way to restore the balance requires a sacrifice of unimaginable proportions.

THe following is a BBC press Q & A with Colin Morgan, who talks about the show's fourth season and his character's involvement in it. Enjoy!

Where is Merlin at the beginning of season 4?

COLIN MORGAN: He starts the series in a happy place. He now knows Camelot like the back of his hand and can do everything with his eyes closed. Of course, he's not as talented a servant as he should be, but that's not his thing – magic is his thing.

Does he have to use that magic quickly?

CM: Absolutely – his magic powers are immediately challenged by the “Dorocha.” They are tortured spirits of the underworld. Morgana unleashes them, and they cause chaos in Camelot. They operate at night and can only be repelled by the light. If you find yourself alone in the dark with one, you’re a goner.

So Morgana presents the greatest threat to Camelot?

CM: Yes, she’s desperate to claim the throne, and the only person in her way is Arthur. She's absolutely power hungry, fixated on regaining Camelot. You see within the first few minutes of the first episode just how ruthless she is. Merlin has to provide a huge amount of help in Arthur's battle against Morgana. She is Merlin's ultimate enemy.

What’s Arthur and Merlin's relationship like at the start of this season?

CM: They are master and servant, but they have also always been friends. They can't help but like each other for their own quirks. What is different this season is that you see a vulnerable prince making use of Merlin as an adviser. For his part, Merlin realizes how much he needs to be strong for Arthur's sake.

Is Arthur still in the dark about Merlin's magical powers?

CM: Yes, Arthur still has no idea about Merlin's magic. People always ask me, "Why doesn't Merlin reveal his magic to Arthur?" But he'd be an absolute fool to do that. At the moment, Arthur is like his father, King Uther, who created the rules that outlaw magic. If Merlin revealed his power to Arthur now, he could risk everything. Merlin's dream is to live in a land where he can be free and ruled by the greatest king the world has ever known. It would be madness to risk that for the selfish reason of revealing himself now.

Why do you think the series has been so successful around the world?

CM: They're just really good stories. They deal in universal themes such as good versus evil and the triumph of true love. They also appeal right across the generations, from 8 to 80. It seems there is no one who isn't touched by Merlin.

Does it help that this is a new twist on an old classic?

CM: People all over the world are familiar with the Arthurian legend, but the good thing about this show is that you're never sure how you will see it unfold. From the very beginning, the story has been constantly retold – and now we're part of that tradition.

Have fans started to recognize you?

CM: It does happen, but I've never had any nasty experiences – everyone is always so lovely to me. I can still buy a pint of milk. You can still do whatever you want, but there is always a chance now that it might not just be an anonymous shopping trip.  People might notice you in a different way. Often they need convincing that I am who they think I am – they keep asking, "Are you really Merlin?" All the time, I'm thinking, "But I only want to buy a pint of milk!"

After three seasons, do you still enjoy playing Merlin?

CM:  Definitely! It's a lot of hard work, but it is always exciting and it’s always worthwhile. It would be a different story if you put so much effort into something and at the end of it all you thought, "Why did I bother?" But when I finish filming Merlin, I always think, "I'm so delighted to have been part of this." It really is something special!

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

Sweetie, Darlings! Absolutely Fabulous Returns To BBC America In January 2012

The Ab Fab cast (L-R): Jane Horrocks (as Bubble), Julia Sawalha (Saffy), Jennifer Saunders (as Edina), June Whitfield (as Mrs. M) and Joanna Lumley (as Patsy). Photo by Jay Brooks and copyright of the BBC.

Crack out the bubbly and set out a tray of nibbly bits!! Eddy, Patsy and the entire Absolutely Fabulous entourage are back for three brand new specials on BBC America.

Twenty years ago the world was introduced to Edina (aka Eddy), Patsy (aka Pats) and Saffron (aka Saffy). It has never been quite the same.  Eddy PR'd things. She was into every new fad and fashion imaginable and was often to be found at the bottom of a champagne glass, actually more likely a bottle. Not much has changed. Her best friend Patsy worked in magazines and lived the high life. She still does. Eddy’s daughter Saffy was hard-working, all but ignored by her mother and hated by Patsy. Eddy’s mother was and is, well, her mother.

In the first of three 20th anniversary specials (airing Sunday, January 8th @ 10:00 p.m. EST/PST on BBC America), there’s a homecoming for one of them who’s been ‘away’ for quite some time. She arrives at the Edina Monsoon’s household with a new - slightly scary - best friend. Her presence could be either a blessing or a disaster, raising questions of identity that could even involve a certain person owning up to her real age ... if she can remember it. Warning: A Royal Wedding is re-enacted by Bubble.

Ahead of the anniversary special, nurse that New Year hangover with Britain’s most fabulous authorities on drinking in this all-day marathon of Absolutely Fabulous. The marathon features every episode, every hilarious moment and everything fabulous. Absolutely Fabulous marathon airs Sunday, January 1st from 7:20am to Monday, January 2nd 6:00am ET/PT on BBC AMERICA.

As noted above, photo by Jay Brooks and copyright of the BBC, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

This Week On Primeval (BBC America) - 12 - 17 - 11

Primeval's Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts). Photo copyright of Impossible Pictures.

SPOILER ALERT!! - The team is at a loss. Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts) has disappeared through Philip’s (Alexander Siddig) anomaly, and Matt (Ciaran McMenamin) thinks that his mission is over – Philip has won, and seemingly, nothing has gone wrong. Matt has a decision to make about what to do next – and jumps through the anomaly to save Connor. Season 5 - Episode Six airs Saturday, December 17th @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on BBC America.

Matt (Ciaran McMenamin). Photo copyright of Impossible Pictures.

Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts) and Abby (Hannah Spearritt) on the run! Photo copyright of Impossible Pictures.

As noted above, photos copyright of Impossible Pictures, so please no unuthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!