Farscape's Richard Manning & Andrew Prowse
Moderator: We're now moderated.
Moderator: Do NOT panic.
Moderator: We're about to start our chat with Richard
Manning and Andrew Prowse of Farscape.
Moderator: If you have a question for our guests, send
them to me as a private message.
Ricky: G'day, all!
Moderator: Greetings 'Scapers! Welcome to our first of
four fabulous Farscape chats. Tonight we're pleased to welcome two
unsung heros of Farscape.
Moderator: Hi Ricky!
Moderator: Here's some info about our guests:
Moderator: Richard Manning has penned That Old Black
Magic, Throne For A Loss and tomorrow night's eagerly anticipated new
episode, Nerve. Richard has also been creative consultant and, if I'm
not mistaken, is now handling co-executive producer duties too. Exec
Producer David Kemper has called Richard "the man who knows more
than anyone else about the Farscape universe." Tonight we'll find
out if that's true.
Moderator: Along side Richard is Andrew Prowse, the
director responsible for helming the premiere episode, DNA Mad
Scientist, Rhapsody in Blue and the as-yet unseen episode 21, Bone To Be
Wild. Andrew has overseen the dis-arming of Pilot, the emotional
breakdown of Zhaan and the Farscape debut of Mrs. Ben Browder.
Moderator: I hope I got all that right.
Moderator: Welcome gentlemen! Any opening remarks
before we start sending questions?
Ricky: I want a raise.
Andrew: I'm just waiting to get
paid
Moderator: I'm doing this as the community-service
portion of my sentence.
Moderator: let's have a question:
Moderator: <truthseekr> to <Moderator>:
Tell us a little about your Non-farscape Background.
Andrew: There was no life before
Farscape.
Ricky: I've written for
ST:NextGen, Fame, TekWar, Beyond Reality (that thing SciFi Channel's
been running for half a century now)...
Andrew: Yawn, here comes the
whole CV
Ricky: What's a CV?
Andrew: a small citroen
Ricky: I was hit by one of those
once and had to get it removed <rimshot>
Ricky: I see a few names I
recognize...
Ricky: Kieriahn, JaneGael -- love
your netsites
Ricky: Andrew's just passed
out.
Moderator: seems like time for another question
Moderator: <Enigmatic-Scully> to
<Moderator>: What is your favorite aspect of the upcoming
episodes?
Ricky: The variety. We've got
all kind o' things in store.
Ricky: Characters will go through
MANY changes.
Ricky: Some fun new folks will
appear.
Ricky: Some old favorites will
reappear.
Ricky: And maybe Andrew will even
show up again.
Ricky: Andrew?
Ricky: Wake up.
Andrew: They're huge and they'll
blow you away.
Ricky: He's an Aussie. Lord, can
they drink.
Moderator: <Koba> to <Moderator>: Are all
of the PK's as insanely obsessive as Crais is, or are we going to see a
different side of them?
Ricky: What ARE you talking
about, Andrew?
Andrew: Yes we're going to see
the pink side of them
Ricky: If you think Crais is
obsessive, wait 'til you meet the new guy.
Andrew: The obsession comes from
Ricky.
Ricky: BTW, Mr. Ben "Boom
Boom" Browder has just entered the lovely Writers' Suite here in
Sydney and is staring over my shoulder.
Moderator: <OboeCrazy> to <Moderator>: My
question is for Mr. Prowse...are there any technical considerations when
it comes to choosing what color and alien will be? I know there's been
some confusion with Chiana's color...any colors you have to avoid?
Ricky: Ben says hi to the whole
lot of you.
Moderator: pre-emptively, let's just go ahead and say
everyone said "hi" back without everyone actually saying
"hi"...
Andrew: we avoid black aliens and
digital green and are working on invisible ones
Moderator: yup
Andrew: chiana is grey
G-R-E-Y
Ricky: Chiana's GRAY! Not GREY!
Not BLUE!
Andrew: not blue
Ricky: As I said, Andrew's an
Aussie.
Moderator: everyone at home, please adjust your sets
accordingly tomorrow night.
Moderator: <JTMarechal> to <Moderator>: Mr.
Manning, if you know "everything" about the Farscape universe,
what DID Aeryn say to Jack Crichton in "Human Reaction"?
Inquiring minds want to know! :-)
Ricky: "Gneep n'watzi glros
wlk8 q8hbaisug bvbasoiud."
Ricky: Or words to that
effect.
Moderator: <PhantomComputer> to
<Moderator>: To both of our guests... Were any of your favorite
scenes in Farscape cut from the final version?
Andrew: he's a writer!!
Ricky: Virginia Hey is now
looking over Ben's AND my shoulder.
Ricky: All of them.
Ricky: Well, there's usually a
couple things in each ep that unfortunately hit the cutting room floor
because of time...
Ricky: Andrew and I had a lovely
D'Argo/Chiana moment in season 2 ep 2... poof.
Moderator: (everyone says hi to Virginia)
Andrew: yu should have seen the
feature length version of DNA MAd Scientist
Moderator: <ceallaig> to <Moderator>:
Gentlemen, thank you both for joining us tonight. My question is for
Mr. Manning. You wrote the Trek ep, WHO WATCHES THE WATCHERS, one of my
favorites, by the way. You also wrote the FS ep THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC.
Both eps have a character named Liko. Is there significance in this
name, or was it coincidence?
Ricky: Naturally, we usually have
to cut around a lot of Andrew's stuff...
Ricky: Wondered if anyone would
catch that! Congrats.
Andrew: he has a limited
vocabulary!!
Ricky: No real significance to
"Liko" as such, other than...
Ricky: ...thinking up alien names
takes FOREVER!
Andrew: ..as with the rest of the
script!
Ricky: So now and then it's
easier to recycle.
Moderator: <JaneGael> to <Moderator>: Mr.
Prowse, thank you for directing the premier episode, which got me hooked
on Farscape. Are you by any chance related to David Prowse, who played
Darth Vader?
Andrew: and it's environmentally
conscious
Andrew: that was my
pseudonym
Ricky: That's nonsense. Andrew's
taller.
Ricky: And nearly as cute.
Andrew: .. and i'm related to
juliet who had great legs.
Andrew: and i'm working on my
voice.
Moderator: <Kieriahn> to <Moderator>:
Question: Will we be able to look forward to multi-part episodes in
season two?
Andrew: why not!
Ricky: Who are we to stop
you?
Ricky: Actually, the next four
eps Plus the first two eps of season 2 do form something of an
"arc" --
Ricky: -- not a Bab 5-type arc,
but they do (we hope) Progress...
Moderator: you heard it here first -- the "four
episode arc" is really a SIX episode arc!
Moderator: <SciFiScribe> to <Moderator>:
Mr. Manning, We've noticed that often plot elements are introduced whose
significance may only be revealed until many episodes later. How far in
advance are the story lines established and who does that?
Ricky: Stuff that's set up in
"Nerve" pays off several eps later.
Ricky: In our heads, we know
every moment of every episode through Season Twelve.
Ricky: No, I'm lying.
Andrew: we're still not sure of
the storyline in rhapsody in blue
Andrew: the storylines are
established well in advance and then changed completely before, during
and after shooting
Ricky: We (the writers) block out
general storylines in advance, under the guidance of the Farscape Gods
(Rock O'Bannon and David Kemper, two swell guys to work for -- NOW can I
have my raise?)...
Andrew: Now I know how you got
your job!!
Ricky: Let me demonstrate a
"Hollywood Kiss"...
Ricky: Was it good for you
too?
Andrew: It was too much ..
Moderator: <great-lakes> to <Moderator>:
"Through The Looking Glass" was one of the most beautiful
episodes of season 1. What was the motivation behind the different
color sections of the ship as well as the sight, sound and smell
effects?
Ricky: David Kemper wrote it and
Ian Watson directed it...
Ricky: Neither's here, so we're
dodging the question.
Moderator: (if you have a question for the guests --
and god help you if you do -- submit it to Moderator as a private
message)
Moderator: <JTMarechal> to <Moderator>: Do
we need an agent to submit a Farscape script? Or is there a slush pile?
And if so, what's the address?
Ricky: Ben says that David wanted
to see Rygel stoned, so he came up with an excuse to make it
happen.
Andrew: We had to work out a
visual way of representing dimensional dislocation.
Ricky: Alas, no slush pile at the
moment... all our Season 2 slots are accounted for, so at present we're
not looking at any outside scripts... so sorry.
Ricky: (There's no slash pile
either.)
Moderator: <dejoux10> to <Moderator>:
Andrew: Could you describe the working atmosphere on set?
Ricky: The atmosphere on Andrew's
set is about the only thing that DOES work.
Andrew: Seriously, it's fun,
energised, hot
Andrew: We are NOT discussing air
conditioning.
Andrew: The atmosphere is as
dynamic and positive and creative as any show I've ever worked
on.
Moderator: well, Ricky, since you brought up
"slash..."
Moderator: <dw-mckim> to <Moderator>: Most
people here are, i'm sure, aware that the writers can't read fanfic -
but i was wondering if you had any opinions/thoughts on the sudden surge
in popularity of Farscape "slash" fanfic?
Ricky: (You'll note he never told
us what other shows he HAS worked on...)
Ricky: I think the word
"surge" is quite well chosen...
Ricky: I don't quite know what to
make of slash, but I have nothing against it either.
Andrew: i like the word
"sudden"
Ricky: The Crichton/Rygel stuff,
I will admit, makes me all tingly.
Ricky: There's just something
about a Hynerian.
Moderator: <starcrossedvagabond> to
<Moderator>: for the director - do you find it difficult to direct
man (actor) and machine (animatronics) at the same time?
Ricky: I'm waiting for the next
chapter, where Crichton gets a Hynerial disease.
Andrew: No, the machines' brains
work a lot faster
Andrew: whoops, sorry ben,
thought you'd gone.
Andrew: after a while you stop
thinking about animatronic characters as machines, and they become just
part of the cast
Moderator: <valleyofstags> to <Moderator>:
Mr. Manning - Who is the easiest character to write and who it the
hardest?
Ricky: Depends on what the
character's doing at any given time.
Ricky: They're all great
fun.
Moderator: <Gmmas> to <Moderator>: Andrew:
can you tell us any good stories about directing DNAMS, about Namtar,
dearming Pilot, or the food cubes?
Ricky: It's always a great thrill
when the actors improve your words, and that happens all the time on
Farscape.
Ricky: ga
Andrew: I don't think anybody has
walked on stilts like that before on film and it damn nearly killed
him.
Andrew: De-arming Pilot created a
huge debate amongst us as well.
Ricky: Ben says bye; he's being
called back to the set (lunch break's over)...
Moderator: (everybody waves bye-bye to Ben)
Andrew: Namtar - tried really
hard to make him real, likable, as human as we could
Andrew: GA
Moderator: <fairy74> to <Moderator>: Hi!
Are we going to be seeing any new permanant or semi-permanant character
in the second season?
Ricky: Yes.
Ricky: You REALLY don't want me
to tell you more, do you?
Moderator: a little?
Ricky: We'd have to Spoiler
Warning the entire chat.
Moderator: ok, riddle me this: will we ever see
another Luxan, one without a big giant head?
Ricky: You're gonna see a new
face tomorrow night on "Nerve"...
Ricky: And you WILL see another
Luxan...
Andrew: how many do you
want??
Moderator: <Releven> to <Moderator>: Are we
going to see another Pilot?
Ricky: What would we do with
another Pilot?
Ricky: We've already got
one!
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <truthseekr> to <Moderator>:
You've scripted some of Farscape's finest bad guys (the stimulant
enhanced Tavleks, the mono-maniac Crais), what experience or research
goes into creating a truly EVIL BAD GUY?
Andrew: how many pilots does it
take to fly a leviathan?
Ricky: I'm so glad you asked me
that. (twirls mustache)
Ricky: The research is grueling,
but it's the sacrifice I make.
Andrew: his therapy bills are
enornmous!
Ricky: And I didn't think the
Tavleks were really BAD guys... did you?
Ricky: And Crais is a sweetie at
heart.
Ricky: If he could just get over
the dead brother thing, he just might turn out to be a decent
bloke.
Ricky: Albeit a decent
Peacekeeper bloke.
Ricky: ga
Moderator: in answer to "what would we do with
another pilot," a lot of people are saying:
Moderator: <PhantomComputer> to
<Moderator>: But won't Moya's baby need a pilot???
Moderator: <TracicarT> to <Moderator>: For
both - how do you like working on the new sound stage? Is it an
improvement over the old digs (and no matter what anyone says, I still
think of the DRD's as "Droids" <evilgrin>)?
Moderator: ooops, let's take those one at a time...
Andrew: i thought we'd skated
over that one ..
Ricky: An excellent question.
I'm thrilled to be asked such a percepting and penetrating question. It
shows a keen mind.
Ricky: Next question.
Andrew: in order - pass, no and
so what
Moderator: ok, take 2: <TracicarT> to
<Moderator>: For both - how do you like working on the new sound
stage? Is it an improvement over the old digs (and no matter what
anyone says, I still think of the DRD's as "Droids"
<evilgrin>)?
Ricky: Oh, all right. Ponder
this, though: who "designed" Moya's baby?
Moderator: (doh! premature again!)
Ricky: Re new stages... we're
right near the Sydney Olympics site, which is handy.
Andrew: the new sound stage has
one great advantage - space.
Ricky: We've been able to stretch
out a bit.
Andrew: we're building bigger
sets
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <iseolt> to <Moderator>: Mr.
Prowse - Welcome - and since the two of you seem to be enjoying
yourselves and bantering back and forth - have you had trouble directing
anything Mr. Manning has written??? :-)
Ricky: Everything.
Andrew: that was my
line!!!
Andrew: i've just directed my
first episode written by mr manning and i'd have to say that h's the
most brilliant writer in the room
Ricky: He does have to say
that.
Andrew: we had a great time doing
that ep.
Ricky: Andrew and I never worked
"directly" together in season 1;
Ricky: Not by design, just luck
of the draw.
Andrew: .. however we frequently
met and trashed everybody else's work
Andrew: :-)
Ricky: It was great to trash each
other's work directly in season 2.
Ricky: ga
Moderator: We've been going for about an hour -- can
either of you stick around and field a few more questions?
Ricky: I'd rather do this than
work.
Andrew: sure
Moderator: super!
Moderator: <Korban> to <Moderator>: What
are your favorite FarScape episodes you did *not* direct/write?
Moderator: (if you have a question, submit it as a
private message to me by double-clicking Moderator in the names list)
Andrew: good question!
Andrew: Thank God it's Friday,
Human Reaction, and the 4 you're about to see
Ricky: I'm still
pondering...
Moderator: <grf> to <Moderator>: What can
you tell us about the new producer and graphics supplier?
Ricky: Durka Returns was fun
'cause it brought us Chiana...
Ricky: ...Premiere, of course,
'cause that's where it all started...
Ricky: The new CGI I've seen so
far is terrific...
Andrew: new producer is strong,
positive and very supportive. now can i get paid??
Andrew: the new effects house are
settling in incredibly well and i don't think you'll be able to tell the
difference from the 1st series
Moderator: one for the 'shippers:
Moderator: <BrownEyedGirl> to <Moderator>:
you probably got asked this already but whatever.............Will we see
more going on with the John and Aeryn relationship?
Ricky: Sue Milliken, our new
producer, has been discovering what a GIGANTIC enterprise (no pun
intended) a sci-fi series is...
Andrew: is there something going
on???
Andrew: i think it's as
inevitable as the sun coming up tomorrow
Ricky: I'm not going to touch
THAT straight line...
Ricky: Definitely, you will see
More Relationships developing aboard Moya...
Ricky: (But no slash,
sorry.)
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <RygeltheFirst> to <Moderator>:
For Mr. Manning: "Froonium" has shown up more than once in
shows that you write for. Do you hold the exclusive rights??
Ricky: (laughing) I'm amazed you
caught THAT.
Ricky: BUT you haven't heard it
on Farscape...
Ricky: ...yet.
Ricky: It was something Hans
Beimler and I always used as a generic term on Next Gen when discussing
technobabble --
Ricky: "okay, the
communicators don't work on this planet because of the high froonium
level in the rocks..."
Ricky: But I don't think we ever
DID get it into a Next Gen ep.
Ricky: So I've been making up for
it ever since.
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <Gmmas> to <Moderator>: Andrew:
so how was it working with Ben's wife in episode 21? Did Ben have advice
for you? (or did she have advice about Ben?)
Andrew: Ben has left the room so
i can be completely frank.
Andrew: She is a superb actor in
her own right and I think you'll be stunned by the performance she gives
in ep 21. As far as advice goes, she and Ben used to go into a huddle
occasionally. As for her advice about Ben, no comment!!
Andrew: :-)
Moderator: <Relayer> to <Moderator>: Like
Ricky, I go ga ga over Farscape! Will we ever get to see the homeworlds
of any of the other crewmates aboard Moya?
Ricky: We don't have any
IMMEDIATE plans for that...
Andrew: Ben was extarordinarily
supportive of Fran's work and kept away - he had complete trust in her
talent.
Ricky: As you can imagine, going
to a world full of Hynerians or Delvians or Luxans would be a production
nightmare.
Ricky: Unless we said they were
all at the movies or something.
Ricky: And I don't think you
folks would let us get away with that.
Ricky: Even the Delvian bunch we
visited in "Rhapsody" took EIGHT makeup artists to
create.
Ricky: Besides, going home for
any of our characters MIGHT mean that they'd leave Moya... and you
wouldn't want that to happen, would you?
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <great-lakes> to <Moderator>:
When will we get to see Rygel swim? He is from an aquatic world?
Andrew: jan 28th - rygel gets
wet!!
Andrew: ga
Moderator: <dw-mckim> to <Moderator>:
Season 1 saw such fun explanations as translator microbes and dentics -
do we discover in Season 2 how John stays so clean shaven, tanned, and
perfectly cropped?
Andrew: the answer is
Sheldon!
Ricky: You will see the Dentics
again.
Andrew: we've thought about
having fun with malfunctions in the translator microbes
Ricky: John stays clean shaven,
of course, using Froonium Shave.
Ricky: (See how useful the word
is?)
Ricky: (Better than Spatial
Anomaly!)
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <JTMarechal> to <Moderator>:
Have either of you done a walk-on on the show?
Andrew: no i haven't done a
walk-on, but i have to walk out of the chat now!!! bye all, it was great
talking to you.
Moderator: Thanks for stopping by, Andrew.
Ricky: You remember all those
handsome hunks on Acquara in "Jeremiah Crichton"?
Andrew: Thank you everyone, and
Moderator
Ricky: Well, I wasn't one of
'em... but... but... I COULDA been!
Moderator: Ricky, can you stick around for a couple
more?
Ricky: Thanks, Andrew, and get
back to work!
Andrew: see you all later
Ricky: I'm in.
Ricky: Now we can talk about
Andrew.
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <Casila> to <Moderator>: Hi!!
Glad youre here!! :) Just wanted to know...what do you say about all the
critism Chiana recieves?--i personally love the character, i think shes
great! :)
Ricky: I think she's great,
too.
Ricky: The character definitely
takes a little getting used to.
Ricky: But you'll see some of her
more outrageous traits changing as she spends more time with our Moya
crew.
Ricky: (One of our Moya crew in
particular...)
Ricky: (Note I said
"changing", not "improving"...)
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <PhantomComputer> to
<Moderator>: Will we ever see a "holiday" episode on
Farscape? Holidays, such as Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving... Maybe
even Arbor Day :-)
Ricky: Anzac Day!
Moderator: (if you have a question for Ricky, send it
to me as a private message)
Ricky: And I don't even know what
that is.
Ricky: Ben Browder has suggested
we do an ep where John attempts to set up a little Christmas
celebration
Ricky: which, natch, makes no
sense to the others...
Ricky: Crichton realizes that
he's completely lost track of what "day" it's supposed to
be...
Ricky: ...doesn't know when to
celebrate his own birthday, etc.
Ricky: ga
Moderator: The Hynerian Who Stole Christmas?
Ricky: Sounds like a
spinoff!
Ricky: You read it here first,
folks.
Moderator: <Gmmas> to <Moderator>: Richard:
was it hard as a writer to tap into Zhaan's dark side in TOBM?
Impressive and scary, that part of her.
Ricky: It WAS hard, in a sense,
as I'm such a fan of Zhaan's character...
Ricky: When you're fond of a
character, it can take some effort to "darken" that character
(that was part of the debate we all had about the Pilot
arm-chopping)...
Ricky: But we (Virginia Hey AND
the writers) always thought of Zhaan having many, many levels.
Ricky: It's rewarding to push ALL
our characters further than you thought they might go.
Ricky: And I hope we can continue
to do so without pushing anyone completely over the edge.
Ricky: I mean, even Rygel has his
moments...
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <honk-if-you-like-farscape> to
<Moderator>: is john ever going to run out of earth clothing?
Ricky: I think that was one of
the scenes we cut out of a season 1 ep, the show where John learns to
sew his own.
Ricky: Or are you telling me
you'd LIKE to see him run out of clothing? Tsk, tsk.
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <starcrossedvagabond> to
<Moderator>: for the writer - how far in advance are episodes
written? How many revisions will one ep go through before completion?
Ricky: 1. Never far in advance
enough. 2. Several.
Ricky: No set rule...
Ricky: Some eps get written
relatively quickly, some go through more changes.
Ricky: This being television, of
course, there's NEVER enough time...
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <Gharlane> to <Moderator>: I'm
curious about the length of "post" time you guys have to get
an episode glued together for airing... is there an average number of
weeks?
Ricky: Relatively long post...
about 12 weeks all in...
Ricky: CGI is time-intensive, of
course...
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <dw-mckim> to <Moderator>: Do we
see any non-Peacekeeper Sebaceans in season 2 (or for that matter
non-Sebacean Peacekeepers?)
Ricky: Yes to the first (in a big
ep that David Kemper is writing even as I type -- get back to work,
David). A half yes to the second, and you'll understand why after
Friday night.
Ricky: ga
Moderator: <TracicarT> to <Moderator>: For
both - Since we've wrangled birthday info from most of the actors, would
you mind sharing yours (you're guaranteed an excellent BB bash in
return)?
Moderator: (do you know Andrew's birthday?)
Ricky: Actually, WE don't even
know Andrew's birthday.
Ricky: We think we have it pinned
down to the right century, but that's as close as we can go.
Ricky: Me, I'm Oct 3. (What do I
win?)
Ricky: ga
Moderator: Our final question for the evening comes
from two of our chatters:
Moderator: <Xedrethor> to <Moderator>: How
do you think the show will end (God forbid)?
Moderator: <JTMarechal> to <Moderator>: In
a few years, if you were given the job of writing the series finale, how
would you end the series?
Ricky: Oh, good, end on a REALLY
tough one!
Moderator: two tough ones, actually. :)
Ricky: I don't have a quick
answer 'cause, frankly, if there's a Grand Plan for the series as a
whole, I don't know what it is.
Ricky: We're kinda letting the
characters tell US where they want to go...
Ricky: Hmmm... right now I
couldn't even tell you if I (if it were completely up to me, which
((fortunately)) it isn't) would have John get back to Earth...
Ricky: because by the time the
series ends, he MIGHT just be happier in Moya's corner of the
universe.
Ricky: I know I'M in no hurry to
leave it...
Ricky: ga
Moderator: Thanks for spending well over an hour and a
half answering questions from the fans. I know I don't have to remind
anyone, but don't forget to tune in tomorrow night at 8pm ET and PT for
an all-new Farscape episode.
Moderator: any final pre-Nerve thoughts?
Ricky: And be sure and write
Sci-Fi Channel and tell them how brilliant the writing was, so I can get
my raise.
Moderator: If you can stand the heat, we're about to
unmoderate the room.
Ricky: That's Bonnie Hammer,
Sci-Fi Channel, New York.
Ricky: (Hi, Bonnie!)
Ricky: Thanks for coming,
everybody, and enjoy the new eps!
Ricky: ga
OboeCrazy: Thank you SO much for coming!! We really
appreciate it!
Kieriahn: Thanks Ricky! Be sure to thank Andrew for
us, too!
JTMarechal: Thank you for your time and patience with
us. It was very enjoyable.
Hermione: See yah all later Take Care!
Myrl: T H A N K Y O U R I C H A R D A N D A N D
R E W F O R Y O U R T I ME ! ! !
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