Anita La Selva (ex-Zo'or) is no longer a part of Tribune Entertainment's syndicated series "Earth: Final Conflict," so she used some of her free time to talk to Xpose Magazine about her days as the Taelon leader, what it was like to leave, and if there would be a future for alien fans loved to hate.
"This year wasn't as good as Season 3," La Selva told the magazine about her character's final season. "In Season 3, they built up the character so well and wrote him so well. I felt that was really my year as a character. But in Season 4, the writers decided to take my character in a different direction and I was playing the 'mad emperor' character, or "Caligula," as a lot of people put it.
"I think they took Zo'or a step backwards this season. Some of the scenes were interesting, but I think doing the 'mad emperor' thing for a whole season made him more of a two-dimensional villain as opposed to a three-dimensional character who did villainous acts byt had a history which explained why he did them. This year, I felt they didn't give any rhyme or reason. I'd get script and I'd go, 'Oh, I'm just being an asshole dictator here. Okay!"
La Selva said that the Season 4 finale, "Point of No Return" was a "pithy" end for her character.
"I would have preferred to have seen a flashier end. I would have liked a Gladiator-style demise or some great big cosmic explosion," she said.
The actress has portrayed Zo'or since partway through the first season, and said that now the show is no longer a part of her daily routine, she is still not sure how to feel. But the fact of the matter was, the writers left little for her La Selva's character to do in the fifth season.
"I feel they really painted Zo'or into a corner in Season 4, and if he were to come back full-time for Season 5, I don't know if they have the ability or the desire to get him out of it," she said. "I also think Leni (Parker, who portrayed Da'an) and I both feel the makeup has become very difficult after four seasons. Getting up at 3:30 in the morning for a three-hour makeup has really taken a toll on us."
La Selva thinks back to the third season of EFC, where she felt her character had his best growth.
"Had we had four years of what we had in Season 3, I think the show would be brilliant," she said. "Unfortunately, the show went through too many changes of command and who was writing for it. I think the concept and the arc of the entire series got changed so many times that it didn't do the series as much justice as it could have.
"In the first season and the third season, for instance, the producers were very hands-on. David Kirschner and Paul Gertz were there all the time. In the second and fourth, they weren't there as much and I think it showed. I found that when we veered away from David Kirschner's original concept, the show was not as good."
La Selva is said to be making at least one appearance in the fifth season, touted to be the show's last, but the actress said she isn't sure how exactly she's going to be worked into the script.
"If they were to bring me back as the essence of Zo'or for a few episodes, or as a humanized Zo'or, I would be very interested in that because it puts a different spin on my character. We'll see what happens.
"It's been an extraordinary ride, it really has. Considering I was an actor who only wanted to do Shakespeare and old classical theater from the past, spending four years in a bald head playing an alien in the future has definitely stretched my perspective. I've learned so much fro being on a series for four years. I've learned a lot about the business and about working with different people and different scripts.
"It's been a great pleasure to play a character like Zo'or. He's a great character and it's just been an extremely invaluable expeirence. And it's nice ot be part of the whole Gene Roddenberry dynasty in some way. I'm very happy that I did the show for four years."
"This year wasn't as good as Season 3," La Selva told the magazine about her character's final season. "In Season 3, they built up the character so well and wrote him so well. I felt that was really my year as a character. But in Season 4, the writers decided to take my character in a different direction and I was playing the 'mad emperor' character, or "Caligula," as a lot of people put it.
"I think they took Zo'or a step backwards this season. Some of the scenes were interesting, but I think doing the 'mad emperor' thing for a whole season made him more of a two-dimensional villain as opposed to a three-dimensional character who did villainous acts byt had a history which explained why he did them. This year, I felt they didn't give any rhyme or reason. I'd get script and I'd go, 'Oh, I'm just being an asshole dictator here. Okay!"
La Selva said that the Season 4 finale, "Point of No Return" was a "pithy" end for her character.
"I would have preferred to have seen a flashier end. I would have liked a Gladiator-style demise or some great big cosmic explosion," she said.
The actress has portrayed Zo'or since partway through the first season, and said that now the show is no longer a part of her daily routine, she is still not sure how to feel. But the fact of the matter was, the writers left little for her La Selva's character to do in the fifth season.
"I feel they really painted Zo'or into a corner in Season 4, and if he were to come back full-time for Season 5, I don't know if they have the ability or the desire to get him out of it," she said. "I also think Leni (Parker, who portrayed Da'an) and I both feel the makeup has become very difficult after four seasons. Getting up at 3:30 in the morning for a three-hour makeup has really taken a toll on us."
La Selva thinks back to the third season of EFC, where she felt her character had his best growth.
"Had we had four years of what we had in Season 3, I think the show would be brilliant," she said. "Unfortunately, the show went through too many changes of command and who was writing for it. I think the concept and the arc of the entire series got changed so many times that it didn't do the series as much justice as it could have.
"In the first season and the third season, for instance, the producers were very hands-on. David Kirschner and Paul Gertz were there all the time. In the second and fourth, they weren't there as much and I think it showed. I found that when we veered away from David Kirschner's original concept, the show was not as good."
La Selva is said to be making at least one appearance in the fifth season, touted to be the show's last, but the actress said she isn't sure how exactly she's going to be worked into the script.
"If they were to bring me back as the essence of Zo'or for a few episodes, or as a humanized Zo'or, I would be very interested in that because it puts a different spin on my character. We'll see what happens.
"It's been an extraordinary ride, it really has. Considering I was an actor who only wanted to do Shakespeare and old classical theater from the past, spending four years in a bald head playing an alien in the future has definitely stretched my perspective. I've learned so much fro being on a series for four years. I've learned a lot about the business and about working with different people and different scripts.
"It's been a great pleasure to play a character like Zo'or. He's a great character and it's just been an extremely invaluable expeirence. And it's nice ot be part of the whole Gene Roddenberry dynasty in some way. I'm very happy that I did the show for four years."
