From the SyFy Portal
It's only been a week since Robert Hewitt Wolfe announced that he had been let go from "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda" after developing the syndicated series for television.
Series co-producer Ethlie Ann Vare recently told Michael Hinman of SyFy Portal just how difficult it's been to deal with the show since Wolfe's departure last September.
"I talk to Robert, and his wife Celeste, frequently as they are wonderful people whom I consider friends," Vare said, noting that she has heard some of the concerns about "Andromeda" maintaining its stability. "They're valid concerns, but I hope not accurate predictions. Instability within the writing staff is the surest way for a show to lose its internal logic and story integrity and devolve into that brownish-greyish mess you get when you miss all your waterpaints together.
The last episode Wolfe wrote was "Ouroboros," which is scheduled to air in February. He did write "Dance of the Mayflies" as well, but Vare said that the episode was written "significantly" following his departure.
"Celeste Chan Wolfe's name is on 'In Heaven Now Are Three,' but that also was extensively rewritten. Robert was heavily involved in developing 'Immaculate Perception' and 'Lava and Rockets.' Past that, his influence tapers off to the-staff-tries-to-channel-Robert levels."
Wolfe isn't the only one who is absent from the sets as of late. Majel Barrett Roddenberry, widow of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, maintains a very limited role on the show, despite carrying executive producer credit.
"Majel hasn't been very actively involved in 'Andromeda,' although she receives all the scripts and her feedback is always welcome," Vare said. "I think she's been one, happy with what she's seen, and two, busy developing other projects."
Kevin Sorbo, who plays Dylan Hunt in the series, recently commented in SFX Magazine about how much the show has been able to pull off despite having significantly less of a budget than rival shows like UPN's "Enterprise." Vare said that magic actually begins with the writing staff.
"We're always rewriting for budget constraints, that's the main talent a TV writer brings to the table," Vare said. "Procution's constantly calling to say take Harper out of this scene or turn two guest actors into one guest actor, or that scene you wanted to set on the planet now has to take place on the Eureka Maru."
One such instance was the episode "It Makes A Lovely Light."
"What makes it fun is to turn it into a challenge," she said. That episode "was my response to: 'We're out of money. You have to write a show that uses only our standing sets and only our ensemble players. No stunts, and no new opticals.' You try it.
"So what I thought of was our miles and miles of corridor, and the idea of Beka (Lisa Ryder) and Dylan playing cat and mouse in them, which led me to getting Beka loaded on flash. And in the end, they never did play hide-and-seek in the corridors, but I think it came out really well, don't you?"
Vare said that the writing staff and producers are more interactive with fans than nearly any other show on television, spending a lot of their time on SlipstreamBBS.com, an independent site out of Europe. And fans do continue to play an important role in the show, she said.
"I have no idea how much Tribune or Fireworks listens to the fans," she said. "I do know that we, as a writing staff, are acutely aware of (the fans) opinions. The thing is, those opinions are as diverse as the audience is. To adjust the show based on fan agendas, it would have to become: More action oriented/more character oriented; more about Dylan/less about Dylan; all CGI space battles/shot on location; full of guest actors from Star Trek/full of guest actors from Hercules. The mind reels."
But with positive fan feedback comes the negative. Like the recent loss of Trance's (Laura Bertram) tail.
"Executives at both Tribune and Fireworks felt that the tail wasn't executed well, and that it's better not to do it at all then to do it poorly," Vare said. "They have a point, actually, although personally, I would have opted for spending more time, attention and money on the execution. Yes, there has been an outcry from some fans, and no, I don't think it will make a difference."
Vare said she encouraged fans to continue voicing their opinions through postcards to Tribune Entertainment or Fireworks, or also to their local affiliates that carry the show in its first-run syndication.
Fans aren't the only ones critical about the writing. Responding to Wolfe's departure from the show, Sorbo mentioned how he felt audiences were having a hard time grasping too intelligent storylines. Vare said she doesn't see the level of stories creating problems with audiences.
"I think genre audiences in particular are smart and sophisticated," she said. "I can see where Kevin worries that first time or casual viewers might feel intimidated by the depth of 'Andromeda's' universe. But it doesn't take long to catch up, and it's worth it. Science fiction simply requires more backstory: 'NYPD Blue' doesn't have to explain how a squad car operates, or what racial discrimination is ... it's a given. Nothing in 'Andromeda' is a given.
"We've made huge strides on the production side this season. Costumes, sets, location work, opticals -- everything came up a lot. Just look at, say, "All Too Human" as compared to almost anything from Season 1. It's a logarithmic leap. At the same time, there was a bit of a leadership gap with Robert Hewitt Wolfe was asked to leave at around Episode 13. So the later shows may suffer somewhat. I'll let you know when I see the final cuts."
Vare and the "Andromeda" crew currently are filming "Immaculate Perception," which were written by Matt Keine and Joe Reinkemeyer that focuses on Tyr Anasazi (Keith Hamilton Cobb). Following that episode, "The Things We Cannot Changed" -- written by Vare -- goes in front of the cameras before "The Tunnel at the End of the Light," which will be the show's second season finale.
Vare said filming should be wrapped by Christmas. And while this season has seen guest appearances by people like William T. Davis (Cigarette Smoking Man, "The X-Files,"), it looks like one prominent appearance by "Farscape's" Virginia Hey (Zhaan) won't be happening.
"We wanted Virginia Hey to play the role of Uxulta in 'The Fair Unknown,' which didn't work out due to scheduling, and then we tried to get her for Margo in "Be All My Sins Remembered," which I think didn't work out because we needed a Canadian," Vare said. "Virginia's a terrific actress, and I certainly hope that we find a role for her in the future."
As Vare prepares to enter the hiatus, she has released a new book, "Patently Female," written with Grey Ptacek. The book is a sequel to the duo's 1988 work, "Mothers of Invention." This new book examines the lives of female inventors throughout history, and how their ideas often were attributed to men.
The book can be found at Vare's official site, www.ethlieannvare.com, or at Amazon.com. It currently retails online for $17.46.
It's only been a week since Robert Hewitt Wolfe announced that he had been let go from "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda" after developing the syndicated series for television.
Series co-producer Ethlie Ann Vare recently told Michael Hinman of SyFy Portal just how difficult it's been to deal with the show since Wolfe's departure last September.
"I talk to Robert, and his wife Celeste, frequently as they are wonderful people whom I consider friends," Vare said, noting that she has heard some of the concerns about "Andromeda" maintaining its stability. "They're valid concerns, but I hope not accurate predictions. Instability within the writing staff is the surest way for a show to lose its internal logic and story integrity and devolve into that brownish-greyish mess you get when you miss all your waterpaints together.
The last episode Wolfe wrote was "Ouroboros," which is scheduled to air in February. He did write "Dance of the Mayflies" as well, but Vare said that the episode was written "significantly" following his departure.
"Celeste Chan Wolfe's name is on 'In Heaven Now Are Three,' but that also was extensively rewritten. Robert was heavily involved in developing 'Immaculate Perception' and 'Lava and Rockets.' Past that, his influence tapers off to the-staff-tries-to-channel-Robert levels."
Wolfe isn't the only one who is absent from the sets as of late. Majel Barrett Roddenberry, widow of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, maintains a very limited role on the show, despite carrying executive producer credit.
"Majel hasn't been very actively involved in 'Andromeda,' although she receives all the scripts and her feedback is always welcome," Vare said. "I think she's been one, happy with what she's seen, and two, busy developing other projects."
Kevin Sorbo, who plays Dylan Hunt in the series, recently commented in SFX Magazine about how much the show has been able to pull off despite having significantly less of a budget than rival shows like UPN's "Enterprise." Vare said that magic actually begins with the writing staff.
"We're always rewriting for budget constraints, that's the main talent a TV writer brings to the table," Vare said. "Procution's constantly calling to say take Harper out of this scene or turn two guest actors into one guest actor, or that scene you wanted to set on the planet now has to take place on the Eureka Maru."
One such instance was the episode "It Makes A Lovely Light."
"What makes it fun is to turn it into a challenge," she said. That episode "was my response to: 'We're out of money. You have to write a show that uses only our standing sets and only our ensemble players. No stunts, and no new opticals.' You try it.
"So what I thought of was our miles and miles of corridor, and the idea of Beka (Lisa Ryder) and Dylan playing cat and mouse in them, which led me to getting Beka loaded on flash. And in the end, they never did play hide-and-seek in the corridors, but I think it came out really well, don't you?"
Vare said that the writing staff and producers are more interactive with fans than nearly any other show on television, spending a lot of their time on SlipstreamBBS.com, an independent site out of Europe. And fans do continue to play an important role in the show, she said.
"I have no idea how much Tribune or Fireworks listens to the fans," she said. "I do know that we, as a writing staff, are acutely aware of (the fans) opinions. The thing is, those opinions are as diverse as the audience is. To adjust the show based on fan agendas, it would have to become: More action oriented/more character oriented; more about Dylan/less about Dylan; all CGI space battles/shot on location; full of guest actors from Star Trek/full of guest actors from Hercules. The mind reels."
But with positive fan feedback comes the negative. Like the recent loss of Trance's (Laura Bertram) tail.
"Executives at both Tribune and Fireworks felt that the tail wasn't executed well, and that it's better not to do it at all then to do it poorly," Vare said. "They have a point, actually, although personally, I would have opted for spending more time, attention and money on the execution. Yes, there has been an outcry from some fans, and no, I don't think it will make a difference."
Vare said she encouraged fans to continue voicing their opinions through postcards to Tribune Entertainment or Fireworks, or also to their local affiliates that carry the show in its first-run syndication.
Fans aren't the only ones critical about the writing. Responding to Wolfe's departure from the show, Sorbo mentioned how he felt audiences were having a hard time grasping too intelligent storylines. Vare said she doesn't see the level of stories creating problems with audiences.
"I think genre audiences in particular are smart and sophisticated," she said. "I can see where Kevin worries that first time or casual viewers might feel intimidated by the depth of 'Andromeda's' universe. But it doesn't take long to catch up, and it's worth it. Science fiction simply requires more backstory: 'NYPD Blue' doesn't have to explain how a squad car operates, or what racial discrimination is ... it's a given. Nothing in 'Andromeda' is a given.
"We've made huge strides on the production side this season. Costumes, sets, location work, opticals -- everything came up a lot. Just look at, say, "All Too Human" as compared to almost anything from Season 1. It's a logarithmic leap. At the same time, there was a bit of a leadership gap with Robert Hewitt Wolfe was asked to leave at around Episode 13. So the later shows may suffer somewhat. I'll let you know when I see the final cuts."
Vare and the "Andromeda" crew currently are filming "Immaculate Perception," which were written by Matt Keine and Joe Reinkemeyer that focuses on Tyr Anasazi (Keith Hamilton Cobb). Following that episode, "The Things We Cannot Changed" -- written by Vare -- goes in front of the cameras before "The Tunnel at the End of the Light," which will be the show's second season finale.
Vare said filming should be wrapped by Christmas. And while this season has seen guest appearances by people like William T. Davis (Cigarette Smoking Man, "The X-Files,"), it looks like one prominent appearance by "Farscape's" Virginia Hey (Zhaan) won't be happening.
"We wanted Virginia Hey to play the role of Uxulta in 'The Fair Unknown,' which didn't work out due to scheduling, and then we tried to get her for Margo in "Be All My Sins Remembered," which I think didn't work out because we needed a Canadian," Vare said. "Virginia's a terrific actress, and I certainly hope that we find a role for her in the future."
As Vare prepares to enter the hiatus, she has released a new book, "Patently Female," written with Grey Ptacek. The book is a sequel to the duo's 1988 work, "Mothers of Invention." This new book examines the lives of female inventors throughout history, and how their ideas often were attributed to men.
The book can be found at Vare's official site, www.ethlieannvare.com, or at Amazon.com. It currently retails online for $17.46.