Farscape ComicCon Panel – 7/18/03

• Virginia Hey
• Ricky Manning
• Ben Browder
• Jonathan Hardy
• Francesca Buller
• David Franklin
• Lani Tupu
• Wayne Pygram
  
  

Started off with Ben switching nametags.  Ricky: Didn’t we do this episode?

Introductions

Lani: Before we get started, we don’t know.

Rygel: And we’ve promised to tell hardly anyone.

Wayne: [when introduced] Regrettably, the leathers don’t fit anymore.  Anyway, I’m here.

David: Hello, I’m Virginia Hey ...

Francesca: Hello, I’m Francesca Buller, and this is what I really look like.

Jonathan: Hello, I’m Anthony Simcoe, but the washing machine wouldn’t start.

Assorted Questions

I’m suffering Farscape withdrawal ...  Ricky: How do you think we feel?  Could we hear a few lines of dialogue?  Ben: From S5?  “Hey, what the hell was that!?”  Ricky: [to Ben] You’re not going to have any lines in S5.

Did Braca have a chip in his head?  Ben: Or somewhere else.  How did you stay hidden from Grayza?  David: Because he’s a good PK, a political animal.

What’s your favorite concept for S5?  Ricky: Ice Capades.  Ben: I have a sudden image of five puppeteers sliding across the ice on their asses.

Question about the preservation of the sets and props.  Ben: The sets were due to be redone anyway, a lot of wear and tear.  The costumes and key props have been stored.  The question of bringing the show back is money and creative availability.  Ricky: Just to cover ourselves, before we left we had the CGI guys do one extra shot of Moya sinking.

Gigi said once that she’s nothing like Chiana...  Jonathan: Oh yes, she is!  How much of yourselves went into the roles you played?  Virginia: Oh, lots.  I’d been meditating for years.  I was able to feel the Priest with everything I learned about spirituality over the years.  Must be nice to have your hair back.  Virginia: Oh yes, but most of it’s extensions.  Francesca: The one I liked best was Aknol, because I really enjoyed that hit.  But things just came out.  Jonathan: Nothing in common.

Are you at all surprised by the outpouring of support?  Ben: Yeeeesssss (nodding widely).  Jonathan: It really makes the argument that you have to do something stupid to be popular.  They are talking about a sequel called “Rygel PI” in which he carries around a puppet that looks like Tom Selleck.

Couldn’t Zhaan just be hiding in the bowels of Moya?  Ricky: Zhaan the suppository?  Virginia: I would love to visit.  The makeup really took a toll.  I would love to continue visiting.  If I could be this [natural skin tone] color ... (pinching her cheek) underneath it’s blue.  Wayne: The day we lost Zhaan was the beginning of the end.  The day we lost Virginia, we lost the balance.  If you play with the baby, the baby might not be running quite as well in the future.  Ben: Didn’t Lani say it was when we lost Crais?  Lani: Nah, if Virginia comes back I’m going to have her hair, and I’m going to be blond (Virginia ran over and draped her hair across Lani’s head).

A hero is only as good as his villain, and Scorpy is one of the most scheming and duplicitous.  What is your all-time personal favorite evil moment?  Wayne: I thought in the last season I lost a bit of his power.  Maybe the last time we saw him with Sikozu on his knee ...  I watched it and thought I just killed her.  In the end, it was such a hard [scene] cut as I pulled that strap around her neck, I thought I killed her.  It was a moment achieved in the edit.  Jonathan: I’d also like to defend Scorpy.  He was just a man doing his job.  It never occurred to me once that he was anything other than a man doing his job.  And apart from Rygel, he was one of the brightest people there.

Where can I get an 8x11 of Crais in high heels?  Lani: I think that deserves a t-shirt.

In the audience, someone’s cellphone rang.  The crew explained about the Slab – anyone who makes noise on the set has to buy beer for everyone.  Then ... Lani's cellphone rang.

Are you going to all be able to come up?  Ricky: How much money have you got?  And the longer it goes, the less money it’ll be.  Ben: All of us are not going to take another job until we bring Farscape back!  You’ve still got to pay bills.  If it’s possible to get the original ST crew back together, you can get the original Farscape crew together.  It’s just a question of time and money.

Did you get to keep Wynona?  And if so, are you still obsessed with letting anyone else touch her?  Ben: Yes and yes, actually.  Don’t touch it!

What was SciFi thinking?  Ricky: You’d have to ask them.  Virginia: Let’s not point fingers.  Jonathan: Are you implying that SciFi was thinking?

John is so funny ... Was it written that way? (cut to Ricky’s face)  Ben: It was written that way.  The situation in inherently funny, if you think about it.  The writers did not shy away from the humor, the cast did not shy away, and we kept the humor.  It was a concerted effort ... even from the crew, I would canvas ideas from the crew.  Ricky: Part of it also was that we were in Australia, and the Australian sense of humor rubbed off on us.  It’s a lovely place to work, and everyone there is living life and having such a lovely time.  Jonathan: It’s important to remember that the measure of true terror is the humor that arises from it.  Part of the fleeing from horror and terror is humor.  If you deny that, then you’re simply making soap, and we don’t have soap in Australia.

Francesca, did you have the most guest-starring roles?  Were you disappointed that you never became part of the regular cast?  Fran: Minister Ahkna [from WSS] was going to come back, and that was glorious.  I thought Raxil [from SnS] was going to come back, and that would’ve been great.  Each character was so different, and that was a joy, coming in and playing different characters.

I hope that you will pass on that we missed Claudia, Gigi, Paul and the others, and that we hope to see them here next year.  I’m very confident that Stark’s effort to find Zhaan will be fruitful.  My question is about the Crais character ... do you see any possibility?  Lani: Yeah, I’m not finished.  Ricky: In 44 minutes it’s hard to service all the characters and give them something to do.  We were considering bringing back a composite called Cran.

How did you do the voice of Pilot?  Crais: I don’t know.  They gave me this role, and it was very schizophrenic.  I guess they picked the right person ...   The interesting thing was that if they called me in to do both Pilot and Crais in recording, I’d have to do Pilot first.  I’d scream as Crais so much that my voice would drop a note or two.  Jonathan: For a lot of our work, we must salute the head of ADR (Angus Robertson).  He guided and refined the vocal character.  One of the things that was hard was matching the cadences of the puppeteers, and sewing the recorded voice back into that rhythm.

Ben was trying to reach Claudia on his cellphone.  Ben: She’s [Claudia] not home, she’s out...  Jonathan: Drinking!  Gigi’s doing a show called the “Secret Life of Us”.

When they first described the role of Scorpius to you, and you saw that costume, I’m wondering if becoming a sex symbol was a happy byproduct or a conscious decision on your part.  Wayne: It was the first time I’d worn leather and latex.  You cannot help but feel a sense of, of ... I didn’t take it home on the weekend, although I did want the boots.  When I stepped into the damn costume, there was a sense of sensuality and power.  I took out one of the girls from the Creature Shop, and it wasn’t happening, and she was interested in the guy from work.  Lots of other girls at work asked about the real Wayne, but they weren’t really interested Wayne.  Ben: My experience in that costume was entirely different. (Fran made move it on motions)

Are there any plans for the cast to have another chat session, for those who couldn’t be here?  Ben: I’m not sure if that would be entirely appropriate for us to crash the SciFi server again.  But if and when we can let you know that there will be more Farscape, we’ll definitely hit the Internet.

It didn’t always give me what I wanted or expected, but it always worked.  If what we saw at the end of S4 was the end, do you think it was appropriate?  Ricky: At the Saturns, David said “What cliffhanger?”  I think it had to end there, it’s a perfectly good place, I mean, they’re together aren’t they?  They’re closer than they’ve ever been.  That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?

The writing has been of such quality, do you see any problems when they bring the show back of the writing staying at the same quality?  Ricky: Depends on who they hire.  At least we’ve had a rest this time.  That can only help, because 4 years on a show tends to take it out of all of us.  Wayne: I didn’t watch a lot of my work, but I watched a lot of eps this year.  If we get to go back, I’ll be better for it, because I’ve had a break.

The very first episode set the tone, and I was hooked “Boy did Spielberg get it wrong”.  What was it like working on the show?  Ricky: It’s like any family; you have your good days and your bad days.  Because we were a family, we could patch it up ... it was certainly one of the happiest families I’ve been associated with.  Lani: One of the memories I have from working on the show, for me it was my jazz ... where musicians know the tune so well; they don’t necessarily have to rehearse together.  It was wonderful to get on the stage for a walk-through for the director, and just go through the lines ...  Ben: For the guest cast it was a nightmare.  “If you don’t understand what we’re saying just stop us”.  We just basically talked in sign language and short cuts.  The guest actor in the costume would just say “What?”  Fran: And he’d get like that at home, too.  Ben: No, you’re like that at home (Jonathan, sitting between them, started shaking in fear).  Ben: It was a tremendous energy, and everyone who came on wanted it to work.  They understood it was like nothing that they would do again.  We had great actors and we’d invariably hear “When can we come back?”.  Wayne: Hey, I’ve still got the bruises ...  Jonathan: I think it speaks to the quality of the show that an enormous number of ranking actors in Australia wanted to be on the show, because the show had this reputation.  The only regret we had was that American actors got residuals and we don’t.  My one regret was whenever Ben invented another name for Rygel and I didn’t hear it until ADR, and it was too late to come back at him.

Crais started out as a villain, and I’ve heard a lot of actors say that they prefer villains.  He evolved into a hero, and did you like that he went out a hero?  Lani: Oh, it was a great way for him to go out.  I was very proud of that work.  My promise to myself was that he wouldn’t be a one-dimensional character.  You as an actor work on the role, the writers see what you do and put in a few more scream to torture him more ...  In terms of a hero, he was a character searching for something, and I’m not sure that he found it, but he found an honor in going out as he did with Talyn.  He never saw himself as a villain.  He was a troubled man, but a simple passionate man within that.

A thing I privately have been praying for ... if Henson said it’s coming back but it’s got to be in Hollywood, what would you do?  Ricky: Bring it on.  Jonathan: We’d stay with Ben.  Ben: Well, the payscale in Hollywood is better.  If we have to shoot in Iceland, let’s go.

Asked about his music career, Wayne said that he and Anthony are going to record sometime over the next 6 months.  They’re going to be playing gigs, and one big one where they’ll invite agents and so forth.  Jonathan: Anth is making a DVD of the film he made, and that will be available.

Ben, how did the Clone season affect your overall performance and your personal life?  Fran: It got a bit hairy, let me just say that.  Ben: It was a struggle to keep them straight.  I’m glad they had different colored t-shirts.  I had to straighten out the writers (know, know).  It was a challenge, and I was exhausted.  Jonathan: When he was doing the clone, he was notorious for sitting on the stove.  Hence, Clone on the Range.

Ben: It’s an overwhelming experience to see all of you.  I’m used to working in a room with lights and a few puppets.

Did “frell” and “dren” end up in the vocabulary when you weren’t shooting?  Ben: We preferred the other ones.  We use them [frell and dren] at home, because they’re easier on the kids.

Which was harder – the acting or the writing in GEM?  Ben: They were both difficult in different ways.  The writing is hard, especially if you’re not good with English.  The acting of your own words got strange, because you think you know them until you hear someone else say them.  I was working with Lani and Claud, and hearing them [the words] for the first time, and I was bemused.  Yes he said the words, and they were the words I wrote, but they were good!  It’s a very odd experience, and strange as hell.

What was the favorite thing you read online about Farscape?  Ben: I don’t know about written, but I saw a picture of D’Argo and Crichton in a compromising position.  The things you do with Photoshop!  Put it away and get help!  If Crichton was in that position, he wouldn’t be smiling!

Personalities Changed

• Virginia: Well, we all need psychiatric help.  You learn a lot from your character.
• Francesca: I just say that my other half is really into sprinkler systems and DIY projects.
• Lani: I didn’t really I was actually that cranky.  Ricky and David just kept writing this stuff.  Every third or fourth episode I was just screaming, but I felt good afterwards.  Thank you, Ricky.
• Wayne: It was like going to school, a good school.  I learned a lot.  I felt more equipped for the future.  We all carry something into the future from our time on Farscape.
  
  

Projects

• Ben’s working on a project for the History channel, flying off to Europe tomorrow.  It will be about Hannibal and the Roman legions.
• Jonathan played a gunrunner/antique dealer on “Stingers”.  Played a man “disappearing down the track of Alzheimer’s” in “A Tree Falling” with Greta Sacchi (jokingly, he said “she has thick ankles ... all eight of them”), which is being made into a film.  Also working on another film as King Lear (King Bart), and has to learn how to ride a horse.  “I haven’t looked at the script a great deal, which I never manage to do.  I imagine this will be my last job until we start Farscape again ... oh, but you don’t know about that.”
  

Rumors

• Ben: I saw the rumor about a movie or mini-series, and I called Brian Henson.  Brian told him to say nothing.  Since Henson re-acquired the company, they have a firm commitment to see Farscape continue.  Brian’s commitment to the show did not stop the day they stopped shooting; he’s been working to find more money and another avenue.  Farscape will return because there’s an audience that wants to see it.
• Ricky: This is as good a time as any ... for all of you who have been working to bring the show back ... applause!
  

Favorite Episodes

• Ben: WGFA (just ‘cause Ricky’s here)
• Virginia: Back and Back
• Francesca: S3, last, fabulous
• Wayne: WGFA, when I got to play the drums.  It was a great episode, and set the tempo for the future.
• Jonathan: The first one that Ben wrote, Green-Eyed Monster.  I had a great deal of fun.
• Lani: WGFA
  

Favorite Moments

• Wayne: Water-dance on the stairwell at the end of S3.
• Virginia: Moment of Unity with Crichton.  And Aeryn too ... but more potent with Crichton.
• Jonathan: The moment when Aeryn came face-to-face with the realization where she realized she’d killed the former Pilot.  I’d like to give a lot of credit to Ben Browder, who became an actor of more and more breadth.  He made the show cohesive, and seen through the eyes of John Crichton.  He was there day and night making sure the show was homogenous and cohesive.
• Ben: So when it went wrong, it was my fault.
• David: S4, when Aeryn turns up again and she’s contaminated and has to wear the suit.  Even for me, I didn’t quite know what was going on.  When it back to the relationship with Crichton, and I just got hooked on that and emotionally connected again to the show ... I was riveted, and forgot all about me.
• Lani: The end of S3, where I’m standing inside Talyn, and I say “Starburst”.  I think for me that moment ... I’ll never forget that day ... because I knew it was the end of all my work with Farscape on this wonderful character called Crais.  Those last few scenes where I explain to Aeryn and Crichton what I’m going to do.  One of the highlights for me, aside from high heels (don’t feel shy about it, that was a great moment, thank you Ricky).  There was a moment in S1, when Crais is sitting across the hall from Crichton, and for the first time you have this emotional connection between Crais and Crichton.  Our relationship up until that time had been very antagonistic, and we were just there talking quietly.  I’ll never forget it.
• Ben: There were moments when the series changed.  The moment when Talyn died and the affect on Aeryn ...  The moment when Crais died and other comedic moments ...  I would actually like to found out what’s   I would actually like to found out what’s your favorite moment.  I think it’s indicative of the quality of the show that so many people find something different in it.
• Francesca: I had a moment that I have to share with you, with M’Lee.  It was the first time that Ben and I worked together in about 10 years.  When I first met Wayne, and I heard all about Wayne, and there he was on the set and he such incredible power and presence, and I remember thinking “God, we’ve got a good one here”