Alan Brennert, Anne Collins And John Gaynor: On Writing Buck Rogers In The 25th Century For Gil Gerard

"To me Vegas In Space was the model of what the series should have been: funny, fast moving, adventurous, but with one or two of those serious, poignant moments. After Vegas In Space, Gil suddenly had no interest in doing the funny stuff. I don't know what happened. I don't know what went on in his mind. But he clearly decided he didn't want to do the jokes anymore. He started taking the character more seriously than the character should have been taken.



There was also a communications problem; I don't think we were ever able to quite communicate on the level that we should have. Gil didn't understand that jokes can exist comfortably in the same script as more serious stuff. He was always throwing jokes out on the set. Without that kind of light-hearted spin to our scripts, we just had shows that were essentially melodrama. And to my way of thinking, many of them just sat there. The resulting shows were not anything that I had seen in my head when I was writing them.



Gil was a very good comedic actor. That's not to say he's incapable of doing more serious moments. But I thought his best skills were in that kind of snappy banter with Wilma and the others, when he had that twinkle in his eye. At some point he decided he was above that, or at least that's my interpretation. It was a shame, because he ignored a facet of his abilities that really set him apart, and as a result, I don't think Buck Rogers was nearly as interesting as he could have been. The way we envisioned the character fit him like a glove, but he decided he didn't want the glove to fit.

It has been my experience that writers are paid vast sums of money in this business only partly for their writing talents, but largely to take vast amounts of shit from people."

-Alan Brennert, Starlog Magazine #232 (p.67, 69)- 

"We tried to be faithful to Glen Larson's vision [established in the two-hour pilot], but Gil had his own ideas. Gil became more and more difficult to work with. We didn't trust each other. He thought we were out to sabotage his character, and we didn't know how to deal with that."

-Anne Collins, Starlog Magazine #232 (p68)-



"Gil was getting insecure about the whole situation. Gil could be a very charming man, but somehow he got this insecurity into his head. Gil felt the scripts were being written for women, and not for him. Maybe he felt this way about Wilma, too. He caused a lot of problems.

I just thought he should stop worrying about all this other crap he was concerned about and play Buck Rogers the way he was supposed to be played. Gil was charming and likeable on screen, and I thought it was going splendidly. I don't know why he was getting so upset about it all.

I think Gil felt we were against him. He seemed to be getting a little paranoid about it. He went on about the fact that it was his face up there and we didn't care, which was not true at all---of course we cared! Our reputations were involved as well. It was not a pleasant time."

-Producer John Gaynor, Starlog Magazine #232 (p68-70)-



So Buck Rogers In The 25th Century presents a wonderful example of the writers at odds with a performer. Jonathan Harris had often injected his own dialogue and re-writes into Lost In Space as Gil Gerard did here.

While the two parties in these situations prove there was a significant degree of daylight between them, one could argue there was a certain degree of conflict in the aforementioned applications that made those shows better.

These above excerpts from Starlog Magazine really put into perspective what was in play behind the scenes in the beginning for Buck Rogers In The 25th Century way back in the 20th Century.

Craig Buck: On The Incredible Hulk And Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

"Buck Rogers was very formulaic....

When I wrote for The Incredible Hulk, even though it was a big cartoon show, the producers were very concerned with character.

They felt it was important to remember David Banner was a man fighting his own inner demons.

It was really a heavy character show.

They never did anything close to that on Buck Rogers, and I think that's one reason the show didn't last.

One of the reasons Star Trek is so popular and Hulk did well is that those shows were character-based."

 

-Craig Buck, Starlog Magazine #232 (p72)-

Craig Buck was a writer for Buck Rogers In The 25th Century (S1, E19, Olympiad). He also contributed Babalao (S3, E10) to The Incredible Hulk as well as the Season Three opener Metamorphosis for the enduring hulk of a series.

Rutger Hauer: On Blade Runner

"I felt that we had gotten a film with more layers than we were ever thinking of. I knew right away that this was a very different and special movie. Life is how you look at it, and Blade Runner decided to look at it in a poetic but dark way and, at the same time, with a lot of wit. It was not consumer-ready crap and it was not a fast-paced, science-fiction thriller. Instead, it was thoughtful and slow moving, and it challenged audiences to enter its world. This is a great movie---one that is beautiful, dark, wicked, poetic, exotic and beautiful."

-Rutger Hauer, All Those Moments: Stories Of Heroes, Villains, Replicants, And Blade Runners (p129-130, 135)-

Gerry Anderson: On Making Science Fiction

"I always tried to avoid the enemy being any particular nationality.

And also, equally, I tried to avoid the heroes being any particular nationality.

I always had organizations rather than nationalities.

… 'What do I hope I've achieved?'....

I would like to think that, because hundreds of millions of children over the years have seen my shows, that I've given them enjoyment without doing any damage."

-Gerry Anderson, Starlog Magazine #307 (p.87)-



It's FAB FRIDAY.
Thank God!

Martin Caidin: On American Patriotism

"I'm not a fanatic.
This is my country.
I believe in this country.
[Despite] all the errors.
I think we do more soul-searching than any other country in the world.
I gave a college talk one time, and this was when they were anti-bomb, anti-everything.
I said, 'Hey all you shitheads out there.
I want to tell you something.
In 1945, this country had to make a tremendous decision.
We had something no one else had, the absolute weapon.
We were the only people on Earth who had the atomic bomb, and we had the means to deliver it.
To prevent another war, or the rise of communism, or rebirth of fascism.
We had the means to take over the entire world!
Really!
To use what we had would have made us exactly like those we had just defeated.
Instead, we gambled on the human race.'
Whether we make it or not doesn't matter to me, that was the finest moment of any nation in the course of history."

-Martin Caidin, The Bionic Book: The Six Million Dollar Man And The Bionic Woman Reconstructed, p.182-




Martin Caidin was the author of Cyborg, the book upon which The Six Million Dollar Man (1973-1978) was adapted. Caidin came from the inner workings of the American government through the CIA.

What struck me in his aforementioned quote was his the guts in speaking to a college campus and delivering the counter-cultural message he does given the era.



Well some things never change. The freedom to speak is something not afforded at some campuses across the United States today where students are indoctrinated with an almost anti-American bias and where shutting down the conversation seems to be the modus operandi. Evidence may suggest its worse than ever with the rise of radical groups intent on shutting down conversation through violence.

We could use a few more Martin Caidins speaking on college campuses today. Very hard choices were made by President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, and others. But these were men of character and conviction, traits often lacking in some men and women today. Sometimes its important to self-reflect and take a closer look at ourselves as a nation and to a man and woman. Aren't we in this together?



Where you are from, your demographic, your party affiliation, should have nothing to do with your loyalty to country and to your fellow citizens. It's that simple.

The late Caidin might be stunned by the things happening in this great country today and particularly at some colleges across the nation.



This post comes in honor of the fourth of July and as a tribute to all that have served and given their lives to protect our freedom and way of life. Those that served and lost their lives gave the greatest of all sacrifices so that those who do not sacrifice for country can speak freely.

Thank you.

 

Tim O'Connor: On Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

"Buck Rogers is so less heavy than something like Galactica. While Galactica was essentially a good show, it always took itself so deadly serious and there was little sense of humor. Buck, I believe, has the quality of humor and it makes it so much easier and enjoyable for the audience to digest. The sense of fun makes the show like a light, refreshing drink."

-Tim O'Connor, Starlog Magazine #38 (p.35)-

What's wrong with serious? I would disagree as both series were fun Larson productions with Dirk Benedict as Starbuck running interference with humor to lighten the heavier science fiction aspects of the Battlestar Galactica series.

SciFiNow: On The Incredible Hulk

"And despite Stan Lee putting his foot down when (Kenneth) Johnson suggested they change the Hulk's skin colour to red, the veteran TV producer was successful in removing almost every other link to the comics. Every supporting character was ditched in favor of a revolving door of weekly guest stars, while the origins of the Hulk were changed from exposure to the gamma radiation of a nuclear explosion to a more realistic laboratory accident.  Furthermore, Bruce Banner's first name was changed to David, although the reasons for this remain contentious to this day. Johnson has previously claimed that he disliked the alliterative nature of comic book names such as Peter Parker and Matt Murdoch, while Stan Lee believes the changes were to avoid the homosexual connotations of the name Bruce. In keeping with the low-budget nature of the decade's TV shows, the sci-fi elements in The Incredible Hulk were kept to a minimum, with only Dr. Banner's transformation into the Hulk showing any signs of the show's pulp origins. Even the Hulk himself was realized in a low-tech manner with former body builder Lou Ferrigno painted green and shoved in front of the camera to run around in slow motion for several minutes.  ….The show was a huge hit at the time but by today's standards offers little more than a kitsch looking glass into TV production methods of the 1970s."

-SciFiNow #5-

I'd like to think The Incredible Hulk was a little more than that last assessment. We certainly give the series more focus than that here at Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic.  It deserves more than being relegated to the dustbin of TV production history. Come on now, don't make me angry.

Shimon Wincelberg: On Character In Lost In Space

"He [Irwin Allen] had written a bible listing the characters, their names and backgrounds. To me, the characters were very bland and very much alike, and there was no real source for conflict. If I had invented the whole thing from the beginning, I would have had much greater contrast among the characters, greater potential for conflict, inner doubts---all the stuff that writers work with."

-Shimon Wincelberg, Starlog Magazine #159, Misplaced Among The Stars (p.68)-

 

Don Matheson And Deanna Lund: On Land Of The Giants' Special FX

"There was no way you could compete with them. I knew that going in. They were bigger than we were. When it was your turn, you gave it your best shot. The whole concept of Land Of The Giants was more of a star than any of us."

-Don Matheson, Starlog Magazine #162 (p.63)-



"Unfortuantely, what happens... is the actors become props for the special FX. That was the show's one weakness. You didn't really get to know us."

-Deanna Lund, Starlog Magazine #181 (p.30)-



Sadly, it the lack of character with Land Of The Giants' overreliance on effects that became a glaring weakness. Lund suggests the series couldn't have it both ways. Perhaps television at that time on Irwin Allen's watch couldn't. It's too bad because it really could have. It could have been an ideal mix of action adventure and character drama.

To further make the point regarding what Land Of The Giants so badly needed, character, Lund noted if someone had decided not to return had the series been picked up for a Season Three it wouldn't have been a loss at all. The show wouldn't have been hurt. "Nobody was indispensable." To Irwin Allen the props were the thing.

For those readers disinterested in Land Of The Giants, the next entry will be my last for a time.

Don Marshall: On The Time Tunnel And Land Of The Giants' Lack Of Character Depth

"If the writers had dealt with the little people's emotions more, it would have made for better drama---and for a better show.

Irwin Allen steered away from personal relationships and human emotions.

His Time Tunnel series was the same thing.

The characters were dealing with what was 'out there' rather than what was inside."

 

-Don Marshall, Starlog Magazine #230 (p.23)-

David Nutter: On Millennium

"He (Chris Carter) had this pretty radical idea for a show that openly acknowledged that there was evil in this world---which was a dynamic that Thomas Harris had dealt with, both with his books and with his movies like Silence Of The Lambs and Red Dragon, but which nobody had ever had the balls to present on national television, in any fashion, before.

But what Chris did was take that idea a little bit further and temper it with the central focus of a somewhat long-in-the-tooth guy, played brilliantly by Lance Henriksen, whose agenda was to actively root out this evil and vanquish it while simultaneously trying to cultivate, within the safe confines of his home, a 'normal American family.'"

-David Nutter, SciFiNow #18, p.63-

Millennium concluded its television run on May 21st, 1999, twenty years ago this day. It seemed like a good opportunity to sneak in a little post regarding the series.

The Millennium (1996-1999) series worked brilliantly and this approach, given its ties to such source material as mentioned by Nutter, may explain why a series like Hannibal (2013-2015) worked so equally well as if carved from the very same stone because it was. Hannibal was indeed a kind of spiritual cousin to Millennium. Hannibal was perhaps the evolution of Millennium in terms of television. Both series were extraordinarily dark, but beautifully crafted as narratives and strikingly lensed series. There was a visual art to these series often absent from most crime shows on mainstream television.



Interestingly, for this writer, Hannibal was at its best for Season One. Season Two was a close second. Season Three, while still a gorgeously filmed palette in step with the previous two seasons, felt a tad rushed and likely much of what was planned for additional seasons was shoehorned into Season Three.

Likewise, Millennium lost some appeal for me after its first two seasons. Season Three was good and enjoyed its fair share of compelling entries, like Hannibal, but didn't quite match the narrative focus of its strong first two seasons for me personally.



Recently, Mindhunter (2017), created by Joe Penhall and produced and directed by director David Fincher, has been perhaps the strongest television entry to delve into these dark waters and the idea of the profiler/protagonist walking very closely, narrowly so, to that fine line between darkness and light that both Hannibal and Millennium achieved. Mindhunter is indeed the best entry in the genre since, though not as generous with its visual flourishes.



Touching darkness got me thinking about how time flies. It's been seven years since the publication of Back To Frank Black: A Return To Chris Carter's Millennium (2012) of which I was fortunate enough to contribute. The material in that book like the aforementioned series on which its based still stands strong as a subject matter with no signs of dating itself. The book as a whole is a real work of quality, a labor of love for fans of the series and any new fans who should be discovering it today. It's an exceptional companion for those who dare to dig deeper into its world.

Johnny Byrne: On Space:1999

"Episodes ... finished so multi-faceted---simple on the surface, very complicated within. So far as I know, I was on nothing more stimulating than the stodgy food served at the studio restaurant."

-Johnny Byrne, Destination: Moonbase Alpha The Unofficial And Unauthorized Guide To Space:1999 (p.90)-

Writer Johnny Byrne would handle the scripting chores on eight of the twenty-four episodes for Space:1999 Year One.



The man behind End Of Eternity and Force Of Life continues to probe the complex questions of humanity underneath the surface while still delivering the chilling thrills. The Troubled Spirit, Mission Of The Darians and The Testament Of Arkadia remain for Year One. He would return with three stories for Year Two. Have a FAB FRIDAY!