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Posted 05 May 2003 - 05:43 AM
This was posted at Save Farscape. Pass it on :
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Excerpts from DK's Dreamwatch interview
I've been trying to find the whole transcript, but I guess it's still a bit too soon. Someone on one of the UK boards did post these excerpts:
David Kemper didn’t intend it to end like this. When Farscape’s head writer/executive producer penned the cliffhanging closing moments of the shows fourth season finale, Bad Timing, he firmly believed that the award winning sci-fi saga would continue into a fifth season, and was happy to end the episode with the newly engaged John and Aeryn being “neutralised for analysis” before their crystalised bodies shattered into thousands of pieces. But faced with the US Sci Fi Channel’s controversial cancellation of the series a mere two days before Farscape’s fourth season completed filming, Kemper decided against making any changes to the episodes closing cliffhanger, and chose to conclude Farscapes surprise-fuelled four year run with one last voyage into unexpected territory.
“Our feeling was the whole of season four was designed to end with the scene it ends on.” explains Kemper. “We didn’t want to make any concession to anything and alter the storytelling. I talked about it with the actors, the directors who had been with us since the first day, the key crewmembers and department heads, all of the writers and the people at Henson, and we felt we should tell the story we always intended to tell, because as far as we’re concerned, Farscape may not be over. It may be temporarily suspended at the moment, but it doesn’t necessarily mean Farscape is finito.
“The other thing is its very, very Farscape that we end that way,” he continues. “I had a definate vision for the shows end and, while it may not have been this particular cliffhanger, Farscape wasn’t going to end. We didn’t want to have Crichton go home or make it all a dream; it would have been an open-ended ending. So the end of 4.22 [Bad Timing] felt appropiate, because in Farscape, just like in life, every time something looks good there’s always something bad coming along. There are always complications.
“Crichton isn’t dead and Aeryn isn’t dead,” confirms Kemper, in an announcement that will thrill the shows longtime viewers. “People who know our show will realise that they’re just in another tough situation that was going to be resolved.”
Despite the behind-the-scenes problems and missed opportunities, Kemper feels Farscapes fourth season ultimately maintained the shows reputation for ground-breaking sci-fi entertainment. He was particularly pleased with the way Crichton’s struggle with the Scarrans unfolded, and enjoyed taking Crichtons relationships with both Aeryn and Scorpius to new heights. He also happily reports that there was no shortage of vintage Farscape episodes either.
“I’m really proud of Ep 22 [Bad Timing] for the scenes between Crichton and his Dad on the Moon, and the final scene with John and Aeryn in the boat. Its terrific that we’ve got Aeryn to a place where this woman who was essentially a cold, rather emotionally frigid warrior is showing so much emotion. Crichtons ecstatic and they’re going to have a baby and you just know something good is happening there. And a relationship that didn’t exist three years ago now exists in a strong way.”
Among the questions left unanswered by Farscapes fourth season finale is which of the two Crichtons fathered Aeryns unborn child. Kemper says that he toyed with revealing if the shows surviving Crichton or his doomed ‘twin’ was the baby’s father, but purposely decided not to.
“I figured Crichton wouldn’t care one iota whose baby it was,” he explains. “Crichton was going to love that baby either way, so I didn’t think it mattered.”
By the time Farscapes fourth season was completed, there was already a broad plan in place for the shows fifth year. While Kemper is reluctant to divulge too much in case Farscape is revived one day, he does confirm that a number of episodes – including an innovative two-part time travel story – were firmly in the works. He also reveals that season five would have seen Crichton finally coming to terms with his new life in the Uncharted Territories and abandoning his desire to return to Earth, as his ongoing struggles with the likes of the Scarrans unfolded.
“The Scarrans were certainly going to be part of it,” he elaborates, “because at the end of the story they’ve got an axe to grind with Crichton. He’s just blown up their ship and he’s pissed them off. We purposely did not kill off the two Scarran leaders [Staleek and Ahkna] so you’ve kinda got to expect they’re not just gonna disappear. They’re a pretty violent, potent force, and they had to be dealt with.”
“But of course they weren’t going to be the only thing in season five,” he adds cryptically. “Episode by episode, there would have been adventures of all kinds. And I believe that the fifth season would have surprised everybody in where the characters relationships went.”
With Farscapes US rerun broadcast now tied to the Sci Fi Channel until 2005, Kemper believes that it is unlikely the show will be revived – either for the small screen or for the long-mooted Farscape movie – until it enjoys wider exposure in syndication or on a bigger network.
In the meantime, the prolific TV writer/producer is currently developing a number of potential new Australia-based projects with his new production partner, Farscape producer/director Andrew Prowse.
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Ah well, time to look at Sly-Lie's ratings going down the toilet. That always makes me feel a little better....
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Posted 06 May 2003 - 01:06 AM
