April 15, 2019: Answering your questions…

Ordinary Guy asks: “You are now showrunning the series that you are not creator of. How is that differs from “traditional” showrunning and what role creator have in that case? Who will have the last word on creative direction for the show?”

Answer: There really is no difference except for the fact that, in this case, the creator is an Executive Producer and gets a say in all aspects of the show’s development, production, and post-production.  In addition, the production company and broadcaster also have a say in the show’s creative.  This differs greatly from Dark Matter, a show I ran with little broadcaster input.

Tuptiagn asks: “What does a Gaffer door how does one become a Best Boy?”

Answer: A gaffer is the head electrician.  As for how one becomes a Best Boy – be better than anyone else.

John asks: “Could you explain sometime in the future how writers take the budget into consideration? I can see a writer with a creative imagination coming up with ideas that may be too expensive. An experienced writer may know that great battle scene with all kinds of extras involved would be too much, so they would come up with a few more intimate scenes to compensate. But a new writer wouldn’t know, of course.  Is there a “price list” so to speak?”

Answer: There is no “price list”.  With experience, writers learn how to produce on the page, meaning they write within the parameters of the show’s budget.  Individual episodes fall above or below the pattern budget (the episodic average) but things should even out in the end.  Those clip or bottle episodes are great money-savers.  And it’s no accident they tend to land in the back half of the season.  As for new writers, they should have a sense of the show’s budget going in.  In fact, I would say that, in my experience, one of the biggest deterrents to landing a staff position (besides not nailing that spec script) is pitching something completely unproducible.  Rookie mistake.

Drea asks: “Why not start a hotsauce sampling club?”

Answer: Y’know, I like this idea!

Robert asks: “Is it possible to move over to Amazon or Netflix like The Expanse?”

Answer: Theoreticaly possible, but some one would be a much easier fit than the other.

nantokanaru77 asks: “Btw, of your collection, which hot sauce is your favorite?”

Answer: At present, these are my favorites…

Rebecca asks: “Will you be working with Will Waring on your current project?”

Answer: Sadly, no.  Will has been busy working on It and It: Chapter Two

Shinyhula writes: “The next challenge has to be more reasonable; sour gummies? Bitter mellon?”

Answer: David Nykl, Stargate: Atlantis‘s Zelenka once gifted the writers a box of sour gummies.  They lasted four seasons.

Sparrow_hawk asks: “Any thoughts about the new live action Cowboy Bebop?”

Answer: I am impatiently waiting to find out who they cast in the role of my favorite character, Radical Edward.

Tam Dixon asks: “Are you bringing back the chocolate party too?”

Answer: Akemi has been asking too!

Fred asks: “Why isn’t Zelenka on the balcony at the end?

Why isn’t everyone thanking him for his Wormhole Dive solution?

Why isn’t Rodney embracing him with gratitude?”

Answer: How often have you seen Rodney embrace a fellow scientist with gratitude?  I’m sure the rest of Atlantis expressed their appreciation (in that scene that didn’t make the cut).  As for Zelenka not being on the balcony at the end – Yes, that was a mistake.