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Moderator: Rockne, do you have any opening words for our on-line chatters tonight?
Moderator: Welcome to tonights chat with Rockne S. O'Bannon. In addition to being the creator of Farscape, Mr. O'Bannon was also the creator and producer of seaQuest DSV and wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film Alien Nation, later spun off into a TV series of the same name.

Rockne: Sure (rustle of papers...)
Rockne: Let's just get 'em out of the way: 1) No *official* word on a pickup yet...
Rockne: though the indications are very good...
Rockne: thanks in very large part to your terrific bb response -- and feedback -- on the series so far...
Rockne: We are prepping story lines, character surprises, etc., for next year (we call it Cycle Two... the dogfood be damned)...
Rockne: The stuff we prepping for next year will dovetail with the BIG STUFF we have planned for the last four eps of this year (they"re gonna rock the series< and the characters!
Rockne: And answer #2) I wear jockeys... okay, I guess that's all I have to answer...

Moderator: <kitsah> to <Moderator>: For Rockne: DNAMS had such an emotional reaction for everyone. Are there darker times ahead (not giving away any secrets of course!)

Rockne: I'm hoping there will always be an edge to the series...
Rockne: Series television, and their characters, get homogenized out so quickly...
Rockne: I'm hoping to keep the fugitives aboard Moya true to their disparate natures as long as we can.

Moderator: <fauconne> to <Moderator>: What was your inspiration for Farscape?

Rockne: I'm a huge fan of Star Trek (all its incarnations)...
Rockne: Every sf writer, especially sf television writer, wants to touch the cuff of Mr. Roddenberry...
Rockne: I wanted to do a ship series that didn't take place 500 years in the future like ST, or "Long TIme Ago..." like SW, but something that took place...
Rockne: in a universe somewhat like those landmark stories, but with a contemporary lead character. Basically, FS is the chance for the other writers and myself...
Rockne: to put OURSELVES into a completely alien galaxy... and say to ourselves, "Okay, how would *I* react to that situation, creature, odd bodily function....

Moderator: <Kieriahn> to <Moderator>: Mr. O'Bannon, how do you get from concept to production? What did you have to do to get the attention of networks, etc.?

Rockne: FS started development with the FOX network 5+ years ago...
Rockne: At that time they weren't prepared to greenlight the multiple eps we would need to amortize the costs of set construction, creature builds, etc., etc., etc...
Rockne: We later pitched to ABC, CBS syndicated....
Rockne: But sf series is a veeery tough sell to regular network tv...
Rockne: (How many sf shows have reg nets tried and gotten burned...?
Rockne: So, it took the Sci-Fi Channel to leap forward and see the potential for the series. Clearly it hits their primary audience squarely between (among?) the eyes.

Moderator: <JaneGael> to <Moderator>: FS appears to have become more like a hard SF novel, where the characters are allowed to undergo radical change, than like the typical SF TV show. Is this the direction that you see FS going?

Rockne: Bless you!...
Rockne: This is "Not Your Father's Old Sci-Fi" (thanks JaneGael)...
Rockne: .......(although, as I said, I'm a biiiig fan of the STs...)....
Rockne: We have such a great opportunity with this series to explore characters who are 100% alien... not human-like characters with human-like emotions and reactions...

Moderator: <ChaoticDreamer> to <Moderator>: Are there any literary influences for your characters? Especially John ?

Rockne: Little Orphan Annie....?
Rockne: Let's put it this way... one of the books I keep on my desk at all times is Burrough's first John Carter/Mars novel (along with DUNE, and a couple of others...)

Moderator: <v-voltaire> to <Moderator>: How much of the characters are your creation, and how much are Henson's?

Rockne: In terms of personalities, that's entirely the WRITERS' domain...
Rockne: Let me repeat that....
Rockne: THE WRITERS DOMAIN... (I get a little emotional on the subject)....
Rockne: In terms of their physical appearance, I worked very closely with Brian and the entire team of twisted geniuses at the JH Creature Shop in London...
Rockne: A big shout out to KEVIN HUNTER, conceptual artist extrodinaire...
Rockne: Who had a terrific influence over many of the designs from the earliest days...
Rockne: Also Jamie Courtier at the Creature Shop who took me by the hand and explained (and explained, and explained) the hows and whys and...
Rockne: ...and especially the why *nots* of physical attributes to creatures who must perform under the grueling conditions of daily television production...

Moderator: <KikiM> to <Moderator>: Are the characters now the same as you envisioned them when you first thought of John Crichton and the crew of the Moya? Or did they change after a few eps aired?

Rockne: As NamTar said... evolution is the road to perfection...
Rockne: The characters are constantly evolving...
Rockne: The actors (DON'T get me started on how truly brilliantly our dream cast has inhabited and INFLUENCED their characters!) have a great deal of superb input...
Rockne: These characters belong to ALL the writers... David Kemper and Richard Manning, and Justin Monjo, and Grant McAloon...
Rockne: Since I've mentioned Kemper's name, let me say now and for the record...
Rockne: (I'm climbing to the top of my roof with my ThinkPad to shout it...)
Rockne: If I am, immodestly, the heart and soul of FS, then David Kemper is the brain, cardio-vascular system, liver, nerves (especially nerves) of the series.
Rockne: The series that appears every Fri night would not be the same without him. Period.
Rockne: Had to say that (....and he didn't make me...)

Moderator: <kitsah> to <Moderator>: Mr. O'Bannon: How did you come up with the concept of Moya, a living Leviathan ship?

Rockne: I'm sure (hoping?) we've got a lot of writers out there...
Rockne: ...and as they'd surely tell you, as well: sometimes you know when a specific idea hits you...
Rockne: ...and some you just don't...
Rockne: When I'm brainstorming a story/movie/series idea...
Rockne: I just sit with a pad and a pen and let my mind wander....
Rockne: 3% of what I write down is junk, but the other 97%.... :-)

Moderator: <skandranon> to <Moderator>: Were you originally in Australia to film FS or did you go there to film?

Rockne: Australia for several reasons; two primarily:....
Rockne: One: from a business point of view, we could get more "bang for our buck" down under...
Rockne: Two: we wanted to take advantage of all the fresh creative talent and scenery... making our series truly unique....
Rockne: ...And look who we found... Anthony, Claudia, Virginia.... (alphabetical listing)....

Moderator: <JGB> to <Moderator>: Are there any difficulties with making script changes when filming is being done half way around the globe?

Rockne: <Rockne tries to hide nervous tick around BOTH eyes.....>.....
Rockne: All I can say is -- God bless modems and e-mail attachments...
Rockne: And Lil and Kathy and Kate, our script goddesses... ;-)

Moderator: <ceallaig> to <Moderator>: Mr. OBannon, welcome. You were also responsible for Alien Nation -- do you see any similarities between the two shows?

Rockne: The examination of how strange we humans are -- but introducing alien characters who at first blush we THINK are the strange ones...

Moderator: <slidecat> to <Moderator>: What were some of the challanges and to creating/producing SeaQuest DSV and FARSCAPE, and what was similar to the two.

Rockne: <Oops.... change the "but" to "by" in that last answer.... said the anal retentive writer...)
Rockne: Number One challenge for every tv writer............
Rockne: Getting a series idea through the minefield (mind-field??) of network development....
Rockne: ...a field that's littered with the bodies (and crumpled pages...) of so many who came before you....
Rockne: The big lesson I personally learned on SQ was: I would never create a series again unless I stayed with it through the first year...
Rockne: and nurtured it along...
Rockne: The series that
Rockne: oops
Rockne: The series that Steven and I pitched had a very definite, positive point of view about 25 years in the future....
Rockne: Unfortunately, my deal with Steven was to create the series and move on to other projects...
Rockne: and by the time the series' first season was underway....
Rockne: Steven was off in Poland making "Schindler's List"... his mind wasn't on a futuristic submarine at the time......
Rockne: (I love saying Steven, by the way, can you tell....? :-) )

Moderator: Here's a two-fer:
Moderator: <Mithrandir2> to <Moderator>: Will any of the minor first season characters (like the PK Tech Girl) show up again next season?
Moderator: <Baldue2> to <Moderator>: If we see a second season, will we see past guest characters like Volmae my favorite guest character?

Rockne: Oh, sure. PK Tech Girl returns in.......................................
Rockne: ............oh no, that would be telling. Suffice it to say, the writers want this to be a flesh-and-blood world....
Rockne: where even characters who appear to be "one shot" visitors, return... often in remarkable ways....

Moderator: <OboeCrazy> to <Moderator>: As you can tell I'm a musician :-) My question: Who came up with the wonderful music for the show, especially the theme music!

Rockne: Excuse the pause.... the name has gone right out of my head......
Rockne: Grrrrrrrr.........

Moderator: We'll be happy to insert it into the transcript after the fact and pretend you remembered it all along.

Rockne: <Thanks for supporting my ignorance.....>
Rockne: Anyway...... I also love the theme....
Rockne: There was some trepidation about the female voices in the latter half of the theme, but......
Rockne: we decided to let the fans decide.....
Rockne: I'm so glad you like it. I've got a cd of it that I play in my car as inspiration on the way into work (granted, I have to play it alot of times... or move closer to the office....)

Moderator: <skandranon> to <Moderator>: O'Bannon, are there any bloopers in the show you liked that you could possibly share with us?

Rockne: I wish. Every take is letter perfect, every time...every single time....
Rockne: Well, except in scenes with Rygel (who can require up to 5 operators coordinating with each other)...
Rockne: ...or the 7 it takes to get Pilot fully gesticulating and talking at the same time....
Rockne: The best is when somebody flubs a line (okay, it has happened a couple of times...), and John Eccleston, the lead Rygel performer...
Rockne: comments on it. He always stays right in character, so there's Rygel coming out with some terrifically acid comment. Kinda like living the "outtakes" during the closing credits of "A Bug's Life"

Moderator: <tumbleweeds> to <Moderator>: Why doesn't Pilot's actor's name appear in the credits?
Moderator: (or Rygel, for that matter)

Rockne: They do. But because there are multiple performers with each of them, they're listed under "Puppeteers"...

Moderator: We've been chatting for about an hour but still have enough questions for three more chats at least. Can you stick around for a few more?

Rockne: ......... The heck with the script for Ep 21....
Rockne: ....sure.....

Moderator: Well then:
Moderator: <SFAN> to <Moderator>: Wich FS character do you think you can most relate with?

Rockne: (with the time difference, the set's probably at lunch right now anyway....
Rockne: Remember the DRD who got his eyelight snapped off in the Premiere.....?
Rockne: Actually, I'd have to say good ol' John C. As I mentioned before, my edict to the writers from the first day was: put YOURSELF in that room with the 2-foot Drak....
Rockne: put YOURSELF in the chair as NamTar sticks a needle IN YOUR EYE...
Rockne: give me YOUR reaction to all that JC is experiencing...
Rockne: that's what is at the heart of this series....
Rockne: You, or me (audience included) shot across the universe....

Moderator: <EIGHTOFTEN> to <Moderator>: What are the possibilities of action figures? Comic books?? Novels??

Rockne: You think the Hensons (Muppets, Muppets, everywhere...) aren't all over the merchandising on this puppy....?
Rockne: Timing is everything, though....
Rockne: ...get the series and the characters firmly set in the audience's mind, then -- sproing! -- out come the Rygel sleep masks!

Moderator: Here's a question I know is on the minds of many:
Moderator: <KikiM> to <Moderator>: Have you heard anything yet about whether there will be a second season?

Rockne: As I mentioned in the melee as I made my way to the chatrophone....
Rockne: Nothing *official* yet. But we're already developing storylines, character surprises, etc., for what we call -- Cycle Two (nee Year Two)....
Rockne: The BIG STUFF that's going down in the last 4 eps of this season will slingshot us off on some truly wild character tangents next year...
Rockne: The Sci-Fi Channel has been phenomenally supportive (from their original order of 22 eps, to now)...
Rockne: We can only keep our fingers crossed.... and keep telling every living, breathing soul you know or pass in the street, what a great show they're missing... (shameless self-promo, #2)...

Moderator: <Kerath> to <Moderator>: How did you come up with Pilot? He seems to be at the very core of the Moya, and therefore at the very core of the show?

Rockne: Having a character with a symbiotic relationship to our living ship seemed a natural....
Rockne: I knew I didn't want Moya (fyi, not "the Moya" -- damn that TV Guide writer anyway...) to speak for herself...
Rockne: I wanted to keep her more mysterious...
Rockne: In terms of Pilot's physical appearance...
Rockne: He sprung from the JH Creature Shop maniacs (a design that was conceive 5 years ago, and was so instantly deemed cool, that it never changed)...
Rockne: His formidable size comes from Brian (I love to say "Brian", too...)....
Rockne: Brian was interested in an alien character out of proportion to human beings...
Rockne: To really emphasize his/her alienness....
Rockne: I also must mention what a major influence/contributor Brian has been to every aspect of the series....
Rockne: No smoke blowing up any southern orifaces...
Rockne: We all (including ME, in all caps) owe a huge debt to Mr. Henson....

Moderator: <gharlane> to <Moderator>: You used the name "John Lange" for your viewpoint character in the on-line Net SkiFfy RPG that was up on an APPLE site; then you chose the name "John Crichton" for the new series. "Lange" was once a pseudonym for "Crichton." Comments?
Moderator: further information:
Moderator: <gharlane> to <Moderator>: "John Lange" was the name that Michael Crichton sold "BINARY" under, and a couple other things. He stopped using the pseudonym INSTANTLY when he discovered that "John Lange" was the real name of the weirdo who writes under the name "John Norman." This is not a joke.

Rockne: Until this moment, I swear it never occurred to me....
Rockne: Obvious FS's "Crichton" was named for a writer I admire terrifically...
Rockne: I knew of the "John Lange" nondeplume... there's that old subconscious working again....

Moderator: <Renyon> to <Moderator>: I would love to submit a script. Are you accepting?

Rockne: Honest (uh-oh, here it comes)...
Rockne: For this season, we're wrapping up...
Rockne: And to be very honest, because the series is evolving so very fast, characters changing so rapidly....
Rockne: Ours would be a particularly hard show to "spec" for...
Rockne: I'm hoping that someday down the line, we'll have in place a spec script system like the very admirable one that ST has in place...
Rockne: Don't stop asking, though....
Rockne: Occasional reminders will help us to remember that there's a sea of fertile minds out there....
Rockne: Just look at the board and you'll see that (all the points-of-view on DN A
Rockne: oops
Rockne: ....on DNAMS show me that....)

Moderator: <ChaoticDreamer> to <Moderator>: Do you think the Farscape world could handle another active character?
Moderator: (please send your questions to me...we only have time for a few more)

Rockne: Keep watching............................. :-)

Moderator: <NiceGuyEddie> to <Moderator>: Speaking of names, could you describe how you came up with the names of the other main characters?

Rockne: I spend alot of times on character names.....
Rockne: (hell, maybe it's hereditary... God knows how long it took my parents to come up with a name like Rockne!)...

Moderator: <Neurosis> to <Moderator>: Mr. O'Bannon: Any suggestions/words of advice to aspiring authors and scriptwriters out here?

Rockne: KEEP WRITING........
Rockne: If you sit down every day and write something.... not talk about it, think about it, promise yourself you'll get around to it soon....
Rockne: ...then you are ALREADY living the life of a professional writer....
Rockne: Every writer.... Jim Cameron, Robert Towne, William Goldman, me, you.....
Rockne: when it comes to "doing the deed", we are doing the EXACT SAME THING....
Rockne: ...putting words on paper that we pray will make people smile, cry, think, throw something at the tv (....e.g. cutting off Pilot's arm)....
Rockne: ...so the instant you sit down to write, you're ALREADY living the life. If you don't love doing it NOW, the physical act isn't going to change one iota once you sell something...

Moderator: Our final question for the night:
Moderator: <DWal> to <Moderator>: A lot of posts on the BBoard have dealt with speculations on the "direction" of Farscape. What do you see as Farscape's "direction?"

Rockne: I'm desperate that it just keep evolving...the characters...their relationships.....their environments.....
Rockne: Once this first season is over, I think we'll all look back and see....
Rockne: Crichton and his companions are in a very different place (in every aspect) than they were in the Premiere...
Rockne: And I'm hoping that the same will hold true for the conclusions of the 30 seasons (!) to come....

Moderator: Thanks for stopping by to chat with us. We hope you'll be able to come back later in the season to answer more questions!
Moderator: ...'cause we got lots more.

Rockne: My sincere pleasure.... And one last thing....
Rockne: Ben Browder....
Rockne: YOU ARE DA MAN!

Moderator: That about sums it up.
Moderator: Transcripts will be up tomorrow at http://www.scifi.com/transcripts.
Moderator: We'll now go unmoderated. Brace yourselves.

GoE: P.S. HIRE A TECHNICAL ADVISOR, and GIVE HIM VETO AUTHORITY....... ( I.e. LISTEN to Naren Shankar.... )

Rockne: Thank YOU ALL! Bye! <Now where'd I park my car......... Gotta get there before GoE mugs me.......>