Tag Archives: eureka

Fargo is, after all, the boss of us …

This post contains spoilers. You have been warned.

If I've pushed the Big Red Button correctly, this should post automatically right after my episode of Eureka, All the Rage, has concluded in the Eastern time zone.

I'm at Comic-Con right now, and I've just seen this episode in its entirety for the first time. Since I'm actually writing this yesterday, I can't comment on how I felt watching it, or on the final cut of the episode itself, but I can tell you that during production, it was a bit of a challenge to play a guy who hates Fargo as much as Doctor Parrish does, since I personally like Neil Grayston so much.

Here's an amusing story about how much everyone in the NolWep Lab feels about Fargo:

When Fargo demands a demonstration of the energy field thing, Zane and Doctor Parrish share this knowing look that may or may not have made it into the final cut of the episode. Niall Matter and I decided that we both knew the field wouldn't stop that bean bag, because it wasn't ready, and we really didn't care if Fargo got shot with it. We thought it was a cool way for us to play a character moment together that establishes our relationship, and drive home to the audience just how much we hate Fargo (and illustrate how different Fargo is in this universe.) The thing is, we didn't have time to make sure this choice was okay with everyone, because we were working very fast that morning.

We played several takes like that, and when they came in for coverage on us, the director told us that we should react to the bean bag almost hitting him, like it was a pretty bad thing that could have had really bad consequences. Fargo is, after all, the boss of us.

Niall and I looked at each other like we'd been caught playing ball in the house.

"We've, uh, actually been playing it like we knew it would happen, and we enjoyed how much it scared him," I said.

Niall quickly added, "but we could decide that we didn't expect him to get shot in the face, like we just thought it would hit him in the chest, so we can still play both beats."

The director told us that he thought that was a good idea, and we finished the scene like that. When he walked away, Niall and I looked at each other.

"I thought I was fired for sure," I said.

"I was glad they can't fire me," he said.

"Still, we established an awful lot with just one look," I said.

"Yeah, that was cool."

We didn't have that many scenes together, but we spent a lot of time hanging out on the set when we weren't filming, and got along brilliantly. In fact, I got along brilliantly with everyone in the cast, and I can confirm that everything you've heard about them being awesome people is entirely true.

Colin Ferguson and me, on acting

This was filmed by one of the producers, near the end of a very, very long day on the set of Eureka:

We're obviously having fun and being silly, but there is an element of truth to what we said: we have a good time when we bring these characters to life, but it really does require a great deal of focus and dedication. One of the reasons I loved working on Eureka so much was the cast and crew's ability to have fun and stay relaxed, while remaining focused and working hard to make the very best show we could make.

Remember that my episode, All The Rage, premieres this Friday at 9pm, on the network formerly known as Sci-Fi!

Eureka!

I'm heading up to Vancouver later this week to shoot an episode of Eureka!

The SyFy (I know they're my new employers, but it still pains me to write that) Channel put out the following press release this morning:

Actor, author and blogger Wil Wheaton of the popular television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the classic film Stand By Me, has signed for a guest starring appearance on the 4th season of Eureka, one of Syfy’s most popular original series. The new season is slated to return to Syfy on Friday, July 9 at 9:00PM ET/PT.

In episode 403 of Eureka titled “All The Rage,” sci-fi fan favorite Wheaton plays the brilliant Dr. Isaac Parrish, head of the Non-Lethal Weapons Lab at Global Dynamics.  Parrish’s dry wit and superior attitude make him a thorn in Fargo’s (Neil Grayston) side — with potentially disastrous consequences. The episode featuring Wheaton is scheduled to air on Friday, July 23rd.

I've had the script for a little while, now, and I've been getting to know Dr. Isaac Parrish as I convert the words on the page into a person you'll see on television. I obviously can't go into any specifics, but I've had a great time developing his backstory, creating his relationships with the characters, giving him secrets and beliefs, and doing all the other parts of character creation that make being an actor so much fun.

As part of my homework, I spent the entire weekend watching DVDs and reading about the show on the Internets so I could understand the tone and see the characters in action … it wasn't a bad way to spend several hours, I tell you what. (In my professional opinion, time you currently spend watching a show that you hope will get better would be much more wisely spent watching reruns of Eureka.)

I'm not sure how much I'll be allowed to Twitter/Twitpic/blog from the set, but I'll keep notes like I always do and hopefully have something interesting to share when the show airs in July.

Enormous thanks go to my friend Amy Berg (who wrote The Two Live Crew Job and created my character Chaos on Leverage) who joined Eureka this season and found a way for me to visit it.