I think this is one of those rare things that can be equally enjoyed* by those who have context, and those who don't.
*for very disturbing values of 'enjoyed'
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.
A Little Summer Reading
Yesterday on Twitter, I joked: "Trying to read a book about Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, but whenever I look for it, it moves."
The book I was talking about it called Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science
It's wonderful, and I highly recommend it. It's one of those rare books about physics and science that is entirely accessible to people who aren't total math nerds (like me.)
While I'm talking about books, I thought I was recently re-reading Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things
… but it turns out that I'd confused Fragile Things with Smoke and Mirrors
in my head. I'd only read the first two stories in Fragile Things back when I bought it last year, so once I got past them, it was like I had a whole new book to read.
(BECAUSE I DID GUYS.)
It's sensational, and if you've ever wanted to find out why people like me adore Neil's writing, it's a great place to start.
one small step for man
Ken Levine, on the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing:
I honestly don’t remember whether we saw video or just heard audio
when Neil Armstrong made his historic first step. You’d think that
would be indelibly imprinted in my brain but it’s not. I’ve seen the
video so many times since but that first time – I just can’t tell ya.What I do know is this: 450 million people around the world heard it.
And they heard it at the same time. For the first time in history the
entire planet shared a monumental moment together. A moment of awe and
disbelief. All the hardships of the world, the various wars, famines,
poverty, social injustice, discrimination — they were all put on hold,
as if God pushed a pause button. What was more profound – man setting
foot on the moon or that moment of absolute global unity?
Ken's blog is great, especially if you are a writer, a baseball fan, or enjoy television history. If you're in the maximum overlap of that Venn diagram like I am, it goes into the "essential" folder in the old RSS reader.
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!
