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Interview with some TV Guy called Chris

[NO PICTURE AVAILABLE]

DS: I've had so many people request this interview that I've decided to do it, even though I have no idea who you are!

STVGCC: [Laughs] OK, well I guess we can try and remedy that!

DS: Sure! You made some TV show or something? What was it about?

STVGCC: Uh, well, I guess the one you're referring to is about two FBI agents who investigate paranormal and unexplainable phenomena.

DS: You're shitting me, right?

STVGCC: [Laughs] Definitely not! That's what it's about. They travel around and try to get to the bottom of these mysteries.

DS: And it was popular?

STVGCC: I guess so. We get a lot of feedback.

DS: So, how long ago did you make it?

STVGCC: Quite a while ago. That is, the first episode ran back in September of '93. It's into its ninth season now.

DS: You mean it's still running? I've never even heard of it!

STVGCC: I guess you don't watch a lot of TV! [Laughs]

DS: [Laughing] No! Shturmie and I do other stuff!

STVGCC: [Laughing] Lucky guy!

DS: Not as lucky as me!

STVGCC: Sure!

DS: OK, well, I have a ton of questions here for you, I hope you don't mind.

STVGCC: Nope, that's what I'm here for. I hope! [Laughs]

DS: [Laughs] You can clean my apartment if you'd prefer! Anyway, I guess we might as well start with this one. Oh, I better mention that most of these are kind of negative, sorry.

STVGCC: Yeah, figures, that's OK.

DS: All right, somebody here wants to know "what the hell were you on when you decided to bring in [the new characters]?". If that makes sense.

STVGCC: I think I know what they are referring to. The reason was quite simply that if we didn't, we'd have had no television show. They replaced [the previous leads].

DS: What happened to them?

STVGCC: [The previous leads]?

DS: Yeah.

STVGCC: Well, [one lead] was written out, basically. He was abducted by aliens. Well, maybe. We don't ever explain too much on the show! [Laughs]

DS: And people watch this shit? I mean, this alien abduction stuff. Oh, I mean that I'm sure your show is well made, but-

STVGCC: No, it's OK, I know where you're coming from. It's not everybody's cup of tea, I guess. But yeah, lots of people are into it in a big way.

DS: OK. So this guy was abducted, what else?

STVGCC: Uh, well, [the other lead] was pretty tired of it too...that's why the other character was written out, he'd been doing it too long, and he was just ready to move on. His contract was up and he just walked. So the other lead was left kind of hanging and she couldn't walk away due to her contract obligations. Same with me.

DS: You wanted out too?

STVGCC: Um, yes and no. More yes than no! [Laughs] It's been almost ten years, you know. Everything changes. But I'm still very fond of the show, I have many great memories and we had some good times.

DS: What about these new people? What's up with that?

STVGCC: They're fine characters. The people who play them are fantastic actors, true artists. There has been some resistance, but that's the change thing again. Most people resist change, especially after all this time.

DS: You don't think there's any real basis for the resentment, other than change?

STVGCC: If you mean are the new guys not as good as the old ones, then no, definitely no justifiable reason to hate them.

DS: You think some people actually hate them?

STVGCC: I'm sure.

DS: Well, speaking of hate, I have a question here from somebody which reads "can you give us one good reason why you shouldn't be hung for what you've done to the show?". Who are these people...?

STVGCC: [Laughing] Oh, we sure do attract some ripe ones!

DS: So what would you say to this turkey?

STVGCC: I guess I'd have to say "get a life", but that's probably a little unfair.

DS: You think so?

STVGCC: The thing is, we really worked hard to make the show what it became. People threw themselves into it completely, and that includes the fans. In fact, they fell for it much harder than we did, the cast and crew I mean. We could maintain some degree of detachment, you know, because really, it was just a job, but to many fans it wasn't, it was much more than that. But I consider it a privilege to have earned that degree of devotion.

DS: Even though they are obviously fruitcakes?

STVGCC: [Laughing] Well, I prefer to think of them as being extremely passionate!

DS: So, do you think you should be killed? [Laughs]

STVGCC: [Laughing] I watch my back these days!

DS: Why would somebody ask a question like that? I mean, besides being a total dickhead loser?

STVGCC: [Laughs] Oh, that's a little bit tough on them! I think that these people are just strongly opposed to the inevitable evolution the show has had to experience. They became very attached, in an emotional sense I think, to [the old characters]. We tried very hard to flesh them out and make them real for people and I think we succeeded. I don't take credit for that, or not more than the little I'm due, simply because we had an extraordinary cast and crew, and still do.

DS: So the old ones were good?

STVGCC: The previous leads were wonderful! Great actors get lost amidst their characters, the on-screen personas. If they are truly great, many people don't even see them any more, they become the characters, and our actors were brilliant. We got very lucky, in that the chemistry between them was so obvious and worked far better than we could ever have wished for in the beginning.

DS: Which leads me to a question I have here which is "how come the changes over the years have been so inconsistent?". Can you answer that?

STVGCC: I'm opposed to that. Totally opposed. We've worked very hard to maintain a very high level of consistency. I think many people just don't realize how difficult it is to keep something like this going for ten years. Right at the beginning, even when the pilot was OK'd by the network, we had no idea how long the show would run. In fact, very few of us involved originally dared to believe it would be so successful.

DS: Including you?

STVGCC: [Laughs] I was going to say "especially me" but that just isn't true. I had faith. I believed the material was right for the time.

DS: How do you mean?

STVGCC: OK, well I remember the attitudes of the 1980's, the "greed is good" bubble, and the belief that life would always be like that. I think conspiracy theorists had a particularly hard time of it! [Laughs]

DS: In what way?

STVGCC: Mainly because at that time everything was good. Lots of jobs, plenty of money and everybody seemed to think they were going to be rich. When I was a kid growing up, UFO-fever was rampant, but in the '80s people were too busy for that. The government basically seemed kind of irrelevant. By that I mean most people just looked at them as being a provider of services, like clean streets and basic law-and-order. Not many people paid a lot of attention to them, unless they interfered in business.

DS: Then?

STVGCC: Well, the market crashed and the bubble kind of burst - actually, not kind of burst, more like exploded. There was a lot of pessimism all of a sudden, and the recession caused most people to step back and rethink a lot of things. There were layoffs, and a lot of resentment, and many weren't sure where to direct it. I think there was a general paranoia, a low-level but definitely detectable paranoia, about things like jobs and the part of big government and corporations in the harder times.

DS: So people were more receptive to your ideas?

STVGCC: [Laughs] Oh, yeah! We gave them these people who did bad things and were responsible for everything! [Laughs] We have a full coterie of bad guys! They run the country, and - run the world, really - and they were nice juicy targets. When you combine that with two very attractive actors playing two very likable characters, a lot of attention was focused upon the show as a result. We gave them something to think about.

DS: People wanted to believe?

STVGCC: Yeah. Well, I think so many people were drifting, you know, in their careers and their lives and they weren't sure what to do, what was responsible and suddenly here was this show that was so different. I don't think it would be conceited to say that it was well written. It really was pretty intelligent television. We poured so much effort into it and the talent of our writing pool was immense. We bought something to the screen that made people think, maybe for the first time in a very long while. I'm very proud of that.

DS: So why the resentment towards you now, or the show?

STVGCC: I guess a lot of people outgrew it. You know, the novelty wears off of everything eventually. The country got rich again, or at least people realized that the country was still rich, and they stopped worrying about a lot of things. Conspiracies just aren't as fashionable as they used to be! [Laughs] People move on, in all things. That includes the cast and crew, too.

DS: You want to move on?

STVGCC: Of course. There are so many other things to do. I've had other projects, some didn't do anywhere near as well as they deserved to, not when you consider the talents devoted to it, other people I mean. This show does tend to drain me a little. It's hard to keep it all fresh.

DS: Somebody here says "now that the show is so lame, why not kill it?". Your reply?

STVGCC: Well, It's not lame, for starters! [Laughs] And even if you wanted to, you can't just say, "that's it, it's over", and nobody really wants to, not like that. You don't wake up one morning and say, "I think I'll stop making this show now". You have responsibilities, to the cast, to the crew, to the viewers also, of course. And the show isn't even owned by me. The rights belong to the network. If they decide it's worth continuing forward, then on it goes.

DS: With you at the helm?

STVGCC: Maybe, but probably not. I have to think about renewal. It's definitely a time of renewal.

DS: Well, I have a question here about [the new characters]. "Would you be prepared to ditch [the new characters] if you thought it would revive the show?".

STVGCC: Sorry, but I just don't see that as being a sensible question. The new characters are fine. This question is usually asked by fans who won't give up on [the old characters], no matter what. They just won't let go, and they won't open their minds to other possibilities. I really don't think people like that ever really understood what the show was about. It wasn't a love story. We can't bring back [the other lead]. He's gone and he doesn't want to return in any really meaningful sense. We have to move on. I consider it to be an interesting challenge actually. [The other lead] won't be with us much longer either. It is a shame, they have given the show an unmatched vitality, in my opinion, but the dynamic we've generated with [the new characters] is at least as good. Given time and an open mind, it might even be better. You just have to accept evolution.

DS: Speaking of love, somebody here asks "why did you never let the [old character relationship] develop to its natural conclusion. It seems to have been obvious to everybody but you that they belonged together. Or were you just being cruel for the sake of it?". Man, and there was I thinking it was just some TV show!

STVGCC: [Laughs] That's the question I hear the most at conventions, I think! Like I said, it wasn't a love story, it isn't a romance. The leads had great chemistry, and they respected each other, both the actors and characters, but, you know, it was always about the story, the so-called "mytharc".We actually let the emotional commitment of [the old characters] develop more than I'd have liked.

DS: Why?

STVGCC: Well, I guess it had to really. These people worked closely together for a whole bunch of years. You don't work together with that kind of intensity with somebody, for a long time, and not develop an attachment, one way or another.

DS: I have. I've worked with a guy for years, and I don't feel the slightest bit of attraction.

STVGCC: OK, so I'm wrong! [Laughs] I guess we also felt that it was a way of shutting up a few nutjobs. They really hounded us pretty relentlessly on that one. I think in retrospect that we made a mistake moving it up a notch. All it did was encourage the hopes and distract people from the stories.

DS: Well, somebody here wants to know "what do you think of the comments on the message boards and websites?". Interesting.

STVGCC: To be honest, I never read them. In the old days we'd occasionally check out the various fansites and stuff, but it was mostly a bit pointless, and we really didn't have time. The other thing too is the legal aspects. The same reason we don't accept or read fanfiction. There's always somebody waiting in the wings to accuse you of plagiarism. We get it occasionally, but it's all completely unfounded. I don't think I ever saw any fanfiction that wasn't horribly-written garbage. It worries me, I think about our kids and hope that they are exposed to a higher literary level than these people evidently have been! [Laughs]

DS: So you don't visit the sites any more?

STVGCC: No, not for years. Actually, the policy is, unofficially, stay away from them. That's not hard to enforce. We're all so busy, and most of the sites aren't really too interesting. Anyway, there's only so much bitching you can listen to! [Laughs] There are many fans out there who like to cultivate an air of, uh, well being connected to us in some way, you know, being in the loop, or part of an inner circle, but we really are a closed set, if you get me. There's only one official site, and I can't even remember when I last visited it!

DS: Sure. What about writers? Somebody asks "what happened to the writing?". Did it run away or something?

STVGCC: [Laughs] What happened to the writing? Do they mean "why is it not as good as it used to be?". If that's what they mean, then the answer is nothing! Like I said before, we have talented people at [the production company]. Some have moved on and we've consolidated a little, but we occasionally bring in new blood. We've had some pretty able people join us, but unfortunately we often can't use anything they produce, for a variety of reasons, but the people we have more than make up for that. The writing is good. The acting is good, the production values are as high as ever, and these moaning people are a waste of my time. There are plenty of other shows out there. If they don't like mine, they can go watch those ones instead. I don't like to make people think that I don't respect their opinions, because I do, but some people can never be pleased or satisfied. They have particular favorite episodes, which they hold all subsequent ones up to, and if they don't make that grade, then they complain. But some episodes are basically comedies, and many more are very dark and dramatic, and I just can't see how people can try and compare them on anything like a level footing. We all have differing tastes. These fans forget that they are just one person amongst a multitude. Just because they don't like a particular episode, or writer or character or actor or whatever, just because their own close circle don't like it, doesn't mean everybody else shares their beliefs. We still get a lot of nice mail too! [Laughs]

DS: I'm sure! Well, I guess we should finish up. Any thing you'd like to say?

STVGCC: Only that I hope people stick with it for a little while and give it a chance. Millions are, but I'd like to see some of our critics open their minds a little more. And we may have a nice surprise for them soon, too! [Laughs]

DS: Everybody likes surprises! Thanks for your time, and I have some idea of what it is these whining pinheads are droning on about now!

STVGCC: [Laughs] Glad to have been of service! It's been great, thanks!

DS: For sure.

Interviews concludes

Copyright Shturmovik[KGB]

2001

duane_barry@altavista.net

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