Xenite.Org: Your writing for Beka is very strong, very powerful. Writers have to reach down into their own experience to build good character. Would you say you're putting a lot of yourself into Beka? Have there been any surprises for you in Beka's character, in terms of the way Lisa Ryder portrays her, or perhaps the way the direction on individual episodes have taken the character? Have you found yourself thinking, "Hm. Maybe we should follow that line a little further"?
Ethlie Vare: I definitely put a lot of myself into Beka, to the point where I ometimes find myself channeling her in story meetings - which freaks the guys out, big-time. They joke that somehow I'll find a way to make Beka a redhead, like me -- and if you look carefully, you'll see I'm slowly sneaking that in there!
But Lisa Ryder brings a lot of herself to the character, as well. Lisa's sweeter than I am, and it shows. I have to be careful not to write Beka too snarky (I tend to be snarky), because the dialog would sound odd in Lisa's mouth. This doesn't mean that our male writers don't also do a great job of writing Beka, because they do. But I guess I am the one with the closest life experience.
Xenite.Org: As the Andromeda phenomenon grows, more and more Web sites are going to document the show's universe, including its history. If the marketing people see money in selling books about the Andromeda universe, do you think you might want to dip into the history? Maybe work on a book like The Illustrated Star Wars Universe?
Ethlie Vare: We already have a writer who insists on doing the Andromeda Trivia Guide. We want to see Andromeda reference books and Andromeda novels and Andromeda action figures and Andromeda soundtracks and Andromeda starship models and naughty Andromeda lingerie.
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Xenite.Org: We've had only glimpses of the entertainment found in the Andromeda universe. Have you discussed opportunities to explore the pop culture of the Long Night with the other writers? When a scene is set up, like in the casino from "Fear and Loathing in the Milky Way", do the writers have much input into the kind of environment that is developed? Or is it just a case of writing, "Harper and Trance walk into a cheap casino"?
Ethlie Vare: Since we're all a bunch of pop culture junkies (except Joe Reinkemeyer, who reads Kirkegaard for giggles) we'd love to do more episodes that show future entertainment. The problem, of course, is that anything unfamiliar enough to be truly futuristic probably isn't going to be very entertaining! But we do have a couple of wacky ideas for Season Two....
As far as the casino set (and every other environment) - it's on the page first, and Production Design brings it to life. The longer you all work together, the more everyone is on the same wavelength, and the less specific you have to be in the description.
Xenite.Org: What is the basic process for assigning a story to a writer or team? Do the writers get together and pitch what kinds of stories they want to write? Do the producers come up with the basic concepts and then hand out assignments to writers?
Keep in mind that in series television, the writers are the producers. Head writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe is the Executive Producer. I'm a Co-Producer. So yeah, the producers (us) sit around at the beginning of the year and talk about what kinds of stories we want to tell over the season to bring the story arc (yup, got one of those...) forward. Then we all go to our separate cubbyholes and dream up what we think are cool story ideas we'd like to write. We present them to RHW and, if he likes them, we go forward and develop them, present them to the network... I actually described the whole process in stultifying detail in a "column of the week" called TV 101 on my website: www.ethlieannvare.com.
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