Posted: August 25th, 2014 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Bad Kids Go to Hell 2, Ben Browder, Farscape, Sean Astin, SG1, Syfy Dead Still | No Comments »
Update on Ben’s upcoming Syfy Channel horror film Dead Still—if you live near Lexington,KY there will be a special screening :
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: SCAREFEST LEXINGTON, KY SEPTEMBER 12-14th: The Booth Brothers will be showing an exclusive sneak preview of their new horror film DEAD STILL at the speakers conference at ScareFest in Lexington, KY on September 12-14th
The rest of us in the US can see Ben starring along with Ray Wise (everyone’s favorite Devil!) and Gavin Casalegno (Noah) October 6th on the Syfy Channel.
Meanwhile Ben continues work on Bad Kids Go 2 Hell where he is both acting and directing. Sean Astin and his daughter were late additions to the cast which according to Ben features some great kids.
A favorite picture of mine ( hey it has Sean Astin so sort of on topic!)from Jewel Stait’s Twitter :
Posted: May 23rd, 2014 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Farscape, john crichton, SG1 | 8 Comments »
Farscape 15th Anniversary Interview with Ben Browder
I was lucky enough to get to interview Ben (I also interviewed him for the 10th anniversary here). remember I am a microbiology lab tech not a journalist!
Me : In 2009 I asked you if your pride in Farscape had changed and you replied No and in some ways you were more impressed as time passed. So same question after 15 years— to me as a fan it seems your pride and love of Farscape remains steadfast– is it?
Ben : I remain faithful. I still love Farscape, warts and all.
Me : Along the same lines when the show first aired and you interacted online and at conventions did you imagine a future with fans continually discovering Farscape anew 15 years later?
Ben : I never really thought about the future, I was too gobsmacked by the initial reaction and fan support. It kinda freaks me out that people younger than my kids have just discovered Farscape… or more freaky, tell me that they grew up watching Farscape. Is it really 15 years? That’s almost the exact timeframe for the debut of Star Trek to its first movie. Guess its time for the reboot.
Me : I asked some close friends for some question ideas and this is one –Have you ever had a Farscape dream? Many of us have “work” dreams when working long or intense stretches and you certainly did alot of that when the show was filming!
Ben : I had a few work dreams back in the day. The classic actor’s nightmare is that you show up for work, naked or only in your underwear, and don’t know your lines… Oh wait, that wasn’t a dream, that actually happened to me on a couple of occasions on Farscape. After 15 years… it is possible given the malleable nature of memory, that what I take as true Farscape work memories are really only my dreams from those short sleeps between work days.
Me : Would you have liked Crichton to return to Earth had there been more seasons?
Ben : Only for a visit to pick up chocolate and milk. The uncharted territories are home for him now and far more interesting than Earth… In my opinion.
Me : What is your take on all of the outlets for for original television/films today (HULU,Netflix,Amazon etc.) is this a good thing as there is more work or does it hurt the market to be flooded? (hope that makes sense!)
Ben : Its great for the audiences, more choice. Its great for creativity as there are more formats and styles being produced. It does tighten budgets, making shows like Farscape a more expensive gamble. I think it does mean there are fewer (or none) blockbuster series like MASH, Dallas, or Cheers were 20 to 30 years ago. Networks used to aim for that show that was “must see TV” because everyone was talking about it around the water cooler the next day. DVRs, on demand, and billions and billions of channels have virtually eliminated “must see” TV. But there are few pleasures greater than binge watching “House of Cards” or DVRing Game of Thrones and re-watching the juicy bits
Me : In this era of remakes, what classic TV character would you like to play?
Ben : Archie Bunker cause he’s so politically incorrect. Fred Sanford cause his “heart attacks” were epic. I Hotlips Hulahan… I don’t really want to play Hotlips… I just love the name and wanted to see it in print as MASH was the greatest TV show ever. Honestly… we may be in the golden age of TV right now… The last 15 years have seen some epic TV shows.
Me : If you were to write a non-John centric episode of Farscape which character would you choose?
Ben : Aeryn. Because Claudia Black kills it every time and no matter how bad my writing might be she would make me look good
Me : I asked the Twitterverse for questions and here they are:
Lynelle : Why aren’t you on Twitter?
Ben : #Fear. I really fear what I might say given that my #filter for stupidity is #broken. Also… I generally have a problem saying anything in #lessthan140characters, as I usually need to go around the horn to get to the #point of what I meant to say and then I’d have to #apologize and #trytoexplainwhatIreallymeanttosay. Twitter might teach me brevity, but aside from poetry, which twitter is not, brevity is not my strong suit or interest. If I get a job which requires twitter I shall try to learn twittering, Hollywood seem to think its important, though more likely for the publicity than for it’s socially redeeming qualities. There are certainly some very clever twitterers… But most of twitter strikes me as #BS. Not that I have anything against #BS. #Itsprobablyreallyimportant #Becomingaludite 🙂 #Olddognewtricks
Dona Rae :What winter Olympic sport would he like to play?
Ben : Hockey! I can’t play Hockey and really can’t skate… but its my favorite Winter Olympic Sport. My only real hope at this stage of my athletic career is curling… I’m pretty good with a broom and yelling at rocks.
Sar33na : f Stargate sg1 had continued what direction/story lines would he have liked his character to have?
Ben: I’m actually really intrigued by what Mitchell would have been getting up to during the 1930s. As you may suspect, Mitchell may actually be related to himself, because of the quirks of the time continuum… But given that he was running around in the 1930s for a decade or so… I would love to have him breaking into the Stargate project as it existed back then. Maybe he was there when they dug the gate up
RaySP : Any new TV or film projects?
Ben : I did a horror film which is due out later this year… Not sure what its eventual title will be. There are a few potential things swirling in the air, but my biggest project is getting the kids through high school and college.
Me : What are you reading now?
Ben : Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch. The Black Death, The Intimate Story of a Village in Crisis, 1345-1350 by John Hatcher. The online Sermons of my old friend Robert Fields who is an Episcopalian Priest in Brevard North Carolina. A few Scripts. The Yiddish Policemans Union by Michael Chabon. I seem to be having trouble focusing one thing at a time.
Posted: March 19th, 2014 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | 2 Comments »
On March 20,1999 my Dad called me (unusual as usually my Mom called) and he asked if I watched the new show on the SciFi Channel the night before. I asked the one with the puppets? He said yes—I needed to catch the repeat as it was really good. During the week I did and then watched “I,ET” the next Friday. My husband came home from work and said the puppet show? We then both watched. Didn’t live up to the pilot but the characters and acting as well as the effects were enough we began watching regularly. One day while the kids were at school and I was off I went to the SciFi Channel’s website. I found that I wasn’t the only one excited by this show. I was involved with the X Files fandom online — a group of us that met on Delphi, a text based internet site. The Farscape fandom was different however as there was harmony. Some factions yes but overall we had a great reluctant hero in John Crichton played by Ben Browder. Crichton was surrounded by amazing characters. It was unlike anything else I had seen both in regards to storytelling and production values. At the end of the season after one of the episodes it flashed on screen that there was to be a convention on Labor Day weekend in Burbank. I had attended many Creation conventions for Star Trek and X Files. I attended both days taking a friend one and my youngest daughter the next. I have to say it was an amazing experience! The actors, producers, and writers were so enthusiastic! Apparently they had gone to see the newly released Galaxy Quest to prepare ! At that time many actors who appeared at the cons were embarrassed to be in scifi and to be at a convention. The Farscape actors were different for a couple of reasons—they were working in Australia isolated from their fan base in the U.S., U.K., and Europe as well as the fact that except for Ben Browder they were all Australian. Being somewhat cynical, knowing they were actors after all I still enjoyed the weekend immensely! I started looking for information on the actors which was not as easy then as now! There was one Ben Browder site that was already inactive. I thought I would try and see what I could do. I am a clinical microbiologist so was out of my league. I found a build your own site and got started. Meanwhile a girl in the U.K. started a great site. Soon there were two sites , Britngie’s and my little one. A third , benbrowderonline from Germany appeared. The fandom grew and continues to grow with many more sites,Tumblrs etc. Ben charms fans each time he appears somewhere. This fandom has brought me joy onscreen and off. I have friends around the globe that I would never have met without Farscape. People dismiss online interaction but when your kids are young and go to bed early the internet allows you to hang out with friends across the Atlantic while being able to check on your sleeping kids. And we discuss kids, jobs, politics, books , sports . I have friends the ages of my daughters which actually makes being a parent a bit easier as I know better questions to ask 😉 I have shared laughter and tears over things onscreen and off with these people for 15 years.
I loved the enthusiasm and love those involved with the making of Farscape shared for their work that we fans felt. The Farscape actors, writers, and producers set a bar that I feel few other shows can meet. Even though genre acting has become much more acceptable and the take over of San Diego Comic Con by the entertainment industry legitimizing “conventions” the Farscape family’s love of their project remains a step above the others in a class of it’s own. I attended all of the “official” west coast Farscape conventions. I admit each time I harbored the fear that this time would be when they were just tired of this — would it be surprising? No, yet it has not happened 15 years later.
Thank you Farscape for 15 years of fun and tears and WTF moments!
