So, what was the story with this? I remember hearing Sci-Fi Channel did a documentary about DS that got nixed. Is this documentary available anywhere? I'd really like to see a copy of it.
I think it's safe to say that that thing ain't seein' the light of day!
They showed it at the last Fest at the World Trade Center
I honestly don't recall the details, but what I do remember is that a lot of gossip was bandied about (which per Board regulations can't be discussed here
... After a touching tribute to the WTC offered by Jim Pierson <sniff>, the Sciography documentary, originally scheduled to be shown the previous evening, aired. ...
Wow. What was it that caused such a reaction? Was the documentary disrespectful in some way?
It all reminds me of this time at one of the old DS convocations when Joan Bennett was still living. Joan was sitting on stage when KLS was taking a starry-eyed trip down memory lane about what a wonderful place DS to work and what a warm, caring, family feeling there was amongst cast and crew. Apparently, Joan gave one of her famous sharp looks, raised an eyebrow and said "WHAT show did you say you were on again, Dear?" LOVE to have seen that...
Actually, it was at the 2002 Anaheim, CA Fest. :)
Reminds me of the recent Fest in Hollywood. Johnny Karlen and KLS were on stage and someone asked them if they thought Jonathan would ever come back to the Fests, in particular would he show up for the 40th this summer. KLS started out by saying something like, "Um, well, I haven't spoken to Jonathan in awhile, but I think we might be able to persuade him. Sure, why not!" and Karlen said into the mic, "Johnny ain't comin'!" to which the audience roared w/laughter.That wasn't the only time he decided to have some fun at her expense. She made some remark about the location being great, and he responded with something along the lines of: "There she goes again. Miss Everything Is So Nice. I'm so nice. Good God, woman!" ;D
Reminds me of the recent Fest in Hollywood. Johnny Karlen and KLS were on stage and someone asked them if they thought Jonathan would ever come back to the Fests, in particular would he show up for the 40th this summer. KLS started out by saying something like, "Um, well, I haven't spoken to Jonathan in awhile, but I think we might be able to persuade him. Sure, why not!" and Karlen said into the mic, "Johnny ain't comin'!" to which the audience roared w/laughter.
I call KLS the "Mary Richards" of DS fandom because she really is pollyanna-ish when it comes to things, at least onstage, LOL! ;D
That wasn't the only time he decided to have some fun at her expense. She made some remark about the location being great, and he responded with something along the lines of: "There she goes again. Miss Everything Is So Nice. I'm so nice. Good God, woman!" ;D
it upset several cast members and they walked out even. ... friends who were said the cast members that walked out were furious about it being shown.
The one Mfmdpt is referring to is a different doc., though one I haven't seen.
They made two shows- one focusing on the fans ala: Trekkies for DS fans, and the other was a 'behind the scenes on the phenomenon' show.
The second time, it really felt like they were trying to get as many 'edgy' and controversial comments as possible. In fact, several times, I felt they were trying to steer me into a kind of performance which I now realize was meant to put Dan Curtis in a bad light and make me come off like an obsessed loser. I have a feeling they were going to use that latter kind of material in the other 'Trekkies-'-esque doc.
At the time I think there was a making of classic series idea being worked on, and they dropped it after an episode or two. A couple of new producers were brought in to supervise the program, do new interviews and steer it towards something more nasty and tabloid-oriented.
It was a nasty piece of junk...
and I wish all that footage from my session was trashed, though since the master tapes were retained by the third party production company, I'm sure they still exist.
The DS documentary was especially disappointing to me because I saw the debut episode of "Sciography" in August, 2000 and enjoyed it very much. It was about another of my favorite shows, "Quantum Leap", and unlike what we saw at the Fest, this show was very informative and respectful. It featured interviews with the actors, producers, and writers, video footage from a QL convention, and a chronology of the series. Potentially touchy issues were glossed over. It was a very pro-fan and pro-show program, not trashy at all. IIRC, the next episode set to air was "Battlestar Galactica", and then DS, but I don't even know if the BSG Sciography ever did turn up.
but what's with all the scandal and secrecy?where is all the drama here really coming from? ::)
Mainly, the problem with the DS Sciography was that it focused too much on certain actors' substance abuse problems (things that are common knowledge among fans but that don't really need to be spotlighted) rather than discussing the merits of the show itself.
However, the people who were reflecting on these incidents in the interviews were actors who were not even working on DS at the same time as the actors they were talking about, so obviously what they were saying was hearsay.
Other events were exaggerated or outright falsified (a rivalry between Frid and Selby that never really happened except in the minds of teen magazine publishers). Also, the program was filled with inaccuracies in spelling ("Laura Parker" instead of "Lara Parker") and actor-character portrayals (Roger Davis played Roger Collins?) If the makers of this 'documentary' couldn't even go to the trouble of spelling an actress's name properly or correctly crediting an actor, how could we possibly be expected to believe that the rest of their information was accurate?
I heard that the original Sciography producer who was responsible for the QL episode had moved on to other projects and that his replacement took the series in the direction of an expose. I don't know if there's any truth to this, but I can easily believe it since the tone of the two episodes was so different.
Well, two cast members walked out: Marie Wallace and KLS. KLS has said that John Karlen did too, but did anyone see him walk out? I didn't notice him leaving his seat.
From what I've read here, what really is scandalous is how the producers of this thing tried to make the actors and actresses seem scandalous when obviously there was nothing to scandalize.
... the Sciography documentary, originally scheduled to be shown the previous evening, aired. Let me begin by bringing up what was good about it-- Michael Miozza's Seaview segment was fantastic, as was Christine Domaniecki's interview-- she's very pretty, and discussed winning a role on DS, an experience she said led to the happiest day of her life, and Darren's restoration piece was also very well done. ...
*TOO* funny! I especially love the one about RD loving his hair! [laughing4] [laughing7] [stfl]
it upset several cast members and they walked out even. ... friends who were said the cast members that walked out were furious about it being shown.Well, two cast members walked out: Marie Wallace and KLS. KLS has said that John Karlen did too, but did anyone see him walk out? I didn't notice him leaving his seat.