Editing Podcast:Precipice
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{{ | {{podcast|author=Steelviper|emailAuthor2=|suffix=|additionalCopyright=and Terry Dresbach}} | ||
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== Act 1 == | == Act 1 == | ||
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I thought Gaeta was a really interesting character in this whole saga. That Gaeta, who had idolized Baltar and thought he was a great man, and ultimately become his chief of staff, or whatever he was, to President Baltar, then sticks by him and tries to work within the system after the Cylons come. And yet wants to help the insurgency and starts to believe that his boss is everything that is evil. What happens to him and how does he try to help and what are the constraints of that? I was very interested in Gaeta and his role. | I thought Gaeta was a really interesting character in this whole saga. That Gaeta, who had idolized Baltar and thought he was a great man, and ultimately become his chief of staff, or whatever he was, to President Baltar, then sticks by him and tries to work within the system after the Cylons come. And yet wants to help the insurgency and starts to believe that his boss is everything that is evil. What happens to him and how does he try to help and what are the constraints of that? I was very interested in Gaeta and his role. | ||
This is interesting because, as scripted, Jammer, instead of having flashbacks of the kid and the taking of [[Cally Tyrol|Cally]], was having flashbacks of the suicide bombing. And we shot pieces of footage that were about Jammer waking up. We never shot the footage of him waking up in the dead bodies, which, I really wanted to 'cause I thought that was the most horrific image, that you cut close on his face and he would be pushing an arm out of the way and then you would get up and realize the arm was severed, and he was like pushing dead bodies off of him to just stand up after the suicide bombing. That's what he was supposed to be flashing back to in that moment. And we didn't- we never- the schedule and budget, we never got to shoot him and the dead bodies, so we tried to | This is interesting because, as scripted, Jammer, instead of having flashbacks of the kid and the taking of [[Cally Tyrol|Cally]], was having flashbacks of the suicide bombing. And we shot pieces of footage that were about Jammer waking up. We never shot the footage of him waking up in the dead bodies, which, I really wanted to 'cause I thought that was the most horrific image, that you cut close on his face and he would be pushing an arm out of the way and then you would get up and realize the arm was severed, and he was like pushing dead bodies off of him to just stand up after the suicide bombing. That's what he was supposed to be flashing back to in that moment. And we didn't- we never- the schedule and budget, we never got to shoot him and the dead bodies, so we tried to contruct other things. He's remembering the flash, he's remembering people falling, he's remembering the paper floating down from the diplomas, and put that in here, and it just became confusing. Nobody understood what he was remembering. Noone was- we were so far afield from the suicide bombing that nobody was really making the connection back to that event. So [[David Eick]] saved us by suggesting that what he's remembering is the- oh, no. I'm sorry. It was Sergio. Sergio and David. They were both- they both saved it. Sergio shot it and put in his cut that Jammer is remembering the baby, and then David played that up even more and really went for more inserts about Jammer remembering taking Cally and that the baby was there and that that's what's freaking him out. | ||
== Act 2 == | == Act 2 == | ||
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RDM: I love the fact that it was very spare and that we didn't see much of it. And that you just, by implication, this whole weird head trip had been played out on Kara in this episode. | RDM: I love the fact that it was very spare and that we didn't see much of it. And that you just, by implication, this whole weird head trip had been played out on Kara in this episode. | ||
This was in the story break. The fact that Leoben would say that, "We harvested your ovary, and we have this [[Kacey | This was in the story break. The fact that Leoben would say that, "We harvested your ovary, and we have this [[Kacey|little girl]]." 'Cause everyone's always asking, "Well what about the ovary? What happened to the [[Farms|farm]]? What did they take from Kara? Where did it go? What happened to that?" And this was like, "Ok. You wanna know what happened with that? Let's do this." | ||
This little girl, this little actress, is one of the better child actors I've ever worked with. She delivers some really nice stuff. The dailies of her and [[Katee Sackhoff|Katee]] on the set. Katee playing with her in between takes. Katee talking to her. Her reacting to Katee. She was really fun and really, just, delightful. It's really hard to find child actors. Especially at this age. Especially at the age where they're very young and you're just asking them to do a few discrete things. In fact- that's one of the things you have to keep in mind. That you can only ask them to do very simple, discrete things. | This little girl, this little actress, is one of the better child actors I've ever worked with. She delivers some really nice stuff. The dailies of her and [[Katee Sackhoff|Katee]] on the set. Katee playing with her in between takes. Katee talking to her. Her reacting to Katee. She was really fun and really, just, delightful. It's really hard to find child actors. Especially at this age. Especially at the age where they're very young and you're just asking them to do a few discrete things. In fact- that's one of the things you have to keep in mind. That you can only ask them to do very simple, discrete things. | ||
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RDM: Yeah, and she's totally disconnected from everybody else. | RDM: Yeah, and she's totally disconnected from everybody else. | ||
This [[Lee Adama|Lee]]-[[William Adama|Adama]] stuff... this was pretty much always there. I'm trying to remember... I don't recall going through a lot of revisions on these scenes. It was nice | This [[Lee Adama|Lee]]-[[William Adama|Adama]] stuff... this was pretty much always there. I'm trying to remember... I don't recall going through a lot of revisions on these scenes. It was nice. Well, it's not nice. It's a trick. I needed still cover some other exposition for later events and so I made Adama get up and walk out of the room, and he's walking out of the room to avoid talking to his son. So Lee is continuing to go at him, but basically I used this as a chance to get some exposition, because as Adama's walking away he's talking about the fact, "Oh, and did you know that the [[Cylon Centurion|Centurion]]s are- can't distinguish between the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] and that they did this deliberately because they were worried about their own Cylon up- their own machine uprising." And that's essentially only in the show because you gotta set up the fact that when [[Sharon Agathon|Sharon]] walks into the detention center later, to get the codes, which is actually in a much later episode, but- (Laughs.) Anyway. Actually, no, it does play in this. You need to know that. I needed to setup something about Sharon, and the fact that the Centurions could not tell our Sharon from any of the other Sharons, and so I used this little moment to get Adama to say that. But it worked in the scene because emotionally he's trying to get away from Lee and he's walking away from him and he's trying to change the subject. He's trying to talk about something else, so he does this, what seems to be a meaningless piece of exposition about, "Oh the Centurions," and what they can do and what they can't do. And it never takes you out of the scene, and we still get to the same end point where Lee changes his mind and gets Adama to see that he's asking too much. It still gets to the same place, but it's a nice way of slipping this card in at some earlier part in the script where later, when Sharon does need to get past a Centurion, and- without getting caught, you've laid in the predicate for it. You've established why she can get past that Centurion. And you did it in this very offhand way earlier in the script. It's just a trick. It's just one of the little tricks of screenwriting. You find little ways to set- it's all about laying down cards and picking them up later. So you lay down this card here in this scene about how- seemingly meaningless talk, Adama says, "Sharon can go do this thing," and then later you pick that card up. 'Cause the audience remembers. If the audience watches, they remember almost everything. It's really surprising. It's just little references and little tweaks early in the show. If you pay 'em off correctly later, they all fit together and the audience appreciates the fact that they're rewarded for following along. | ||
In early drafts of this, this was different. The plan was different. I'm trying to recall what we- what we originally did, but I don't think- it wasn't that Adama- the idea that Adama sends [[Pegasus (RDM)|''Pegasus'']] off was something we did much later. I'm trying to recall, in fact I'll look up here on my computer what it was I did in the first draft in the Adama-Lee stuff. [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack]]... [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]]... Leoben... Yeah, there's nothing better than listening me to me look around on my computer for information | In early drafts of this, this was different. The plan was different. I'm trying to recall what we- what we originally did, but I don't think- it wasn't that Adama- the idea that Adama sends [[Pegasus (RDM)|''Pegasus'']] off was something we did much later. I'm trying to recall, in fact I'll look up here on my computer what it was I did in the first draft in the Adama-Lee stuff. [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack]]... [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]]... Leoben... Yeah, there's nothing better than listening me to me look around on my computer for information. Essentially, the difference is that ''Pegasus'' was actually going to go, and do the rescue mission, and not [[Galactica (RDM)|''Galactica'']]. And that that explains certain things that will happen in later episodes. But the whole idea that Adama sends ''Pegasus'' off with the [[The Fleet (RDM)|civilian Fleet]] to safeguard the remnants of humanity in case they fail then goes back and fights the Cylons on his own, is not what initially happened. We were always talking about having ''Pegasus'' back there, which, then it would be they were transferring people onto ''Pegasus'' because ''Pegasus'' was the most powerful battlestar and it was the strongest battlestar and you would send the strongest ship into the fight and that'd explain why ''Pegasus'' was there, when it needs to be there in "[[Exodus]]" and not ''Galactica''. But that didn't really play. It didn't play strongly and it was confusing and the idea that Adama lays down the law to- or Lee lays down the law to Adama, and he listens to him, is more provocative. | ||
I love this scene. This is where [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] and- [[Laura Roslin|Laura]] | I love this scene. This is where [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] and- [[Laura Roslin|Laura]] confront Tigh. I like the fact that Laura walks out of that [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] scene and actually is agreeing with Baltar, if you think about it. She walks out of that scene and she goes and confronts the insurgents and says, "This has to stop." And then when he says something about her being on the side of the Cylons and she slaps him, I mean, we've never Laura ever hit anybody. She won't carry- she wouldn't touch a gun. She's not that kind of person. But that idea that she was on the Cylon side, that she would hit Tigh. And then this, I love this. This is just the long shot of just [[Michael Hogan]]. Michael Hogan is the unsung hero of this show because Michael Hogan is a very modest man and Michael Hogan does not do a lot of press. He doesn't do a lot of interviews for press. He doesn't do- | ||
Terry: He turns them down? | Terry: He turns them down? | ||
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RDM: It's not about what he's has to say as a person. He doesn't think it matters. What matters to Michael is what Michael puts onscreen. | RDM: It's not about what he's has to say as a person. He doesn't think it matters. What matters to Michael is what Michael puts onscreen. | ||
Terry: | Terry: As an actor? | ||
RDM: I know, it's astonishing. (Laughs.) | RDM: I know, it's astonishing. (Laughs.) | ||
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Terry: I love all of you, you know that. | Terry: I love all of you, you know that. | ||
RDM: I've stood outside the production offices in [[Wikipedia:Vancouver|Vancouver]] with Michael, smoking cigarettes, and stood out there and Mike would say, " | RDM: I've stood outside the production offices in [[Wikipedia:Vancouver|Vancouver]] with Michael, smoking cigarettes, and stood out there and Mike would say, "No, I just," and I'd say, "Michael, you gotta do this publicity thing." He's like, "No. You know what? I'm just not about that. That's not what it's about for me. I just think it's a great show." | ||
Terry: That's impressive. But you know what? | Terry: That's impressive. But you know what? | ||
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Terry: Really? | Terry: Really? | ||
RDM: So... connected | RDM: So... connected. | ||
Terry: Why is that? | Terry: Why is that? | ||
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RDM: There's a point we can all be driven to. | RDM: There's a point we can all be driven to. | ||
Terry: That's why it's- I don't understand everybody's shock and dismay at some of this stuff that goes on | Terry: That's why it's- I don't understand everybody's shock and dismay at some of this stuff that goes on anymore. | ||
RDM: No. Well, read any hist- any study of war will tell you that it's an ugly game. | RDM: No. Well, read any hist- any study of war will tell you that it's an ugly game. | ||
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RDM: And how long does it take to change the costume? | RDM: And how long does it take to change the costume? | ||
Terry: | Terry: Oh, I think you can change your clothes. You do it every day. | ||
RDM: Well... | RDM: Well... | ||
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RDM: Oh, it's hair and makeup... | RDM: Oh, it's hair and makeup... | ||
Terry: No! No, no. | Terry: No! No, no. They get a lot of stuff done then they at stop at craft service, they go to the bathroom, they- somebody comes u- a producer, comes up to tell them about the latest brilliant prose he's written for them. | ||
RDM: (Chuckles.) | RDM: (Chuckles.) | ||
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Terry: I think I worked with you... | Terry: I think I worked with you... | ||
RDM: That's true. Actually, sometimes they can fight back and they have claws. | RDM: That's true. Ooh. Actually, sometimes they can fight back and they have claws. | ||
Terry: Very long, sharp ones. | Terry: Very long, sharp ones. | ||
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Terry: -back in [[Colonial Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]]? | Terry: -back in [[Colonial Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]]? | ||
RDM: We wanted- it was something we talked about in the writer's room. We were- we didn't want to keep Boomer in this jail cell. We felt like, that story had run it's course. I didn't want to just keep making Boom | RDM: We wanted- it was something we talked about in the writer's room. We were- we didn't want to keep Boomer in this jail cell. We felt like, that story had run it's course. I didn't want to just keep making Boom, sorry, not Boomer now, I've screwed it up, [[Sharon Agathon|Sharon]]- didn't want to keep just having Sharon be the woman that sits in the cell all day. There was nothing interesting about that. We had done as much as we could with that. And that there was something more interesting about, again, the idealism of the fact that if there's a point where [[William Adama|Adama]] wants to believe in her. Adama wants her to be in that uniform again. | ||
Terry: Well it also makes the Cylons ever so much more interesting and less one-dimensional. | Terry: Well it also makes the Cylons ever so much more interesting and less one-dimensional. | ||
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Terry: Should I have one of the animals do tricks or something to kill the dead space? | Terry: Should I have one of the animals do tricks or something to kill the dead space? | ||
RDM: (Laughs.) No. I | RDM: (Laughs.) No. I suddenly at a loss. | ||
Terry: Call out the garbage man? | Terry: Call out the garbage man? | ||
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Terry: Liberty? | Terry: Liberty? | ||
RDM | RDM: Saturday Night Live! Chevy Chase doing Gerald Ford. | ||
Terry: I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe we should name one of the cats Liberty. Justice. | Terry: I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe we should name one of the cats Liberty. Justice. | ||
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RDM: Trouble and Strife. Those should be the names of the cats. | RDM: Trouble and Strife. Those should be the names of the cats. | ||
Here we are. | Here we are. Ellen gets the map. Tigh wants to burn the map. Ellen pockets the map. Ellen gives map to Cylons. Ok. What happens now? How bad is this about to get for one Ellen Tigh and for one Colonel Tigh? | ||
Terry: Probably pretty bad, given what show they're on. | Terry: Probably pretty bad, given what show they're on. | ||
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RDM: Yeah. | RDM: Yeah. | ||
I had some conversations with | I had some conversations with Michael Hogan about, what's the intention here? I mean, when he heard he was losing his eye and getting a limp, he was like, "Ok. What are you going for? What's the deal here? What's this all about?" 'Cause Michael's Canadian and his "y'know" and the "about", "y'know", kind of comes through with Michael quite bit it. | ||
Terry: Hey... that's Scottish, honey. | Terry: Hey... that's Scottish, honey. | ||
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Terry: Speaking of good performances. | Terry: Speaking of good performances. | ||
RDM: Oh yeah. | RDM: Oh yeah. A.J., he's just great. You really- and wait till you see him in "Collaborators". Episode four, but the third episode broadcast. | ||
This whole storyline now dealing with the rounding of the pris- from this point on we're doing homages to other pieces of work. This is now about pace and rhythm and visuals and moving you through what's going on. This interior argument among the Cylons I thought was fascinating, given this context. Here's the guys with the hoods over them being marched into the trucks for the death squads, and yet there's internal dissent, and it was all about, again, providing texture and also saying that the situation is not so easily read. That there are two sides to everything. That their world view of what they're going through and how they view these situations. You're with them, very much, in this scene. There's | This whole storyline now dealing with the rounding of the pris- from this point on we're doing homages to other pieces of work. This is now about pace and rhythm and visuals and moving you through what's going on. This interior argument among the Cylons I thought was fascinating, given this context. Here's the guys with the hoods over them being marched into the trucks for the death squads, and yet there's internal dissent, and it was all about, again, providing texture and also saying that the situation is not so easily read. That there are two sides to everything. That their world view of what they're going through and how they view these situations. You're with them, very much, in this scene. There's Cally, but, emotionally you're with Sharon and you're with D'anna and you're dealing with their issues. And then, all these prisoners, they're in the background because that's the perspective of that world. And then, enter Tom Zarek. Which I think is really a nice, little grace note as we approach the end of the second hour, to suddenly bring in Tom. It's like, "Oh, woah! Wait a minute!" I like the fact that he and Laura can connect in this circumstance and joke with each other and be easy with each other. That's one of the better- that is completely CGI right now. | ||
Terry: Really? | Terry: Really? | ||
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RDM: Completely CGI. | RDM: Completely CGI. | ||
Now we're at the river. We had to figure out what | Now we're at the river. We had to figure out what New Caprica looked like. There was a- it was definitely a challenge to try to differentiate New Caprica from Caprica, which you saw extensively in season one. | ||
Terry: By the way, I really like where | Terry: By the way, I really like where Anders is going. | ||
RDM: I know. Anders has really developed into one of our major characters. | RDM: I know. Anders has really developed into one of our major characters. | ||
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Terry: -who brought a lot of depth. | Terry: -who brought a lot of depth. | ||
RDM: -A lot of depth. I think the actor has really become interesting in that he's really provides a lot of nice textures into the show. He's really good in this two-parter. In this two-hour. In these two episodes. Whatever you want to call them. I'm so into Anders. Here's this guy, this, | RDM: -A lot of depth. I think the actor has really become interesting in that he's really provides a lot of nice textures into the show. He's really good in this two-parter. In this two-hour. In these two episodes. Whatever you want to call them. I'm so into Anders. Here's this guy, this, pyramid, this athlete, who became a resistance leader and then got rescued by this pilot and now he's doing a second resistance on another planet. | ||
Terry: Well, it's so heroic. | Terry: Well, it's so heroic. | ||
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RDM: It's very heroic. | RDM: It's very heroic. | ||
Terry: It's the guy in the | Terry: It's the guy in the French Resistance. | ||
RDM: He reeks heroism. | RDM: He reeks heroism. | ||
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Terry: Woah! Yeah. | Terry: Woah! Yeah. | ||
RDM: Why are there trucks on New Caprica? You know what? Because we need trucks on New Caprica. (Chuckles.) Because I didn't want to do | RDM: Why are there trucks on New Caprica? You know what? Because we need trucks on New Caprica. (Chuckles.) Because I didn't want to do landspeeders and hovercrafts and all that kind of crap, which would really take you- if suddenly these were shots of hovercraft and air vehicles moving around the scene, you would be taken out of the drama. | ||
Terry: You know, I have to say. I read these things all the time and it's like I've watched this- this is my third time watching this episode. I never think about that kind of thing, 'cause I'm actually watching the development between the two people. So what kind of trucks- | Terry: You know, I have to say. I read these things all the time and it's like I've watched this- this is my third time watching this episode. I never think about that kind of thing, 'cause I'm actually watching the development between the two people. So what kind of trucks- | ||
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Terry: -then we're doing a bad job. | Terry: -then we're doing a bad job. | ||
RDM: That's right. There's a lot of continuity errors in great films. In | RDM: That's right. There's a lot of continuity errors in great films. In ''Casablanca'', in ''Citizen Cane''. There's continuity errors and all kinds of mistakes, but you don't see them. | ||
Terry: If you're doing your job you don't notice them. And you don't really think about the fact that, "Oh, look. There's trucks." I guess if you've watched the episode seventy five hundred times, perhaps, I don't know. | Terry: If you're doing your job you don't notice them. And you don't really think about the fact that, "Oh, look. There's trucks." I guess if you've watched the episode seventy five hundred times, perhaps, I don't know. | ||
RDM: This sequence, this leading up to the Cylons shooting them is an homage t- is a deliberate homage to | RDM: This sequence, this leading up to the Cylons shooting them is an homage t- is a deliberate homage to ''The Great Escape''. This is like the end of the movie when Richard Adenborough- | ||
Terry: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. | Terry: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. | ||
RDM: -and the other guy are captured and they're taken out in trucks and the | RDM: -and the other guy are captured and they're taken out in trucks and the Nazis say, "Get out and have a five minute break." | ||
Terry: Yeah. | Terry: Yeah. | ||
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RDM: And you're intercutting with the river. And then... all hell breaks loose. | RDM: And you're intercutting with the river. And then... all hell breaks loose. | ||
I love this. I think this is one of the really interesting elements of the show is that | I love this. I think this is one of the really interesting elements of the show is that Jammer, the collaborator, Jammer saves Cally. | ||
Terry: Well, but that's kind of what I was saying about | Terry: Well, but that's kind of what I was saying about Ellen Tigh, again. You just- people in extraordinary circumstances... you cannot predict what they're going to do. | ||
RDM: No. You can't. | RDM: No. You can't. | ||
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Terry: You are. | Terry: You are. | ||
RDM: I think " | RDM: I think "Exodus, Part I" and "II" is pretty good. | ||
Terry: You really are. How far have I seen? Episode, like, seven? | Terry: You really are. How far have I seen? Episode, like, seven? | ||
RDM: You have seen up to | RDM: You have seen up to episode ten. | ||
Terry: Ten? It's really good. | Terry: Ten? It's really good. | ||
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RDM: Goodnight. | RDM: Goodnight. | ||