Carla Robinson

Carla Robinson
[[File:|200px]]
Role:	Writer / Story Editor
BSG Universe:	Re-imagined Series
Date of Birth:
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
[{{{site}}} Official Site]
IMDb profile

Carla Robinson is a TV writer whose professional credits so far are limited to only writing for the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica.

Robinson joined the Re-imagined series as a staff writer in the first season and contributed the teleplays for two episodes ("You Can't Go Home Again" and "Colonial Day"). She became the series's story editor in the second season after first season story editors Bradley Thompson and David Weddle became producers. Robinson wrote a further episode for the second season, "The Farm."

Apart from writing for Battlestar Galactica, Robinson has had considerable success getting her spec scripts noticed in writing competitions. She won 1st Place in the Action-Drama category at the 4th Spec Scriptacular Competition in December 2003 with her spec script for Law & Order entitled "The Good Wife," according to the competition's webpage at TVWriter.com. In the same competition, Robinson's The West Wing spec script, "Bravado," was also a finalist. (According to IMDB, it does not appear that either script was ever produced.) The competition is run under the auspices of the Cloud Creek Institute for the Arts, a creative community in St. Joe, Arkansas, started by veteran television writer Larry Brody in 2002.

The following year, Robinson placed as a finalist - twice - in the Scriptwriters Network's Carl Sautter Memorial Scriptwriting Competition in the category for one-hour TV shows with a spec script for The West Wing entitled "Undercurrents" and another script for Six Feet Under called "For the Living."

Robinson left the series by the end of Season 2. She was replaced as story editor by Anne Cofell Saunders.

Role in the Creative Team

Writing Staff Position

As documented in Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, Robinson was part of the core writing team from the series' inception. She served as staff writer alongside co-executive producer Toni Graphia, executive story editors Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, working under executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick. The writing staff was based at the Rock Hudson Building at Universal's Hollywood lot.

Selection for "Colonial Day"

Robinson's background in writing spec scripts for political dramas made her an ideal choice for the series' first politics-driven episode. Moore chose her specifically for "Colonial Day" based on her demonstrated skills: "Ron had read my spec script for The West Wing and knew that I enjoyed writing a certain amount of political banter," Robinson explained. "'Colonial Day' began as a 'light' episode, but as it progressed from one draft to the next, it took on a life of its own."

Episodes and Character Development

"You Can't Go Home Again"

Robinson's first scripting assignment marked a significant milestone for both her career and the character of Kara Thrace.

"The episode completes Starbuck's emotional journey and forces her to face the demons of her past. The physical scars she incurs on this ordeal further remind her of the choices she has made."

The episode's title reflected Robinson's literary approach to the material: "I chose the title 'You Can't Go Home Again' as a homage to Thomas Wolfe because I saw the Starbuck storyline as being reminiscent of the character story in Wolfe's novel [of the same name]. Starbuck has 'come home' by the end of the episode, but things will never be quite the same for her."

Collaborative Writing Process

The episode required extensive collaboration with the writing staff, particularly regarding the technical aspects of Kara operating a Cylon Raider. Bradley Thompson recalled:

"We all worked very closely with Carla on that. We asked ourselves what happens if you want to fly a Cylon craft? What do you have to deal with? What are the systems like? After a lot of discussion, we guessed that Kara was able to get pitch, roll, yaw and power out of that fusion of machine and biology."

Robinson's original draft included even more ambitious ideas about Kara's interaction with Cylon technology. Thompson revealed:

"In Robinson's first draft of the episode's script, Kara actually communicated with the Cylon Raider while she attempted to repair it. We were going to have them talking, and then we realized that it might have looked pretty wacky! It was an intriguing idea, but in the end that didn't give us as much as we'd have liked to play with."

Clarification on Original Series References

Despite similarities to a Galactica 1980 episode, Robinson clarified that no homage was intended: "Although Dirk Benedict's Starbuck was also stranded with a Cylon in the Galactica: 1980 episode 'The Return of Starbuck', 'You Can't Go Home Again' was never meant to be any kind of homage to that show. I was neither aware of the episode nor that series."

"Colonial Day"

Robinson's second major episode represented a significant expansion of the series' political storytelling. Ronald D. Moore described it as their "West Wing episode," designed to "do more on the political nature of the show" and "see how Laura functions as the President."

Evolution of the Script

The episode underwent significant development during the writing process.

"The initial draft focused more on the political maneuvring [sic] between Laura and Tom Zarek. But the producers felt that the tension needed to be revved up and they introduced the idea of a political assassin's intent to silence Laura Roslin. A mystery forms around who was really behind the gunman, and that question is never fully answered."

Mary McDonnell's Response

The episode was particularly welcomed by Mary McDonnell, who had been eager to explore her character's political role.

"I thought that episode was a long time coming. It was rather frustrating for me to have to go that many episodes before the politics of Laura's world could begin to materialize. I understood why in the world of Battlestar Galactica that was going to take a bit of time, but it was very hard for me to not have a 'West Wing in space' episode, because that's Laura's job, after all!"

Character Collaboration

Robinson also contributed to character development beyond her credited episodes. Working with Toni Graphia, she was responsible for naming the character of Tom Zarek.

"We knew we probably wanted something starting with a 'Z' for his surname, because a 'Z' sounds strong and futuristic. And we wanted him to have a religious-sounding name for his first name, so we looked at a number of Saints' names. His original name was Peter Zarek, but that didn't clear with our legal department. So we changed it to Tom."

Production Design Influence

Robinson's scripts also influenced the show's visual design. For "Colonial Day," she made a key creative decision about the episode's setting that affected its tone:

"In a bid to give the episode a lighter visual style, Robinson largely set 'Colonial Day' on a spaceship with an artificial idyllic environment, the Cloud Nine (which the show's crew nicknamed 'The Happy Ship')."

Writer credits for "Battlestar Galactica"

• Season 1:
  • You Can't Go Home Again
  • Colonial Day
• Season 2:
  • The Farm

See also: Episodes written by Carla Robinson

Notes

• Robinson's work on "You Can't Go Home Again" established important series continuity by giving Kara Thrace the knee injury that would affect her throughout the remainder of the first season.
• Her approach to "Colonial Day" helped establish the template for the series' political episodes, balancing character drama with procedural elements.
• The collaboration between Robinson and Toni Graphia on character naming demonstrates the collective creative process that shaped the series' development.
• Robinson's spec script background made her uniquely qualified to write the series' first major political episode, drawing on her experience with West Wing material.
• Her literary approach to episode titles and thematic content showed a sophisticated understanding of the series' deeper narrative ambitions.

References