Attention Deficit Delirium

Ron Moore (l) and David Eick with Alessandra Torresani
at the 2010 Syfy Channel Upfront.
(Photo © 2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

I recently spoke with Caprica executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick on the red carpet at this week’s 2010 Syfy Channel Upfront. You can read my Caprica story on AOL here, but there were some extra bits left over that make for a nice feature for ADD.

So here are Moore and Eick discussing their shows, their cultural impact and last year’s controversial Battlestar Galactica finale.


How much of an impact do you think that Battlestar Galactica and Caprica have had on modern sci-fi television?
Ron Moore: That’s really hard to say. I don’t know.
David Eick: We were so busy cribbing from others that it’s been hard to keep track of who we may have begat. Our touchstones were the greats: [Robert] Heinlein, Philip K. Dick and the movies of Ridley Scott, not just the science fiction ones. I think we were fortunate to figure out a way to apply some of that aesthetic to a modern TV show. I haven’t been able to pay attention enough to what else is on out there to see what we may have inspired.
Ron Moore: To me, the biggest and most important impact is that Salma Hayek had a “Frak” T-shirt when she was on 30 Rock. That was a major score because that’s the one they put in the time capsule.

Isn’t it ironic that one’s cultural impact can come down to one word?
Ron Moore: You know what? However you can get there.

Moore with "Caprica" cast member Sasha Roiz.
(Photo © 2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

Ron, I saw you speak last year at the New York Television Festival and reminisce about your later years with the Star Trek franchise and how formulaic it got. How hard is it to stay as original as possible with your storytelling on Caprica, especially after four seasons of Battlestar, and to keep the mythology fresh?
Ron Moore: I think you’re always trying to avoid clichés just as a storyteller. I think within the Battlestar universe the smartest thing we did was we developed Caprica while Battlestar was still going, so we were able to make sure that we carved enough blank space for the back story on Galactica to give ourselves a lot of room. So as a consequence there are not huge plot grids that we have to keep tying into. The continuity is not so densely packed that we have to make all this stuff line up. It feels very free, that Caprica can be whatever it wants to be.

As opposed to Lost, where as the story keeps getting bigger, you have to keep checking to make sure the continuity is accurate.
Ron Moore: That’s a very different set of…
David Eick: That was a good, cautionary tale.

Moore and Eick at ease on the red carpet.
(Photo © 2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

Many fans found the Battlestar ending to be controversial. What did you think of the fans’ reaction?
David Eick: We were just talking about this. I’ll say this because I didn’t actually write it, and he did, so I could speak about him in the third person. I’m really proud of it. It’s the best possible resolution given what we had set up, and I think if anybody’s longing for something different it’s only because what had been set up was so rich and had such depth and meaning that they just didn’t want it to end. So I’m very happy with what my friend here did with the script. I think it’s the best version of any that could have been conceived.
Ron Moore: I’m very happy with it. I’m very settled with it. I was very happy with it when we wrote it, shot at and saw it, and that’s the end of the show. People can take from it what they will, but I’m very pleased with it.



Ron Moore refuses to "tech the tech" anymore. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

As keynote speaker for the recent New York Television Festival “Development Day,” Battlestar Galactica and Caprica creator Ronald D. Moore addressed many different aspects of creating and sculpting the new incarnation of BSG. He also discussed how he broke into the business and the eight years he spent working as a writer and producer on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. The best and funniest moment during the 55-minute discussion emerged when one fan asked Moore why the decision was made in Battlestar to use technology that was similar to, and in some cases behind, our own. His response to the question was illuminating not only in that the audience learned how good the esteemed writer was at doing impersonations, but also how ridiculous sci-fi gets when it becomes diluted by Hollywood formula and how it inspired him to build a better show.

Ron Moore on the reason to not let technology overshadow the characters on Battlestar Galactica:
“That was in the original inception of the show, and that was really a reaction against Star Trek. It’s easy for me to bash Star Trek because I lived and breathed it so long, but I loved it, so let’s make that clear. I don’t hate Star Trek by any means, but I got very frustrated with the amount of technobabble I had to write on it. It became the solution to so many stories and plotlines. You would just be writing these endless pages… It was so mechanical that we had science consultants who would just come up with the words for us. If you look at those scripts you’ll see that.

"We're tired of you teching around. Write a script with a good ending."

Picard would say: ‘Commander La Forge, tech the tech to the warp drive.’

Geordi: ‘Captain, the tech is over teching!’

‘Well, the auxiliary tech to the tech, Mr. La Forge.’

‘No, Captain, I’ve tried to tech the tech, but it won’t work!’

And then Data pops in and says: ‘Captain, there is a theory that if you tech the other tech…’

It’s a rhythm and it works anyplace. It’s not about anything except going through this dance of how they tech their way out of it. It became so frustrating and so annoying, I just swore I was never going to write those scenes anymore. I just decided from the outset [of Battlestar] that I wanted a phone to look like a phone and wanted a retro technology. I justified it in the story because they had this back story with the Cylons — the technology had rebelled and they had gone backwards. I thought it was interesting to go that route and make the technology relatable in the same way that their coats and ties were relatable as well.”

"Hey, I was making a living. What the tech else was I supposed to do?" (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Four years ago I wrote my first feature for the New York Times (“Small-Screen Sundance”), about an ambitious new event called the New York Television Festival. Founder Terence Gray and his associates wanted to do for independent television what festivals like Sundance had done for independent film, by exposing new and exciting works into the marketplace that might not otherwise get screened. Since the fall of 2005, the annual, week-long event has incorporated series premieres, industry panels and screenings of undiscovered pilots, along with an awards ceremony at week’s end. NYTVF has united aspiring television directors and producers with industry insiders, helped get a few pilots sold to networks and cable channels and has been a springboard for various talent to find opportunities in the world of television.

"Modern Family" co-stars Ty Burrell (l) and Julie Bowen (r) work the red carpet before last night's party. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

This year, the festival’s fifth annual opening night event at the Times Center in Manhattan spotlighted the premieres of two new ABC comedies, Modern Family and Cougar Town, just prior to their national airings, which were followed by an upbeat panel with actors Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell and Busy Philipps, moderated by Entertainment Weekly staff writer Tim Stack. And, of course, there was the after-party where festival attendees got to mix and mingle. It’s probably a novel concept for many members of the public to watch TV shows on a large screen, and every year it’s always interesting to see how they respond, particularly to the comedies. Modern Family went over well with the large crowd last night and elicited plenty of laughter, and Cougar Town got a decent response and offered a few zingers. Tomorrow night features a fan screening for the pilot of ABC’s Flash Forward, an epic new drama that is highly apropos for a larger screening format.

Busy Philipps flashes us a smile from "Cougar Town". Even though she's not a cougar. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

NYTVF 2009 runs through Saturday night and will include panel appearances from Late Show With David Letterman co-head writers Justin and Eric Stangel and SNL cast member Jason Sudeikis (on Tuesday night), The Cleveland Show star Mike Henry, cast members Reagen Gomez and Kevin Michael Richardson and executive producer Rich Appel (Thursday night), 30 Rock writer-producers Matt Hubbard (fresh from his Emmy win) and Kay Cannon (Saturday at noon) and keynote speaker and Battlestar Galactica/Caprica creator/writer Ronald D. Moore (Saturday at 6 PM). Check the NYTVF schedule of events for all the details. There’s plenty for TV buffs to absorb.

ADD attended the opening night festivities and nabbed interviews with Bowen, Burrell and Philipps on the red carpet (Q&As are forthcoming), sat in on the show premieres and panel and then journeyed down to the after-party. Following are more pictures from the event.

NYTVF Chairman and Executive Director Terence Gray (l) shoots us his best 007 smirk, while CBS' Watch! magazine deputy editor Jim Colucci (r) ponders whether he wants to be Q or M. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

NYTVF's Director of Communications Eben Russell contemplates the meaning of the modern family. Or perhaps the latest trivia questions he's been cooking up for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell and Busy Philipps (l to r) offer a lively panel discussion. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Post-pilot discussion, the wide angle version. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

NYTVF's Director of Programming Brent Burnette (r) with friends. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

"Around The Block" executive producer Bayou Bennett (l) and writer/director/producer Daniel Lir (r). Their pilot stars Lea Michele of Fox's new hit series "Glee". (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

TV party people. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

TV party people - a new angle. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)