219 "Aversion" Review

[Lt. Colonel Ryu Gaia]

A review of the recent episode "Aversion" is now available at SGU, and can be read here!

[Alex Rubit]

It's an interesting review.

But with regard to the writing not being as good (or "different") as usual, or the characters being out of character, I have to say (and I hope Vincent won't mind me saying this here) ultimately I'm actually responsible for large parts of the episode and especially the dialogue, as I wrote the final draft. So if you're gonna throw rocks, make sure to aim at the right person.

[Lt. Colonel Ryu Gaia]

Please, don't get the wrong message - I'm not throwing rocks at Vincent in any way, and I'm sorry if it seems like that. But it just all seemed to be written in a very different manner. Whereas what I've seen most frequently in your writing is descriptions that are far more objective, the descriptions in this episode seemed to be more the opposite. It's different, not worse, but the problem is just that a lot of it doesn't make it to the screen.

Anyway, if you wrote the final draft, why weren't you creditted under 'written by?'

[Wineblood]

Alex, I don't mind you jumping in like that. I don't mind it at all.

Off the top of my head, I can't recall exactly which scenes I wrote or Alex did. The teaser was kept much as I'd written it and most of the last act was rewritten. The rest was only some of mine, which might explain why some characters acted strangely half of the time.

I'm glad you liked some parts of it. To be honest I did have a hard time writing the dialog for some of the human characters. I'll try to get the hang of it over the summer. As for Callen, I'm glad you liked him. Again I'm not sure who ended up writing most of Callen's dialog in the final draft (shift the blame), but this was one of the characters I found wasn't much of a problem for me.

As for why Tom didn't show any of his feelings beforehand, mainly in "Path Of Revelation", I don't know. After reading the first draft, Tom wasn't very responive towards the Enoly attacking Earth and it was brought up. But after all the focus of the story was Grant and his role in those event, Tom attitude wasn't a top priority.

Thanks for your insight into this episode. I will try to improve on some of the things that could have been better : some of the characters and exploring the storyline.

[Alex Rubit]

It's different, not worse, but the problem is just that a lot of it doesn't make it to the screen.

I think you shouldn't underestimate the power of an actor's preformance - that is if you've got some really great actors, which I think we have.

You can include references to what a character is thinking into a screenplay, since that would be part of the actor's direction. It lets the reader/actor know what the scene is supposed to convey, and again, if you have a great cast, it will work. You can do so much with only looks and reactions a lot of the times. But it's true, we don't usually do that.

Anyway, if you wrote the final draft, why weren't you creditted under 'written by?'

This is actually nothing uncomon. I keep saying this here works just like a television show, and I'm serious about that. My name will only appear in the writing credits if it's an episode that I was originally assigned to write. But as showrunner I consider it my resonsibility to ensure all episodes will be as good as in any way possible, which can mean that I might do a pass on an episode from time to time. However, in all of those cases the writing credit will still go to merely the writer who was assigned to be writing the episode. While on TV this has to do with contractual reasons, here I just prefer to leave the credit to the actual writer of the episode, since it's still their episode.

Hey, I keep saying I'm such a busy guy. So I'm not only talking about writing my own episodes and leaving it at that.

[Alex Rubit]

Alex, I don't mind you jumping in like that. I don't mind it at all.

Off the top of my head, I can't recall exactly which scenes I wrote or Alex did.

Neither can I actually. In most cases at the end it's all just a big blur to me. I guess 24 episodes a year is a lot.

As for why Tom didn't show any of his feelings beforehand, mainly in "Path Of Revelation", I don't know. After reading the first draft, Tom wasn't very responive towards the Enoly attacking Earth and it was brought up. But after all the focus of the story was Grant and his role in those event, Tom attitude wasn't a top priority.

Yeah, that was the reason. I remember we had talked about that while we were working on "Path of Revelation." But in that episode Tom didn't have any direct contact with the Enoly. He didn't get a chance to be face to face with one of them. So it wouldn't even have made too much sense for him, back on Earth, spending time showing his hatred for them - knowing there's nothing he could have done.

However, if you look at one of the latter moments in "A Time To Survive," you'll get an early glimpse at Tom's feelings for the Enoly. The moment when he rather coldly "executes" two of them in the Enoly prison. Back then we knew that at some point in the season we'd be doing an episode that would fully focus on his feelings regarding the Enoly.

Thanks for your insight into this episode. I will try to improve on some of the things that could have been better : some of the characters and exploring the storyline.

I have to say, you did a really good job with it, Vincent. I've said before that I don't think this was the ideal episode for a first time writer, because it was very difficult to write. We ended up changing a lot because the way it was originally conceived just didn't end up working, which was my fault. So you did what you could.

I should also say that whenever I might change or add something it never means the script wasn't good before, it has mainly to do with maintaining the show's "voice." Making sure all the the regular characters sound the same, etc. Again, just like it works on a television show - which is my favorite phrase that I constantly repeat.

[Lt. Colonel Ryu Gaia]

I have to say, you did a really good job with it, Vincent. I've said before that I don't think this was the ideal episode for a first time writer, because it was very difficult to write.

I agree with that completely. Vincent, for your first episode, it was certainly fantastic.

[SierraGulf1]

Agreed. In season three we should all have plenty of scripts to improve our scriptwriting even further. I definitely feel I've improved since "Parti Pris," and I do think we'll all continue to improve. Horizon, Destiny, Genesis, or other: Practice makes perfect.

[Wineblood]

I agree with that completely. Vincent, for your first episode, it was certainly fantastic.

Thanks

[Elite Anubis Guard]

It would have been a very difficult episode for a newcomer to write. I mean, you got tasked with having to let Tom unleash his emotions, something that he hasn't been forthcoming with. I could imagine how hard it would have bee.