Sanctuary Discussion (Spoilers for the most recent episode)

[JenniferJF]

But Meg... that for me was classic stunt casting. I mean... you didn't even NEED the character of Meg. Personally, I thought it was wasted time that could better have gone on character development elsewhere. And then you give the role to a fairly well-known genre actress who will bring in her fanbase.

You know, it's funny. Not having really watched BSG since first season after having failed to get into it, I vaguely recognized 'Meg' but didn't realize she would be considered a Big Name. Until this very moment, reading Tracy's post, the entire character of Meg, and the scenes with her, made absolutely no sense. They seemed more or less completely random, contributing neither to the story or to the character of Will. And for a major character who has had, imho, very little character development that wasn't directly related to his relationship with another major character (though I think he's had some wonderful moments with all of them), it's always seemed strange to me that they'd chose to use what little "only Will time" they'd had for something so seemingly inconsequential and which did very little to add to our understanding of who Will is.

So I have to agree there. Definitely stunt casting.

[jckfan55]

Does anyone worry that the popularity of Watson and Tesla will mean that we could get too much of them? Don't get me wrong, I get a kick out of Tesla and would love to see him appear a few times a season, but I think you could get too much of a good thing...

On a related note (if only related in my mind ) I like stand alone episodes so I'm hoping we don't get the cabal & the Five every week next season...

[jelgate]

Does anyone worry that the popularity of Watson and Tesla will mean that we could get too much of them? Don't get me wrong, I get a kick out of Tesla and would love to see him appear a few times a season, but I think you could get too much of a good thing...

On a related note (if only related in my mind ) I like stand alone episodes so I'm hoping we don't get the cabal & the Five every week next season...

I haven't had that worry but that is always a possibility. I don't care much for Tesla but I really enjoyed Watson the season finale. And you are quite right. They are like eating dessert. Good every once in awhile but sickening if overeaten or overused as we are talking about a TV show.

Was never a fan of just arc episodes. A filler/ stand alone show can just be as entertaining as an arc episode.

[JenniferJF]

Does anyone worry that the popularity of Watson and Tesla will mean that we could get too much of them? Don't get me wrong, I get a kick out of Tesla and would love to see him appear a few times a season, but I think you could get too much of a good thing...

On a related note (if only related in my mind ) I like stand alone episodes so I'm hoping we don't get the cabal & the Five every week next season...

I think they did quite a good job overall with the balance this season, and hope they continue along that line in the next. That said, one thing they also tend to do well on this show (especially compared to SG-1) is carry over themes and concepts from one episode to the other so that even a 'stand alone' episode can carry story arcs forward without overtly doing so. The brief bits between Helen and Will in Requiem related to Ashley are a good example of this. Which means, hopefully, they can still do plenty of stand-alones while advancing larger storylines at the same time.

[suse]

Does anyone worry that the popularity of Watson and Tesla will mean that we could get too much of them? Don't get me wrong, I get a kick out of Tesla and would love to see him appear a few times a season, but I think you could get too much of a good thing...

On a related note (if only related in my mind ) I like stand alone episodes so I'm hoping we don't get the cabal & the Five every week next season...

Yep, it concerns me a bit. Love 'em (well, Tesla's humor if not his vampireness) but the main Sanctuary cast needs to be fleshed out before they go adding to many secondary characters.

I'm rather hoping Griffin's g-daughter isn't there too much. I'm not much of a fan.

suse

[Mousie]

I think they have the balance right. I'll always prefer the arc stories but I can't say I've thought they had one character too much or not enough.

I agree about invisigirl though. Wouldn't miss her.

[Inward Wind]

Yep, it concerns me a bit. Love 'em (well, Tesla's humor if not his vampireness) but the main Sanctuary cast needs to be fleshed out before they go adding to many secondary characters.

I'm rather hoping Griffin's g-daughter isn't there too much. I'm not much of a fan.

suse

I agree. While I like the characters, to me they're considered guests for a reason--You like for them to visit but are not too disappointed when it's time for them to leave.

As far as the stunt casting goes, I'm not sure it was intentional. I think I remember reading somewhere that Amanda is the one who usually is in charge of getting guest actors. It makes sense that she is going to start by getting people she is familiar with and knows the quality of their work. I also think that along with money and time, they went out and found the people the quickest way possible, which was through her and Damian. If there was any promoting on who it was, I think it was purely sci-fi that did it.


BTW, JenniferJF, love your signature banner.

[EH-T]

Does anyone worry that the popularity of Watson and Tesla will mean that we could get too much of them? Don't get me wrong, I get a kick out of Tesla and would love to see him appear a few times a season, but I think you could get too much of a good thing...

On a related note (if only related in my mind ) I like stand alone episodes so I'm hoping we don't get the cabal & the Five every week next season...

I loved both Tesla and Watson and would love to see them again but certainly don't want them to take over the show. Would love to see them in a couple of episodes though.

I think they were fairly heavily weighted in stand alone episodes in season one. In fact, as a fan of the Helen/John dynamic it seemed like a long time between episodes involving John. I think they'll do a good job in mixing it up again in season 2. The first episode or two will obviously have to deal with the cabal but I think they'll also have their fair share of stand alones.

[rderoch]

I think they did quite a good job overall with the balance this season, and hope they continue along that line in the next. That said, one thing they also tend to do well on this show (especially compared to SG-1) is carry over themes and concepts from one episode to the other so that even a 'stand alone' episode can carry story arcs forward without overtly doing so. The brief bits between Helen and Will in Requiem related to Ashley are a good example of this. Which means, hopefully, they can still do plenty of stand-alones while advancing larger storylines at the same time.

I've been watching a friends' Supernatural dvds. That show should be used in film school when teaching about continuity. They do a great job of bringing back elements from earlier episodes and not forgetting or contradicting what has happened before. Lost is also a great example of tieing together the little details.

[the dancer of spaz]

See... I'm sort of on the same wavelength as sillysally.

To me, stunt casting is putting a named actor, who will draw in their fanbase from another show, into a small bit part that could easily be played by a character actor. Or an unnecessary part that's just there for show.

So I can pass off the casting in Instinct, as that WAS a central role and you DID need an actor who could pull her weight. And, you know, actors get their well-known roles for a reason. It's because they can pull their weight. (or because they're hot, young and can kick butt, but Emilie's not turned out too bad in the end )

But Meg... that for me was classic stunt casting. I mean... you didn't even NEED the character of Meg. Personally, I thought it was wasted time that could better have gone on character development elsewhere. And then you give the role to a fairly well-known genre actress who will bring in her fanbase.

No they didn't plug, plug, plug it. But her picture was one of the ones released in the original batch of promo shots. In fact, the ITV site uses a shot of her as one of the main banners. They don't use one of Henry at all.

Hey there!

I tend to agree with Sky on the definition of stunt casting, mainly because you see a clear trend when networks are force-feeding a well-known actor in promotion -- especially broadcast networks. When a procedural like CSI or SVU has a film or famous TV actor, they promote that aspect of the episode to death. The actual storyline or plot for that standalone episode takes a backseat to the guest actor in promos. Even SG-1 and Atlantis did that with the number of famous actors they had.

I don't remember Sanctuary really promoting their guest actors like that, though it couldn't have hurt. From a production standpoint, I'm not wholly opposed to stunt casting, if the "stunt" doesn't obstruct or affect the story.

I think there's a difference between casting a tenured or experienced actor who can deliver within the genre, and casting a huge actor from within or outside the genre whom mainstreamers immediately recognize. Casting actors like Robert Patrick and Mitch Pileggi was major stunt casting, in my opinion. I don't think casting sci-fi actors who've been around the block with the genre is as bad as that.

[EvenstarSRV]

Does anyone worry that the popularity of Watson and Tesla will mean that we could get too much of them? Don't get me wrong, I get a kick out of Tesla and would love to see him appear a few times a season, but I think you could get too much of a good thing...

Yeah, I hope they don't go overboard with the characters as well, even though I love both Watson and Tesla.

But Meg... that for me was classic stunt casting. I mean... you didn't even NEED the character of Meg. Personally, I thought it was wasted time that could better have gone on character development elsewhere. And then you give the role to a fairly well-known genre actress who will bring in her fanbase.

I think the character Meg, or someone like her, was needed because I think they needed to show that Will had some ties to the outside world, ties that he'd have to break to an extent in order to fully join the Sanctuary.

I liked that they didn't make Will out to be a complete outcast/loner who finally found a home in the Sanctuary, but showed that he had some kind of normal life before joining the team. And I think Meg was an important element in establishing that, as well as his colleague from Folding Man and friend from Warriors.

I think they did quite a good job overall with the balance this season, and hope they continue along that line in the next. That said, one thing they also tend to do well on this show (especially compared to SG-1) is carry over themes and concepts from one episode to the other so that even a 'stand alone' episode can carry story arcs forward without overtly doing so. The brief bits between Helen and Will in Requiem related to Ashley are a good example of this. Which means, hopefully, they can still do plenty of stand-alones while advancing larger storylines at the same time.

I also think they did a good job this season balancing arc and stand-alone episodes. Even stand-alones like Requiem and Edward had references to previous episodes even though the main plot was not arc-based.

[the dancer of spaz]

Does anyone worry that the popularity of Watson and Tesla will mean that we could get too much of them? Don't get me wrong, I get a kick out of Tesla and would love to see him appear a few times a season, but I think you could get too much of a good thing...

On a related note (if only related in my mind ) I like stand alone episodes so I'm hoping we don't get the cabal & the Five every week next season...

Hey jckfan!

I do worry about that a bit. I really enjoy Watson, Tesla and John, and their various interactions with Helen. But I think you can definitely get too much of a good thing, if you take things to extremes.

Having an episode focus on them and others would be nice. But if they start taking precedence over Will, Ashley and Henry, I think it might not be such a great idea. There should be a balance.

[Tracy Jane]

Spoiler:

That's right, folks, we're on the six day sanctuary countdown. Yesterday I gave you some Will Zimmerman stories to read and today I'm going to give you a few stories that feature original abnormals. In some cases, the abnormals are from an existing race (for example vampires or sentinals) and in others, they are completely new creatures created by the author.

This is a category where we are particularly struggling, so if you like these stories or would like to nominate an alternative or two in this category, it would be much appreciated! As usual... noms via PM or [email protected]

Six Days: Original Abnormal Stories

People of the Sand by ellymelly (rated teen)
A multichapter adventure story featuring the mysterious "sand creatures"


Life Amaranthine by Bekah See (rated general)
A webverse take on how Helen got her gift of longevity. Features Stephen Redding the vampire

Quod Sum Eris by Tracy (rated mature)
Literally meaning "I am what you will be", this is story about a strange prophecy involving Ashley, featuring Tia Alba, a strange woman with stranger powers.

Normal Insecurities by The Blue Raven (rated general)
A sentinel crossover story featuring Maria Fawkes, an eight year old child with the powers of a sentinel.

Gifts by Haven Holmes (rated general)
A short Christmas story featuring a store clerk named "Ashley" who seems to have an uncanny knowledge of the Sanctuary staff.

Have to say, this is the one category I'm having doubts about. I'm starting to wonder if it was a bad idea and we should have gone with "humour" instead. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic premise and would work well in future years, but I'm not sure there's enough fic out there to support this category.

[Skydiver]

a lot of what the law and orders do is stunt casting....but they - usually - give that actor such a meaty and unique role that it's interesting.

seeing robin williams in a dramatic role or....others whose names and episodes i can't recall. It makes it good because the law and orders have a habit of pulling an actor out of his/her type casting and having them be something different

the csi's also, at times, stretch the actors they have in as guests. stunt casting on the csi's - in my opinion - are things like having cold play be themselves and they have 3 scenes, one of which is them promoting a song or album

[the dancer of spaz]

a lot of what the law and orders do is stunt casting....but they - usually - give that actor such a meaty and unique role that it's interesting.

seeing robin williams in a dramatic role or....others whose names and episodes i can't recall. It makes it good because the law and orders have a habit of pulling an actor out of his/her type casting and having them be something different

the csi's also, at times, stretch the actors they have in as guests. stunt casting on the csi's - in my opinion - are things like having cold play be themselves and they have 3 scenes, one of which is them promoting a song or album

True, I agree the L&Os and the CSIs do well with the big name actors they get. But I think that's the producers way of utilizing the networks' desire for "names" while still maintaining the integrity of their storytelling.

They certainly weaved actors like Robin Williams into their stories well, but I think those franchises have a better shot at doing that, because there's rarely a multi-episode arc throughout the season. Ninety percent of their episodes are standalones, so it's easier to do.