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By
Suzanne

Interview with Jeri Ryan of "Helix" on Syfy 1/10/14
Jeri Ryan is always so warm and funny on these conference
calls. I think this is the 3rd time I've been lucky enough
to speak with her. She's been in so many great shows.
NBC UNIVERSAL
Moderator: Stephen Cox
February 10, 2014
1:00 pm CT
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen thank you for standing by and
welcome to the Helix Syfy Conference Call.
Stephen Cox: Hi everyone. Thank you for joining us today.
We’re very excited to have Helix guest star Jeri Ryan on the
phone as well as our Executive Producer/Show Owner Steve
Maeda.
So without further adieu, I'll remind you that Helix airs
Fridays at 10:00 pm only on Syfy. Jeri’s first episode is
airing this Friday, and we’ll hand it over to your
questions.
Operator: Our first question comes from the line of Jamie
Ruby with Scifivision.com. Please go ahead.
Jamie Ruby: Hi guys. Thanks for doing the call. It’s great
to talk to you again.
Jeri Ryan: You too. Thanks.
Jamie Ruby: So Jeri, can you talk about - obviously when we
first - because we’ve gotten the screener, when we first see
Sutton, she pretends to be kind of this nice you know woman
who’s there to help, and which we know isn’t true pretty
quickly. Can you talk about playing the more cold calculated
side? Like is there anyone that you - particularly a
character you got inspiration for? Or how did you kind of
you know, become her?
Jeri Ryan: That wouldn't be a real complimentary thing to
say about somebody that’s...
Jamie Ruby: Well I mean another character, not another
model, but...
Jeri Ryan: No. She was just fun. This was a really fun role
to play because it’s - she’s kind of out there. You know,
she’s not subtle, which I love.
Jeri Ryan: So it was fun to just sort of let go and just
really play and let her go to those places. It was - that
was a treat as an actor.
Steve Maeda: Yes. Sutton for us was someone who put on a
very sort of benign and corporate face, which is why she
does a lot of corporate speak, but then underneath there’s
obviously a lot more going on, and Jeri just ate it up. It
was fantastic.
Jamie Ruby: Okay. Great.
Jeri Ryan: Are you implying scenery chewing?
Steve Maeda: No. No. It’s just awesome.
Jeri Ryan: Scenery nibbling perhaps.
Steve Maeda: A little nibbling.
Jamie Ruby: Great. And then my second question, I guess this
is more clarification of something maybe, I don’t know. But
we see obviously that Julia has the silver eyes and now your
character has the silver eyes. I would’ve thought that was
supposed to be a result of the cure, so does that mean that
possibly she’s had the virus, or is it something else all -
completely, entirely different that has nothing to do with
the cure? Or, can you not even tell me that?
Steve Maeda: You're asking all the right questions.
Jeri Ryan: Well that’s part of the mystery isn’t it?
Steve Maeda: Yes. You're asking all the right questions and
answers will be forthcoming, I promise. It’s going to be
answered really quickly. But, yes, those are the questions
we want you to be wondering about.
Jamie Ruby: Okay. I just wanted to make sure I was
understanding. All right, thanks a lot guys.
Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Erin
Willard with SciFi Mafia. Please go ahead.
Erin Willard: Thanks so much to both of you for taking the
time today, and wow, I so love the show.
And Jeri, I love you in this role. So what first attracted
you to it?
Jeri Ryan: You know, it was fun - well the concept of the
show to begin with was sort of intriguing to me. I hadn’t
seen any of it at that point because it was just being shot.
And, I loved you know the people that were involved in it.
So that was all really cool.
And then when I sort of was hearing a little bit more about
the character and I was seeing how she was written, then it
was fun.
You know what? It’s fun. This is my sort of first foray back
into sci-fi in a number of years, so it was nice. It was a
lot of fun to get back into it.
Erin Willard: How much did you know about it...?
Jeri Ryan: And it's a fantastic show.
Oh, I knew very little about it because they were - you
know, they were just shooting you know the season. Nothing
had aired. Nobody had seen anything, so I think I was three
or four days into shooting my first episode when they did
the screening for the cast and crew of the pilot.
Erin Willard: Right. Right. I guess it was then more how
secretive were they about what was going to happen with your
character?
Jeri Ryan: They were very secretive.
Oh, they were extremely secretive. I was asking really
direct questions about what the hell am I and who am I, and
they were like, “Oh, I don’t know. It’s really cool. You'll
have to wait.” I was like, “Come on.”
Steve Maeda: Yes. We played a little close to the vest.
Jeri Ryan: They’re very secretive about it. They were
holding their cards very close to the vest.
Steve Maeda: And some of it we’re just trying to kind of
keep the mysteries in obviously, and we’re trying to help
the actors as much as we can while still not revealing
everything at the end of the day. And part of it is, you
know it’s a work in progress. That’s the thing about a
series is you don’t have everything figured out from - you
know, even the half way point. We’re still working through
things.
And you know, we knew where her character was going, but you
know other things came up in the breaking of the show, so we
tried to give as much direction as we possibly could.
Erin Willard: And Steve I wanted to ask are you completely
done with Season 1? Have you finished it in it’s totally out
of your hands now?
Steve Maeda: Not totally. We are locking our last episode,
Episode 13, today, and then we are actually on the mix stage
right now. We are watching a playback - a sound playback of
Episode 8, which is the second episode that Jeri is in, and
we’re working through those. So that’ll be going on almost
until - you know, a couple weeks before we air this last
episode.
Erin Willard: Right. I guess one of the reasons I'm asking
is are you waiting to finalize this finale until after you
hear about a Season 2 pickup?
Steve Maeda: You know what? We’re locked into our finale. We
don’t have the luxury. So we are cautiously optimistic on a
Season 2 pickup and 13 is going to lock today, so we’re
crossing our fingers and toes.
Erin Willard: That’d be great. Yes, me too.
Jeri Ryan: I'm not cautious. I'm not cautious. I'm going out
there. They’re picked up.
Steve Maeda: Awesome. I like that.
Jeri Ryan: I'm making the prediction right now.
Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Greg
David with TV Guide Canada. Please go ahead.
Greg David: Hey guys, thanks for taking the time today.
Jeri Ryan: Thank you.
Greg David: So Steve, whose idea was it to have Constance
have to file her teeth down? And did that have anything to
do with...
Jeri Ryan: Yes. I want to know that too.
Greg David: Is it - is that like a - is that a hint that
maybe she has to keep doing that otherwise it’ll grow longer
and longer?
Steve Maeda: That’s absolutely the hint, and that idea I
think that was something that came from Cameron’s original
script. It may have actually been in the original pilot. I
don’t remember, but it’s something that we always liked
because it was so freaking weird. And we just had to put it
in. It’s just the best, so yes; it was there originally. It
was something that fell out of the pilot I think, and then
we ended up finding a nice place for it.
Greg David: And then as a follow-up, can you - you know,
this show can be very tension-filled, and I love the way
that you guys break it up either with Alan and Sarah being
all unsure of themselves after having sex in this Friday’s
episode or the music. The music has been really great. Like
Fever being used in this Friday’s episode.
Steve Maeda: Really? Oh, thanks.
Greg David: So can you talk a little bit about that? Because
I know you Lost where music in some places where used to
great effect, so can you talk a little bit about that?
Steve Maeda: Sure.
We decided from the get go that we wanted to do some things
a little bit differently and be unsettling not only in you
know storytelling and how we were shooting the show, but
also in post and in how we cut the show and in music. And so
part of that came from I think the whole Do You Know the Way
to San Jose? which started the whole thing, came from Ron
when we were sitting in post on the pilot. And that idea
came from one of our other producers that (unintelligible)
her to use that song and we bought it on iTunes and watched
it. Just kind of temped in and it was like, “Wow. That works
really well.”
So it was something we had talked about. When we saw it, we
thought it was great, and so that’s why we you know
continued to do it. And Fever is the perfect one. That’s
probably the best song we’re using in the entire show.
Greg David: Great. Thank you.
Steve Maeda: You're welcome.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Robin
Burke with FanGirlConfessions.com. Please go ahead.
Robin Burke: Hi. Thank you for talking to us today.
Jeri Ryan: Hi. Thank you.
Steve Maeda: You're welcome.
Robin Burke: How would you best describe Constance and what
motivates her?
Jeri Ryan: She’s kind of a ball-buster.
Steve Maeda: That’s a good question. She is a ball-buster.
Jeri Ryan: I think that’s the best way to describe her,
which I love. What motivates her? Well, I can’t - see, I
can’t really tell you exactly what motivates her. That you
sort of find out.
Steve Maeda: Yes, I mean she’s - but she’s a company
employee, and so I would say she is trying to be loyal to -
you know, to the corporation and to the folks that she has
been working with and been developing this whole plan with.
And once she finds out that Hatake has since been working on
his own agenda, she gets pretty damn angry about that.
And it’s an interesting thing, which I though Jeri really
walked that line really well, that line between the
corporate kind of niceties and the polite things that you
say versus the things that you actually do. And once the
fangs came out, it’s all over. So it was a lot of fun to
watch.
Jeri Ryan: It was a lot of fun to play.
And I also love, as you'll see without trying to give too
much away, she’s definitely, as Steve said, in the corporate
world, and very much looking out for the best interests of
Alaria, but you find out that there’s a little more personal
issue for her at stake as well, which I really loved as
well.
Steve Maeda: We tried to do with characters even if they
seem to be, both with Hatake and with Sutton, even if they
seem to be very kind of on point and you know their agenda
comes first, we try to infuse them with some emotion down
the road so you understand where they’re coming from and
it’s not just about money. It’s not just about greed or this
sci-fi illness of the show, but there’s an emotional
component as well.
Jeri Ryan: And I love that.
Robin Burke: What was it like to work on a series that’s
sometimes kind of gory and gross?
Jeri Ryan: Oh, I love the gore. Are you kidding me? Oh, God,
more gore. I love it. The goo and the guts, and all of it. I
love it. So much fun.
Come on. I observed autopsies when I was on Body of Proof. I
love this stuff. I love the science of it. I love the gore.
I love all of it.
Robin Burke: Great. Thank you.
Jeri Ryan: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Diana
Price with CableTV.com. Please go ahead.
Diana Price: Thanks for chatting with us today guys. I did
want to tell you, Steve, my niece is a huge - she’s become
obsessed with the X-Files, and she was going on about it on
her Facebook yesterday, so I just wanted to let you know
that people are still tuning in.
Steve Maeda: Oh, thank you.
Diana Price: But I do want to ask, because you know, the
X-Files was very dark and it was you know certainly kind of
a pioneer in that sort of vibe, and Helix has a really dark
edge. But unlike you know the X-Files, you had at least a
little humor in that show with the interplay between Scully
and Mulder, but this one is just relentless.
Do you plan to keep up this intensity or are you going to
maybe let us breathe every now and then somewhere in the
series?
Steve Maeda: No. We want to keep up the intensity. There are
light moments coming, but they tend to be kind of in the
service of - it's black humor definitely, and they tend to
be in service of keeping everything moving and just
sometimes you find those moments you know in the worst
situations. So yes, we have 13 episodes and we really want
to - our mantra was to keep the show moving, and so we want
to have down time, we want to have character time, but we
definitely want to keep everything twisting and turning and
keep you coming back for more hopefully.
Diana Price: Great.
Yes, there is I guess humor in some of the musical irony,
so...
Steve Maeda: Yes. There’s definitely.
Diana Price: And Jeri, I just wanted to ask real quick - I
was going to ask you about genre, but you've sort of already
answered that.
But you got to kind of get rough with Hatake there when you
were mad at him. Would you like to maybe explore some more
action and physical roles after getting a little taste of
that?
Jeri Ryan: Oh, yes. It’s not my first taste of it either. I
mean I did Mortal Combat and I've done some other roles with
a little bit of action here and there. Yes, it’s a lot of
fun. I always enjoy those scenes.
But he - I have to tell you, I have to brag about Hiro for a
minute. That man is unbelievable. I was in awe of him. I
still am in awe of him. He’s - the man is a ninja.
Steve Maeda: He is. Really, yes.
Jeri Ryan: The scene where I had to throw the book at his
head, and I have to throw it directly at his face, and there
- you know, it’s on me. I can’t like pretend to throw it. I
have to wail it at him and he’s standing like six feet away
from me.
And I was a wreck shooting the scene. I was so nervous. I
was like, “Dude, I have no aim. I can’t.” He was like, “Just
throw it. Just do it. Just right at my face. Just go.”
And there’s cameras set up right behind him, and so he has
to knock the book away, and we’re worried about hitting the
lens and all this expensive equipment. He never even
blinked. Never flinched. Never breathed heavy. Nothing.
Every take, he just batted it out of the way like it was
nothing in the exact spot that it was supposed to land so it
didn’t hit any equipment. He is amazing. He is amazing.
Steve Maeda: He pretty much - yes, he pretty didn’t flinch
for the entire series.
Jeri Ryan: God. He’s just...
Steve Maeda: It was everything he was asked to do. Yes. He
really is amazing. And just - was he dancing on set at all?
Jeri Ryan: No. I didn’t see the dancing.
Steve Maeda: Because the last time I was there, he’s also
really graceful. I mean he can dance and sing. It’s
unbelievable. He’s really talented.
Jeri Ryan: Yes. He’s amazing.
Diana Price: So, he really is a bad ass and he plays one on
TV.
Jeri Ryan: Oh, my God.
Steve Maeda: Oh, yes.
Jeri Ryan: No, honest to God, I am such a fan girl about
him. I just like follow him a round. I'm like, “Oh, my God,
you're so cool. You're so cool.”
Steve Maeda: I'll tell you a little Hiro story. The first
time he did - he does that thing with the gun where he hands
the gun over butt first and he does this little flip with
it.
Jeri Ryan: Yes.
Steve Maeda: The first time I saw that, because that was not
scripted, he just did it, and I was like, “What did he just
do?” And I went back and I liked watched it three times
because it was so cool, and then sent him an email and said
how bad ass that was.
Jeri Ryan: He’s so awesome.
Steve Maeda: Yes.
Diana Price: Thanks so much guys. Love the show.
Steve Maeda: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Joshua
Maloney with Niagara Frontier Publications. Please go ahead.
Joshua Maloney: Thank you.
Jeri, you talked about the fact that you enjoyed playing
this part. You talked a lot about sort of what the character
does, but could you tell us a little bit - at the end of the
day, who is this character? How would you sort of describe
this character for those people who are going to see her for
the first time this week?
Jeri Ryan: I'm not - trying to tiptoe the line about not
giving too much away, but she’s certainly driven, and she
definitely has an agenda that she is there to do. Hatake has
gone off the rails. He is supposed to be finding them a
virus and a cure, and he’s screwed up. He’s messing around
and doing his own thing, and that’s not okay, so she’s there
to fix it, and whatever she has to do to make that happen is
what has to happen.
Steve Maeda: Yes. She’s a fixer.
Joshua Maloney: All right.
Steve Maeda: She comes in and she takes care of things. And
you know under the guise of corporate benevolence, she
really has this very, very clear agenda and you know if
Hatake has gone off the rails a little bit, Sutton has not
gone off the rails of this. Firmly on the rails and is
trying to make sure that everything happens the way it’s
supposed to be happening and try to figure out what Hatake’s
game is.
Jeri Ryan: Yes.
Joshua Maloney: All right.
And Jeri, you mentioned that this is sort of your return
back to sci-fi and you know this kind of a role. Obviously,
you know, you're one of those iconic sci-fi actors. Is that
sort of one of the reasons why maybe you've shied away from
it, or have you just not found you know scripts or material
that has really interested you to this point?
Jeri Ryan: In the very beginning when I had first ended
Voyager, then yes, that was a conscious decision, because
one of my concerns when I signed on to Voyager to begin with
was that Star Trek is kind of notorious for its actors
getting pigeonholed and not really being able to break out
and do other things.
And so that was a big concern of mine in the beginning,
which thank God has turned out to be completely unfounded
and you know I've been very lucky.
More recently, it’s just because it’s just - you know, the -
I go where the - you know, the interesting roles are, and
this was the first one that really sort of caught my
interest.
Steve Maeda: And we were thrilled, I should add, because we
you know were hoping that we could get someone of Jeri’s
caliber, but you never know. And when she signed on, we were
over the moon.
Joshua Maloney: Yes.
And then finally, Steve, what can you tell us about Ikaria?
Steve Maeda: Oh, well they’re a pharmaceutical giant. They
are - you know, they do good work and they make lots of
drugs and they - you know, they - their public face is
actually benevolent. But behind the scenes, there’s a lot
more going on than what you might expect.
And I can’t tell too much more than that, but the foundation
of Ikaria, the origin story of - you know, and how all that
happened and how the company became what it is, is something
that we’re going to see over the back half of the season.
Joshua Maloney: Great. Thanks guys. Appreciate it.
Jeri Ryan: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you.
And our next question comes from the line of Tony Tellado
with Scifi Talk. Please go ahead.
Tony Tellado: Hi guys. Steve, it’s good to talk to you
again, and Jeri, a first time pleasure.
Wanted to ask you as far as an arc for her, I guess you
haven’t been given too much, but do you - as you shot you
shot a few episodes, do you kind of know where she’s going?
Steve Maeda: Oh, yes. We know where she’s going. We know
exactly.
No, it was something - Sutton was a character who we knew
very early on that we wanted to get into the show, that we
wanted to have someone come from the corporation. And then
the idea of Sutton was something that we talked about very
early on. And then the rest of it just sort of you know came
in kind of discussing and breaking stories with her.
Tony Tellado: Well Jeri, you certainly know how to make an
entrance in the first episode. That was really cool.
Jeri Ryan: Yes. That’s actually not subtle.
Tony Tellado: No. No, she’s not.
And what’s it like that - you've obviously worked in
ensembles. What’s it like to step into this ensemble cast?
Jeri Ryan: Well, it’s a great group of people. I mean, I've
been really luck that - because I've sort of had to do that
a lot. I kind of just that I'm sort of a pinch hitter
because I've kind of jumped into a lot of shows that they
were already in the middle of the run.
And it’s a - I've been really lucky to work with great
casts, and this is another in a long line of really
wonderful, welcoming, warm, just cool people who enjoy being
together. Who genuinely enjoy working with each other.
Tony Tellado: And lastly, have you had a chance to go into
the cold room yet?
Jeri Ryan: I did. I only had one brief scene in the cold
room. I was lucky. But it is so cool. It’s really, really,
really cool.
Tony Tellado: Yes, definitely. Thank you both, and great
season so far. I just don’t know what to expect, and that’s
the best way to watch a show.
Steve Maeda: That’s great. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you.
Our next question comes from the line of Tim Holquinn with
Screenside. Please go ahead.
Tim Holquinn: Hi. It’s so great to get to speak with both of
you today.
Jeri Ryan: Hi.
Steve Maeda: Thanks.
Tim Holquinn: It’s also my first time speaking with you,
Jeri.
I have a couple quick questions for both of you. For Steve
first, do you ever see what gets posted to Helix’s Access
Granted Web site? And how consequential or crucial do you
think the content of that site is to understanding what’s
going on with the show?
Steve Maeda: It’s not critical to understand the show, but
we do try to kind of add some value to that experience. And
yes, we - I did not do all that material myself, but I
certainly saw all of it and approved it all. But it’s
something that you know if you watch the show, if you really
like the show, the Access Granted stuff is something that
can add a little more insight and give you a little bit of -
you know, it’s planting clues and little things.
If you don’t watch it, you're still going to enjoy the show
I think, but if you do, you'll get other little hints of
things and get a little more background.
Tim Holquinn: So it’s more a clues and hints rather than
answers directly?
Steve Maeda: Correct. Correct. Yes, the answers will all be
in the show.
Tim Holquinn: And will the reason why Hatake’s so obsessed
with Walker be fully explained this season, or is that a
mystery that might carry over until the next season if there
is one.
Steve Maeda: It will be fully explained this season.
Tim Holquinn: Okay.
And Jeri, you mentioned that joining the cast this late, did
you bond with or become especially good friends with any
particular members of the cast or crew during your time on
Helix?
Jeri Ryan: You know what, everybody was great, but I
absolutely fell in love with Kyra Zagorsky. She is amazing,
and we didn’t get that many scenes together. Actually, we
sort of bonded before we even got to technically work
together.
She’s amazing, amazing, amazing. So talented. I'm so excited
for people to see her in this and discover her, and she’s
just the coolest lady in real life as well, so that’s been
really fun.
Steve Maeda: Yes, I'll second that. She’s - yes, we really
feel like she was a find in that she had never been a series
regular before, and she’s terrific.
Jeri Ryan: Yes.
Tim Holquinn: I agree. She’s a standout.
Jeri Ryan: Actually when we watched the pilot, I was saying
that they had screened the pilot for the cast and crew at
lunch one day when I was shooting, and I hadn’t met her yet,
but I was watching the show, and I was like, “Who is that?”
Because you can’t take your eyes off her. She’s just - her
performance is so good in this and she’s just kind of
mesmerizing. Really impressive.
Tim Holquinn: Had you worked with any of this cast before,
Jeri?
Jeri Ryan: I did an episode, I think it was Shark actually,
with Billy a long time ago, but that was it, so it was my
first interaction with everybody else, and it’s a great
group and so talented.
Tim Holquinn: And lastly, how would you say playing this
character compares to the character of Juliet that you
played in Dark Skies? That remains one of my all time
favorite shows.
Jeri Ryan: Juliet?
Tim Holquinn: Yes.
Jeri Ryan: Yes, that was fun.
Yes. Well Juliet was much more - okay, let me say this
again. Wait a minute. I got to not get myself in trouble
here.
Juliet was a Russian agent who worked with (Majestic). She
was a little more cut and dry, her emotion. I mean she kind
of hid her emotions, but she certainly had them and they
were on the surface, and she was just you know a person who
is doing her thing.
There’s a little different situation than what we’ve got on
Helix. There’s a little less - well a lot less mystery
surrounding Juliet I think.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Sabienna
Bowman with TV Equals. Please go ahead.
Sabienna Bowman: Hi guys. Thanks so much for talking with us
today.
Jeri Ryan: You're welcome.
Steve Maeda: Thank you.
Sabienna Bowman: My first question is how does the other -
or how do the other characters react to Sutton’s character?
Steve Maeda: Oh, gosh. I mean you know I think that they are
all sort of dismayed in their own - for their own reasons
because I think very quickly very early on you discover that
Sutton is you know putting on a performance for the gang.
And so Hatake certainly knows who she is and where she’s
coming from. I think that Daniel has an idea. And I think
that Alan and company learn very quickly what’s going on. So
it’s - you know, what appears to be you know, “Oh, good,
help is here,” is really not help at all.
I mean look, she arrives with you know gun-toting soldiers
too.
Sabienna Bowman: I love that.
Steve Maeda: She comes loaded for bear.
Sabienna Bowman: And will this also kind of shift some of
the bad guy image away from Hatake? Because so far he’s sort
of seemed like our villain? Will he be teaming up with Billy
and things now?
Steve Maeda: Absolutely. We - one of the things we wanted to
do was take our characters who seemed to be villains and try
to humanize them and create some kind of unlikely pairings.
And also, take our characters who seem to be you know on the
side of the angles and turn them a little bit and twist them
and give them some unsavory motives perhaps. And so yes,
we’re trying to find those balances, and I think you'll see
them.
Sabienna Bowman: Awesome. Thank you both so much. I'm really
enjoying the show.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Suzanne
Lanoue with The TV MegaSite. Please go ahead.
Suzanne Lanoue: Hi. It’s nice to speak with you both.
Jeri Ryan: Thank you.
Suzanne Lanoue: Jeri, I was going to ask you, I haven’t seen
the show. Syfy lost my address when I moved, but - yes - so
I was going to ask you, I saw the trailer where you come in
and say, “Oh, I'm just here to help you,” and then it shows
you shooting people. So is it safe to say - shooting
someone. I can’t tell who. So is it safe to say that you're
not who you seem to be when you first come on the show?
Jeri Ryan: I think it’s very safe to say that she’s - I mean
she certainly is there representing Ikaria Corporation.
There’s no question about that. But yes, being there to help
is not necessarily...
Steve Maeda: Well help her own interests.
Jeri Ryan: I mean, yes, she’s helping herself. And she
certainly wants the cure. That is very sincere.
Steve Maeda: Right.
Suzanne Lanoue: And so can you tell me do you get to wear
any interesting makeup while you're on the show?
Jeri Ryan: Maybe.
Steve Maeda: Good answer. I like that. Well put.
Suzanne Lanoue: You saw around my crafty question.
Steve Maeda: Yes. So there could be some interesting makeup.
Jeri Ryan: Yes.
Suzanne Lanoue: All right.
And Steve, can you tell us how is the show being received in
terms of the ratings? Is it doing pretty well, or...
Steve Maeda: Yes. I think we’re doing very well. We have a
very dedicated fan base I think after airing the first six -
or the first five airings, and so far the response has been
terrific. We’re - you know, cautiously optimistic on getting
a Season 2, but so far the response has really been great.
We’re very proud of the show and very happy that the
response has been so good.
Suzanne Lanoue: Well cool, and I hope it gets a second
season.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Mynda
Bullock with Nice Girls TV. Please go ahead.
Mynda Bullock: Hi guys. Thank you so much for taking the
time today.
Jeri Ryan: No, thank you.
Steve Maeda: You're welcome.
Mynda Bullock: Mine is similar to the previous question a
little bit. This show has been so - evolved quickly into my
new favorite obsession. And Tweeting with some of the cast
and characters during each episode is just amazing.
How do you feel about the fan reaction that you're getting
you know in social media and online?
Steve Maeda: Oh, I think it’s marvelous. This is the first
show I've worked on where we are - I've had that kind of
reaction. I think that - I was on Lost for a season and
Twitter was a lot more kind of in its birth stages, so it’s
really gratifying. It’s really nice. It’s almost like you
know I tend to watch Twitter while the show’s on.
Mynda Bullock: Yes.
Steve Maeda: And it’s really interesting to see - it’s
almost like a live audience type of reaction. It’s like a
30-second delay for the Tweets to hit, but it’s really cool
and you get to play along and you see what people like and
what they don’t like, and it’s been really fun and
interesting.
Jeri Ryan: Yes, social media’s been a game changer for
television, I have to say.
Mynda Bullock: Yes, I think so.
Jeri Ryan: In the last few years, the way it’s evolved is
amazing.
Steve Maeda: Yes.
Mynda Bullock: Yes. You guys have gave me so - I was
shouting at the TV about the frozen monkeys and the rats,
and oh...
Steve Maeda: Great.
Mynda Bullock: Yes. I've got moments that’ll never leave
because of that. And everybody was screaming online too.
So Jeri, will you be Tweeting on Friday?
Jeri Ryan: I am going to try. I don’t - we have a
Valentine’s party that we have to go to, my husband and I,
so I'm not sure how much and which time zone and all of
that, but I'm going to do my best.
Mynda Bullock: Oh, that’s cool. I look forward to...
Jeri Ryan: The next episode I definitely can, but I'll do as
much Tweeting as I can for this one, but that’s a tough
night.
Mynda Bullock: So I'm hearing about this makeup that you may
or may not be wearing, so you're going to be like a human
Skittle like Neil? Poor guy.
Jeri Ryan: No. Not necessarily. We don’t know. You guys are
just going to have to watch.
Steve Maeda: That’s right.
Jeri Ryan: It could be that. It could be something very,
very different.
Mynda Bullock: Oh, that - this show has more twists than a
pig’s tail, so it is just amazing. I love it. Thank you so
much.
Steve Maeda: Thank you.
Operator: And our next question comes from the line of
(Stephen Dultry) with (Flipside). Please go ahead.
Stephen Dultry: Hi guys. Greetings from rainy England.
Jeri Ryan: Hi.
Steve Maeda: Hello.
Stephen Dultry: I've got a few general questions - sci-fi
questions for Jeri. As you mentioned a couple of times, it’s
your return to science-fiction. (Unintelligible) kind of
working on Star Trek Voyager and how does it - what differs
to the set of Helix?
Jeri Ryan: Well God, I mean I was there for four years. It
was a long time. I mean it was a big difference. There’s a
lot of - everything about it is different. The character is
very different.
Seven of Nine, you know, her emotions were very internal.
Constance’s are not. She’s a little more demonstrative with
her feelings. She doesn’t quite hide it as much as Seven, so
that’s kind of the biggest difference right off the bat.
Stephen Dultry: Working on the set as well. I mean is it
quite a different experience? I mean with the kind of people
that you're working with and the costumes that you have to
wear and the kind of scenes that you had to shoot?
Jeri Ryan: Well yes, I mean they’re completely different
shows and you know different groups of people, and the
costumes are certainly infinitely more comfortable than they
were on Star Trek. There’s no corset involved in this one.
So yes, I'd take this costume every day over the other one.
Stephen Dultry: Given your kind of iconic status within
the science-fiction world, I'm guessing you get a lot of fan
mail and stuff. I was just wondering what was kind of the
weirdest or most memorable thing that a science-fiction fan
has sent you or asked you to sign?
Jeri Ryan: I've had to sign a life-sized statue before,
which is a little weird.
Stephen Dultry: Of yourself?
Jeri Ryan: Actually a couple of times I've signed one.
They bring in pieces of it. They either bring like the head
- they take the head off or they bring the base with like a
foot attached or something random.
Steve Maeda: Wow.
Jeri Ryan: It’s a little strange.
Stephen Dultry: That’s great. I presume the statue is of
yourself?
Jeri Ryan: Yes. Well of Seven of Nine, yes.
Stephen Dultry: What do you think of science-fiction today
though? Are you kind of a science-fiction fan? Do you watch
a lot of science-fiction films and...
Jeri Ryan: You know it’s funny, I never - when I started on
Voyager I had never ever been interested in science-fiction.
I just - it just wasn’t my genre to watch.
And now I've - you know, my son grew up loving Star Trek and
loving Star Wars and all of that, and I just was never
really interested. And now I've got a daughter who’s now
almost six and so I sort of watching things with her with
her big brother showing her Star Wars, for example, and she
loves it. She’s obsessed with Star Wars, and I became a big
fan of it through her eyes, watching it with her. And I've
really started to enjoy it, so we have a great time.
And so yes, I'm actually getting into science-fiction now as
an adult, which is really kind of crazy at this point in my
life to start to be a fan. And all the, you know, Avengers
and Iron Man, and all those movies I love, so yes it’s fun.
Discovered a new interest.
Stephen Dultry: From kind of starring in Helix and other
shows, did you learn like some impressive techno-babble and
scientific knowledge that you can impress your friends with?
Jeri Ryan: Well some of the medical knowledge from Body of
Proof, not so much from the science-fiction. Science-fiction
is a lot of exactly that, techno-babble, which you sort of
memorize like you're memorizing a foreign language. You
memorize it (unintelligible) basically. So no, it’s nothing
that stuck with me. The science from Body of Proof, which
was real science, I learned a lot more about.
Stephen Dultry: I guess a final question is what’s the
best action scene you've been involved in?
Jeri Ryan: The best action scene?
Stephen Dultry: Yes.
Jeri Ryan: I don’t know. There’s been some fun ones over the
years. I think in Dark Skies was some of the most fun. I got
to shoot an AK47, which was a little - which was
interesting. Or was it an M16? Now I don’t remember.
Whichever the period gun was from that period, that’s what I
shot. It was fun.
Stephen Dultry: Actually I did have one very last
question. Who’s your favorite science-fiction heroine of all
time?
Jeri Ryan: Oh, Lord, well if you're going to make me stick
with a heroine, I guess I got to go with Leia. I would say
Darth Vader. He was much cooler. He had a better costume,
but we’ll go with Leia.
Operator: And our next question comes from the line of
Barbara Barnett with Blog Critics Magazine. Please go ahead.
Barbara Barnett: Hi. It’s Barnett, not Bennett.
Thank you for speaking with us today. Steve, happy 20th
anniversary of X-Files.
Steve Maeda: Thank you.
Barbara Barnett: It was a great show.
I wanted to start out with asking you - obviously the
X-Files was iconic for the 1990’s, and here we are in 2014,
how is the state of the genre - of genre TV changed? To me,
it’s almost gone to the point where it’s almost mainstream.
Has that been your...
Steve Maeda: Yes. I think it definitely has gone more
mainstream, and there’s so much good stuff out there I think
both in TV and movies. It’s so great. The thing I've done
genre shows and shows that are not genre, and I just love
these because the storytelling, you get to first off come up
with whatever you can imagine and put it out there.
But then also when you do want to you know get a theme in,
it’s so much easier to couch that in science-fiction or in
genre because it doesn’t - for some reason, it just doesn’t
feel as heavy-handed and you can tell stories that are much
more - you know, you can layer in something without feeling
preachy because you have the genre kind of as your shield
and still do a really entertaining, but have something to
say. So, it’s a lot of fun. I really enjoy it.
Barbara Barnett: Good. That actually kind of leads me to my
next question, which is the theme of Helix - by the way, my
husband sometimes - I generally force my husband to watch TV
shows with me because I hate watching by myself. And, this
is one he actually is really enjoying. “Oh, isn’t it time
for Helix?”
Steve Maeda: That’s great.
Barbara Barnett: So, he’s really enjoying it. One of the few
he does.
But it leads me to the next question, which is the themes of
Helix are very much to me a cautionary tale about where
we’re going with genetic research, and medicine, and
pharmaceuticals. Where do you guys - where do you mine the
science for the show? And I have a specific reason for
asking, which I'll ask after you answer this question. But
do you guys have science advisors? Where do you get the
science?
Steve Maeda: We do, and we’ve done a lot of research
ourselves. We do have an advisor who reads all of our
scripts. We have an advisor on set as well, but we have a
CDC doctor who reads all our scripts and then comes back to
us with, “You know what? It would really be this way guys
and not that way,” and we try to take those cues when we
can.
Dramatically, we’re always trying to tell the best story,
but we also want to be as grounded as possible. And yes,
sometimes we take flights of fancy, but in doing so the -
it’s something I actually learned on X-Files, which is the
more you tie your fantastic story, your science-fiction
story into actual science, the easier it is to buy. And so,
that’s what we’re trying to do.
You know, we may not hit it all the time, but it’s something
we certainly are mindful of.
Barbara Barnett: Yes.
Dr. Hatake was - obviously stabbed himself, which was
shocking. One of the many shocking things that
(unintelligible) has happened in the show.
Steve Maeda: Yes.
Barbara Barnett: He stabbed himself, and yet his wound
healed really, really quickly. Shockingly so.
Steve Maeda: Yes, it did.
Barbara Barnett: And - yes. And I know that there’s a lot of
genetic research in the (unintelligible) of the chromosomes,
and the idea of this virus being a delivery system or
something genetic leads me to wonder if it has to do with
Hatake’s ability to heal quickly and his own chromosomes and
what experiments he’s been doing on himself?
Steve Maeda: I would say it very much has something to do
with that, without you know giving too much away. It’s part
of just who he is and what will be revealed in later
episodes. But yes, we you know delved as deeply as we could
into (unintelligible) research and into you know trying to
take a lot of really arcane science and make it
understandable to us, understandable to the audience.
And without dumbing it down too much, to get in as much real
stuff as we could.
Barbara Barnett: Cool.
I have a last question, going back to the idea of social
media and Twitter. Is having that kind of access to audience
reaction, do you find it at all a double-edged sword?
Steve Maeda: Yes, it is I think, in that you don’t want to
ever get to the place where you're checking yourself or like
trying to - I guess the word - you know, you want to please,
but at the same time you don’t want to be too reactionary.
So I think you have to take it all with a grain of salt
because you get very, very strong opinions.
And so I try to take it all as kind of a whole and then kind
of toss it away and not think about it when we’re actually
sitting there breaking a story. I don’t want, you know, the
specter of what someone might think you know kind of
clouding you know what - the story we’re trying to tell. But
it is definitely nice to get feedback, and especially nice
feedback, which we’ve had a lot of on the show.
So it seeps in you know, but you just got - can’t let it
seep in too deep.
Barbara Barnett: Great. Well thank you so much, and good
luck and congratulations on a great show.
Steve Maeda: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you.
Our next question comes from the line of (Suzanne Doke) with
Syfy Germany. Please go ahead.
Suzanne Doke: Yes, hello. I've got a question for Jeri. I
was wondering, after Voyager, we didn’t see you in any
sci-fi roles. I was wondering if - one, if you got very many
offers from the direction of sci-fi? And if you have
consciously avoided those because we didn’t see you in any
of the shows.
Jeri Ryan: Well I kind of answered that earlier. Someone
asked a similar question. Yes, I did in the very beginning
after I had just finished Voyager. It was a conscious
decision, because one of my concerns when I signed on to
Voyager to begin with was getting pigeonholed into that role
and not being able to break out and do something else after.
That’d been a big concern of mine then.
And so you know, my first several jobs after Voyager were
very consciously avoiding science-fiction.
But you know within a very short time, within a couple of
years, I realized that it wasn’t a problem and I was very
lucky, and it’s just - you know, I've just taken the roles
that seemed interesting to me at the time, and this is the
first sci-fi role that’s really jumped out at me since then.
So, it was fun to get back into it. It was a lot of fun.
Suzanne Doke: Okay.
Also you probably have been to some of the fan conventions,
and are you - they are more involved with sci-fi things. Are
you looking forward to hit the convention circle maybe once
again?
Jeri Ryan: I have been. I didn’t - wasn’t able to do them
for a few years because I have stalkers, and so I had
security issues. And then Creation Entertainment, who
organizes most of the Star Trek conventions got a really
great security detail for me, and so I was able to start
doing them again, and it’s a lot of fun. That’s a great way
to - you know, to see the fans and to meet them. It’s fun. I
mean it’s a lot of - it’s a great treat to get to meet the
fans. They’re very enthusiastic, very loyal, very passionate
group of people, and they’re amazing.
And you know, none of us would be anywhere without the fans.
It’s another reason why I love social media so much now.
Suzanne Doke: Thank you.
Jeri Ryan: It’s another way to safely interact with your
fans.
Steve Maeda: Yes. I would second that. The sci-fi fans are
so passionate. I mean, that’s the really great thing too
about the response we’re getting. Science-fiction fans
either love you or hate you, and so - but very, very
passionate. And you know, going after those fans is - it’s a
great fan base.
Operator: Our next question is a follow-up question from the
line of Greg David with TV Guide Canada. Please go ahead.
Greg David: Hey, have either of you picked up like an
unnatural fear of needles as a result of working on this
show?
Jeri Ryan: Oh, I've always been needle-phobic. Hideously
needle-phobic. That’s the one thing that I have a hard time
with.
Greg David: Steve, what about you?
Steve Maeda: No, not so much. Although, you know, it
certainly - the show does make you think twice about you
know any time there’s a - you know, a new flu strain or
anything like that. But no, not overtly I would say, but no;
it’s not my favorite thing.
Greg David: Okay.
And both of you were speaking earlier about Kyra’s acting on
the show, and it really is in some cases like she’s doing a
one-woman show. Can you just talk a little bit about that? I
mean, Steve, I guess maybe, can you talk a little bit about
that?
Steve Maeda: I mean, Kyra very early on, you know brought a
really nice humanity I think to Dr. Walker, and to that
character and really fleshed her out, and we just started
writing toward that because we saw what we had, and it was
part of our whole story-writing process to - you know
obviously Walker is very central to the story and maybe even
more central to than we’re letting on; although, we
certainly are hinting at that.
I think that by the end of the season you'll see just how
central, because she’s a very, very important character in
the show.
Greg David: Great, thanks.
Operator: Thank you.
And our final question comes from the line of Robin Burke
with FanGirlConfessions.com. Please go ahead.
Robin Burke: Hi. Great to talk to you again.
This question is probably more for Jeri. What has been your
favorite experience working on Helix?
Jeri Ryan: Well I think again working with Hiro Sanada, he’s
just - he’s incredible. This man is such - I mean everybody,
the entire cast is fantastic, but he’s just - he’s in
another world. He’s not even human. It’s crazy.
Seriously, he is such a professional and he’s so dedicated,
and he’s so - he’s just so good, and so connected, and so
right there with you in any kind of scene. And whatever you
have to do, you just - he’s amazing to act with. You just
feel so supported as an actor to work with him.
Steve Maeda: But so - also I think, unlike the Hatake
character, when - you know, in person.
Jeri Ryan: Yes. Exactly. He couldn’t be more the antithesis
of Hatake in real life.
Steve Maeda: Yes, he’s just charming. Yes.
Robin Burke: How many episodes will Constance be appearing
in, and will there be a chance for the character returning
in future episodes or seasons?
Steve Maeda: This is Syfy, there’s always a chance. Yes.
Without giving too much away, she’s - I don’t want to say
how many episodes or you know the why or the why not; all
that will come to bear, but we love having Jeri and you know
she’s in a number of episodes and we’ll just leave it at
that.
Robin Burke: Okay. Great, thank you.
Stephen Cox: Thank you all for joining us today. We were
very excited to have your questions and hear the great
answers from Jeri and Steve.
And just a reminder, Helix airs Fridays at 10:00 pm only on
Syfy. Have a great day everyone.
Jeri Ryan: Thanks guys.
Steve Maeda: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude the conference call
for today. We thank you for your participation and ask that
you please disconnect your lines.
END
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