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The long arm of the law
Being an exclusive interview with Colin Ferguson, renowned for his performance as the wholesome Sheriff Jack Carter in science fiction superbrain show Eureka (a.k.a. A Town Called Eureka) and only the other day passing through the UK on convention duties. We touch on such issues as the strangely rebranded SyFy (né SCI FI), the future of Eureka, post-apocalyptic zombie-killing, family telly, and why actors should direct their own shows. All of this and more, under the jump.
Death Ray
Hi, Colin. You're famous of course for playing Sheriff Jack Carter in Eureka, but we also enjoyed your turn in Fear Itself, when you performed an occult body swap with Clifton Collins, Jr.…
Colin Ferguson
That was a nice little script! I never saw the final cut. My friend Grant Rosenberg, who was Eureka's supervising producer during season two, became the supervising producer of that series, and he wanted me to do one. When he sent me the scripts most of them were vampire or werewolf type stories. That was the only one that I saw that was more psychological. And I like that a lot. There's more to play. And who doesn't like a psycho?
Death Ray
Do you prefer working for years on a long-running series, or guest spots on other shows? You've done both.
Colin Ferguson
It's apples and oranges. Taking on a series is daunting. I'd think long and hard before doing it again. Those contracts are for six to eight years and that's a long commitment to one character, one thing. But Eureka has dramatic elements and comedic elements, so I get to stay entertained throughout. I have friends on sitcoms and procedurals and they say the eight-year run is a slog.
Death Ray
What's the status of the programme at the moment?
Colin Ferguson
We shot season three which was 18 episodes, but in two halves – I don't get that! It's cheaper for them, because otherwise people would get raises with the new season. I think that's honestly what they do. It's big business. I've been told very certainly that we're coming back for season four. They're talking about doing 22 episodes. We lose some cast members this year; I won't specify who. Most are coming back next year, but there's some attrition, written in.
Death Ray
Eureka's plots are generally standalone, but there have been a few subplots developing throughout the third season…
Colin Ferguson
The formula so far is eight- or ten-episode arcs. They drop in something that percolates for ten episodes and comes to a head. And then they do it again. The relationships don't change but the plot-based arcs do.
Death Ray
What's the theme of the third series?
Colin Ferguson
The first half of the third series would be the wedding of Allison and Nathan Stark – which didn't go well to say the least! And then by the end of the series, Allison's pregnant, Henry has a long lost love come back and Jordan going off to college. And I have a love interest! The actress Jaime Ray Newman comes in. It's nice to have him fall for somebody. I didn't think it would work between the sheriff and someone who was hyper-intelligent, but they hooked me up with Jaime and it did…
Death Ray
What's the appeal of Eureka? It stands in contrast to the prevailing darkness of a lot of American SF…
Colin Ferguson
I don't know. A lot of families watch it together but then you'll meet some very efficient testosterone driven guy in his thirties who'll go, "I love that show!" For the life of me I can't figure it out. It crosses so many different boundaries. I would get it if it was just ten-year-olds, but it's all over the map. We're threading a weird needle.
Death Ray
SCI FI – the American channel that makes Eureka, Stargate and Battlestar Galactica – recently changed its spelling. It's now the rather peculiar SyFy. What's going on?
Colin Ferguson
Honest answer – I think the bottom line is you can't own 'sci-fi' because it's a genre. They wanted something they can own and brand and trademark. That's the majority of it. There's this other thing of being hip and cool and modern – but I look at that and go, "What?" They're reaffirming what they said before. As well as science fiction programming they've been trying to do more mainstream programming, and so they built that into the whole pitch of this new logo. It's supposed to be less alienating. My first reaction was negative, but when I saw the logo and the typeface it actually looked good to me. It's not a big deal to be honest.
Death Ray
What else are you up to?
Colin Ferguson
I directed one of the episodes of Eureka this year, and that went really well, so they want me to direct next year, and they want me to direct one of their TV movies. I'm also going to be acting in one of the movies.
Death Ray
Patricia Arquette, David Duchovny, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Edward James Olmos… everyone's at it. Why direct your own show?
Colin Ferguson
Over the three seasons we've done, there have been a lot of directors. You're constantly breaking someone in. Now it's my turn and I know how to shoot it, plus I get to go in and say, "I've always wanted to do this!" You lean on people who are there every day because they know how to do it efficiently and they know how to keep the template and how to keep the tone.
Death Ray
How do the rest of the cast react?
Colin Ferguson
Incredibly positively. People say it feels so good for it to be in house. The job of the director is to bring everyone together; if you do it's a great atmopsphere and everybody gets what they want. At this pont in the game everyone knows what they're doing.
Death Ray
Do most actors secretly wish they could direct?
Colin Ferguson
Some have sbsolutely no interest, and some are scared of it. But it's how my mind works anyway, so for me it's a natural fit. I've always wanted to, I loved it and the second I did it I wanted to do more. You see through more of the creative process than you do as an actor. Once it's shot you get to edit it together and put it together the way that you thought it should be; it's validating.
Death Ray
Any acting roles you're looking forward to?
Colin Ferguson
Andrew Cosby, the creator of Eureka, is directing a movie called Savage Brothers and he's tapping Ed Quinn [Eureka's Nathan Stark] and myself to be the leads. It's post-apocalyptic, and we'll be zombie-killers who are also brothers, and irritate each other…
The third season of Eureka (a.k.a. A Town Called Eureka) concludes on Tuesday 31 March at 8pm on Sky1, but don't worry if you missed it – the Sci Fi Channel's showing the entire run on Monday nights at 8pm, starting 20 April.
Administrator March 26, 2009, 8:22:04 am GMT
