Andromeda Revisited: Cast Interview

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It's not as smooth as Trek, but it's got more freedom to invent itself. Tony Tellado and I talked to the cast of Andromeda and put together a Sci-Fi-Talk special on the show. Here are some excerpts from the interviews. (images © 2001 Tribune Entertainment Company).

Kevin Sorbo plays Captain Dylan Hunt, a man out of time, catapulted from a past where he was one of the good guys to a future where it's everyone for themselves.

"Some of the problems we had in the first season, we'll try to rectify in the second season. To try to make each show, a beginning, middle and end to each unto themselves. So that there is no confusion for people coming in that missed the first season or the first half of the season. We're going to redo the openning and make that a little more clear.

I have the story outlines (for season 2) in front of me that I have been reading the last couple of days. There's a couple of good Romy episodes. We're doing a sequel to Harper 2.0 which I thought was a really good episode."

Keith Hamilton Cobb balances Sorbo's do good attitude as Tyr Anasazi, a member of a subspecies of humanity classified as the Nietzscheans. Logic and passion don't have to be strangers.

"We haven't talked a whole lot about Tyr's perspective on the old Commonweath. In Angel Dark, Demon Bright, we get a little into the overall Nietzschean perspective as it had been. But we're finding out that Nietzscheans vary greatly from Pride to Pride. And Tyr being separated from the Pride, I'm sure has many ideas that are exclusive to himself. They may have tribal origins of some sort. There's a great deal that he hasn't commented on yet and that will be manifested in his actions in season two"

Lisa Ryder stars as Beka Valentine, the commander of the salvage ship Eureka Maru and now first officer of the Andromeda Ascendant. think of her as a cross between Han Solo, Riker, and Laura Croft.

"We Finished one that hasn't aired yet called, It Makes A Lovely Light and so far that's been my favorite I was addicted to flash in that episode, so I had a lot of fun and wacky stuff to do. Harper and Trance have stolen History's Diary which is a legendary diary that tells us how to get to the original homeworld. I start to do that but there's kind of unorthodox ways of getting there so I have to convince Dylan to do that. I realize I may be in trouble because my reflexes might not be quick enough so I try taking flash to enhance my piloting skills. I start getting into it and how it makes me feel. I'm piloting on it so it becomes a bit of a problem."

Lexa Doig plays the AI who runs the ship, both in virtual presence and as "the ship made flesh".

"Playing Andromeda, I have to go from a base of being human. I have no idea how to be a warship. Humans for their own part live within their own illusions. Whatever you believe tends to be whatever your reality is. She was just going on emotion as far as Dylan is concerned.and protocol. Nothing can happen (between her and Dylan) because it's against Commonweath protocol. It's not even a matter of a rule to be broken, but it's the truth. It's an absolute. Nothing can happen."

Gordon Michael Woolvett is Seamus Harper, an obnoxious geek boy with a crush on a ship.

"In my second scene on Andromeda, I was crawling around a conduit fixing wires. And in my first scene in Mission Genesis, I was crawling around a conduit fixing wires. So it did go through my mind, "Oh No, here we go again" It turned out to be something different of course. Robert Hewitt Wolfe has been around the genre for so long. So successful. It's like stepping from the Sci-Fi Minor Leagues and onto the Sci-Fi Major Leagues. It wouldn't be Andromeda with out him. He has taken Gene Roddenberry's ideas and brought his own and expanded them."

Brent Stait portrays the role of Rev Bem, fighting agaist his race's instincts to slaughter and rape. Unfortunately, he looks more comical than terrifying.

"He so ugly. I want them to use me more in like a kind of helping of the crew and other people. You'll see him a lot of times looking on and he'll come in with pearls of wisdom. I want him to be more active. The thing that I love about the character most is that he's in conflict with himself. Fighting his own demon as well like in Harper 2.0 . He falters and makes mistakes. That's what I find interesting about him."

Laura Bertram is the alien Trance Gemini, annoying, overly cute, and possibly the most interesting character on the show.

"Although I was only in bits and pieces here and there, there is a lot of gore going on. It was fun. It's great. You won't be un entertained. And What's kind of nice is that there is a story to go along with the Wham Bam. I was pleased with that. She's considered to be the medical officer and also the hydroponics garden. She takes care of most of the sentient elements of the ship while Rev Bem is kind of the sense of the ship. "