Farscape @ Mars 2112, NYC

Farscape Party @ Mars 2112, NYC September 10th, 2001 Text and Photos by Ernest Lilley SFRevu Farside Coverage: DVD Review / Browder Interview / Mars 2112 Reception The night before Manhattan was plunged into terror, Tony Tellado (Sci-Fi Talk Host/Producer) and I went to a party at Mars 2112 in NYC for the cast of Farscape. At the Mars Bar, over blue marguerites and thankfully normal glasses of bubbly, we were thrilled to chat with series stars Claudia Black and Ben Browder. (continued...)
Andy Hiedel, Claudia Black, Tony Tellado (www.scifitalk.com), Ben Browder

Tony on Broadway, a different kind of Starship, Tony zips on in to meet the cast.

Claudia Black and a very happy editor (Ern), Tony mugs with Ben Browder, Andy and Tony


Inside the Mars Bar, Outside Mars 2112, a last look at a Star.
(Continued from above) We can report that even though they had just come from a string of convention visits, both were as accessible as they are attractive. Browder is an ex football player and has both physical presence and a cordial southern charm, while Claudia Black is, well, a knockout ... and a charming one. Other interesting folk we met were staff from the Jim Henson company, with whom we talked about Dark Crystal, Pigs in Space, and of course, the Muppet characters for Farscape; the humble and endearing "Pilot" and the overbearing aristocratic "Rigel XVI". Do they relate to Muppets or their handlers we asked, knowing that we'd never be able to resist the big fluffy puppets charms. Well, it depends on whether they're in character or not. More than one interviewer has gone back to edit their tapes to find that the "Muppet" half of an interview is blank...they were giving the Muppet the mike instead of the handler. Speaking of interviews, one of the Henson folks we met was Craig Shemin, who doesn't voice or act the Muppet characters, but writes much of their material. A very interesting guy with a very interesting job. If you're familiar with the series, you've probably seen, or heard of, the cartoon episode, a wild an surreal romp through Ben's character's mind where he conjures up a bizzare assortment of comic pitfalls for Browder and company. We've got to thank Andy Hiedel Sci-Fi Channel publicist for asking us along to such a fun gathering, especially since the next morning the party stopped so abruptly. Fortunately, even though the studio is stringing out the suspense until the last minute, Farscape looks like it's far from over.