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Satan Pit!! Gaspode Has A Sit-Down With The Director of Tonight’s DOCTOR WHO!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
This week Gaspode interviews my cousin James, who directs the exciting Brit TV.
James Strong:
Investigating the Satan Pit
[Unlike most of the interviews I’ve been posting on AICN over the past several weeks, this one actually took place on set, during the final week of filming on Doctor Who: season two. Director James Strong was wrapping up his final couple of days on the two-parter, ‘The Impossible Planet’ and ‘The Satan Pit,’ so if this conversation seems a bit brief, that’s because Strong probably had a few more important things on his mind, such as finishing a three-page scene involving virtually every principal character, not to mention a bunch of complicated on-set pyrotechnics, stunts and a couple of visual FX shots that were going to be added in post-production…
You came on to this series without an awful lot of genre experience, didn’t you?
James Strong: Yeah, I suppose it’s quite hard to get genre experience in this country, because there hasn’t been much sci-fi or anything like this really, but being a fan of it as well, it was something I wanted to try and do. It’s funny, but I trained at Granada Television and when I was a trainee, I said that drama was what I really wanted to do, and they said, ‘Well, go to the drama department and somebody will show you around!’ and it was Russell [T. Davies, the executive producer and head writer]. So Russell showed me around and we sort of became friends, and at the time, he said, ‘I’d love to bring back Doctor Who; that’s what we should do,’ and ten or twelve years later he did. It was really nice to get back together and say, ‘You’ve done it!’ By that time, I was directing myself.
Did he ever say, ‘If I do it, I’ll give you a call?’
Strong: I was interviewed for the last series , but I hadn’t done any CGI stuff then, so maybe they didn’t think I was ready, but I did a series last summer called Rocket Man, which was a sitcom that had a lot of CGI, and that seemed to go really well, so that sort of pushed me through.
What were the major obstacles that had to be overcome in this two-parter?
Strong: First of all, Matt Jones did a fantastic job with the script, so first of all you think, ‘How can I realize what’s on the page?’ and then you break it down start going through it. I suppose it’s making sure that all the different sets and worlds and areas we visit are actually… [A massive bang in the background interrupts the conversation. ‘That was the window blowing in; one of the stunts’ Strong explains] and that was one of the notes from Russell, that although it’s SF and it’s set in the future, it doesn’t want to be a very glossy sci-fi; it wants to be very real. And also, we wanted it to be a very dark episode, as scary as we could make it, so we looked at the original Alien films, in terms of how we were going to shoot it. We’ve got this small crew that is very isolated, and then an evil presence begins picking them off one by one. If you look at Alien, it’s very low-tech and practical, so they look more like truckers in space, so that’s what we tried for. In designing the sets, we needed a lot of corridors to run around in so we had to make sure that when we designed it, we could get in and move the camera around fast, do in a practical sense, they look real, but we can get the camera in there to give us the energy we need for a Saturday night episode of sci-fi.
Many people would consider Alien more horror than SF.
Strong: There are definitely some horror elements to it too; certainly some of the subject matter in ‘The Satan Pit,’ where we touch on Satan and quite dark stuff. When I was a kid, Doctor Who was classic behind-the-sofa stuff, and hopefully this will create a generation of new sofas.
How difficult is it to deal with all the visual FX elements that have to introduced?
Strong: I’ve had some brilliant help from the guys at The Mill who come in and work with you, so it’s very much a collaboration where they co-direct some of it because they have a much better idea of what the shot will look like, with the black hole in it for example, so they know what you can do and what you can’t do. It all goes back to the original discussions about what it’s going to look like so that you know it’s going to be designed in a certain way, the surface of the planet or the black hole are going to have a certain feel, so you all have to agree on that look. These guys are much more used to working with green screen, so it’s not unusual for them, so they can just get on with it. With part of this set, we have to imagine that there’s an enormous black hole bearing down on you and I’m very excited to see what they’re going to come up with.
Also, there’s an entire scene with the Doctor talking to the devil, and that’s difficult: one actor talking to nothing, so I’ve been reading in on those scenes. The challenge of working with all the special FX, is trying it all together so it doesn’t just feel like a special FX shot. It usually looks best when they’re very integrated into the other stuff so you don’t look at it and say, ‘That looks like a CG bit.’ I think they look best when they’re going on in the background and they’re helping with the story, but it all comes from the script really. That’s why Russell has had such an enormous impact on the series. He is also a big resource and if you ask him a question, he knows exactly what is going on in every script and scene. If you need him, he’s always there. He has very clear opinions, which is why we have these discussions early on. Russell has an overview of the whole series so if you’re not sure about something, he’ll be very keen to tell you what you need to do, so it’s brilliant to have that kind of support. We have endless meetings where you wrestle with things like, ‘Is it going to look like this?’ so you go in that direction for a couple of days and then you go in another direction, so you keep refining things, all within a relatively short period of time because the schedule is very limited.
Is it a bit scary to have this devil character that plays a major role in part two, who’s essentially being created in post-production?
Strong: I suppose so, but we sat down and talked about it together and we’ll be working together as it continues to evolve. The way the devil is personified, it’s just a monster that is part of it, so there’s the CG element, but there’s also another element as well. As with all stories, it’s the human story that’s important. It’s the faces of the actors. However mad the story and situation is, it’s still the basic human story that counts. That’s what gets people, rather than the special FX which are great and exciting.
It sounds like this has been a tough shoot.
Strong: I think this is one of the most ambitious sets of episodes they’ve ever done, and it is immensely complicated, because every scene either has some kind of FX, whether it’s CGI, an explosion, the alien Ood or the makeup that had to be done on Will. There’s never a scene with two people just having a chat. Every single page of the script has something different. We had one scene where one of the actors had to sit in the control room for the entire day yesterday, because every scene had screens, smoke, lights, lighting changes, and that was just one guy sitting in a room all day.
Has this two-parter episode been deliberately more studio bound?
Strong: We have done a bit of location work. We went to a quarry at night, where it all looks very different, but I think it’s maybe less location-based than some of them, but we went to a chemical works up the road and converted into one of the areas, but our guys have built two or three big sets that we’ve been using a lot.
Did you make a conscious decision to go with a younger guest cast?
Strong: Yeah, I suppose they wanted to have some appeal for a younger audience, so it’s a young team or a young crew on their first mission if you like. They’re explorers, and younger people tend to have that kind of devil may care attitude. They’re the ones who would say, ‘There’s a signal on the other side of the galaxy; we’ll explore it!’
But conversely, you didn’t want to get inexperienced people.
Strong: Absolutely. In terms of the actors, it’s a fantastic cast. But that’s the great thing about working on a series like Doctor Who, is that it attracts the best names in the business because everyone wants to do it, so you really are spoiled. You make your wish list up, and invariably they all say yes.
There’s also a great marquee value to doing Doctor Who, isn’t there?
Strong: I think it appeals to all ages and generations, but because it’s so good, and actor will read the script and say, ‘This is great, I want to do it.’ It’s the great stories that I think have been tremendously helpful in trying to attract actors to it.
What are you happiest with at this point?
Strong: At the moment, I don’t know if I’m happy with anything, because all I’ve seen so far is the rushes, and I think you really have to wait until you get into the cutting room and start putting it all together. But the tunnels look great, the big chase through the tunnels. It really felt claustrophobic; it felt really scary being in that confined space and scuttling like rats, so I think that’s going to be great when we put all the music in.
8 p.m. Friday SciFi
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To be First.
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I watched the first four and they were horrible, wondered if it got any better...
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Torchwood still gives the impression that its main target audience is chubby, middle aged welsh gay men with a lifelong interest in sci-fi.
There are the beginnings of suggestions of a series story arc. Main problem is that the episodes themselves are badly paced (slow first 35 mins, then rush to resolution), with cringeworthy dialogue and little in the way of interesting characters. The endings seem to revolve around suddenly concocting an out-of-context 'will this mean I am as bad as the enemy I am fighting' moral dilemma, which usually split the team jack vs the rest, he shouts a bit, tells them he's right and dispatches baddy of week. No team cohesion, or any sense that the Torchwood organisation is anything but a bunch of over-funded incompetents. In wales. Aliesbian last week was good. -
It's one of the worst pieces of television i've seen in my life. Really. I'm not exaggerating. It is woeful.
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I live in Cardiff where it's (mostly) filmed and I can confirm it's a fucking tragic piece of teleivion. However, having a few beers with your mates and taking the piss out of it every week is suprisingly fun.
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why do you and you taff mates still watch it every week?
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... what they said!
I'm also from Cardiff.. right in Torchwood ground central ...and I spend most Thursday nights in the pub with the boys taking the piss out of it.
What it seems to me is, that its unfinished; it always needs another draught, and that it seems more to be based around the gay sex theme than the actual supposed thriller / sf elements of the show.
It's a shame as the show has so much potential. The viewing figures are huge (must be all those bloody repeats) so it's bound to be picked up.
Gotta go: they're filming Dr Who down the road so I've got to move my car.
Nos da. -
In case I was unclear: Aliesbian=Alien Lesbian.
Sounds OK when said, looks stupid written down.
(I hereby copyright the word) -
... so here's my two-pennies worth :
Overall, I think it's a fun series with some great dialogue and some clever sci-fi ideas. In terms of implementation though, some episodes work better than others.
My one complaint is that when they said each episode would give one of the characters a chance to come to the fore, what they meant was each episode would give one of the characters a chance to overact shamefully. Gwen especially seems to have got the wide-eyed rabbit-caught-in-headlights look down perfect. The writers also seem to have set themselves a challenge to see how many perfect innocent same-sex kisses they can get in 13 episodes. Doing well so far !!!
P.S. Nice interview Gaspode ! -
Although it isn't really *Alien* or *Aliens*...more like a mix between *The Prince of Darkness* and *Event Horizon* with some touches of *The Black Hole*. SciFi should have shown the two-parter as a movie on Halloween.
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I love Torchwood, it is funny and a little subversive, all the detractors have admitted they still watch so what does that say about them?
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that we're really desperate.
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I agree with you about the stupid amount of homosexual references/kisses/shags/ in the show. Philoctetes (or was it Maria?) in that last episode would have worked just as well as a man and Gwen didn't need to snog that girl in episode 2. Its probably in RTD's contract as exec producer (if there isn't any gay references I'm off boyo) But still, at least Torchwood is better than Robin Hood with its silly costumes and anachronistic chracters (black nuns and Arab women in 1192 England)
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Actually there probably were Black nuns and Arab women in the UK in those times: Crusaders married Arab women on their travels and Black people were here at least six hundred years before the bloody Anglo Saxons..
But anyway, Robin Hood is indeed, shit.
Am I the only one who thinks that Gisborne would have been a much better Robin (and Actor) than the yoof they picked? -
Sir, I stand corrected on England's multicultural history, and yes Richard Armitage is a good actor. He was excellent alongside Shirley Henderson in 'Frozen' (best recent film to be made in Britain)
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Sounds like crap to me. The Impossible Planet was an excellent chapter, I can’t wait for the second part tonight. One little gripe, what the hell with this Doctor Who series DVD sets priced in the stratosphere??
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Although Sci Fi earns even more demerits for interrupting a two-parter with a cheesy TV movie on Thanksgiving, "The Satan Pit" is well worth the wait.
Sadly, next week brings the unholy abomination called "Love & Monsters," so do yourself a favor and watch your SPACED or LIFE ON MARS bootleg DVDs instead. You'll be glad you did.
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If you have a TiVo, record next week's episode and/or have your TV on next week but don't feel like you have to watch it. The ratings need to stay up. But yeah, episodes 10 and 11 suck. 12 and 13 which are the two-part season finale rock. In fact, they rock so hard that you forget RTD penned them.
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When does series 2 of Life on Mars start showing on British TV? SO I can be ready to fire up the old torrentmobile...
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Really, do you watch any of these shows or do you continue to spout your defective opinions instead? Go back to watching VR-5, ya gimp.
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I've got Life on Mars Series 2 on order from Amazon UK with a release date of March 19. Assuming the same 8 episodes as before, it'll have to be on the air Feb. at the latest. Anyone know if Torchwood or Who Series 3 has been picked up by the SciFi channel? Be kinda nice to get the next Christmas special on Christmas here, as opposed to next October or whatever... (And don't believe the haters: "Love and Monsters" is a GREAT episode. Unless you hate ELO...)
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Me and the old woman enjoyed the hell out of the first season of Life on Mars... Me especially, as a Brit relocated to Yank Land, it brought back fond memories of watching The Sweeney as a kid... Git yer trousers on, your nicked my son...
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Of COURSE he does.
See, kids, TomBodet is a prime example of why you shouldn't do drugs. If you get stoned, you'll fuck somebody and TomBodet will be the result in nine months. Remember, friends don't let friends create retard babies like TomBodet.
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Too fuckin lame for words -
... his books were crap though, so it's no big loss really.
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I don't know how many episodes of *Afterlife* were made, but I can definitely see *Torchwood* being sandwiched inbetween *Doctor Who* and *Hex* for BBC America's "Scifi Saturday" programming block. Wha, nobody is mentioning that Patrick Stewart's *The 11th Hour* premieres tonight (Monday) on BBCA here in the States?
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The 11th Hour was sadly pretty awful - not Torchwood awful, obviously, but awful all the same.
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Army of Ghosts/Doomsday rock. You can skip the two episodes inbetween, but if you are a Nielsen family member or have a TiVo, set the TiVo to record the next skippable episodes but keep your tv on (and turned on by your TiVo's remote control). That way it will report that you watched them [live]. The show needs ratings/aggregate viewing data.
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I liked a lot about this episode, but it was a complete rip-off from the movie Alien.
The monster picking them off one by one. The tunnel sequence - even with the commander directing them and the Ood chasing...WTF was that?
Also anyone happen to notice that the Ood were a complete ripoff from Dungeons & Dragons Mindflayers. Just sayin'.
But I still liked some of what they did here. I really do wish all Dr. Who were two 1 hour shows each week, so we can watch a complete story rather than a rushed one. -
If you thought it ripped off *Alien*, then you need to turn in your movie geek credential card. Its closer to *Event Horizon* and *The Prince of Darkness* than it ever comes close to being *Alien*. Geez.
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Yeah, much closer to "Event Horizon", to be sure...and like Alien wasn't "influenced" by anything. "monster picking them off one by one" was hardly original in "Alien" In fact Doctor Who covered that forty years ago.
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...not just Alien doing it 30 years ago, Doctor who doing it 40 years ago, The creature form the black lagoon did it 50 years ago. People getting picked off one by one is pretty much ubiquitious through the history of scary stories. And they've been around as long as we've had society. So don't go around with the heavy ahdned "ripp off" stick smacking a show around that doesn't deserve a rip off smacking.
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