Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica'

TrekToday · July 23 2008, 09:20 PM

Nana Visitor found the sets of the two science-fiction shows to be very different, one being darker and grittier than the other.

As reported by SyFy Portal, according to Visitor, speaking to fans at the recent Vulkon held in Orlando, Florida last weekend, the BSG set was a real rough set. "You felt the world of 'Battlestar Galactica' being very rough, and every set was dark, and it was tough," she said. "It was a whole different atmosphere."

The sets of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine seemed very different to Visitor. "Our show [Deep Space Nine] had three huge soundstages that you walked in one door and you were in the world, and there were real doors," said Visitor. "It was like Disney World as opposed to Disneyland. There was no scale. It was what it looked like."

Visitor spoke too of the potential Screen Actors Guild strike and the reasons behind it. "The strike is really about the computer, and very much about the Internet. TiVO and things like that make you be able to skip over commercials." She explained that this has led advertisers to try to become more creative in getting visibility for their products, including such things as product placements in shows. "There is a huge confusion with all that and how it all works, and I don't know what to say," said Visitor. "It's very hard to do drama and have to say, 'Come on, Johnny. Drink this orange juice because it has 100 percent ...' It kind of takes you out."

To read more, head to the article located here.

Brian · July 23 2008, 09:56 PM

To read this sound-byted article on TT, you'd think she hated her BSG experience, that it was rough. In context, she was praising the realism of the sets. She actually had a fantastic time working on BSG. Take the link to the full article and you'll see more of that.

T'Bonz · July 23 2008, 10:16 PM

I must take issue with that. I wrote the article. In no way can the article be construed to mean that she preferred one to the other, merely that she found one set to be dirtier/grittier/darker and the other lighter and more of a clean, tidy, Disneyland.

Pioneer · July 23 2008, 10:29 PM

Imagine a character in a TV show saying: "Come on, Johnny. Drink this orange juice because it has 100 percent real fruit juice straight from Florida!" That would suck. I totally see her point.

Also, I got the impression that she enjoyed working in both shows. She was just observing that the look and feel of the shows was different. It's interesting that she would make that particular observation since DS9 is considered the darkest of the Star Trek series. All things are relative.

Brian · July 24 2008, 02:40 PM

Her reference to Disneyland was all about scale, that the DS9 Promenade was not scaled down, as Disneyland's Main Street buildings are. It wasn't about being clean or gritty.

Jim Steele · July 24 2008, 02:49 PM

T'Bonz wrote:

she found one set to be dirtier/grittier/darker and the other lighter and more of a clean, tidy, Disneyland.

That is not what she is saying. At all.

Michael Hinman · July 24 2008, 03:33 PM

I thought T'Bonz wrote this great.

And yes, her analogy of Disney World and Disneyland was in terms of SCALE, not of cleanliness or importance or anything like that.

Brian · July 24 2008, 03:43 PM

The TT article says that BSG was "rough", "tough" and "a whole different atmosphere". That implies Nana had a negative experience. But she was describing the sets, not the work or the people. I was there in Orlando. I heard her say it.

In the original article (which is linked), you can see that she says of the experience, "It was real acting, like I hadn't done for a while, and [it had] real writing. I loved it. I was very impressed all the way around. I though it was a great show."

Two very different impressions of her time on BSG, IMO.

And as MisterGaribaldi echoed above, the Disneyland/Disney World remark was in no way a comparison of BSG and DS9. She was talking about the scale of the DS9 sets as compared to other movie/TV sets. Being on the Promenade was fully immersive. You were on the Promenade, not some scaled down set made to look bigger with camera tricks.

It just seems that the TT article took snippets which lead the reader to believe that Nana is pro-DS9 and anti-BSG. Not the case. She was very pro both shows.

T'Bonz · July 24 2008, 04:58 PM

Why would dark and gritty be thought of as "bad"? That wasn't my intent at all.

It seemed to me that she was talking about both realism of the sets (and completeness, the DS9 ones being more "whole") and a bit of dirty-gritty vs. clean and tidy.

That's what I took away from it. Your mileage obviously varies.

Oh well. I can't hit them all out of the park.

Brian · July 24 2008, 05:18 PM

Please don't take it personally, T'Bonz. No offense was intended. Your article having a subset of her words led the reader (IMO) to a misconception, which I thought could be cleared up by reading the longer article with more of her talk in it. Then when you got defensive, I got defensive, and well, you know the rest.

Peace.

T'Bonz · July 24 2008, 09:27 PM

Nah, I feel bad about it. I didn't mean to say something that was untrue or false. That's embarassing.

I guess I just read it differently. Oops.

Colonel Green · July 24 2008, 09:44 PM

T'Bonz wrote:

I must take issue with that. I wrote the article. In no way can the article be construed to mean that she preferred one to the other, merely that she found one set to be dirtier/grittier/darker and the other lighter and more of a clean, tidy, Disneyland.

She said that is was like Disneyland as compared to Disney World

Is Disney World grittier than DisneyLand? News to me

Brian · July 24 2008, 09:48 PM

No, she was referring to how Main Street in Disneyland is so scaled-down as compared to the one at Disney World. She used that as an analogy for how big the DS9 sets were (life-size, in fact) as compared to the sets used on other shows, where you always see them from one or two fixed angles because the rest of the set isn't there.

But yeah, Disney World is much grittier than Disneyland. It's all the sand in Florida.

T'Bonz · July 25 2008, 03:37 AM

May you both be sentenced to standing in line for hours at Disney World outside, in mid-August.

(Trust me, this is very mean.

)

July 23 2008, 09:20 PM	#1
TrekToday Rear Admiral	Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' Nana Visitor found the sets of the two science-fiction shows to be very different, one being darker and grittier than the other. As reported by SyFy Portal, according to Visitor, speaking to fans at the recent Vulkon held in Orlando, Florida last weekend, the BSG set was a real rough set. "You felt the world of 'Battlestar Galactica' being very rough, and every set was dark, and it was tough," she said. "It was a whole different atmosphere." The sets of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine seemed very different to Visitor. "Our show [Deep Space Nine] had three huge soundstages that you walked in one door and you were in the world, and there were real doors," said Visitor. "It was like Disney World as opposed to Disneyland. There was no scale. It was what it looked like." Visitor spoke too of the potential Screen Actors Guild strike and the reasons behind it. "The strike is really about the computer, and very much about the Internet. TiVO and things like that make you be able to skip over commercials." She explained that this has led advertisers to try to become more creative in getting visibility for their products, including such things as product placements in shows. "There is a huge confusion with all that and how it all works, and I don't know what to say," said Visitor. "It's very hard to do drama and have to say, 'Come on, Johnny. Drink this orange juice because it has 100 percent ...' It kind of takes you out." To read more, head to the article located here.

July 23 2008, 09:56 PM	#2
Brian Vice Admiral Location: Brian	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' To read this sound-byted article on TT, you'd think she hated her BSG experience, that it was rough. In context, she was praising the realism of the sets. She actually had a fantastic time working on BSG. Take the link to the full article and you'll see more of that. __________________ Rut nga’chuq loDpu’, rut nga’chuq be’pu’. yiqimHa’!

July 23 2008, 10:16 PM	#3
T'Bonz Romulan Curmudgeon Location: Across the Neutral Zone	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' I must take issue with that. I wrote the article. In no way can the article be construed to mean that she preferred one to the other, merely that she found one set to be dirtier/grittier/darker and the other lighter and more of a clean, tidy, Disneyland. __________________ Live long and suffer! - Ancient Romulan greeting. Romulans aren't paranoid. We're merely proactively cautious.

July 23 2008, 10:29 PM	#4
Pioneer Captain	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' Imagine a character in a TV show saying: "Come on, Johnny. Drink this orange juice because it has 100 percent real fruit juice straight from Florida!" That would suck. I totally see her point. Also, I got the impression that she enjoyed working in both shows. She was just observing that the look and feel of the shows was different. It's interesting that she would make that particular observation since DS9 is considered the darkest of the Star Trek series. All things are relative. __________________ Looking to build Element #137 (Feynmanium)

July 24 2008, 02:40 PM	#5
Brian Vice Admiral Location: Brian	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' Her reference to Disneyland was all about scale, that the DS9 Promenade was not scaled down, as Disneyland's Main Street buildings are. It wasn't about being clean or gritty. __________________ Rut nga’chuq loDpu’, rut nga’chuq be’pu’. yiqimHa’!

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July 24 2008, 03:33 PM	#7
Michael Hinman Lieutenant Commander Location: Tampa, Fla.	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' I thought T'Bonz wrote this great. And yes, her analogy of Disney World and Disneyland was in terms of SCALE, not of cleanliness or importance or anything like that. __________________ Michael Hinman Airlock Alpha

July 24 2008, 03:43 PM	#8
Brian Vice Admiral Location: Brian	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' The TT article says that BSG was "rough", "tough" and "a whole different atmosphere". That implies Nana had a negative experience. But she was describing the sets, not the work or the people. I was there in Orlando. I heard her say it. In the original article (which is linked), you can see that she says of the experience, "It was real acting, like I hadn't done for a while, and [it had] real writing. I loved it. I was very impressed all the way around. I though it was a great show." Two very different impressions of her time on BSG, IMO. And as MisterGaribaldi echoed above, the Disneyland/Disney World remark was in no way a comparison of BSG and DS9. She was talking about the scale of the DS9 sets as compared to other movie/TV sets. Being on the Promenade was fully immersive. You were on the Promenade, not some scaled down set made to look bigger with camera tricks. It just seems that the TT article took snippets which lead the reader to believe that Nana is pro-DS9 and anti-BSG. Not the case. She was very pro both shows. __________________ Rut nga’chuq loDpu’, rut nga’chuq be’pu’. yiqimHa’!

July 24 2008, 04:58 PM	#9
T'Bonz Romulan Curmudgeon Location: Across the Neutral Zone	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' Why would dark and gritty be thought of as "bad"? That wasn't my intent at all. It seemed to me that she was talking about both realism of the sets (and completeness, the DS9 ones being more "whole") and a bit of dirty-gritty vs. clean and tidy. That's what I took away from it. Your mileage obviously varies. Oh well. I can't hit them all out of the park. __________________ Live long and suffer! - Ancient Romulan greeting. Romulans aren't paranoid. We're merely proactively cautious.

July 24 2008, 05:18 PM	#10
Brian Vice Admiral Location: Brian	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' Please don't take it personally, T'Bonz. No offense was intended. Your article having a subset of her words led the reader (IMO) to a misconception, which I thought could be cleared up by reading the longer article with more of her talk in it. Then when you got defensive, I got defensive, and well, you know the rest. Peace. __________________ Rut nga’chuq loDpu’, rut nga’chuq be’pu’. yiqimHa’!

July 24 2008, 09:27 PM	#11
T'Bonz Romulan Curmudgeon Location: Across the Neutral Zone	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' Nah, I feel bad about it. I didn't mean to say something that was untrue or false. That's embarassing. I guess I just read it differently. Oops. __________________ Live long and suffer! - Ancient Romulan greeting. Romulans aren't paranoid. We're merely proactively cautious.

July 24 2008, 09:48 PM	#13
Brian Vice Admiral Location: Brian	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' No, she was referring to how Main Street in Disneyland is so scaled-down as compared to the one at Disney World. She used that as an analogy for how big the DS9 sets were (life-size, in fact) as compared to the sets used on other shows, where you always see them from one or two fixed angles because the rest of the set isn't there. But yeah, Disney World is much grittier than Disneyland. It's all the sand in Florida. __________________ Rut nga’chuq loDpu’, rut nga’chuq be’pu’. yiqimHa’!

July 25 2008, 03:37 AM	#14
T'Bonz Romulan Curmudgeon Location: Across the Neutral Zone	Re: Visitor On 'Battlestar Galactica' May you both be sentenced to standing in line for hours at Disney World outside, in mid-August. (Trust me, this is very mean. ) __________________ Live long and suffer! - Ancient Romulan greeting. Romulans aren't paranoid. We're merely proactively cautious.