Charlie Jade

[backstept]

Julius Galt is the CEO of the Betaverse Branch of Vex Cor.
He's going to be one of the main-ish characters of the show.

ah okay


man I really wish the wiki article on this show was more extensive

 

[JD]

I just watched this weeks episode and there are a couple things I'm brain farting on.
1)Why was it that 01 was going after Eliott?
2) Why was it that Reena blew up the Vex Corp plant?
If they haven't explained yet please just let me know, but if they did I would really like it if someone could remind me.

EDIT: I just checked out the Sci-Fi page, and it has actually been updated to include cast and character bios, very brief summeries (they're only like three paragraphs each, and only cover the major developments, but they still seem like they'll be really helpful) for all 21 episodes (even the ones they haven't aired here yet), a pic gallery, and a forum. And if you go to their scifi wiki you can find episode descriptions that go over pretty much every detail. I don't about you guys, but I'm suprised by all of this stuff. Pleasantly suprised, but still suprised.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I just watched this weeks episode and there are a couple things I'm brain farting on.
1)Why was it that 01 was going after Eliott?

Elliott Krogg was one of the scientists who worked on the original Vex-Cor project. Presumably he had dirt on them. 01 was also probably sent to find out if Krogg had any knowledge of the 'disaster' and how to fix it.

Why was it that Reena blew up the Vex Corp plant?

It was a danger to everyone in Gammaverse (and the other two verses as well, especially Betaverse).

 

[zenophite]

01's motives and a bunch of other stuff will be largely explained by himself in episode 13.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

01's motives and a bunch of other stuff will be largely explained by himself in episode 13.

Will we find out why he is called 01? Is he a clone of Brion Boxer? (People in Alphaverse tend to have funny names as it is, but still...)

 

[zenophite]

Will we find out why he is called 01? Is he a clone of Brion Boxer? (People in Alphaverse tend to have funny names as it is, but still...)

the name thing is discussed briefly later in the show but I don't believe it has a deep significant meaning - at least that I can recall. No revelations of cloning either

 

[Kegek]

I pretty much assumed 01 was called so because he's Brian Boxer's firstborn, and given that Alphaverse has a sterile corporate culture, such a bland naming system is not beyond reason. That it sounds similar to 'Owen' is probably a plus too.

 

[backstept]

do we ever find out what the blue glass is about? or will Charlie keep saying "I have no idea." ?

 

[Kegek]

do we ever find out what the blue glass is about? or will Charlie keep saying "I have no idea." ?

Spoiler: about... the blue glass

No, not really. There was a significant shakeup in Charlie Jade's writing staff after episode eight (though the series remains as good, arguably better, for the remainder of its run). Wikipedia speculates that this plot thread was sidelined or forgotten by the new writers. Maybe they were going to go into it in the second season.

 

[zenophite]

^what he said.

 

[Dontlk]

For those of you long-time Charlie Jade fans, this will come as welcome news.

The efforts to reclaim charliejade.com from the netherworlds of Internet limbo failed, but from the ashes a new site has risen.

Robert asked, and razorbraille delivered. They rebuilt the site they had originally created in 2005-2006, at a new location: http://www.charliejade.info

Update your bookmarks!

http://www.charliejade.net/

----------------------------------

Ps

There's no significance for blue glass
That's official information from podcast commentary !

 

[TheMasterOfOrion]

thanks for the updates

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I just saw the one about the motivational speaker. It was okay, although it just left things hanging at the end - what happened to this guy? The last we ever saw of him was when Charlie confronts him at the mansion, then it cuts away to something else. Does he get away? I guess there's nothing Charlie can do - as he pointed out, the girl he was sent to investigate, is an adult. And since the speaker is obviously an Alphaverse native - he is seen using VexCor technology - he probably has the resources to back him up. So I guess Charlie just has to let the guy go.

And I just gotta say... JULIUS GALT ROCKS!

About time that little shit 01 Boxer got what's coming to him. What a total idiot. Even worse than Gaius Baltar...

But what's 01 doing in Gammaverse now?

 

[Dontlk]

109 "Betrayal":

EP/09 Betrayal

Seriously wounded when a hit man peppered his club with gunfire, 01 escapes to a beautiful beach in Gammaverse and back into the secret home of his wife and children. Meanwhile, Charlie goes undercover to check out his suspicions that Vexcor is building a mysterious underground facility, but he's placed in the corporation's crosshairs when Karl Lubinsky is captured by Ren Porter and terrorized into telling all about the rouge detective from Alphaverse. As Reena slowly recovers from her ordeals, constant reminders of Vexcor draw her back to her original mission.

Premiere:

109 - 08/04/2008 03:00 AM

Sneak peek:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9G74PQJ7fo

Exclusive promo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmM61IFUkM0

 

[Dontlk]

All Popcritics.com Recaps.

Misc articles
SciFi's "Charlie Jade" preview
SciFi's "Charlie Jade" premieres Friday
Charlie Jade Rescheduled: The Future of Science Fiction Television

Episode Recaps
1. The Big Bang
2. Sand
3. You Are Here
4. The Power of Suggestion
5. And Not a Drop to Drink
6. Dirty Laundry
7. Diamonds
8. Devotion

 

[Dontlk]

All Podcast Commentary's.

Misc
Slice of SciFi with Robert Wertheimer
Posted by Sam on Saturday, 5 Jul 2008

Episodes
1. The Big Bang
Commentary by Robert Wertheimer
Originally aired Space on 4/16/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 06/06/2008 in the USA.

2. Sand
Commentary by Robert Wertheimer
Originally aired Space on 4/16/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 06/13/2008 in the USA.

3. You Are Here
Commentary by Robert Wertheimer
Originally aired Space on 4/23/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 06/24/2008 in the USA.

4. The Power of Suggestion
Commentary by Robert Wertheimer
Originally aired Space on 4/30/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 07/01/2008 in the USA.

5. And Not a Drop to Drink
Commentary by Robert Wertheimer
Originally aired Space on 5/7/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 07/08/2008 in the USA.

6. Dirty Laundry
Commentary by Robert Wertheimer
Originally aired Space on 5/14/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 07/15/2008 in the USA.

7. Diamonds
Commentary by Robert Wertheimer
Originally aired Space on 5/21/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 07/22/2008 in the USA.

8. Devotion
Commentary by Robert Wertheimer
Originally aired Space on 5/28/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 07/29/2008 in the USA.


All 21 episodes are available at Veoh.com
You must register and turn off the family filter to view them.

Podcast Links

Forum
Farpointforums.com

Official Podcast Website
CharlieJade.net

 

[Dontlk]

It's no mystery that I'm a huge Charlie Jade fan. I don't write those insanely long and detailed recaps on a show relegated to the 2am time slot for fame and fortune, that's for sure. What is a little surprising is how I came to know and love the show.

Like many others, I'm an aspiring screenwriter. In some ways it's harder to break in today because there are more competitors for the few available slots; however, we have resources that weren't available even five or ten years ago. There are dozens of accomplished writers blogging about their experiences as staff writers, writers' assistants, and show runners. Some write from decades of experience and some give us play-by-play as they learn on the job. One of the longest-blogging writers out there is Alex Epstein, who keeps an ongoing conversation with fans, newbie writers, and others at Complications Ensue. I've been reading Alex's blog for at least two years now and also own his book "Crafty TV Writing". If you want to write for television, I highly recommend it.

Once I started reading Alex on craft, I realized this was a guy who not only could teach me a lot, but who had similar sensibilities to mine. Odds were high that stuff he did, I'd like. And having seen a decent-sized chunk of his work now, I can tell you my instinct was right. Alex frequently discusses Charlie Jade, even using it to demonstrate how to break and beat a story in "Crafty TV Writing". I've got to tell you, when I read about Charlie hopping dimensions, I knew this was a show for me.

If you've been watching and following my recaps, you know that the first eight episodes took a while to get up to speed. There was an awful lot of world building going on, particularly in episodes three and four, and a lot of it felt like the writers were spinning their wheels just a little bit. Some conflicts between the show's creator, Robert Wertheimer, and the writing staff led to a separation. Starting with episode nine, "Betrayal", which will air next Tuesday morning at 2am on Sci Fi, a brand new writing staff took the reins, led by Alex.

Alex was nice enough to answer a few questions for us about the switchover and the show. There are a few spoilers in here for upcoming episodes; I'll do my best to indicate them for those who want to remain pure.

Also, Alex is going to be doing a couple of the episode Podcasts coming up, so if any of you have any questions you'd like to ask in general or about specific episodes, you can contact Alex through his blog, or write them up in comments here and I'll pass them along. If you want to check out the episode Podcasts, you can find those over at Charlie Jade Verse.

Pop Critics: So how did it happen that you got this job? Did you get a call from Robert Wertheimer one day and end up on a plane the next, or was there more to it?

Alex Epstein: I'd chatted with Bob maybe a year before Charlie Jade started shooting, but he was still developing the series conceptually. After that I was working on the comic drama I created, Naked Josh. I'd pretty much forgotten about CJ when I got a call from the late Robin Spry. He had optioned a fantasy series of mine, and I'd developed a robot series for him.

"How would you like to go to work in Cape Town for four months?" asked Robin.

"Sounds interesting, Robin. When?"

"How about Tuesday?"

"I can't do Tuesday, Robin, I have a meeting. How about Wednesday?"

Apparently there had been a long painful falling out between the writing staff on the one hand, and Bob Wertheimer and Diane Boehme on the other, and the staff had been sent on their merry way, or quit, or a bit of both. So we parachuted in during the production with no time to prep.

The show was in a bad situation - behind schedule, over budget, with the storyline wandering, and no real template. Ironically, that meant that we couldn't screw it up. All we could do is help Bob bring the show back on track. If we succeeded, we'd be heroes. If we didn't, it wouldn't be our fault. I think I probably had more fun than anyone else on that show. Bob had to figure out how to juggle the budget and the financing. I just had to sit in a swell conference room above one of the best restaurants in Cape Town drinking coffee shakes with Denis and Sean, and talking science fiction stories.

PC: Did you put the team together back in Canada and fly it out as a group - I know Denis McGrath joined at the same time as you - or did you fill it out with local South African writers? How big was the writing team and what was its breakdown of Canadian to SA writers?

AE: The writing staff was Denis McGrath, Sean Carley and I. We had independently "auditioned" for Bob and Diane, our exec for CHUM, and given our "take" on the show. I met Sean on the plane; I met Denis the next day.

We were originally working with an assortment of South African free lancers, but we weren't at all happy with the results. Still we had a co-production requirement that roughly half of the scripts had to be South African. So we brought on the best freelancer we could find to work on staff in the later episodes. That was Dennis Venter.

You can read the rest of the interview HERE

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Man, this latest episode was really creepy, especially that bit where Essa Rompkin tells that one VexCor exec that he has to sacrifice himself to give Brion Boxer a transfusion.

Other thoughts I now have on this show:

- I used to think Reena was hot. Now I think I'd rather get cornered by Essa Rompkin herself.

- Man, that Renn Porter is a real bastard, ya?

- I have a new idea for what to name the fans of this show. We should call ourselves the Vex Corps.

- I have a serious thing for Essa. I know I just said that, but I believe it so strongly I thought I would mention it twice!

- I also love Essa's name. I could just say it over and over. Essa Rompkin, Essa Rompkin, Essa Rompkin, Essa Rompkin, Essa Rompkin...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Final episode. Woah...weird final scene, with the Men in Grey Suits: "This, we did not expect". What the hell were they talking about?

 

[zenophite]

Final episode. Woah...weird final scene, with the Men in Grey Suits: "This, we did not expect". What the hell were they talking about?

Ah, what might have been.....