Charlie Jade

[Dontlk]

Hi

I recently had a chance to ask Robert Wertheimer about some of the unrevealed mysteries, season 2 plot details and few other things, so I thought I'd share it with you.

1. Season 2 scripts:

"There are two very dense scripts for season 2 I did with Sean Carley - but I am not too interested in releasing them into the world."

2. The future of "Charlie Jade":

"I believe CJ is gone forever. SCI FI was never a fan. The options on the cast has long run out and the South African co-production evaporated and didn't seem to exist for a second season."

3. Season 2 plot details:

"Needless to say CJ had to deal with his new reality - trapped back in AV - while Blues pinned for him - trapped in BV.

Lubinsky and Reena would have fought a futile war to keep GV protected from the evil forces of Vexcor - now being run by 01."

4. "This, we did not expect":

"The Men in the Grey Suits didn't expect to see 01 and CJ together - with blood flowing - intermingled - and related the way 01 was with his dad."

5. The significance of the final scene:

"The final scene took place in Link Space. The dark matter between matter. There had to be a place where linear time - a place between the universes existed to allow Charlie to realize his full potential - his sacrifice.

He sacrificed himself to save universes filled with trillions of beings that meant nothing to him but that they were life.

I wanted something that gave the impression of being infinite - while linking 01 & CJ - blood to blood - that suggests they are and were "blood" brothers - (see a theme emerging here?). With the resources we had - this is what we came up with - and also gave the fans the feeling - that maybe they were in a "man with grey suits" factory. All very spooky."

6. The Men in the Grey Suits:

"They were from yet another parallel universe. They were going to take over the whole shooting match. They had a different relationship with the dimensions and had a better concept of - the future - which they thought they could control - but, of course - couldn't."

7. 01 Boxer: "My father had a file on you from way back."

"Vexcor had a file on everyone. In the second season we were going to explore Charlie's hidden secret life as a member of the Vexcor family - in the past - kind of a Caine & Able sort of thing."

8. 01 Boxer: "You're the only one who could shift. Never did figure that out did'ya?"

"Really should have been only one - outside - the Boxer immediate family. 01's dad discovered the technology that allowed shifting from one universe to another. He used it to build Vexcor - cause one of the other four (then) core companies that controlled Earth in AV had the technology. They worked together in sectors like five families controlling a city or country.

You saw in previous episodes that the physical cost of shifting was becoming worse and worse - first for Dad, then 01 - and then CJ."

9. Region 1 DVD release:

"Not via US - ratings weren't strong enough. There will probably be a small release of one - just for the province of Quebec - but I fear that will be in French."

10. Soundtrack:

"There was a conversation about doing a soundtrack - but with the shoddy way it was trashed by SCI FI - most of that discussion ended.

IT'S THE BUSINESS."

 

[Mistral]

I want my Region 1 dvds! Damn!

 

[TheMasterOfOrion]

http://www.dreamloom.com/discussions/charlie-jade-news/

Those of you who’ve followed on over from Pop Critics likely already know of my great affection for Charlie Jade and disgust with The SciFi Channel for their mistreatment of this fine noir science fiction. Minimally promoted, and yanked unceremoniously from its Friday timeslot to burnoff theater - Tuesday mornings at 2am - the network had no faith in its audience. Then again, this is the network that shows Ghost Hunters and wrestling instead of science fiction, so no one should be surprised


But SciFi paid good money for the rights and they intend to get something in return, so on Tuesday March 10, SciFi is running an eight-episode mini-marathon

 

[backstept]

I loved this show a ton! I just couldn't watch it in the way that SciFI chose to murder it
I want mah DVDs man!

 

[TheMasterOfOrion]

Sci-Fi will air an eight hour marathon of Charlie Jade on Tuesday, March 10, beginning at 8am Eastern. Episode titles are not specified yet, but hopefully they'll go back to the beginning.

. http://forums.scifi.com/index.php?showtopic=2322512

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Sci-Fi will air an eight hour marathon of Charlie Jade on Tuesday, March 10, beginning at 8am Eastern. Episode titles are not specified yet, but hopefully they'll go back to the beginning.

. http://forums.scifi.com/index.php?showtopic=2322512

I was just checking the schedule today and saw CJ, and since I missed the late night showings last time, I checked and it is the first 8 episodes in order. I hope the schedule is accurate because it will give me a chance to give the series another shake.

 

[TheMasterOfOrion]

Anyone catch the marathon


anyways

Here's a review

Have you heard of Charlie Jade? Unless you live in Canada or South Africa, the answer is probably “no.” If it is, you’re missing out on an extraordinary show: original, intelligently conceived, and populated by refreshingly fallible heroes and ambiguous villains. Filmed gorgeously in and around Cape Town, this Canadian-South African co-production (2005, 20 episodes, plus one "recap" episode) centers on the adventures of the eponymous Charlie (Jeffrey Pierce), a private detective who, in the course of investigating a mysterious girl’s murder, gets catapulted into an alternative universe. Our universe. There he must unravel the machinations of the nefarious megacorporation, Vexcor, before... well, to say any more would spoil the surprise.
Charlie Jade breathes new life into the standard SF trope of the parallel universe. The show moves among three “present-day” universes: the Alphaverse, Betaverse, and Gammaverse. You won’t find Spock-with-a-Beard here; in fact, very few characters have alter egos. This—to invoke Spock again—is logical: given different life circumstances, most people’s parents wouldn’t have gotten together. Charlie comes from the Alphaverse, a Blade Runner-esque dystopia where Vexcor rules a totalitarian state of near-universal surveillance and corporate corruption. But Vexcor has a problem: the Alphaverse is running out of natural resources. Luckily for Vexcor, it has developed a universe-hopping technology that will allow the company to plunder the Gammaverse, a seeming utopian idyll of ecologically sustainable living. To reach the Gammaverse, however, Vexcor’s machine must punch a line through the Betaverse, our universe. And when Gammaverse terrorists blow up the Vexcor’s Gammaverse base, Charlie finds himself caught in the shock wave and stuck in Beta.
He’s not alone: one of the Gammaverse terrorists, Reena (Patricia McKenzie), has also been thrown into the Betaverse. A wanted criminal, she’s on the run, combating Vexcor, her “hellish” new world, and her own conscience. Charlie, meanwhile, has it somewhat easier. Befriended by conspiracy theorist Karl Lubinsky (Tyrone Benskin), he quickly finds his footing in the Betaverse and uses his Alphaverse detective skills to get the dirt on Vexcor.
The deeper he digs into Vexcor, the faster he speeds toward a head-on collision with 01 Boxer (Michael Filipowich), son of the company’s founder and a “courier” who has the power to travel between universes using nothing but water. 01 is one of the most fascinating “villains” TV science fiction has produced. Yet you wouldn’t guess it from his first few appearances: he starts out in the role of standard spoiled-brat thug, the kid who grew up with way too much power and too little love. The writers pull no punches: their depictions of his brutality are unusually graphic for science fiction TV. 01 really is as bad as he seems, but... that isn’t the whole story. To be specific would spoil the unfolding of his character. Suffice it to say that as the season moves toward its end, 01 rises to the role of anti-hero, a necessary complement to Charlie. They need each other—both pragmatically and psychologically—and the multiverse needs them both.
Charlie Jade is not perfect. A complex and detailed story, it is occasionally hard to follow, especially in its early episodes as the viewer is bombarded with a vast amount of information. The writers also have a tendency to keep their three most dynamic characters—Charlie, Reena, and 01—physically separated. This is a shame because the series’s strongest scenes occur when these characters interact. (01 and Reena get all of one scene together. But what a scene it is!)
Finally, like many SF series, Charlie Jade suffers from a slightly naïve sense of gender politics. The show certainly contains strong, interesting female characters: Reena is simultaneously determined, conflicted, moral yet desperate, and the Betaverse policewoman, Blues (Rolanda Marais), is a fitting tribute to Dana Scully, and not just because she has red hair. Vexcor executive Essa Romkin (Michele Burgers) strikes a difficult balance between heartless “ice queen” and human being genuinely devoted to her longtime lover and Vexcor’s founder, Brion Boxer (Graham Clarke). Even one of the more clichéd damsels in distress, Charlie’s Alphaverse girlfriend, Jasmine (Marie-Julie Rivest), ultimately commands a plot line that is refreshingly unstereotyped yet appropriate for her character.
Nonetheless, stereotypes persist: the idealized “angel in the home” wife and mother, the secretary-mistress, the persecuted wife of the "great man.” There’s the subtle—and I’m virtually certain unintended—undercutting of Blue’s authority and competence when her male partner asks her in front of a suspect if she’ll be “okay” interrogating him by herself. And then there’s Paula (Marie-Julie Rivest), Jasmine’s Betaverse doppelganger, who is presented as “ideal girlfriend” material, despite the fact that she displays borderline pathological behavior by repeatedly putting herself in the power of a strange man who won’t tell her his full name, what he does, or where he comes from, and who is plainly being pursued by many people who want to kill him. Isn’t she sweet?
These gaffes, however, are blips on the radar of splendid series, worth watching for its atmosphere alone: the incredible South African scenery; the specifically South African culture, seldom seen outside South Africa and virtually never in science fiction; the sickly green of the Alphaverse, the cool blue of the Betaverse, the blinding technicolor of the Gammaverse; the light touches of CGI carefully inserted to enhance rather than detract from the series' realism. The visuals are a work of art.
Charlie Jade has garnered no shortage of acclaim. It was nominated for five Gemini awards (the Canadian Emmys). The show took home one award, for best sound in a dramatic series, and it does, indeed, include one of the best sound sequences I’ve heard on TV. You’ll know it when you hear it. Other nominations included best supporting actor, Filipowich (01), and best supporting actress, McKenzie (Reena), both highly deserved nominations.
I’d love to invite you to watch Charlie Jade, but that’s easier said than done. The series currently shows no signs of airing in English-speaking countries outside Canada and South Africa. It has been released on DVD only in Japan. (If you're fortunate enough to read Japanese, you can find it [url=http://www.genre-commentary.com/node/82]here[/URL].) As far as I have been able to learn, there are no sources of legal, paid downloads. This is a travesty, ladies and gentlemen...

 

[Dontlk]

Get Your 'Charlie Jade' Questions Answered by Show Creator Robert Wertheimer

Hey everyone,

'Charlie Jade' co-creator Robert Wertheimer will be joining myself, Summer Brooks and Richard Porter for a very special edition of the Charlie Jade fan discussion podcast later this month.

This is a rare opportunity for you to get your 'Charlie Jade' questions answered by Robert so please share any questions or comments you have about this outstanding scifi series.

You can submit your questions/comments via the contact form on our website which is located here...

http://www.charliejade.net/contact/


You can also post any questions or comments on the discussion forums for our podcast which are located here...

http://farpointforums.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=43

Kevin Bachelder - Farpoint Forums

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

9. Region 1 DVD release:

"Not via US - ratings weren't strong enough.

damn.

10. Soundtrack:

"There was a conversation about doing a soundtrack - but with the shoddy way it was trashed by SCI FI - most of that discussion ended.

IT'S THE BUSINESS."

DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN.

 

[Mistral]

Damn, I really want this on DVD US. Grrr.....

 

[Dontlk]

Charlie Jade: The Answers are Here

Yes, this is the final episode of the Charlie Jade Podcast.

Summer, Richard and Kevin have an entertaining, enlightening, and interestingly long chat with Charlie Jade creator Robert Wertheimer about the creation and development of the show over the course of several years, the pros and cons of international co-productions, and creating a TV show off the cuff, and on the fly.

We also talk about the Men in the Grey Suits, their overall plan for the universes that was sidetracked by the efforts of Charlie and 01 Boxer, and how that led into some interesting plans for a Season 2 that would turn everything we saw and learing in Season 1 on its ear.

After that, the conversation runs from production challenges, to the needs and expectations of scifi shows, to unlikely but not impossible returns to the universe of Charlie Jade, and much more.

Also, people interested in a Region 1 DVD release of Charlie Jade should contact Jacques Pettigrew at Cinegroupe in Montreal, either via email, fax or phone. Feel free to tell him that Robert asked you to call!

If the Cinegroupe.com website behaves oddly, try this Cinegroupe.ca link instead. And while you’re sending Jacques a note about the Region 1 DVD, don’t forget to ask him to please include the episodic commentaries that are already done and ready to go!

Also, send FM Le Sieur some love and appreciation for the music that has created such a unique and evocative atmosphere in Charlie Jade.

Link: http://www.charliejade.net/podpress_trac/web/93/0/CharlieJade-PC_D006.mp3

 

[Mistral]

Re: Charlie Jade: The Answers are Here

Miss this show. Such potential....

 

[firehawk12]

Well, I'm glad they could get a final word in about Charlie Jade... hopefully the thing comes out here eventually. Hell, they could even throw it up on iTunes or something.