V invaded ABC with some of the fall TV seasons highest ratings. For fans of the 1983-84 NBC miniseries and TV series, the new take on alien invaders offered more twists than just a new network. The show deals with modern issues, via the flashy gimmick of spaceships hovering over our cities and lizard-faced baddies posing in pretty human skin. Among hints at terrorism and health care reform, the new V infuses the alien invasion with a juicy media dilemma.
One imagines if aliens landed today, Jon Stewart would be cracking jokes that night on The Daily Show. So too, in the age of 24 hour news, this V has a media subplot too. Struggling TV anchor Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) covers the arrival of alien leader Anna (Morena Baccarin) like all the other newshounds, and it lands him a seat of favor. Chad gets the exclusive with Anna, but a minute before air, she threatens to leave if he asks her any negative questions. Chad chooses to conduct the interview she wants to give.
There were no such edicts demanded by Wolf himself. Of course, hes got a show to promote, not an evil agenda to hide. Or at least thats what he wants us to think. But, at a cocktail party ABC threw this summer to promote their fall shows, Wolf stood in the middle of the room so anyone could get close to him. To put things in perspective, Shaquille ONeal walked by, towering over Wolf and us. Only in Hollywood.
Wolf has been a staple of television since the mid-90s drama hit Party of Five. Bailey Salinger became a household name, or perhaps more accurately, a dorm room name. A stint on Everwood kept Wolf on screen for two years, but the short-lived hostage drama The Nine left viewers hanging when it was cancelled in its first season. If V continues, Chad will be the one with a direct line to Anna, if only he can get her on record.
SuicideGirls: Did you ever think your character might agree to Anna's demand, but on the air, ask her a tough question anyway?
Scott Wolf: Yes. I did. I think Chad is a pretty smart guy. I think he's pretty resourceful so I think as surprised as he was and caught off guard as he was, I think there was never a moment when he wasn't still thinking, How can I get control of this? The ongoing story is going to be just that. There's this really great cat and mouse between he and Anna for who's really in control of that relationship and who's agenda is going to get fulfilled.
SG: At what point do you think well see him ruffle her feathers a little?
SW: Very soon.
SG: Like you know it happens in one of the first few scripts?
SW: Yeah.
SG: Because there's a way to ask anything and make her feel comfortable responding, right?
SW: Yes. That's the fun part and they went right at it, which is what you see Chad do right away is capitalize on the ambiguity of what it means to be a journalist. Without giving anything away, what he's attempting to do is put Anna in a postition where she knows that he has at least as much influence as she does. What's really fun about it is we dont know really why. What's driving Chad? He clearly is ambitious but he's also clearly got a sense of a moral obligation to be a journalist. So that internal wrestling match I think is going to be fun to play.
SG: There's also the reality of you either get a positively spun story or none at all. It is important to put her on the air.
SW: That's exactly right, which is why the first question you asked, which is, Would he have gone on air and asked her the tough questions anyway? Im pretty sure he knew she would get up and leave. Or find a way somehow to not be answering questions. I think he was smart enough to know that this opportunity wasn't just one interview. So ruining things by betraying a trust, by breaking that relationship down, I think he knows she can find someone else to be her voice if she wants to. And, its better off him than someone else.
SG: She could even find a bigger patsy, then we'd be worse off.
SW: Thats right. I think part of the fun of it is I think she picks him probably because she thinks he's a pretty good patsy. I think she winds up being surprised that he winds up being formidable in his own way.
SG: Do you think his move dealing with Anna in the first press conference was calculated or it was just his nature and that won them over?
SW: It's a really great question because I really feel like Chad is the kind of guy who really is almost the David Letterman of journalism. He knows hes going to have the right thing to say. So he doesnt stand around plotting and thinking. I think thats why he can be a little more relaxed and not uptight than some of the other journalists because things seem to come to him. He still is, in a sense, an unfulfilled character because he believes he belongs at a position he's not attained. He really thinks he should be THE VOICE and THE PERSON that people go to when spaceships descend upon the earth. He's not that guy yet so while he's confident and he believes himself to be able to roll with anything, I think when she looks at him and says, Do you have a question? I don't think he had that question planned.
SG: When he criticizes the other journalists for going negative, that wasnt calculated?
SW: Well, the first thing he says is, Is there such a thing as an ugly visitor? So he sort of makes light of, makes sort of a joke with her and is sort of irreverent with her.
SG: But he's right in a way that the press shouldn't only question the visitor's intentions. They should also inquire about the hope and positivity of alien life.
SW: That part is yes. I think what he knew was he wanted to put out a friendly face. He capitalized on an opportunity to reprimand these other journalists and make himself look like the good guy that's on her side. So yeah, but in terms of exactly what to say and when, I think he just showed up believing a moment will arrive when I get a chance and I'll know what to do.
SG: There was a journalist in the original V, right?
SW: Yeah, there was a female. There was a news guy who went through a lot of anchoring and relaying of whats going on between the visitors and the humans, but I think the counterpart to the character Im playing was a female character, and a really ambitious journalist who was trying to capitalize on their arrival as well.
SG: So they made the action hero a female (Elizabeth Mitchell) and the journalist a male.
SW: Yes. I think they intentionally played with the gender of each role. There are things that are faithful to the original and then there were a lot of ways it was fun to really have a reimagining that's unique to this show.
SG: They did some reshoots before the show aired. Did you have to reshoot any of your scenes for the pilot?
SW: They're reshooting an early scene with my character, the introduction of my character actually. For various reasons, they've decided to go, not in a different direction with the character, but to change his introduction a little bit.
SG: Did the new introduction affect where you ended up at the end of the first episode?
SW: It's still a natural. It fits with who the guy is but there was something in the introduction, the first scene they felt didn't get us on the right track right away so there's a slight change to it. I think its really, really smart. I think its a lot less objectionable in terms of a character than what we had shot.
SG: Were you frustrated by The Nine and hesitant to get into an ongoing story?
SW: It wasn't the ongoing story. I don't know if frustrated is the right word but it was upsetting that that had gotten cancelled. I loved it and loved the cast, loved the character and the story. It didn't keep me from wanting to be involved in a really great story. ABC did everything they could to make it work and really the postmortem on that show is just that it didn't work. Sometimes they just dont but it's exciting. Ive been very, very lucky to be able to be at events like this working on shows that I'm really proud of and excited for. I think this is the best one I've ever been a part of so I'm excited.
SG: Since well never see, what would have ended up being revealed about the bank in The Nine?
SW: I think eventually we would've been out of the bank and everything that happened in there would have been disclosed. It was a lot. There were kind of a lot of shockers that were meant to be unveiled over the rest of the show and I don't even know most of them. I knew the one shocker they wound up revealing at the end of the 13 episodes which was that the bank manager, Chi McBrides character, that he was involved.
One imagines if aliens landed today, Jon Stewart would be cracking jokes that night on The Daily Show. So too, in the age of 24 hour news, this V has a media subplot too. Struggling TV anchor Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) covers the arrival of alien leader Anna (Morena Baccarin) like all the other newshounds, and it lands him a seat of favor. Chad gets the exclusive with Anna, but a minute before air, she threatens to leave if he asks her any negative questions. Chad chooses to conduct the interview she wants to give.
There were no such edicts demanded by Wolf himself. Of course, hes got a show to promote, not an evil agenda to hide. Or at least thats what he wants us to think. But, at a cocktail party ABC threw this summer to promote their fall shows, Wolf stood in the middle of the room so anyone could get close to him. To put things in perspective, Shaquille ONeal walked by, towering over Wolf and us. Only in Hollywood.
Wolf has been a staple of television since the mid-90s drama hit Party of Five. Bailey Salinger became a household name, or perhaps more accurately, a dorm room name. A stint on Everwood kept Wolf on screen for two years, but the short-lived hostage drama The Nine left viewers hanging when it was cancelled in its first season. If V continues, Chad will be the one with a direct line to Anna, if only he can get her on record.
SuicideGirls: Did you ever think your character might agree to Anna's demand, but on the air, ask her a tough question anyway?
Scott Wolf: Yes. I did. I think Chad is a pretty smart guy. I think he's pretty resourceful so I think as surprised as he was and caught off guard as he was, I think there was never a moment when he wasn't still thinking, How can I get control of this? The ongoing story is going to be just that. There's this really great cat and mouse between he and Anna for who's really in control of that relationship and who's agenda is going to get fulfilled.
SG: At what point do you think well see him ruffle her feathers a little?
SW: Very soon.
SG: Like you know it happens in one of the first few scripts?
SW: Yeah.
SG: Because there's a way to ask anything and make her feel comfortable responding, right?
SW: Yes. That's the fun part and they went right at it, which is what you see Chad do right away is capitalize on the ambiguity of what it means to be a journalist. Without giving anything away, what he's attempting to do is put Anna in a postition where she knows that he has at least as much influence as she does. What's really fun about it is we dont know really why. What's driving Chad? He clearly is ambitious but he's also clearly got a sense of a moral obligation to be a journalist. So that internal wrestling match I think is going to be fun to play.
SG: There's also the reality of you either get a positively spun story or none at all. It is important to put her on the air.
SW: That's exactly right, which is why the first question you asked, which is, Would he have gone on air and asked her the tough questions anyway? Im pretty sure he knew she would get up and leave. Or find a way somehow to not be answering questions. I think he was smart enough to know that this opportunity wasn't just one interview. So ruining things by betraying a trust, by breaking that relationship down, I think he knows she can find someone else to be her voice if she wants to. And, its better off him than someone else.
SG: She could even find a bigger patsy, then we'd be worse off.
SW: Thats right. I think part of the fun of it is I think she picks him probably because she thinks he's a pretty good patsy. I think she winds up being surprised that he winds up being formidable in his own way.
SG: Do you think his move dealing with Anna in the first press conference was calculated or it was just his nature and that won them over?
SW: It's a really great question because I really feel like Chad is the kind of guy who really is almost the David Letterman of journalism. He knows hes going to have the right thing to say. So he doesnt stand around plotting and thinking. I think thats why he can be a little more relaxed and not uptight than some of the other journalists because things seem to come to him. He still is, in a sense, an unfulfilled character because he believes he belongs at a position he's not attained. He really thinks he should be THE VOICE and THE PERSON that people go to when spaceships descend upon the earth. He's not that guy yet so while he's confident and he believes himself to be able to roll with anything, I think when she looks at him and says, Do you have a question? I don't think he had that question planned.
SG: When he criticizes the other journalists for going negative, that wasnt calculated?
SW: Well, the first thing he says is, Is there such a thing as an ugly visitor? So he sort of makes light of, makes sort of a joke with her and is sort of irreverent with her.
SG: But he's right in a way that the press shouldn't only question the visitor's intentions. They should also inquire about the hope and positivity of alien life.
SW: That part is yes. I think what he knew was he wanted to put out a friendly face. He capitalized on an opportunity to reprimand these other journalists and make himself look like the good guy that's on her side. So yeah, but in terms of exactly what to say and when, I think he just showed up believing a moment will arrive when I get a chance and I'll know what to do.
SG: There was a journalist in the original V, right?
SW: Yeah, there was a female. There was a news guy who went through a lot of anchoring and relaying of whats going on between the visitors and the humans, but I think the counterpart to the character Im playing was a female character, and a really ambitious journalist who was trying to capitalize on their arrival as well.
SG: So they made the action hero a female (Elizabeth Mitchell) and the journalist a male.
SW: Yes. I think they intentionally played with the gender of each role. There are things that are faithful to the original and then there were a lot of ways it was fun to really have a reimagining that's unique to this show.
SG: They did some reshoots before the show aired. Did you have to reshoot any of your scenes for the pilot?
SW: They're reshooting an early scene with my character, the introduction of my character actually. For various reasons, they've decided to go, not in a different direction with the character, but to change his introduction a little bit.
SG: Did the new introduction affect where you ended up at the end of the first episode?
SW: It's still a natural. It fits with who the guy is but there was something in the introduction, the first scene they felt didn't get us on the right track right away so there's a slight change to it. I think its really, really smart. I think its a lot less objectionable in terms of a character than what we had shot.
SG: Were you frustrated by The Nine and hesitant to get into an ongoing story?
SW: It wasn't the ongoing story. I don't know if frustrated is the right word but it was upsetting that that had gotten cancelled. I loved it and loved the cast, loved the character and the story. It didn't keep me from wanting to be involved in a really great story. ABC did everything they could to make it work and really the postmortem on that show is just that it didn't work. Sometimes they just dont but it's exciting. Ive been very, very lucky to be able to be at events like this working on shows that I'm really proud of and excited for. I think this is the best one I've ever been a part of so I'm excited.
SG: Since well never see, what would have ended up being revealed about the bank in The Nine?
SW: I think eventually we would've been out of the bank and everything that happened in there would have been disclosed. It was a lot. There were kind of a lot of shockers that were meant to be unveiled over the rest of the show and I don't even know most of them. I knew the one shocker they wound up revealing at the end of the 13 episodes which was that the bank manager, Chi McBrides character, that he was involved.
missy:
V invaded ABC with some of the fall TV seasons highest ratings. For fans of the 1983-84 NBC miniseries and TV series, the new take on alien invaders offered more twists than just a new network. The show deals with modern issues, via the flashy gimmick...