WELCOME ABOARD
from Peter David
When I was a kid, I was a fan of Lost in Space. And I remember
wishing two things very powerfully: First, that somehow I could lend aid
to the Robinson family in some way so that they could find their way home.
And second, that I could be pals with Will Robinson.
Well, it's about thirty years later, and here I am, Will Robinson's pal.
Or rather pals with his adult incarnation, Bill Mumy. And together we created
our own misplaced "family"--the crew of the Christa. Not
exactly lost, mind you. It's just going to take them a loooong time to get
where they're going. We had a sixty-five episode arc planned that was going
to be a voyage of learning and discovery, revealing at the end the ultimate
(and, we think, impressive) awaiting the space-tossed group of kids, adults
and android collectively known as the Space Cases.
About a third of the way through our journey, and with some considerable
bumps and bruises along the way, we've come to a bit of a halt. Our series
continues to air on Nickelodeon at 1:30 PM and 5:30 PM EST, every Sunday,
but as of this writing no new episodes are in production. There are discussions,
talks, meetings being taken... but nothing concrete.
But such trivialities have never stopped the fans.
There's a couple dozen websites, an on-line fan club, and a lettering
writing campaign of both e-mail and snail-mail aimed at Nickelodeon and
our first, best alternative, the Sci-Fi Channel, to bring the series back
into production.
Bill and I have had this site reserved for over a year now. We'd offered
it to Nickelodeon, but they were not interested in having an official Space
Cases website. So Bill and I have decided-- with the aid of computer maven
Glenn Hauman, proprietor of the on-line publishing service BiblioBytes--
to put the site into action ourselves. Not exactly "official"
since it's not coming through Nickelodeon. But not precisely unofficial
since the proprietors are none other than the series creators. Think of
this as--if you will--the X-fficial Space Cases site. Since we're
looking towards things to come, you can think of us as...The Eye of the
Future. Here you will find up-to-date comments on what's happening, never-before-seen
behind-the-scenes pictures and anecdotes, info about the activities of the
various cast members, convention appearances, and links to other Space
Cases fans and sites.
Oddly, you are in the same position now as I was thirty years ago. I
wanted to give aid to the Robinsons; but you actually can pitch in to aid
the Christa on her quest. Continue writing to Nickelodeon. As for
the Sci-Fi Channel, unlike Nickelodeon (who considers e-mail to be a mere
nuisance at best) the SFC welcomes e-mail. Address mail to Barry Schulman
and to Ian Valentine (Ian is the one who will decide about the production
of Space Cases movies.)
There are many questions still to be answered, and stories to be told.
And it's up to you guys to help bring the Christa safely home.
EYE ON the Crew
KRISTIAN AYRE is presently filming thirteen episodes of a network version
of "Ghost Writer." He's the male lead in the series (adapted from
the PBS series of the same name) about kids solving mysteries with the aid
of a ghost.
ANIK MATERN will be filming a role in a Dolph Lundgren film called "The
Minion." Anik plays a cop who is possessed by an evil force and tries
to kill Dolph.
CARY LAWRENCE has given birth to a little girl, whom she named Paige.
We tried to talk her into naming it Christa, but it was no go.
Webmaster's Notes
by Glenn Hauman
Due to the incredible rush job involved in putting this site up, in order
to get as many people involved in saingte sho a possible, there are many
unfinished parts, and so many links actually go to other web sites created
and maintained by fans of the show.
I'd like to thank all those fans who have contributed, knowingly or otherwise,
to this site. Visit their sites too, becuase these fans are out of this
world. |
A word or too many
from Bill Mumy...
Co-creating and writing "Space Cases" with Peter has
been the biggest showbiz challenge of my life. It's been rewarding and frustrating
on many different levels. Plotting out the saga of the Christa and her crew
was, and is, a great deal of fun. I love the characters we created, and
I'm so very very proud of the performances turned in by the actors we cast.
As you may know, we are no longer in "active" production on
Space Cases, although the show may very well return in one format
or another in the not so distant future. Coming from a television history
of being left "Lost in Space" for thirty years, I definitly don't
want that to happen to the Space Cases crew! The network folks at
Nickelodeon have given us permission to "shop" the series elsewhere,
and Cinar-- the production company in Canada-- has continued to keep our
sets ready for more stories. Furthermore, Peter and I have some ideas we're
really excited about, so don't lose faith.
Making a television series is the most collaborative medium in entertainment.
So many people are working together for a common goal: Writers, directors,
editors, composers, technicians of all kinds, and of course producers and
network executives. Sometimes it all clicks and comes together wonderfully,
like a great band grooving tightly. Other times, the old saying about "too
many cooks" applies. From my experience on the series, both points
of view correctly describe the Space Cases process. Some episodes
grooved, some didn't. But, I won't tell you which ones I found to be the
best. That's why there's chocolate and vanilla...
There are 26 Space Cases episodes currently to enjoy, plus our
never-aired pilot episode (which features our cast in totally different
costume and make-up, another actress as Miss Davenport, and a guest-star
appearance by David Schramm, best known as "Roy Biggins" on Wings.)
Peter and I wrote or outlined almost all of them. We truly grew to love
the characters that sprang forth from limbo out of our minds...
The impulsive Harlan Band, played by the talented Walter Emanuel Jones
from Los Angeles, the ex -"Zack" the Black Power Ranger. When
he showed up to audition for the role, I got his autograph for my son Seth,
who--like the rest of the kids in the known universe at the time--was a
huge P.R. fan!
The beautiful, enigmatic, Catalina, played to absolute perfection by
Jewel Staite, and her '"dimensionally challenged" best friend
Suzee, the super genius, who managed to switch places with Cat for the second
13 episodes, given life and depth on screen by the lovely Rebecca Herbst.
Our sensitive alien from Andromeda with super strength and super hearing,
Radu, was brought to life onscreen by a terrific actor named Kristian Ayre.
Kristian found so many wonderful facets of reality to bring to Radu. He
worked extremly hard in challenging makeup, never complaining, and always
gave a stellar performance. Kristian even contributed one of the storylines
in the first season, "Forever Young".
Our bald headed, optimistic, gal from Mercury, Rosie Ianni, was played
by the delightful Paige Christina. Just like Rosie, Paige was always up
and fun, often enduring hours in the makeup chair while her baldcap was
glued on tight!
The last of the "kids" on the show was the pessimistic boy
from Uranus, Bova. The quirky character was given to the talented Rahi Azzizi
to perform, and no one could have done it better.
The ship android, a Techno Human Emulating Machine, "Thelma",
was lovingly and amazingly portrayed to perfection by the multi-talented
Anik Matern. There wasn't one scene filmed with Thelma in it, that Anik
didn't surprise me and bring a big smile to my face with her great acting
instinctive choices for the character. Anik is also an acting teacher, and
helped the kids quite alot when a particularly challenging scene came along.
The role of the uptight teacher you just love to tease, Ms. Davenport,
was filled by the wonderfully talented and funny Cary Lawrence. Cary suffered
through countless scenes of physical comedy like the consumate pro she is..
Cary was a true treat to work with.
Last but certainly not least, comes the boss of the bunch, Commander
Seth Goddard, (named after my son Seth, and my good friend from "Lost
in Space" Mark Goddard). Paul Boretski handled the task of bringing
the commander to life onscreen, and he did it with great style and ability.
Paul found the perfect balance between cranky and caring, between funny
and frightening. He made us all feel good to know the crew of the mysterious
Christa was in the care of such a capable space soldier.
So, after working on Space Cases for four years, (that's how long
it's been since Peter and I first started jamming on it!) we come to a pause.
Hopefully a temporary one. I hope you'll get the opportunity to see all
26 episodes. And I certainly hope we'll get to tell some more in time.
Peter and I have put our hearts and soul into this project. And we're
very proud of it. From the theme song, (composed and performed musically
by Paul Gordon and me, with vocals by our own Walter Jones with Lisa Lashawn)
to the closing photographs that change every episode, Space Cases
tries to be fun while staying in a believable science fiction arena.
Check it out.
But be careful. You just might find yourself Lost in Space Cases.
It happened to me! |