MM and XF mytharcs: RL influences

[nothing i do is magic]

I was thinking about this at dinner (this is what happens when you constantly eat alone) but if you think about both x-files and millennium, that some of the most formative elements of their mytharcs come about as a result of things that happen IRL (i hope that makes sense).

for example, Gillian gets pregnant, runs around in Miami in a trench coat (little green men, couldn't resist) and then is abducted, sparking the 'skeptic-is-abducted-by-aliens' story which runs to at least season 7 end ep, is it Requiem? and the cancer arc, and the fact that she's barren, which carries through again to requiem and indeed when she gives william away.

and on millennium: it seems to me upon reflection that the character of Lucy Butler/Legion was created for this episode. she might have evolved later or in another context, but what a strong first encounter frank has with this incarnate of the devil when it attacks and abducts Fabracant - was frank already working on that case or not? (sorry, details are sketchy at this point, i really need to watch me some millennium), kills his childhood buddy in the basement of his house (where frank's study is), thereby threatening his family and shattering the security of his sanctuary. (alliteration!) the blacks move out of their yellow house and are trully never fully reconciled after this.  all of this, and lucy/legion's subsequent appearences, because lance and the actor who played Bletch (aagh, can't remember names) mixed like oil and water. (i remember reading this, my details may be mixed, please correct.)

I'm not saying that frank/devil interactions weren't planned from day 1; in fact i would think that something like the legion character would certainly have evolved.

it's difficult to imagine the ways these stories would have turned out had the situations of the actors been different.

then of course there's catherine's death which causes just as much of a shakeup, and lara's disappearence which was completely ignored, but the first came at least partially from CC's suggestion, that she become the sacrifice, ironically, and the second from the Wongs' trait of killing everyone they can when they leave a show. but these are different in that they were planned and even foreshadowed (owls/roosters, an owl makes an offer to lara to explain... something, "to prevent you from going completely insane." lara responds, "is that a prophecy?")

I was just thinking all this because i know on other shows they work around things in different ways. (people dont' die at the hands of evil so often on tv these days.) like, someone will be transferred or will fade, or in the case of pregnancy, L&O CI's main female detective Eames is carrying a surrogate for her sister, and on crossing jordan they're shooting (and consequently airing) aroudn the title character's actress's pregnancy.

so... kudos to an (usually) amazing writing staff. and just wondering, can anybody envision an x-files without scully's abduction? mm sans legion, or at least such a personal attack? what if the yellow house hadn't been violated...?

Natalie, who should be studying (stupid finals) and is looking foreward to reading responses, and trying to envision said world. (it's kind of like that scene in 'Siren'... or not)

[voidprime]

Actually tehy only filmed six episodes of Crossing Jordan season 3 so far (so they wouldn't have to film around Jill's pregnancy too much and she comes back after she has her baby).  Jill has had her baby and asks for more time to be with her baby before returning to shoot more episodes.   So I have no idea how many season 3 episodes of Crossing Jordan there will be.

Be Seeing You,

David Blackwell

[Guest LauraKrycek]

Yeah, I've often thought about the whole Scully-abduction thing.  That wasn't supposed to end up being a huge cornerstone of the series, but just a thing to get Gillian out of the way for a couple of days.  And let me tell you, I've had non-invansive surgery before, and I was miserable for a couple of weeks without having to do a lot of stuff -- she must've felt like total crap for at least a month or two, *plus* she was still filming.  She looks so tired in all the eps around then.  But I've often wondered exactly what would've happened with the show, had she not gotten pregnant -- imagine all the avenues that wouldn't've been taken.  The show's lasting success could very well have been clinched with that, actually, so heavily did future storylines rely on Scully's abduction experience\aftereffects.  Just imagine...

[voidprime]

I think XF may have came up with different storylines if Gillian didn't get pregnant.   I just wonder what would have happened if Mulder's ex was around some more or what if Brian Thompson was available for more appearances as teh alien bounty hunter than he was available for in the last few seasons.   There are many things to consider like what if The Lone Gunmen was renewed for a second season or what if xF ended with season 7.

Be Seeing You,

David Blackwell

[nothing i do is magic]

Actually tehy only filmed six episodes of Crossing Jordan season 3 so far (so they wouldn't have to film around Jill's pregnancy too much and she comes back after she has her baby).  Jill has had her baby and asks for more time to be with her baby before returning to shoot more episodes.   So I have no idea how many season 3 episodes of Crossing Jordan there will be.

Be Seeing You,

David Blackwell

Yeah, that's kind of what I mean. According to what I can recall from similar discussion on a CJ list... they filmed six episodes, over the summer, which is usually time TV actors get off and do movies, vacation, etc. This was because, obviously, Jill Hennessy would not be noticibly pregnant or written as so. They're starting filming again either after Christmas or New Year's (what people've heard differs),and have another six or seven to do, I believe. Jill will not be in the first episode, but I haven't heard confirmed either way if this means first new one shot or first one shown, though the first option makes sense. And as far as I've heard, there's no significant time lapse between the first episode of s3 and "Pandora's Trunk II."

They changed their shooting and showing times to accomodate their star's pregnancy (which I'm in no way criticizing), where as in X-files, Gillian wore a whole bunch of trenchcoats (there's an entry in, the x-files lexicon i think, could be wrong, that's somethin like: "Trenchcoat: useful for hiding a pregancy" and many mentions throughout about the little green men trenchcoat in miami/maybe even in puerto rico), go a few episodes off, spends most of her time back sleeping in her character's hospital bed, and has footage of her pregnant belly used in a later ep (again - names fail me). It changed the entire story and mythology of the show, where as in CJ, the show (as far as I've heard) continues with the 'circumstances of mother's death' theme developed in ep 1, and doesn't mention the real-world gap.

Of course this isn't a phenomeon unique to 1013; in Xena for example, Lucy Lawless's broken hip resulted in a season, 2 i think, maybe part of 3 that is shot and shown in completely different order. It's almost a feat to try to image how the writers, directors and actors coped with that. Not only that, she was gone a lot in the first 2 seasons pimping it in the US. (it was filmed in New Zealand, but not even shown there, her home country, for the first year.) And later, in s5, Lucy was pregnant. Both those things were worked into their respective season's plots. There were several eps which featured almost cameos of LL in the teaser and at the end, and others which were noticibly lacking on stunts LL would normally do and further, stunt-doubled shots... lol. And her pregnancy was worked in, too, but the show at that point seemed, to me, at times a little like one big acid trip, with, immediately involved, Eli, "Good Callisto", Ares, The Twilight/death of many Gods, and a 25-year nap via Death's tears. (it makes sense if you like the show but i'm not trying to win converts at this point ) but the warrior princess was kind of ackward pregnant - and unlike gillian, who had a suit when she was pregnant on screen, lucy was IRL, and did many of her stunts till her 8th month...

(apologizes for all the rambling and tangental information) Natalie, who only watches a select, weird bunch of shows, but don't fret, my fave is, was, and always will be:  

[voidprime]

Usually, a show like Crossing jordan finishes shooting athe start of April which means they shot the first 6 of season 3 in April and May.   sometimes I liked Crossing Jordan, but sometimes I hated the show.  I just found CSI Miami to be more consistent in tone and stories.

Be Seeing You,

David Blackwell