So, in a parallel universe...
Apr. 21st, 2008 01:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lonelybritI think I shall have to try and find a copy of the TW mag before it vanishes, sounds like there really are a lot of interesting titbits about what was originally planned for series 2. (The following courtesy of this post by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
diablo_dancer)
Gareth David-Lloyd
It tickles me that James Moran gave GDL extra lines in Sleeper because he was so impressed with his comic timing. Admittedly I do think he went a bit overkill and I remember quite a few on the FL commenting that even though Ianto was funny, it did seem a bit out of the blue, but still I'm always pleased when someone gives GDL a bit of praise.
The other big thing for me was the fact that that final scene from Ianto's flashback in Fragments wasn't scripted (Chris Chibnall said he wanted to write 'a romantic comedy, with a pterodactyl'). For me what really made that tale was the little reality check after all the humour and gentle flirting, and again I saw quite a few on the FL commenting on how the real punch came when we saw Ianto's face just crumple as he walked away. Whilst I do wish Ianto could stay a little more dry-eyed in general, that was one case where I utterly did not mind, so again, hats off to GDL for adding that depth for us.
From Out of the Rain
Ianto was given extra lines - to be specific, Gwen's lines - because Eve was tied up with filming Adrift.
I am both pleased and, well, a little less pleased by this.
On the one hand, I do think this helps explain the odd feel this ep had. I wasn't the only one who complained that a lot of the lines felt like they could have been said by any character - so I'm not surprised that Ianto literally was saying Gwen's words. Though now I am curious as to how many lines were meant to be hers. Certainly it would have made more sense; she is second-in-command and should have been more active in the investigation. I wonder if Ianto literally only got a few extra lines, or whether he got entire scenes that were meant to be Gwen and Jack, and if so, which scenes.
On the other hand - even if it was done badly, this was one of the few eps that Ianto got something akin to the ep's spotlight, so I'm a little disappointed that this might only have happened due to external forces rather than anything deliberately planned. In a recent interview, James Marsters more-or-less said that he thought Joss never really 'got' Spike, i.e. Spike wasn't Joss's character in the way that, say, Buffy or Willow were. I'm beginning to think that possibly the same can be said of Ianto. He does have a healthy gaggle of fans, but as of yet I don't think any of the writers would really say he was 'theirs', RTD did initially think him up as being the pretty suit on the side. Ah well. If we get a series 3, hopefully they'll have begun to figure out just what they want this extra, unintended regular character to be about.
Reset - and the whole Owen death arc
So, apparently first drafts of Reset had no Martha.
That made me blink. Odd thing to find out considering how, in the end, that ep was Martha's ep - she never got as much to do again. Also, that ep was very important in striking up the beginnings of her friendship with Owen, so it's odd to picture how different her relationship with him would have been if she had shown up only after he was already dead. Assuming of course, it was always going to be him she'd be studying. *ponders*
But of course, the two facts that really threw me was:
(1) Originally, Ianto was going to be shot in Reset - apparently this was changed at the last minute, possibly even on the first day of filming of S2.
(2) Originally, Owen was going to be killed with the singularity scalpel in Reset.
If I get the courage to actually ask a question at The Rift, I would love to ask them just what was originally intended. Were both men going to bite the dust - in which case, who was going to get the undead storyline? Was just Ianto meant to bite the dust - in which case, would he have then been expected to have the undead storyline, would Owen still have died in the nuclear plant in the finale or would that have been Ianto too? Was just Owen meant to bite the dust - it was just the means of death that was tweaked?
I be confuzzled. Any of these scenarios really would have led to a very different tone to series 2. Naturally I'm glad Ianto got a reprieve (both because I can't quite see him carrying a long undead arc as well as Owen and also because TW WRITERS PLEASE STOP TRYING TO KILL MY CHARACTER), and I'm also a little concerned about him. Both series now there's been hints he was being killed off - fingers crossed they'll give him a bit of a break and actually try giving him some character development instead before finally pulling the plug.
General fun tidbits
x. In To the Last Man, Tommy was originally going to enquire after Suzie. I would have loved them to have kept that because some team continuity would be nice, but I'm not surprised it got the snip.
x. Captain John was originally going to be the main big bad in Exit Wounds and would have had a bloody sword fight with Captain Jack. *cries* That would have been so awesome. I can see why they needed a more emotional finale, and Grey did seem to fit the bill, but I'm sorry it just didn't work for me. I would have loved a serious duel, you just know Barrowman and Marsters would have made it spark like anything. Still, if we get series 3, and if Captain John returns, they may dust down this idea, when your character's costume includes a samurai-esque blade, you don't not use it.
diablo_dancer)Gareth David-Lloyd
It tickles me that James Moran gave GDL extra lines in Sleeper because he was so impressed with his comic timing. Admittedly I do think he went a bit overkill and I remember quite a few on the FL commenting that even though Ianto was funny, it did seem a bit out of the blue, but still I'm always pleased when someone gives GDL a bit of praise.
The other big thing for me was the fact that that final scene from Ianto's flashback in Fragments wasn't scripted (Chris Chibnall said he wanted to write 'a romantic comedy, with a pterodactyl'). For me what really made that tale was the little reality check after all the humour and gentle flirting, and again I saw quite a few on the FL commenting on how the real punch came when we saw Ianto's face just crumple as he walked away. Whilst I do wish Ianto could stay a little more dry-eyed in general, that was one case where I utterly did not mind, so again, hats off to GDL for adding that depth for us.
From Out of the Rain
Ianto was given extra lines - to be specific, Gwen's lines - because Eve was tied up with filming Adrift.
I am both pleased and, well, a little less pleased by this.
On the one hand, I do think this helps explain the odd feel this ep had. I wasn't the only one who complained that a lot of the lines felt like they could have been said by any character - so I'm not surprised that Ianto literally was saying Gwen's words. Though now I am curious as to how many lines were meant to be hers. Certainly it would have made more sense; she is second-in-command and should have been more active in the investigation. I wonder if Ianto literally only got a few extra lines, or whether he got entire scenes that were meant to be Gwen and Jack, and if so, which scenes.
On the other hand - even if it was done badly, this was one of the few eps that Ianto got something akin to the ep's spotlight, so I'm a little disappointed that this might only have happened due to external forces rather than anything deliberately planned. In a recent interview, James Marsters more-or-less said that he thought Joss never really 'got' Spike, i.e. Spike wasn't Joss's character in the way that, say, Buffy or Willow were. I'm beginning to think that possibly the same can be said of Ianto. He does have a healthy gaggle of fans, but as of yet I don't think any of the writers would really say he was 'theirs', RTD did initially think him up as being the pretty suit on the side. Ah well. If we get a series 3, hopefully they'll have begun to figure out just what they want this extra, unintended regular character to be about.
Reset - and the whole Owen death arc
So, apparently first drafts of Reset had no Martha.
That made me blink. Odd thing to find out considering how, in the end, that ep was Martha's ep - she never got as much to do again. Also, that ep was very important in striking up the beginnings of her friendship with Owen, so it's odd to picture how different her relationship with him would have been if she had shown up only after he was already dead. Assuming of course, it was always going to be him she'd be studying. *ponders*
But of course, the two facts that really threw me was:
(1) Originally, Ianto was going to be shot in Reset - apparently this was changed at the last minute, possibly even on the first day of filming of S2.
(2) Originally, Owen was going to be killed with the singularity scalpel in Reset.
If I get the courage to actually ask a question at The Rift, I would love to ask them just what was originally intended. Were both men going to bite the dust - in which case, who was going to get the undead storyline? Was just Ianto meant to bite the dust - in which case, would he have then been expected to have the undead storyline, would Owen still have died in the nuclear plant in the finale or would that have been Ianto too? Was just Owen meant to bite the dust - it was just the means of death that was tweaked?
I be confuzzled. Any of these scenarios really would have led to a very different tone to series 2. Naturally I'm glad Ianto got a reprieve (both because I can't quite see him carrying a long undead arc as well as Owen and also because TW WRITERS PLEASE STOP TRYING TO KILL MY CHARACTER), and I'm also a little concerned about him. Both series now there's been hints he was being killed off - fingers crossed they'll give him a bit of a break and actually try giving him some character development instead before finally pulling the plug.
General fun tidbits
x. In To the Last Man, Tommy was originally going to enquire after Suzie. I would have loved them to have kept that because some team continuity would be nice, but I'm not surprised it got the snip.
x. Captain John was originally going to be the main big bad in Exit Wounds and would have had a bloody sword fight with Captain Jack. *cries* That would have been so awesome. I can see why they needed a more emotional finale, and Grey did seem to fit the bill, but I'm sorry it just didn't work for me. I would have loved a serious duel, you just know Barrowman and Marsters would have made it spark like anything. Still, if we get series 3, and if Captain John returns, they may dust down this idea, when your character's costume includes a samurai-esque blade, you don't not use it.
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no subject
Date: 2008-04-21 02:20 am (UTC)None of this info fills me with great confidence - they sure are very nonchalant with these characters!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-21 07:27 pm (UTC)Yep, though I think it only excuses it to a certain extent. Some of the nature of the dialogue would have still clunked onscreen no matter which character had said it. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Ianto literally did get some of Gwen's scenes with Jack - PJ Hammond last time had Gwen as confidante for Jack when it came to Estelle, I imagine he would have wanted to keep that theme at least a little instead of having her around pretty much only as background.
It both does and doesn't fill me confidence. They did do a brilliant job with Owen this series, so when they put their minds to it they can nail it. Though they did have more than a helping hand by having Burn delivering the lines. I am sad about Tosh - admittedly she did have a wonderful death scene, but they never really got all they could out of the character before they killed her off. They missed out there. In hindsight, I think Chibnall probably was the one to most get Tosh - he had her being the brains in KKBB, a genius in fragments, and just downright kickass in Exit Wounds. Still, I know what you mean, it does seem a little alarming at how easily they apparently write and rewrite each character's tale, sometimes for obviously sound reasons, and other times for a reason I can't quite see...