I'm wrapped. The crew finished the final scenes for the season finale today (December 18th) and I shot my last work yesterday. It was amazingly bittersweet to walk away last night. While I will be thrilled to fly home and be reunited with my kids and my wonderfully tolerant and supportive wife I will be leaving behind an incredible group of people. It probably sounds like a hollow Hollywood platitude to say this but the crew on "Flash Gordon" have truly been a family away from my family. The energy on the set was always upbeat, fun and self deprecating. Everyone worked really hard with limited resources and did increasingly fantastic stuff. I'm very proud of how much better the show got as the season went on and I'm happy to say the six episodes yet to air are by far some of the very best we've done. Whether there's a second season or not and whether I'm a part of it or not (cliffhanger!) is yet to be determined. Regardless, I hope you give the new episodes of season one a look in 2008.

To all my fellow cast mates (Gina, Eric, Jody, John, Karen, Anna and all the other regulars and guest players) thanks for putting up with me. The gag reel at the wrap party last Saturday night reminded me how much fun it was to work with you all and how much I will miss the experience day to day.

Last of all...thank-you viewers and fans of "Flash Gordon". We didn't make a show that pleased everyone (is that possible?) but if you were able to enjoy our efforts at all then I'm glad we could entertain you. It's an ephemeral experience doing a series. It begins and ends in the blink of an eye, the lights on the stage go dim before you know it and the actors must exit stage left. Thank-you for letting me perform for you.

Until next time...Adieu.

Posted by Jonathan Lloyd Walker at 08:37 AM | Permalink

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I thought it wasn't supposed to get cold in the Pacific Northwest? Okay, so it's Canada, but this is Vancouver where it RAINS nine months of the year. And yet I'm shivering despite the long johns.

It turns out the weather here is decidedly colder than usual. Temperatures this week are below freezing (don't roll your eyes at me Chicago readers!) and with the dampness the cold gets right in your bones. Doesn't help that the studio we shoot in is not insulated and the four or five propane heaters couldn't keep a garage toasty let alone a cavernous sound stage...

But the gritty, fleece clad crew shoots on, complains little and gets some great work done. I feel particularly sorry for some of our extras who have outfits on that reveal more skin than a Sphynx cat. Thank goodness for Bri, our craft services person, and her plentiful hot snacks.

Speaking of cold, we just finished an episode that takes place almost entirely in the frozen lands of Frigia. The sets and costumes are pretty amazing and the studio was filled with mountains of fake snow that covered everything. To really make this episode stand out a splinter crew went up to Whistler mountain (home of the 2010 winter Olympics) and shot some breathtaking outdoor scenes. Can't wait to see how it turns out!.

We're starting to wind down now with only a few episodes left to shoot. The final scripts are more exciting and much more ambitious than anything we've done so far. I suspect the producers must have found a big bag of money under one of those Whistler snow drifts, it's the only way we'll be able to pull them off!

Stay tuned! I'm off to find some hot cocoa and a PBJ melty.

Posted by Jonathan Lloyd Walker at 06:14 PM | Permalink

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Hi again!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks, it's been a crazy time in the world of "Flash Gordon". Where to begin?

As some of you may know (or may not) the Writer's Guild of America is on strike. I've been asked by a few people if this has affected our show and if we will have to stop production like many other series. The answer is yes and no. Our writers who are WGA members have indeed stopped writing and will not write again for us until the strike is resolved. Fortunately we only had five episodes still to shoot when the strike began and the writers were able to finish the scripts for them before their labour action began. Having recently received those last four scripts I can tell you without hesitation that they are amongst the very best "Flash Gordon" episodes I have read this season. So, I'm told by our producers that we will indeed be able to complete the full 22 episode season as scheduled. Shooting of the season finale will conclude around December 19th.

So what tidbits can I tease you with? Well, the season cliffhanger is a great one. Without giving too much away I can tell you that in the coming weeks the growing tenseness between Ming and Rankol will escalate dramatically. Rankol's position of influence with Ming will be challenged by an ambitious rival. Rankol's secret agenda will be revealed. Ming's political situation will be threatened in ways he never expected. Flash will aid a growing movement to challenge Ming's rule. Earth will come under direct threat from Ming's machinations. Friends will become enemies. A main character will be killed in an act of self sacrifice...and a whole lot more! The tone of the show has gotten a little darker, the turbulent world of Mongo much more the focus, and I think (IMHO) you'll find the remaining episodes to be a really great indicator of what this show could develop in to in season two. I hope you tune in.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have expressed your appreciation for both the show and for my work as Rankol. Science fiction is a tough genre to get right PARTICULARLY when you do a series based on a much loved original property that's been a cornerstone of the genre for more than 70 years. Despite our detractors I think we're growing into that responsibility and making a better show with every week that passes. I'm very lucky to play a layered, deep, complicated and nuanced character like Rankol and I'm having a great deal of fun exploring him scene by scene. I think you'll be surprised by how his story unfolds in the weeks ahead.

For those of you in the U.S., enjoy a safe, peaceful and happy Thanksgiving and best wishes from all of us at "Flash Gordon".

Posted by Jonathan Lloyd Walker at 10:24 AM | Permalink

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Hello again from Mongo! Or in reality a large former equestrian barn in Langley, BC. As you may or may not know we shoot "Flash Gordon" north of the border just outside of Vancouver on the lovely west coast of Canada. And when I say north of the border I literally mean less than a mile from the 49th parallel. This seems to be the land of science fiction with a great number of the genre's series and features shot here. Currently at least four of SciFi's network shows are filmed in and around Vancouver...I run into the other series' actors all the time at the airport! Yes, Trisha Helfer is just as attractive in person.

Since we shoot in such a large converted studio/barn we are able to house most of the Mongo sets under one roof. The exception is Rankol's lab which is situated in a former chemical lab facility a few miles down the road. Recently a new standing set has been added to the floor plan, one that caught my eye and I wanted to give you a little preview as it will be appearing for the first time in a couple of episodes.

The set is called the "Steep House". It is a place where the well healed Denzens of Nacent City deign to mix socially with the riffraff from the outside cantons, where people indulge in the illicit consumption of tea like drinks that have a gratifying if deleterious effect on the body. Visually the set is part Asian opium den part Moss Eisley cantina (with perhaps a smattering of "Prancing Pony" tavern thrown in for good measure). When you're in the steep house you do quite literally have to watch your back.

The first time Rankol visits (in the series, no doubt he's been there before) I actually get to dispatch someone who has been a failure to me. It's the kind of venue where such things happen, people notice the body drop to the floor and then resume their activities as though nothing at all transpired. It's all deliciously malevolent. It's also where plans get hatched, old scores get settled and new ones forged. The design is rich in detail with all sorts of odd vessels and implements adorning the walls, bar and tables. The Steep House is usually stocked with a good number of miscreants and shifty types. All in all not a destination you'd want to wander in to unaware. The set design and art departments have done a terrific job with this set, I hope you like it.

Watch for it in the coming weeks and just one tiny tip...if a very tall deviate in black hovers over and offers you some tea for your own sake DON"T DRINK IT!!

Posted by Jonathan Lloyd Walker at 11:21 AM | Permalink

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"He floats in a suspensor ring"...That was how Rankol's strange form of locomotion was described to me back when I was first cast in the role. "Why is that?" I asked. And the answer was part of the reason I chose to take on this great and mysterious character.

Hello. I'm Jonathan Lloyd Walker and SciFi have asked me to post from the set of "Flash Gordon" with some tidbits and anecdotes that I hope peek your interest. Since this is the beginning of my blog it felt appropriate to actually write about the beginning of my relationship with this character and how I've chosen to play him.

As you may have read from the character description on this site Rankol is a deviate. What exactly is a deviate? Well it turns out that the water on Mongo is tainted...it's mostly turned into something called "grey water". The stuff is so toxic that those who drink it can develop horrible physical, mental deformities. You may remember the grotesque figure that Flash and Dale get imprisoned with in the first episode. He, like Rankol, suffers from these deviate deformities as do a whole host of other unfortunate outcasts that are forced to live in exile in the Banelands. Since the pilot showed only a brief glimpse of what lies beneath Rankol's robe I thought I'd share with you a pre-production sketch of the character and the rig he uses to travel around. As you can see in the image Rankol has one shrunken leg (called the "baby leg" by most of the cast and crew). His other limb is ostensibly a large marine mammal-like flipper. This is why Aura referred to Rankol as "flipper foot" in the episode "Ascension". Essentially Rankol cannot stand or move by himself. Ingeniously he built a device that can elevate him vertically and allow him to float around through mind control alone. It's a very cool concept and one I think the effects team have done a great job executing.

Rankol also has a metal fitting bonded to his head through which part of his brain is visible. This is also one of Rankol's deformities, a brain abnormality that has to literally be held inside his skull by a bolted plate. This encumbrance in particular causes Rankol a great deal of pain that he manages through meditation and by remaining as calm and unemotional as possible. I made this physical choice in the performance as it seemed logical that a man so horribly afflicted would have to manage his pain quite carefully. I drew from the experiences of an old friend who suffers from terrible migraines and needs, most of the time, to remain calm in order to deal with the pressure and discomfort. This is why Rankol frequently speaks with such a measured and restrained tone...he's literally trying to keep the pain from overwhelming him.

What I can tell you about the episodes yet to come is that Rankol has a lot more going on than you might suspect. Although Ming's subordinate, and lucky to be in such a position in light of his abnormalities, he's a man with his own ideas and agendas. I think you'll see a very different side to Rankol in the coming weeks and I for one am very excited that I've been given the opportunity to dig deeper into his mysterious ulterior motives.

Well that's all for now. I'll be back soon with more. Thanks for tuning in!

Posted by Jonathan Lloyd Walker at 07:01 PM | Permalink

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