Geek - Issue 7 2019 - 33

these words every day."
For her part, Quintana's
passion is being fueled by the
show's approach to its characters and the stories, which
serve as metaphors for many of
today's issues in the tradition
of classic TV like The Twilight
Zone and the original Star Trek.
"Jax is someone I relate to
so much; she's a little sharp
with her tongue, is witty, a little
bit guarded and doesn't trust
often, but when she does, she
trusts so deeply," the actress
notes. "On top of that, Mark is
just so aware of what's going
on the world regarding social
climate with everything from
racism to slavery and how far
religion can kind of take people
the wrong way. It touches on
death of family members,
being an outcast - just all of
these issues that are so important, but aren't talked about
enough nowadays. He just
channels them into the show in
a way that's so understandable
and relatable. I'm so happy to
be a part of bringing that to
the forefront and bringing all
of that to life for our audience,
because it's so necessary. The
show is set in 2199, but every
time I read an episode I'm
blown away with how today's
issues remain so relatable while
being set in the future."
For Altman, the producer
and co-writer of, among others,
the cult classic Free Enterprise,
Pandora has turned out to be a
show that has adhered closely
to his original vision for the
series. "I've been so fortunate
to have such amazing collaborators and a creative team
from the actors to the writers,
my [director of photography]
Maximilian Schmige, who
is the reincarnation of Star
Trek's Jerry Finnerman, and
many more. I've just been very
lucky to find hard-working
and passionate collaborators
who share my desire to do a

OLIVER
DENCH IS
XANDER
DUVALL IN
PANDORA
DESCRIBED IN THE SHOW'S
BIBLE AS CARY GRANT
from Alfred Hitchcock's
Notorious, Pandora's co-lead,
Xander Duvall, works as a
teacher's assistant but in
reality is a top operative
in the Earth Intelligence
Services. Attracted to Jax
(Priscilla Quintana), as their
friendship deepens a trust
develops between them -
which is threatened when
she learns that he knows
more than he admits about
her past.
"Xander is a man of
incredible conscience who
has to do unconscionable
things," observes series
creator Mark A. Altman. "He
lives in a moral gray area
that will be complicated by
meeting and coming to care
about Jax. And for Oliver
Dench who plays him, there
aren't enough adjectives
in the English language to
genre show in a way that hasn't
been done before. I think it will
feel very fresh and exciting as
opposed to shows mired in a
formulaic way of telling a space
adventure. Not to mention,
every day I go to work, I have to
pinch myself that I get to tell
this story. And we have spaceships. Lots of spaceships."
He also believes that
the show is filling a void on

describe how awesome he
is as both an actor and a
human being. He epitomizes
everything that was on the
page and more in terms of
being resourceful, smart
and witty."
Formerly of the TV series
Ride and The Athena, Dench
was intrigued by the little
material he was given to
read. "I knew it was sci-fi,"
he says, "and I knew that my
character was essentially
some sort of space guy. I
thought that 10-year-old me
would not forgive myself at
all if I didn't go in to audition
to be space guy and hold a
laser gun. How cool is that?"
Following an audition in
which he had to read the
part in an American and
then his native English
accents, he was flown to
Bulgaria a week later to
become a part of the show,
where he quickly realized

what the appeal of the
show would be - beyond
those childhood daydreams
of being a space guy with
a laser.
"Art tends to sway from
what's happening in the
real world," Dench muses.
"It seems the happier things
get in the real world, the
more dystopian and crazy
art becomes, and the sadder
things in the real world, the
more optimistic art gets.
For a while we've had lots
of dystopian, depressing
work out there, but the tide
seems to be turning. We're
overdue for something
more optimistic that can
show a more positive look
at how the future could
be. Pandora provides that.
The tenets of the show are
more optimistic, more about
humanity banding together
and overcoming differences."
- EG

television: "It's a science fiction
series for fans who may not
necessarily think they like
science fiction," Altman points
out. "It starts first and foremost
with the characters and is very
character-driven despite taking
place in the future and in space.
But it's very relatable. We took
a cue from the original Star Trek
in the sense that we're a show
about a family and really try

and tackle contemporary issues
through the lenses of metaphor
and allegory. In a way, I'd have
to say that Gene Roddenberry
and Gene L. Coon were really
our spiritual professors. And
as students, we've hopefully
learned their lessons and are
doing right by their legacy of
intelligent, action-packed,
compelling science fiction that
transcends genre."

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33


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Geek - Issue 7 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Geek - Issue 7 2019

Contents
Geek - Issue 7 2019 - Cover1
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Geek - Issue 7 2019 - 3
Geek - Issue 7 2019 - 4
Geek - Issue 7 2019 - 5
Geek - Issue 7 2019 - Contents
Geek - Issue 7 2019 - 7
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