quote: The most significant and most difficult change has to do with our amazing writers. Both Matt and Joe, and Zack and Ash, are moving on to new projects. All four of these incredible writers have been with the show from the beginning and while they will be working on new shows, you never know when they may come back to write an episode (or two, or three!). They are not just talented writers, but have become part of our family and we wish them well. They will be missed.
But as some move on, others are moving in. We are privileged to welcome Larry and Paul Barber aboard the Andromeda team. Larry and Paul were Co-Producers on the X-Files for its first season and then went on to develop movies for Francis Coppola, Oliver Stone, Michael Mann, John Singleton, and Jon Peters. They came back to TV to work on shows such as Profiler, Seven Days and most recently worked on Witchblade. Before that, they worked on 21 Jumpstreet, The Commish, and Roar. They will make a welcome addition to the Andromeda family. Larry and Paul have been SF fans since they can remember and can�t wait to start telling stories in our universe.
We also welcome Naomi Janzen. Naomi penned �For Whom the Bell Tolls� this season, and has also written for La Femme Nikita, 7th Heaven, and The Crow. She is a welcome addition to our team.
Ashley and Zack were the last of the good writers. Matt and Joe could have been canned long ago, and it would have been an improvement.
I did not see "For Whom The Bell Tolls" so I wont comment on Mrs Janzen. I did like "The Commish" although, I think it had more to do with the actor, Chicles, or something like that, then with the writing. Roar, was a good idea that didn't quite get time to develope. I liked some of the stuf they did, but who knows how it would have gone.
-------------------- Sparky:: Think! Question Authority, Authoritatively. “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” EMSparks
Shalamar: To save face, keep lower half shut.
Registered: Jun 1999
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Y'know, there must be several phases to hating Andromeda. Like many, I went from a loyal show follower, to be generally uncomfortable in the second season, and eventually total revulsion and abandonment by the beginning of the third. Now, when news like this hits, I've gone from "Oh, my God, how much worse can it get?!" to "Ha! Lookit how much worse will it get now!" to "Ehh, who gives a flying leap?".
I made my peace with Andromeda's demise months ago. News like this is just putting too many nails in the show's overstuffed, carelessly-made coffin.
posted
That's hilarious... because just a couple of days ago someone in one of the Trek threads reminded me that Zack & Ash were still working for Andromeda and were good writers.
I gave up hope on the show long ago as well, but it still annoys me to no end to see such a great concept go down the drain.
I occasionally lurked on the SlipstreamWeb boards, and had heard a few tidbits that made me pay attention to online news enough to see if there were any new episodes I might want to watch. (None have come even close yet.)
The departure of Z&A makes me lose all hope. If I'm not mistaken, there's not a single writer left who's been there from the beginning, right?
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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As far as I can tell, none of the original writers are still with Andromeda (watch somebody prove me wrong, though).
I will admit, though, that I have also pretty much given up on Andromeda at this point. While I will remain hopeful that the quality will improve, I haven't had any desire to tune in very much this season. The only two complete episodes I've seen this season were not very good, in my opinion (nor were the summaries of the other episodes I have read).
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Yes, it's true -- there are no writers who were working on the show from the beginning (or at least from Season One) remaining on the staff.
Which basically means it's an entirely different show now.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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Not that I'm making a point or anything but...
...like TNG?
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
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You sure? Berman was running things there pretty much from the beginning -- even though Roddenberry was the creator and overall guy-in-charge, Berman was always going to be his successor and therefore was involved from early on.
At least, that's how I've always perceived it, anyway.
"Andromeda" is a different case, though. For that show, the creator specifically got canned so that they could change the basic format and style of the show. Writers since then have all abandoned ship for greener pastures, either voluntarily or otherwise.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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Andromeda's situation is pretty different from The Next Generation's. If you compare first season TNG to seventh season TNG, you'll pretty much find the same show. The characters have grown and the stories have improved, but overall the themes of TNG stayed pretty much the same.
The same cannot be said for Andromeda, however. The show this season is quite different from the show in the first season. Unlike Babylon 5, a lot of the reasons for these changes in the structure of the show's themes were not really addressed in the show. All we know is suddenly *poof* there's the 50 initial signatories.
In the real world, we know the reason for this is as MinutiaeMan has stated. There's an excessive turnover in the writing staff, the man who pretty much shaped the show was forcibly removed, and the remaining executives changing formats from sci-fi to action and from heavy continuity to episodic will be a good thing.
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Strangly enough, Ethlie Ann Vare, who was fired after taking up for RHW, has either been commishened, or permitted, to write the second Andromeda novel. She has also written for one of the other Tribune shows since being ejected from Andromeda.
As far as I know, no one who was writing for the first season is still employeed.
The changes in the show were mandate from the top, and Wolfe trie to comply, but the brass was never satisfied. Someone who is more in te know then I have ever been, told me that it is standard Tribune practice to hire good people to get the show off the ground, then dump them to lower the level of money they have to pay, and get cheaper people to write and run the show. Looking at Tribune's history, it is very easy to believe.
Robert Ingles was hired to replace Wolfe. He did have some credits to his name, but the biggest was a stint with "Twin Peaks", a show that lasted all of two years. He brought some of the Twin Peaks quality to Andromeda, in the first episode of the third seaosn, but it failed miserably. I've watched bits and pieces of episodes since then, but that's it.
-------------------- Sparky:: Think! Question Authority, Authoritatively. “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” EMSparks
Shalamar: To save face, keep lower half shut.
Registered: Jun 1999
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Oh man... I'm no big fan of "Enterprise," but at least their stories have some hint of intelligent writing. I tried to watch the "Andromeda" season premiere back in September, and simply left halfway through out of frustration and disgust. There was simply no logic, no interest, nothing but big explosions and pointless plot twists.
"Enterprise" certainly isn't anything extraordinary, but I'll take lame plots over no plot any day.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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You sure? Berman was running things there pretty much from the beginning -- even though Roddenberry was the creator and overall guy-in-charge, Berman was always going to be his successor and therefore was involved from early on.
Apart from Berman though, all the initial lot (Justman, Trome, Snodgrass) left, and the recognisable faces (Pillar, Moore etc) didn't start until a fair way into the show. Did anyone on the first or second season writing staff remain?
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
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