TVSquad

Last month we got an email from the Sci Fi publicity folks and, had it not been for the email address, I may have thought it was a joke. We were being invited to tour the sets of some of the most popular shows on the Sci Fi Channel, along with an unknown number of other digital press representatives, sort of out of the blue and on somewhat short notice. Thousands of miles and weeks later, I think I'm still in shock that it really happened.

I want to give you what I think will be a different perspective on the trip, one that's less about the "scoop" everyone hopes to hear and more about what it's like to be a fan of these shows and have such a unique opportunity like this; the sights, the sounds and hell, even the smells. "For television fans, by television fans," that's what TV Squad has been about all along.

A tour of the sets of Eureka

When you approach the Vancouver Film Studios, with the exception of the security gate, it feels a lot more like an industrial park of warehouses than a film lot. In fact, right next door is a Costco building – people were out doing their shopping as we were walking along to the various stages.


Eureka consists of many house-like sets, with very detailed interiors and, in some cases, exteriors. The first set we were brought onto was the set of Henry's garage. The detail put into this set is quite remarkable. Parts manuals for a '85 Pontiac Fiero and '91-'92 Chevrolet, old printers and computer parts in various degrees of disassembly. I was impressed that the detail for this set went from floor to ceiling, including a glass skylight. And, being that it's a garage and all, the set actually smelled like a musty, oily garage.

By far the coolest experience of any of these set tours was the trust put into us by the staff showing us around. We were free to walk around the entire set, poke and prod at items, flip through books and touch the costumes. There was no "don't touch that!" or "get away from there!" We weren't being treated like children, even though some of us felt as excited as one.

I opened one of the manuals – it was real and not a fake cover thrown onto a stack of blank paper. The keyboards and monitors had familiar corporate logos on them, though you may not notice it when watching on TV. Most of the junk in the room was arranged in nonsense ways, but then again geniuses tinkering with technology in odd ways is what makes this show.

The next set was the sheriff's office. Again the detail was incredible. On a shelf behind one of the desks were case files in binders with labels like "Lost Keys," "Dogs Gone Postal," "Schoolyard Bullies," and "Missing Mittens." On corkboards throughout the office were wanted posters, the photos on each being of the production crew. Here and there you'd see something that didn't quite fit in with the show, like Vancouver paperwork on the desk.

Within this office set there wast a portion that was considered "hot," or ready to be filmed. Through one door was the office washroom, where there was an air canon rigged to shoot water and porcelain toilet pieces into the office as the result of a methane buildup (as per the script). Originally we were scheduled to see the cast and crew shoot this scene, but probably due to timing restraints we weren't able to. I do know the effects coordinator, Tim Storvick (our tour guide for this portion of the visit) clearly hoped we'd be able to see it, which made it all the more disappointing that we couldn't be there.


The next stop on the tour was the "smart house" which, in case you're not familiar with the show, is like a house of the future that Jack and Zoe live in, with hide-away toilets and sinks and a refrigerator that dispenses whatever you ask it to (e.g., beer). It's also a house that talks back to you, and fittingly our next tour guide was cast member Neil Grayston who not only plays the role of Fargo, he provides the, er, "female" voice of the house, S.A.R.A.H. Most of the way the house effects work isn't all that surprising. Technicians hide behind the scenes and pull levers and pulleys to get things to slide into place, lower from ceilings and pop out of hidden panels. Up to eight technicians will be running around the outside of this set in any given scene, as some effects require four or so separate actions to complete.

Something neat I didn't recall from the show was the lighting changes around the interior of the smart house. As we were listening to Neil tell us stories about him walking smack into the clear Plexiglas walls that sometimes separate the rooms, the lighting around the upper exterior of the room began to change from yellow to red to blue to green. Apparently that lighting reflects the mood of S.A.R.A.H. at any given time; green is when she's happy, blue for sad, red for angry.

We were shown the cave-like passageway that leads to the smart house from the woods (in the show, that is), which eventually led to a wooden platform at the top of the stairs, overlooking the entire stage area. This was typical of many of the sets we eventually visited. Of course we're not going to suddenly emerge into the woods! The walls of the passage look like real rock walls and you wouldn't know the difference even with your nose two inches from it. It isn't until you touch or knock on portions of the sets that you realize they're made of artificial material.

Later along the way Neil showed us the huge, white massage chair that Jack would use from time to time. He casually invited us to have a seat and check out how comfortable it was, but I think this early in the tour a lot of us were gun shy and weren't really sure if he was serious. Thinking back now, I think a few of us might regret not giving it a spin.

One of people on the tour with me asked Neil if he'd give a quick demonstration of his S.A.R.A.H. voice, which he was happy to do (in case you didn't know, Neil Grayston does provide the voice in the show, though he's not officially credited for it. He'll also be the (male) voice of a robot car in the second season.) I thought it was cool of him to have gone out of his way to do that and to show everyone around, as there were some folks on the tour who didn't even know who he was, which I thought sucked.

There's quite a bit of detail put into what's on the outside of each of these sets too. On every panel of every wall there's a blueprint showing you where that wall is in relation to the rest of the set. There are markings telling you which wall is the north, south, east or west wall. And there are of course pulleys and levers everywhere there's supposed to be.


The next stop was what's called the Global Dynamics rotunda, which is mostly a new set for the second season. This is one big honkin' set. Were it not for the lack of ceiling in portions of it (for filming and lighting purposes, of course) it would have felt like the real thing. It's just enormous! Off to the side of the main area of the rotunda are various labs, several which change configuration depending on what scenes needs to be shot. The infirmary could be a lab, for example.

Along the hallways of the GD set there are maps that you'll catch a quick glimpse of while watching the show. Even though you wouldn't typically be able to read these maps while watching the show on television, the level of detail is amazing. These are meant to serve as real maps for within the show; there's nothing funny or easter-eggy about them.


After our panel discussion with the cast (which you can see here and here), we had one more stop for this show. Maybe it was the time of the day (it was ungodly early), but I was half expecting us to see or hear filming going on on the various sets. The last stop of the tour was the Cafe Diem, the local diner for the town of Eureka, where things were clearly setup for more filming later that day. Wires were attached to several chairs and tables and led off-set to where crew would eventually pull them to create the effect of everything being blasted across the room. This was a somewhat hot set, though since the point of the next scene was a whole lot of destruction, there was no point in being incredibly careful.

Air canons were setup behind the counter and the kitchen area, rigged with paper plates, napkins, bagels, bread and other diner-like stuff, meant to be shot out during a scene where an energy wave sweeps through the room. One the canons would shoot off, stunt people would be thrown about as well as their chairs (pulled off-screen by crew.) Tim Storvick spoke about the whole scene with excitement as one who clearly enjoys his job and the show he's working on.

I couldn't help but notice how the plates and utensils seemed to be all made of multi-colored plastic in this set. That seemed to jump out at me, though it makes sense that they'd use plastic for what was going to be a stunt scene. Everything else felt like a real diner. We sat on the stools and leaned on counters. Tim Storvick offered us an espresso (kidding – the machine's not hooked up, like most things on the sets.) With the exception of places like Henry's garage, really the only thing that made these places feel "unreal" was the lack of ceiling.

As you look out the front door and windows of the Cafe Diem, there's an outdoor seating area. Beyond that there's just concrete floor, lighting equipment and yet more sets and material. These are the areas where green screens come into play, as we'll see in many portions of the other sets. Shots outside windows and onto some ceilings are all about the green screen.

I would have loved to stick around the set to see some scenes get shot, but we had a long day ahead of us. I knew that if this was any indication of what we'd be seeing on the other shows, we were in for a great experience.

Check back soon for part two of my report as I explore the set of Stargate Atlantis.

[Photo credits: Eike Schroter/SCI FI Channel]