by
Ryan Johnson, Dec 02 2008
Hello friends.
My apologies for a technical problem that prevented my blog to appear last week.
As a continuation to the “Road to The Skeptologist TV series” this week, I’m opening up a page of my internal notes to our cast about one of our great locations used in the show.
When we were putting the show together, we needed to come up with some great locations. You read three weeks ago about the Queen Mary and all of it’s wonderful scenic charm. We still needed a place that, by it’s very nature, would say “Intelligence” and “Science” A location that would serve as a backdrop for the introduction and conclusion of the pilot episode. I’ve always loved planetariums, and we first worked on getting into a planetarium, and there are many in the LA area. However, those proved to be surprisingly difficult to work into our schedule because most are used during the day for instruction by colleges and in the evening to make money with shows for the public.
Dr. Michael Shermer recommended Mt. Wilson. For those of you who don’t know Dr. Shermer is an avid cyclist and many times a week he takes his bike on, what seems to me, very grueling treks. One of his routes takes him up Mt. Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles.
The route to the peak of Mt. Wilson, is treacherous in a car! I can’t imagine riding that in a bike! I’ll leave that to Dr. Shermer!
What follows are some of the notes that I wrote right after doing the location scout of Mt. Wilson Observatory, before any shooting took place there. These were provided only to the cast and crew as background information prior to production. I thought that you’d be interested to read a bit about it now.
The 100 inch telescope dome at Mt. Wilson.
Who needs Science-Fiction when there are antiques that look this cool?
Why an observatory on a show that’s dealing with ghost hunting tools and slimy wheatgrass? Well, it’s all a matter of creating a show that is bold in scale and that has within it shadows of even greater subjects to come. This type of location sets the stage for REAL science and the curiosity of the human mind. The Skeptologists is a show that addresses the many ways that people ponder and understand our world around us. By using tools, both mental and physical, we will expand the knowledge of our viewers by presenting science, critical thinking and reason in a way that is educational and entertaining.
I’m glad that you all have elected to help in my quest to fulfill this mission. The hard work that we are all enduring, will not go unnoticed.
–Ryan Johnson,
Who needs Science-Fiction when there are antiques that look this cool?
Kind of poetic that the literal climb to the peak is so difficult.
Scientific research and critical thinking are tough endeavors, but the rewards are waiting there at the top for those who make the effort.
Well done and keep up the good work. Common sense, reason and empirical proof are the basis of our life. Ask those who would rather put their trust in “faith” if their faith keeps their ‘plane in the air or their mobile ‘phones working? As Old Blue Eyes said, “You can’t have one without the other”.
I cannot wait for your show to be picked up by a major network. Cheers!
Having seen the pilot at TAM-6, it was interesting to read some of the background notes.
I hope the show has been tightened up from the pilot. It felt very earnest and sincere, but there were too many people..a host plus 6 skeptics. You need to lose 4-5 people and punch it up for TV. It was pretty boring, and some of the digital effects were pointless.