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Robert Picardo reveals the mystery behind Persons Unknown
Robert Picardo (the Stargate series) told SCI FI Wire that if all goes according to plan, his guest shot on the upcoming Lost-esque series Persons Unknown may evolve into a recurring role. Picardo similarly leveraged his Stargate SG-1 guest shot as Richard Woolsey into a recurring role on SG-1 and later into a series-regular role on Stargate: Atlantis.
Persons Unknown is a co-production of Fox TV Studios and Televisa, and 13 episodes were filmed in Mexico this past fall. The show will air on Televisa in Mexico and is reportedly being shopped around domestically and elsewhere around the world. SCI FI Wire spoke exclusively to Picardo earlier this month. Following are edited excerpts from that interview.
What can you tell us about Persons Unknown?
Picardo: That's from Chris McQuarrie, who wrote The Usual Suspects. And the executive producer is Remi Aubuchon, who also wrote the Caprica pilot along with Ron Moore. It's reminiscent of the classic Patrick McGoohan series The Prisoner. It's about these people who are strangely abducted and held against their will and are apparently being studied or manipulated. It's a very exotic, paranoid premise for a show. The actors are great. Alan Ruck, an old friend of mine, is one of the main cast members [along with Chadwick Boseman, Gerald Kyd, Kate Lang Johnson and Kandyse McClure from Battlestar Galactica].
You make your first appearance in the last episode. What do you play?
Picardo: I'm a very powerful guy, sort of the power behind the power. I won't even tell you his name, because the name is kind of a placeholder. But it was great to work with [director] Michael Rymer, who did Battlestar Galactica, and I'm hoping the show is picked up in the U.S. It's sold throughout Europe and South America, and I don't know that they have an American buyer yet, but I'm confident they will, because I saw the pilot and it's great.
And you'd be a recurring character if they do more?
Picardo: Yes, if the show goes beyond 13, then I will recur.
By dom toretto at 6:20 AM ON 04/20/09
what's the point? every single american tv show ends up with crappy het romance stories and the creators/producers blogging about how nasty the fans are.
every single time.
so, thanks, but no thanks.
By KaiUno at 7:23 AM ON 04/20/09
Jaded much?
By Rafe at 7:26 AM ON 04/20/09
Dom Toretto,
What's the point of your comment? You have just stated that ALL TV shows are about "het romances..."
First, if you believe that, then why are you even here at this site for a television network?
Second, and more importantly, not all shows are about romance: have you watched Supernatural? Where's the "het romance" on that show? It's about two brothers on the road fighting evil.
By REDante at 8:46 AM ON 04/20/09
Right now I have to say that Supernatural and Fringe are the only genre shows that still keep me interested. BSG is gone, Terminator flopped and will always be remembered as the tv show that couldve been....never cared for Dollhouse, ummm Sanctuary is only worth watching when theres nothing else on, never cared for smallville, lost, heros, those shows just didnt grab my attention, Ghost Whisperer and Medium are one in the same to me only one is blonde and the other is brunette, scifi reality shows are not scifi but just cameras and plumbers, Reaper....meh never cared, cupid, not interested, eleventh hour, not scifi enough, im not saying there not good to you, theres just not good enough for me, so if you like those shows then heres hoping you can save them but for me yea supernatural, two brothers.....always on the road.....always in the back woods.....always in shady motels......"WHY CAN'T I QUIT YOU" both those guys need to keep a girlfriend from getting killed or just marry eachother.
By retired at 10:45 AM ON 04/20/09
REDante , I am almost in agreement with you, but Terminator deserves better, and really really hope it is back another seasons. I do feel bad for not really liking a few of the show mentioned, because I really am on the fence for a couple, the majority I do not care for, and plumbers with buttcracks who sees ghosts leaqves me ina quandry why people like that show....
I care for the people and actors and do not wish them out of a job, but some shows just bore me. I think that when one gets older they have seen alot of shows and many are just a re-hash of old shows, the younger fans just wer enot around to see them, so they anjoy them as a new concept...
oh well, we can only hope the creativity stays fresh and quality high. And really important is to stick with making Sci-Fi for Sci-Fi.. and not just fill in shows and garbage. There are some great older shows that could be run again as re-runs and be very successful... but I am puzzled why they are are not taken off the shelf. Instead they put garbage on over and over again... Sci-fi channel stil is not listening to fans..
By Methos at 3:45 PM ON 04/20/09
So will the Doctor be speaking Spanish in this show? That would actually be kind of neat to see.
By Hopeful Viewer at 9:39 PM ON 04/23/09
Robert Picardo was as good as any character coud be when he played the doctor on Voyager. I would watch any series that he might choose to be part of. Unfortionately not many Hard Science Fiction shows are coming any time soon. SYFY will not likely ever put on any new series that deal with the furure, space or any real mind stretching shows , you know the ones that make you have to think about or be put in awe about some new technology. Fiction with out the Hard Science as a foundation will always lack the spark that drives our imaginations. How great it would be to actually have to ponder what some new technology would really do if it was actually REAL. I do think Fringe is more of a Hard Science Fiction show than about anything else on at the moment. I remember when Eureka was being promoted before the series started and how fresh and imagative I thought it was going to be, and the first episode (if I remember correctly) had four or six million viewers and then the next episode was a huge drop off because most of us were disappointed because of the lack of imagination that actually went into the show. I still watch it but NOT with the expectation I had for it before it actually was aired.
Please SYFY hire some folks that HAVE an imagination and please put it to work in the future. If you will WE will Watch!
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Hopeful Viewer:
Robert Picardo was as good as any character coud be when he played the doctor on Voyager. I would watch any series...More »