1. Q: Tell us a bit about yourself, your interests and your profession.

A: I was born in 1968, and really enjoy the time of growing up through the 1970s and 1980s.  To see the growth of computers, games and the internet before it was even an idea... and how the world I lived in as a child has changed so much in such a short time.  To believe I once thought you could never use more than 64k.  The change that computer technology brought really opened up avenues that lead me to the work I do now.  I'm a promotions producer for the local Fox and My TV affiliates, and the software today gives me so much freedom to edit, animate, shoot and create almost anything that may come to my mind.  It may not be Speilberg levels, but the fact that I can make a spaceship fly through space on my desktop is pretty amazing.

2. Q: What was your first recollection of Space: 1999 ?

A: I remember it was on at Sunday at 6pm where I live.  In fact it aired on the station where I now work.  Could that be a cosmic circle of some sort?  I loved the reruns of Star Trek, but when I saw Space: 1999 it pushed Trek aside for me.  I remember it just looking so real, and waiting every Sunday for it to come on.  In fact one of my best Christmas toys ever received was the Space: 1999 Eagle.  Not sure if anything ever topped that one in my childhood.  In fact I still have it, although it shows the wear and tear of play.  Don't think I will ever have the heart to part with that one.

3. Q: You are a fan of Battlestar Galactica and you have redone sfx for some episodes. What is it about Galactica that has made you a fan of the series, and what do you think of the re-imagine series?

A: I was in the 5th grade when Battlestar premiered, and it is hard to say sometimes what hooks you into a series, but there was just something of the adventure, the heroes of the story... maybe that epic feel that caught my imagination and made me want to be a part of that world.  And while I loved the Eagles, there was nothing cooler than a Viper shooting down a launch tube.  It is hard to say why Battlestar has remained so close to me.  There were certainly other series, like Buck Rogers, that I couldn't miss when I was a kid, however I find it very hard to sit through now.  Like 1999, I think there was an effort to make BSG a believable show, with real characters, and that effort is what keeps the show alive for me.  I can still believe in their stories, and want to see more of them. As for the new series, I am not a huge fan.  The miniseries bored me to tears, but I will admit that the first season was starting to get me interested.  I could start watching it as its own show and something separate from the original.  I remember actually waiting for the second season to start, however about 6 episodes into season two it seemed the stories were so dragged out that I simply didn't care anymore.  And while I understand the direction for the new show was "realistic and gritty" characters, the overwhelming negative attributes of the characters really turned me off.  And I think it is a sad outlook that for characters to be realistic they have to be so dysfunctional.  There are still good people out there who strive to be better, and too often the media likes to tell us all we are the least common denominator of humanity.  I'm glad as a child I had characters you could look up to that showed positive attributes that you could hope to emulate as you got older.  Heroes.  And I think today more than ever we need the heroes, the ones who tell us we are worth the effort.   Wow... that sounded very soap-boxish... my apologies.

4. Q: How did you get involved with Space: 2099?

I actually saw some copies of your (Eric's) early re-edits for Space: 1999 and loved them.  It started me thinking of similar things for Battlestar.  I've done around 6 or 7 so far, adding new effects to some parts, putting back in some deleted scenes from the DVD set, and even reworking some into new versions of their stories.  My favorite being "Return of Starbuck" from Galactica 1980 and re-editing it so it would fit as an additional episode of the original series with all aspects of Galactica 1980 removed.  Another fun one was taking episodes of BSG and 1999 and editing them together in a crossover episode.  It was done for fun, and to see if I can do it, and I think it turned out somewhat well.  Having all these come from the base inspiration of your initial edits, I decided to email you and offer a big thanks for your work and setting off that spark in my mind.  Thus started our conversations and shared interests.

5. Q: What is it about those classic Sci-fi series and movies like Galactica, Logan’ Run and Space 1999 that made you wanted to enhance/re-edit them?

A: A show like Battlestar was a product of its time.  While I love the effects, they were expensive and time consuming, and therefore a lot of shots were reused.  Or there was not the time or money to create certain shots that would have helped expand the look of that universe.  Since I have been working with CGI I thought it would be fun to start to fill out some of what could have been done for the show.  I still prefer the original model work over anything I can create in CGI, however the flexibility of being able to create them on a computer and composite them into the edit is wonderful.  I guess my real want to do them is for my own enjoyment first and foremost... it lets me tap back into that enjoyment the series first brought me so many years ago...  and the fact that other fans out there have enjoyed them as well is such an added bonus.   Also it is a great exercise to try different things in animation and compositing... trying to get things to fit with shots created in the late 1970s.

6. Q: You have participated in different kind of Sci-fi project, involving CGI UFO’s, starships, and even acting in a pilot. can you tell us more about it ?

A: I have gotten to do some fun things on the side that let me exercise that spaceship flying kind of fun.  One was working with Richard Hatch creating CGI for his project "The Great War of Magellan".  It was a very surreal thing at first to have "Captain Apollo" leaving a message on my answering machine, but once I got beyond that it was a great time working with him and getting to know him as a friend.  He's someone who will push you to go a little further than you normally may, and it really pays off.  I remember sending some shots to him that I though were great, and he'd send back notes for changes and I'd think he was nuts.  Then I would work those changed into the shots and they did make them so much better than they would have been.  It was a great lesson in handling criticism and listening to other voices, and how it can improve your work.  Of course there are others out there who will always give you criticism and you know it will not improve the project,  and that's a whole other issue to deal with.  Luckily Richard is not one of those people.

Another fun project was one called "Synkronyzed", which was a pilot episode of sorts that some friends and I put together.  It was an original scifi story about the three man crew of a small cargo vessel.  All seems normal until there is a corporate takeover of the company they work for, and of course in scifi the corporate takeover is a bit more drastic than the ones today (although maybe not by much).  I do have that episode online at http://www.youtube.com/dkerin if anyone wants to check it out.  It was done on a very low budget... or really no budget... and another fun experiment to see what we can do.  And aside from the cgi aspects I also played one of the parts and while our acting is not the most professional, it was a completely enjoyable thing to do.

Most recently I put together some shots for a project by comedian Harland Williams.  I met him briefly through work and he was talking about a film he's making himself that involves a ufo crashing in the desert.  Of course the kid in me heard "UFO crashes in the desert" and I thought that was right up my alley.  I gave him my card and said to let me know if there was anything I can do.  A week later we started talking and next thing I knew I was animating a fireball flying over the desert and crashing in the distance, as well as a closeup of the ufo crash site.  This was another really fun one and reminded me of an old movie I loved called "It Came From Outer Space".

7. Q: How do you compare television today from the one from the past (1960-1999)?

A: I think television of the past offered better role models to look up to as a child.  I do like that television has become more realistic and more is demanded from the stories, but I think we need to get out of this line of thought that we are all horrible creations.  Yes we are flawed, but sometimes we could use better examples of characteristics to strive for, rather than just excuse poor behavior.  As adults that may not matter much, but as a younger generation it was nice having James West, Captain Kirk, Alan Carter, Apollo and Starbuck to look up to on television.  Sadly today kids don't have as much of that.  Although I've watched some of the CGI Clone Wars series with my son, and that does echo back to that old style which I think is nice for him.  But as with all trends in television and film that too may be changing.  I recently saw the new Star Trek film and it was a nice change to see characters that were fun again, while still with their flaws, and a bold adventure.  And they were the heroes.  Seeing how well this is doing in theaters may bring a change in some styles of storytelling.

8. Q: What would be the next project you would like to work on...beside Space: 2099 :)?

A: I'm not really sure.  I guess if there was something I'd like to work on in an "official" sense it would be an enhanced version of the original Battlestar Galactica.  To really take the time and do things right.  For an unofiicial and fun project I am working on a short animated story based on young Adama and Tigh from the original BSG (as fighter pilots, not like muppet babies).  There was one line in the original BSG pilot movie where Adama and Tigh are sitting in the Vipers and they briefly comment on how the ships weren't quite so fancy in their days.  That one little line always made me wonder about Adama and Tigh as fighter pilots... kind of the Apollo and Starbuck of their time.  So as an exercise to try something different with the cgi/animation programs, and as a way to enjoy that universe that still sparks my imagination, I though I'd do a short animated story.  I just need to find the time.