This interview with Ashley Edward Miller was originally conducted as part of a 2001 project that was never completed. It was eventually published as part of Xenite.Org’s 10th Anniversary Feature in 2007.
Ashley Edward Miller
“I’m originally from northern Virginia, a few miles outside of the nation’s capital. I worked for several years as a professional geek at a bloodsucking government contractor supporting the DoD. Before that, I graduated (barely) from the College of William and Mary. This is my first television gig, though Zack and I sold/optioned two screenplays prior to our Andromeda assignments. We had both been toiling in obscurity before we started writing together, having sold de nada between us while working on our own.
As of this interview (Editor’s Note: April 1999), my wife Jennifer still deigns to admit that she knows me.”
Xenite.Org: The first season of Andromeda has wrapped and the second season is underway from your point of view. Looking back at all the intense scrutiny you (the writers) experienced before the premiere aired, do you personally feel more pressure now or less than you felt then?
Ashley Miller: Less, definitely. There is no pressure quite like the first time something you’ve written hits the air. I thought I was going to explode in the weeks leading up to the premiere of “D Minus Zero”. Thankfully, I didn’t.
Xenite.Org: One of the criticisms levelled at Kevin Sorbo is that he has been portraying Captain Dylan Hunt much as he portrayed Hercules. Although such criticisms are purely subjective, was the character of Dylan Hunt examined with an intention to give Kevin a chance to do non-Herkulean things. And, if so, how satisfied were you with the first season in that regard, critics be damned (or blessed)?
Ashley Miller: Some critics are going to see Kevin as Hercules no matter what he does on Andromeda. That’s their problem. The truth is, we’ve all worked very hard to carve out a unique identity for Dylan — and that includes Kevin’s efforts on the stage. For my money, Kevin has done nothing but succeed in creating a new and compelling character for science-fiction fans. His naysayers are cordially invited to go back to their caves (to paraphrase Bob Dole).
Xenite.Org: Science fiction shows are famous for reinventing classic literature and plays, like Shakespeare, some of the Greek dramas, and occasionally more recent works. Do you envision rewriting something like “The Tempest”, “Romeo and Juliet”, or “Medea”? Have you snuck anything by the viewing audience where you were secretly hoping someone would say, “Hey, that’s from….” and it didn’t happen (as far as you know)?
Ashley Miller: I think classic themes from literature appear and re-appear all the time, without regard to genre. Looking at our own body of work, there’s a touch of the Orpheus myth in “The Banks of The Lethe” and several touches of the Old and New Testaments in “The Devil Take the Hindmost”. But I wouldn’t say that these “touches” equate to rewrites — I think it’s more accurate to suggest that some archetypical elements are apparent in those shows.
Xenite.Org: Do you feel pressured to take Trance’s character in any specific direction, given the fan response that has developed around the Purple One?
Ashley Miller: Nope. Trance is what she is. And what she will be…
Xenite.Org: “D Minus Zero” was the first Ashley Edward Miller/Zack Stentz script to be shown on air. It was generally well received by the online fan community. Nonetheless, were there any scenes in the episode you would rewrite if you could use Harper’s time machine to go back and “fix” things?
Ashley Miller: I don’t know how much I would rewrite, aside from Tyr’s line “They killed themselves to cheat us of our victory.” That was way too Klingon for my tastes, and to this day I wish he had said, “They saved us the ammunition.” Ah, well. Aside from that, I would probably re-edit the episode to include a deleted scene where Dylan enters the ship’s “who are we fighting” betting pool. It’s a nice little bit of business that speaks volumes about Dylan and how he sees his world.
Xenite.Org: “The Mathematics of Tears” puts the characters into a very vulnerable state. Dylan, Rommie, Beka, and Harper are all on the Pax Magellanic when the AIs decide the game is up. Is it risky to do this with so many main characters? Does achieving plausibility become more difficult when you have to ensure that four characters don’t buy the farm?
Ashley Miller: No more so than contriving reasons why the same seven guys on a ship with several hundred people seem to get in all of the trouble. The truth is that not having the luxury of a red-shirt means we have to earn the drama a little more… sometimes it means we have to create a nice guest character and kill him/her horribly. But in the final analysis, it’s the same difference as far as our regulars are concerned — and probably more honest.
Xenite.Org: If you were offered the chance to ride Andromeda through a battle with the Drago Kazoff, with Dylan at the helm and Tyr manning the weapons systems, would you immediately accept the ride, decline, or dither about it?
Ashley Miller: No question about it. I’m there.
Xenite.Org: If you could use Harper’s time machine to go back to, say, the 1940s to bring forward 2 actors to appear as guest-stars, who would you pick? What sort of roles would you want to write for them?
Ashley Miller: I don’t know about the 40’s, but I’d love to write Richard Burton as a Nietzschean. Or William Holden as a grizzled Lancer officer. Those guys have incredible presence — their intelligence and toughness just leaps off of the screen. And those are exactly the kind of characters with which we attempt to populate the Andromeda universe: smart, tough, charismatic bastards who seem to have seen more than their share of nasty situations.
Xenite.Org: Is the Slipstream going to be more fully explored on a technical level? Or will it always just “be there”? Are there aspects to Slipstream science you’d like to see explored in future episodes?
Ashley Miller: Let’s get one thing straight: there’s no such thing as Slipstream “science”. While we strive for consistency with our treatment of this highly convenient plot device, it’s still a highly convenient plot device. However, I think we are going to learn some interesting things about slipstream down the road. Watch and see.
Xenite.Org: Who dreams up Harper’s racial epithets (like “Chinheads” for the Perseids)?
Ashley Miller: We all do. “Chinheads” sounds like something Zack or I would have come up with. Probably me, because I’m basically an insensitive jerk like Harper.
Xenite.Org: Have the humans of Earth become culturally homogenized, either because the show is set thousands of years in the future, or because of the Long Night itself?
Ashley Miller: No. Earth is a wacky place, chock full of coffee bistros and pizza cantinas.
Xenite.Org: Or has cultural diversity actually been nurtured on Earth by the Long Night? Humanity has gone out to the stars, genetically engineered itself, and created new cultures. But what happened to the old cultures of Earth? Is that a political hot potato?
Ashley Miller: I think the same thing happened to them that happens to most cultures over time: they evolve. Sometimes, they disappear. Sometimes, they evolve so much they seem to disappear. It’s the nature of the human beast.
Xenite.Org: What do you like to do to get away from the show?
Ashley Miller: Math. No kidding.
Xenite.Org: Have you had a chance to do that? What is it that keeps you Ashley Edward Miller when the pressure starts mounting?
Ashley Miller: Lots and lots of Diet Coke.
Xenite.Org: If you could have a recurring walk-on part on Andromeda, would you want to be a human or an alien? Would you want to be a bad guy or a good guy?
Ashley Miller: I would want to be an alien. Probably a bad guy, but one of those bad guys who’s not such a bad guy (if you get my meaning). At the very least, I think I’d make a smashing Nightsider.
Xenite.Org: Suppose [fellow Andromeda writer] Zack [Stentz] had the recurring walk-on part, and you were responsible for his character. What would you make him?
Ashley Miller: Zack would be Sparky the Shoe-shine Boy. Every time Dylan enters Command,
Sparky races over and shines his shoes, whistling a jaunty tune. When Sparky does a good job, Dylan gives him a shiny nickel and a pat on the head. When he doesn’t, he is punished. Sparky’s life is hard, but it certainly beats a kick in the shins.
Xenite.Org: Recent scientific papers have revealed that certain Star Trekisms such as transporters, replicators, and possibly even warp drive may be feasible. If, in the next two to five years these concepts are given more credence, will you feel pressured to deal with them on Andromeda somehow?
Ashley Miller: I wouldn’t say “pressured” so much as “excited”. That said, we have dealt with some of these things. The transporter leaps to mind, and so does the replicator in a more general sense. In fact, I think we’re more committed to extrapolating fiction from real science than any show on TV, at least at the moment.
Editor’s Note: Questions were contributed by several members of Xenite.Org’s staff.