Richard Chaves

Actually, I think Paul was a little green to the whole thing. Then again, the second season wasn't the best format for actors. They had some great actors, but there's only so much you can do with weak material. Poor Denis Forest for wasting his talent on Malzor when the first season "Vengeance is Mine" was a much better vehicle for him (though I wish they hadn't changed the script so drastically). Catherine Disher was the only one who managed to come off looking good despite such poor script treatment, but even she couldn't save a dumpster of a season.

The show definitely went downhill in the second season, but I think it was all because of Frank Mancuso Jr. more than the writers. He made it quite clear that he never watched the first season, and didn't think the show worked as an on-going series (he said he realized this about the six episodes in, but yet, he still allowed the show to pump its inanity and dead boredom through television for many more episodes). The power shift was an idiotic move and makes no sense when you add all the facts together. Aside from the truth that in the syndication market the first season was actually coming in second (only to Star Trek: The Next Generation) while Frankie's show (Friday the 13th: The Series) was coming in third, the first season people were totally qualified to handle the show while Mancuso had questionable experience. Aside from two teleplays penned by a couple of writers that helped make the Star Trek franchise - not only one of the most successful titles in the genre, but was the brainchild of Gene Roddenberry, arguably one of the godfathers of science fiction - the first season's main contributor (writer, director, producer, and script supervisor) was Herbert Wright, who was not only working on TNG and also entrusted by Roddenberry to create the Ferangi for that show, but Wright is currently helping to create a show that was another one of Roddenberry's ideas. So the first season was more then competent to handle a show that shared its name with a title synonymous with science fiction. So does it makes any God damn sense to then hand off the show to a guy whose major work at that point was the Friday the 13th films (2-8) and the TV series of the same name? I don't believe the wanker even handled science fiction until the Species films. And this guy has the audacity to look down upon a show that not only was working, but one he never even bothered to watch for such proof or any sense of foundation on which to create a second season?! If he could have at least kept a consistent backstory, maybe there would be an ounce of respect, but instead I have to believe that if it weren't for the fact that his daddy works at Paramount his ass would never work another day in the business again after that disaster.

The show could have gotten the attention and praise it deserves had they just left the show the way it was with the first season. Because dispite some limitations, they really managed to rise above it all and were snowballing a great deal just within that one season so I have no doubt that the show was only going to get better as it went along.

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Formless, faithless, and free.