Two years since 'Black Dragon' and the assumed premature end of The DSR's first spin-off series, Schism at last returns for a final six-part run in 'The Calling'. MZPtv caught up with writer A. J. Black in an exclusive conversation with fellow executive producer Adam Scott, to give us an insight into what we might expect when the series returns on Monday September 5th...
Let's begin at the beginning then: Set up the story of The Calling for us.The story of 'The Calling', in a nutshell, is about one final shout for the Schism and our characters. After the events of 'Black Dragon', the death of Jun, they've all gone their separate ways. The title refers to them being called to arms once more, to action, to the charge they spent much of their very long lives serving. Why they're called I'll leave you to find out, but the essence of the six parts is about these people coming together for one final time and, cliche as it sounds, this is the biggest threat they've ever faced.
This story seems to have been a long time coming. What was the impetus to write this and make it the final season?It's no secret that originally Black Dragon was it, two years ago. After a mixed first season of Schism, there was originally supposed to be full length seasons two and three to finish the show, but with DSR and other projects taking up my time, Black Dragon ended up being condensed into five parts and, if I'm honest, the result wasn't spectacular. I'd say its the most uneven season of VS I've ever produced, what I outlined did not come to pass as I would have hoped, which is entirely my fault.
But as time went by, the niggling fact that Schism just wasn't finished kept eating away at me. The last episode, 'The Dragon King', didn't end on a cliffhanger but neither did it conclude the saga properly either - infact it left the characters in a pretty desperate place, especially Max. I found that hard to reconcile, added to the fact I genuinely loved the planned story for Season Three perhaps more than any we did before. So I took the plunge and instantly knew this was it, a way of me ending a show that I would genuinely do very different were I to go back to 2008 with these eyes and start again. Infact, I'd probably start from where The Calling begins - I truly believe this season is what Schism should have been from the beginning and we've nailed what the show is after nearly four years of development.
Is this the ending you had in mind when you first created the show?By and large, yes. Certain plot beats and characters are new in the mix, but the general climax of The Calling I had in mind from the beginning. This will ultimately call back to how the show began in many ways - infact eagle eyed readers may pick up on a piece of foreshadowing placed in the first episode of Season One that pays off at some point here. One significant change, and actually my favourite climactic beat, was the idea of Lee Chrimes and I cannot wait for you to read it - it just fits beautifully.
LANCE HENRIKSEN as 'Max Reischer'
How much has the show changed since the beginning?Hugely. It really isn't the same show anymore. Max is now the lead, no question about that. It's a lot darker and more tonally even than the first season was. It just feels richer, like the mix is right. Schism began as an experiment, really - blending this Gothic, religious vampire world with a Buffy-esque reality that Rachel inhabited and the two never meshed, nor indeed did the overt sci-fi elements thrown in along the way. All that is gone in The Calling. It's a much more streamlined vampire story about good and evil.
One thing we do still have are the flashback stories delving into the pasts of our characters. Max and Emeka both get strong character stories, as does our new character Adriana, and one other I can't really talk about but it will flesh out more than just one person. Those are still present and I think some of them are our best yet.
Any returning faces we should expect?I can confirm we WON'T be seeing Jun Xiao, first off. That disappointed Lee more than most, as he enjoyed writing her centric in Season One! She's dead and gone but not forgotten. You can expect to see Aaron Dufresne, Max's ever loyal contact, reappear in a substantial way. Not returning from Schism but elsewhere in the verse, as has already been teased, Walker's John Henry Boone and DSR's own Mia Patrick will both appear in The Calling in some way - which we're hugely excited about. Interestingly, you're going to see an ancestor of a VERY famous character from this verse. And there is one other returnee from Schism I think will definitely surprise you...
PETER FACINELLI as 'Sylan al-Batar'
Does this mean you're done with the DSRverse and everything that goes along with it?Not at all. My two series set in the verse may now be complete, but I still have many more avenues here to pursue over the coming years. My allegiance to Walker still remains strong as it begins to move into its twilight years. You will definitely see another Nightingale movie from my pen by the end of 2012, and there may well be further exploration for certain Schism alumni in projects beyond The Calling. Oh and don't think I won't FINALLY do my intended conclusion to Alias one day. It will happen. Be a long time until I stop playing, in some way, in this verse I've created on here.
Finally, tease us a bit on what to expect in ten words or less.Blood. Death. Guns. Swords. Royalty. Tragedy. Love. Friendship. Betrayal. Teeth.
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