SciFiNow-August2018

MUST-SEE TV

The Outpost

W W W. S C I FI N OW.CO.U K

SCIFINOW RIDES INTO THE OUTPOST TO FIND OUT WHY

SYFY’S NEW SERIES IS FANTASY FOR EVERYONE

FRONTIER TOWN

WORDS MICHAEL SIMPSON

048 |

After the success of Peter Jackson’s
sextet of JRR Tolkien fi lms and HBO’s
Game Of Thrones, it’s no wonder that
every TV network is looking for its
own hit fantasy show. Coming up with
something unique is the challenge.
Yet, that is what the writing duo of
Jason Faller and Kynan Griffi n believe
they’ve achieved with The Outpost,
which airs on Syfy in the UK and The
CW in America.
“When we thought about The Outpost
we wanted to do something different and
something more an amalgamation of some
different genres that we love,” Faller tells
SciFiNow during a press tour of the show’s
sets in Provo, Utah. “We love Kurosawa fi lms,
we love Tarantino, we love westerns, we’re big
Sergio Leone fans. We wanted to take fantasy
in a different direction that hadn’t been done,
and we also love post-apocalyptic. So, we’ve
combined a lot of those genres.”
That notion of blending a western aesthetic
with a post-apocalypse scenario is a natural
extension of The Outpost’s premise. The story
begins with an attack on a peaceful town
by the series’ principal villains; a fanatical
religious group called the Prime Order. An
eight-year-old girl named Talon is the only
survivor, and she only escapes by manifesting
a mysterious power that she didn’t know she
had. Later, as a young woman and the last
of a race called the Blackbloods, Talon fi nds
her way to the outpost of the show’s title, a
mining town on the frontier, where she seeks
revenge for the death of her family.
“We both have big imaginations, but we
love realism, too,” Griffi n says. “Jason and I
both love a lot of the same cinema that has
nothing to do with fantasy and sci-fi. We
love a lot of gritty realistic fi lms and I think,
as a result, our projects do kind of straddle,
tonally, a very interesting ground. There’s
a fairly unique voice there in that it’s kind
of rompy, adventurey, with a lot of gritty,
realistic sets and costumes and characters.”
As Griffi n talks, we are shown some of
the costume department’s creations and the
external set for the outpost itself. Both reveal
that, like most traditional fantasies, The
Outpost also has medieval trappings. Science
and technology are primitive and the soldiers
wear armour denoting their allegiance. The

town, meanwhile, resembles a fort. Even so,

there are hints, such as in the use of sheet

metal, that the Dark Ages this show depicts

takes place in a different universe from those

described in our history books.

“I think we both have a very strong

appreciation for, and interest in, real science

and real history,” Griffi n notes. “Those are

things we’re actually passionate about in our

non-fi lm lives and I think that bleeds over.”

Although Faller and Griffi n profess

a commitment to realism, they are no

strangers to fantasy, having previously

written and produced the Mythica fi lm series

that featured Kevin Sorbo (Andromeda).

Alongside Sorbo in those movies was an

up-and-coming American actor named Jake

Stormoen, who has continued his association

with Faller and Griffi ns’ production

company, Arrowstorm Entertainment, as one

of The Outpost’s four young leads.

“I play Garret, who is the captain of the

Border Guard at the outpost,” Stormoen says.

“He’s been in the military since he was young

and has achieved a lot in a short amount of

time. He was originally from the outpost and

made an intentional decision to leave. He has

now been brought back and that’s where the

show picks up for my character, and he’s not

necessarily happy about it.”

Initially, we’re told, Garret is supposed

to be in love with his commanding offi cer’s

daughter, Gwynn Calkussar, played by

British actress Imogen Waterhouse. But when

Talon comes to town the dynamic changes as

both Garret and Gwynn are drawn to her.

“She’s in awe of her,” says Waterhouse

of Gwynn’s reaction. “She’s kind of a

manifestation of everything Gwynn wants to

be. She’s powerful, she can fi ght. She doesn’t

take any shit from anyone and I think for

Gwynn to see that and to have that kind

of role model, which she’s never really had

before, is really exciting. Instead of being

like: ‘Oh, we’re rivals,’ she just wants to

create a bond with her.”

Talon’s people were wiped out by the

Prime Order because of a prophecy that

says the Blackbloods will destroy the world.

Forced to survive and hide her heritage in a

hostile land, Talon has become a formidable

young woman with impressive fi ghting

chops. To embody those qualities, Faller and

Griffi n searched far and wide for someone

who was both confi dent and athletic. They

settled on Australian actress Jessica Green

because she came in already capable of

kicking butt.

“I love it,” Green tells us. “I trained for

a year-and-a-half doing MMA back home

before I even got this and I’ve always been

a bit of a boy. I grew up playing rugby

and grew up with brothers, so I’ve always

wanted to do a really physical role and fi ght

and really get amongst it all. It’s been fun

learning all the sword techniques and all of

that kind of stuff.”

Rounding out the quartet of rising stars

that will be in the thick of things at The

Outpost is another Brit, Anand Desai-

Barochia. UK soap fans might remember

him from a stint on Emmerdale. In The

Outpost he plays Janzo, a nerdy brewer

who is also the nearest things to a doctor

in the town. Also, by all appearances, he

does actually live in his mother’s basement,

which contains abundant bottles of herbal

concoctions and sometimes a cadaver. It’s no

wonder that Janzo is socially awkward. Still,

Desai-Barochia likes him that way.

“I realise that I’m not that much different

from him,” he jokes. “I like that he’s dry and

blunt, which I can be at times, but he does it

in such an ignorant way, sometimes actually

not that ignorant, but he does it in such a way

that he doesn’t even realise how sometimes

condescending he’s being to someone. I fi nd

that type of humour the best type of humour

because you get to play with it.”

Janzo has been adopted by The Mistress,

played by Robyn Malcolm. As a big star

MUST-SEE TV

The Outpost

W W W. S C I FI N OW.CO.U K

SCIFINOWSCIFINOWSCIFINOW RIDES INTO THE OUTPOST TO FIND OUT WHY RIDES INTO THE OUTPOST TO FIND OUT WHY

SYFY’S NEW SERIES IS FANTASY FOR EVERYONE

FRONTIER TOWN

WORDS MICHAEL SIMPSON

048 |

After the success of Peter Jackson’s
sextet of JRR Tolkien fi lms and HBO’s
Game Of ThronesGame Of ThronesGame Of Thrones, it’s no wonder that , it’s no wonder that
every TV network is looking for its
own hit fantasy show. Coming up with
something unique is the challenge.
Yet, that is what the writing duo of
Jason Faller and Kynan Griffi n believe
they’ve achieved with The Outpost,
which airs on Syfy in the UK and The
CW in America.
“When we thought about The Outpost
we wanted to do something different and
something more an amalgamation of some
different genres that we love,” Faller tells
SciFiNow during a press tour of the show’s
sets in Provo, Utah. “We love Kurosawa fi lms,
we love Tarantino, we love westerns, we’re big
Sergio Leone fans. We wanted to take fantasy
in a different direction that hadn’t been done,
and we also love post-apocalyptic. So, we’ve
combined a lot of those genres.”
That notion of blending a western aesthetic
with a post-apocalypse scenario is a natural
extension ofextension ofextension of The Outpost’s The Outpost’s The Outpost’s The Outpost’s premise. The story premise. The story
begins with an attack on a peaceful town
by the series’ principal villains; a fanatical
religious group called the Prime Order. An
eight-year-old girl named Talon is the only
survivor, and she only escapes by manifesting
a mysterious power that she didn’t know she
had. Later, as a young woman and the last
of a race called the Blackbloods, Talon fi nds
her way to the outpost of the show’s title, a
mining town on the frontier, where she seeks
revenge for the death of her family.
“We both have big imaginations, but we
love realism, too,” Griffi n says. “Jason and I
both love a lot of the same cinema that has
nothing to do with fantasy and sci-fi. We
love a lot of gritty realistic fi lms and I think,
as a result, our projects do kind of straddle,
tonally, a very interesting ground. There’s
a fairly unique voice there in that it’s kind
of rompy, adventurey, with a lot of gritty,
realistic sets and costumes and characters.”
As Griffi n talks, we are shown some of
the costume department’s creations and the
external set for the outpost itself. Both reveal
that, like most traditional fantasies, The
OutpostOutpostOutpost also has medieval trappings. Science also has medieval trappings. Science
and technology are primitive and the soldiers
wear armour denoting their allegiance. The

town, meanwhile, resembles a fort. Even so,

there are hints, such as in the use of sheet

metal, that the Dark Ages this show depicts

takes place in a different universe from those

described in our history books.

“I think we both have a very strong

appreciation for, and interest in, real science

and real history,” Griffi n notes. “Those are

things we’re actually passionate about in our

non-fi lm lives and I think that bleeds over.”

Although Faller and Griffi n profess

a commitment to realism, they are no

strangers to fantasy, having previously

written and produced the MythicaMythicaMythica fi lm series fi lm series

that featured Kevin Sorbo (AndromedaAndromedaAndromeda). ).

Alongside Sorbo in those movies was an

up-and-coming American actor named Jake

Stormoen, who has continued his association

with Faller and Griffi ns’ production

company, Arrowstorm Entertainment, as one

of The Outpost’sThe Outpost’sThe Outpost’s four young leads. four young leads.

“I play Garret, who is the captain of the

Border Guard at the outpost,” Stormoen says.

“He’s been in the military since he was young

and has achieved a lot in a short amount of

time. He was originally from the outpost and

made an intentional decision to leave. He has

now been brought back and that’s where the

show picks up for my character, and he’s not

necessarily happy about it.”

Initially, we’re told, Garret is supposed

to be in love with his commanding offi cer’s

daughter, Gwynn Calkussar, played by

British actress Imogen Waterhouse. But when

Talon comes to town the dynamic changes as

both Garret and Gwynn are drawn to her.

“She’s in awe of her,” says Waterhouse

of Gwynn’s reaction. “She’s kind of a

manifestation of everything Gwynn wants to

be. She’s powerful, she can fi ght. She doesn’t

take any shit from anyone and I think for

Gwynn to see that and to have that kind

of role model, which she’s never really had

before, is really exciting. Instead of being

like: ‘Oh, we’re rivals,’ she just wants to

create a bond with her.”

Talon’s people were wiped out by the

Prime Order because of a prophecy that

says the Blackbloods will destroy the world.

Forced to survive and hide her heritage in a

hostile land, Talon has become a formidable

young woman with impressive fi ghting

chops. To embody those qualities, Faller and

Griffi n searched far and wide for someone

who was both confi dent and athletic. They

settled on Australian actress Jessica Green

because she came in already capable of

kicking butt.

“I love it,” Green tells us. “I trained for

a year-and-a-half doing MMA back home

before I even got this and I’ve always been

a bit of a boy. I grew up playing rugby

and grew up with brothers, so I’ve always

wanted to do a really physical role and fi ght

and really get amongst it all. It’s been fun

learning all the sword techniques and all of

that kind of stuff.”

Rounding out the quartet of rising stars

that will be in the thick of things at The

OutpostOutpostOutpost is another Brit, Anand Desai- is another Brit, Anand Desai-

Barochia. UK soap fans might remember

him from a stint on EmmerdaleEmmerdaleEmmerdale. In. In The

OutpostOutpostOutpost he plays Janzo, a nerdy brewer he plays Janzo, a nerdy brewer

who is also the nearest things to a doctor

in the town. Also, by all appearances, he

does actually live in his mother’s basement,

which contains abundant bottles of herbal

concoctions and sometimes a cadaver. It’s no

wonder that Janzo is socially awkward. Still,

Desai-Barochia likes him that way.

“I realise that I’m not that much different

from him,” he jokes. “I like that he’s dry and

blunt, which I can be at times, but he does it

in such an ignorant way, sometimes actually

not that ignorant, but he does it in such a way

that he doesn’t even realise how sometimes

condescending he’s being to someone. I fi nd

that type of humour the best type of humour

because you get to play with it.”

Janzo has been adopted by The Mistress,

played by Robyn Malcolm. As a big star