Part 2
CD = Chris Demetral      FH = Francesca Hunt
MP = Michael Praed      JW = Jonathan Walker

Continued from Part 1

wingette72 : Any one else carving pumpkins while they chat?
FH:
   No, I’m not carving pumpkins, but that’s one of the best things about this chat. That’s cool.
zhaansacolyte : Halloween seems such a big deal here lately, how bout in England, Francesca?
FH:  Not so big over here although we’re beginning to get the trick-or-treat thing.  But people here haven’t worked out that you’re supposed to give the sweets, so there’s a lot of egging going on.
evenstarr7evl : Oh, NO!
empressuniverse : eggs are nasty!

What do you think of “Red Dwarf”?
FH:  Oh, I’m a major fan of Red Dwarf.  I went up for the girl in Red Dwarf before getting Rebecca, and I was very annoyed I didn’t get it.  All came out rather well in the end though.

Question about “Dr. Who”
FH  My youngest sister has just become Paul McGann’s assistant in the recorded version.
gilesluver1: You mean India Fisher?
FH:  My sister’s name is India.  I mean India Fisher.
gilesluver1: She's your sister? WOW!
FH:  gilesluvr, how did you get to know about India?
gilesluver1: I've heard the audio stories. I love her companion character, Charlie.
FH:  She’s good, isn’t she?

Question about how long Francesca was in the play “God Only Knows”
FH:  The run for “God Only Knows” was about a year, but it was only in London for about 3-4 months.

victorianvalkyries : Chris, is Demetral with emphasis on "Dem" or "et"?
CD:  Dem
victorianvalkyries : Chris -- thank you, dear.
CD: Dem-uh-tral
CD: Jana says Dem Me trall

FH:  <with thanks to the typists>  Okay, I’m going to have to go now, but I’ve really enjoyed this.  Thank you very much and maybe I’ll join you again soon.  Here’s to the second series and really good chatting.  Bye Chris, bye Jana.  Bye!
CD:  Bye Francesca!

Francesca Hunt leaves the chat

tamaraeus : We still have Chris, don't we?
CD: Just for a bit longer, have some errands to run...

CD:  I just want to say you guys’ website just looks incredible, really fantastic job.
viccivaw : Chris just said the site looks incredible.  I am blushing.
empressuniverse : What is the website you mentioned earlier, Chris? Is there a URL?
CD: The one that Vicci and Susan made for me. They are the bestest
susanmgarrett : Vicci did all the work - honest.  I just helped.
viccivaw : Thank you.  The new web site is www.chrisdemetral.sajv.net.

victorianvalkyries : Jana - how have the kiddies been treating you, btw?? Are they behaving?
lagniappetite : Jana...how is your voice holding out?  Are you still struggling with it?  Be careful, you do not want to develop nodes...that is what I did my first couple years... too much shouting over the children's voices.
CD:  Jana’s actually doing okay, but you’re correct, she is using her voice quite a bit.  I’m trying to take good care of her, giving her lots of tea and making sure she’s resting even when she doesn’t have to.

andigoth2000 : Have you checked out all the SAJV sites, Chris?
CD: Yes, I have seen the Jules Verne sites

  miss_yuriko : How is Rory with Francesca's voice coming through the computer?
evenstarr7evl : Is Rory there?
CD:  She’s actually been really good this chat. She pulled the mike out once but other than that she’s kept her evilness to a low level.  Now she's laying on the couch exhausted.  I think she’s had enough.
dani_girl36 : She's just storing up energy for a second wind-Chris
kalena1980 : How old is Rory?
CD: Rory is almost four.
CD:  Rory has a lot of outfits, she has an Elvis outfit, and the Great Pumpkin, she has a tough motorcycle chick outfit, she has a cowgirl, she has like a fifties skirt outfit, a cheerleader, a witch, she’s a good witch.  She has a Santa Claus outfit.
Question about costume for Rory this year
CD:  She’s going to be a dragon. 
gilesluver1 : does the 50's skirt have a little poodle on it?
CD: yeah, a fifties skirt with a little poodle on it.
aurora80904 : what kind of dog is Rory
CD:  Rory is a Boston Terrier

  vvsavagevv : Got her Hedwig hair yet?
CD:  Jana is currently working on the Hedwig hair.
gerty_mac : Hedwig and the Angry Inch is playing on my campus in a few weeks!
CD:  Oh, that’s cool, Hedwig is ending here in LA.  You’ll get a kick out of it if you get a chance to see it. Go see Hedgwig, support well written movies that are fun!
susanmgarrett : I will second that.  It's a very fun movie.
andigoth2000 : Hedwig was great as a movie but I'd really love to see the play
CD:  I’ve seen a video of Hedwig the play, and I actually much prefer the movie.  It’s a visual medium where you can play out some more of the events instead of just talking about them, and the characters really come to life in the movie.

gilesluver1: Chris, have you ever seen anyone at Halloween dressed as one of your characters?
CD:  No, I’ve never seen anyone dressed as one of my characters.

kalena1980 : Chris, do you have any favorite outtakes-moments?
CD:  I think my favorite outtakes would be Michel and Michael and myself in the cafe in “Rockets of the Dead”, the vampire episode where Michel kept cracking us up.

andigoth2000 : Chris, what were your impressions of Dragon* Con?
CD:  I loved Dragon Con.  I had an absolutely fantastic time, it was a pleasure seeing most of you.  I wish everyone could have been there. It was a great time.
andigoth2000 : Would you like to do another con?
CD:  Yes, I’m open to going to more cons, when’s the next one?
miss_yuriko : Icon is in October.
empressuniverse : 2 weeks in Portland. OryCon

gaelle17fox : Just a reminder: we still haven't heard Chris's Australian accent ...
CD:  I don’t know what to say in Australian.  I think it’d be like the Outback restaurant commercials, they go <<how ’bout a chocolate thunder from down under?>>

CD:  I do a pretty good Irish, but I think I sound like Lucky from Lucky Charms.
CD:  French is my worst accent, I wind up sounding like Pepe Le Pew.  I can indulge you in that, but it’s probably not very good.
gaelle17fox : Let's hear your French accent, Chris.  <eg>
CD:  <<Oh ho ho ho, hello you americans, how do you say (?)>>

aurora80904 : hey Chris  what kind of music do you like???
CD:  I like all kinds of music actually, everything from classical to rap, like pop music.  Other than like real twangy country, there’s not too much I don’t like.
tamaraeus : Chris what do you think of Opera?

CD:  I think opera has its time and place.  I kinda wish opera was more like in the “Fifth Element”, where that one singer was doing the opera and had that cool technovibe in the back.
lagniappetite : Ohhhh Chris check out "Aria"  Opera with a techo twist...you’ll love it!  I have both CD's and they are great!
CD:  Where can I find that Aria opera? That sounds awesome.

kalena1980 : If you were to imagine a comedic episode of SAJV, what would happen in it?
CD:  I’d really like to do an episode where we take the Phoenix into the future.  I’d love to do a 70’s disco episode - <should be> hilarious.

princessblue142 : DISCO!
viccivaw : Disco!  Oh, my GAWD!!!

CD:  As opposed to “Burn Baby Burn” you could have “Verne Baby Verne”.  You could have bellbottoms and Passepartout...

dani_girl36: Verne in a Travolta suit and gold chains!

CD:  I think Francesca would look great in some of those 70’s outfits.  I think the whole cast would look kind of fun, that would be really neat.

 Michael Praed joins the chat

CD: Hey Michael!
MP:  (typing)
Hello! I COULDN’T GET online. It's Michael!

MP: (still typing) 
Sorry for the dreadful spelling.
Give me 2 secs to hook up the mic, I'll be away for about 2 mins, give me a sec and I'll try and figure it out!!!"

melodyfla says, Chris? Is you still there?

CD:  <typing>
still here 

gingerjc78 : Chris is your voice working?

CD: Yes, just taking a slight break

Michael gets his microphone working

MP:  Excellent!
MP:  So what's the deal, do I talk and somebody types?

melodyfla : I'll be typing in red for you Michael
MP:  As Monty Burns : “Excellent!”
MP:  Can I apologize for not being here sooner, but I COULD NOT get online!

tamaraeus : Apologies are not necessary we understand
CD:  You know, the nice thing about Michael is that no matter what time he shows up, he’s always a pleasure

MP:  Is Chris still on line?
CD:  Yessir, I’m still hanging around.

MP:  My god, I’ve just heard you’re dulcet tones Chris, how the HELL are you?
CD:  I’m good, Jana’s good, we’re hanging out here.  It’s great to have everyone stopping by
MP:  You sound as if you’re on the other side of the world, but then...you ARE on the other side of the world.  I’m glad to hear you’re well, and I send you lots of love.
CD:  Thanks, Michael, I hope you and your family are doing great, and it’s great to hear from you too.
MP:  We’re doing fine, thanks, Chris. 

treehugger20170 : Ask about the Little Beast

MP:  How’s the wee beastie?
CD:  Rory frequently tries to interrupt these chats by knocking the microphone out of my hand, but other than that she’s doing good too, thank you.

Would come back for a second season of SAJV?
MP:  I’d love a second season.  Unfortunately it’s not up to me; if it were, I’d be there in a heartbeat.

indianajane8585 : I'm not a very informed Praedofile as most people on this chat are, so forgive an ignorant question.  Now, I know your real name is Prince.  I was wandering where the name Praed came from.
MP:  Yes, my real name is Michael Prince and I got Praed from the phone book, and the answer for that is because there was a Michael Prince in the English actor’s union, so I wanted something close to Michael Prince, which was a “PR”,  and the first thing I came up with was Michael Praed.

MP:  By the way, I apologize for not being here sooner, I just simply could not get online. I hope everybody understands that.
davros72 : We understand, thanks for persevering, Michael!

princessblue142 : ok folks,
I'm typing for Chris now, if he'll ever speak up

CD:  It’s not a thing about me talking, it’s just I’ve spoken earlier and I want to give Michael enough of the floor.  If there are any questions for me I’ll answer them, if not I just want to stand back and let Michael answer some.

MP:  Chris, that’s incredibly diplomatic of you.

seriousjane2001 : Chris - what was your favorite scene with Michael?
CD:  I think Michael did a fantastic job in “Book of Knowledge”.  When Jules was having the nightmare, I thought that Michael put together a really underscored but disturbing Phileas interpretation.  I think of course and everyone says it is, Cardinal Richelieu.  I think the way Michael looked and acted in that ep was one of the best parts of the series.

MP:  Chris, you’re going to get a seriously big Christmas present this year from Father Christmas.  Honestly.  Thank you for that.

seriousjane2001 : Your turn, Michael.  Favorite scene with Chris?
MP:  My favorite scene with Chris was when I had to beat him up, and I shall never forget, I grabbed hold of him and chucked him against the back of a wall, and Chris, incredibly brave, I think said to me, “You know, really go for it”, and I did really go for it, and one of the producers, Neal Dunn, just after we’d done the scene, took me to one side and said, “Are you trying to kill Chris Demetral, the star of the show? Are you mad??”  But Chris was amazing throughout that, and I think he smacked his head pretty hard in that scene.

cindy_s_roberts : Michael, I loved you in "The Victorian Candidate".  What was your favorite episode.
MP:  I’m glad that you seem to like “Victorian Candidate”, ‘cause that was one of my favorite episodes as well, if not the favorite episode.

evenstarr7evl : I think it should have been a two-parter, though, like many of the eps

MP:  evenstarr were you saying that you thought “Victorian Candidate” should have been two episodes?

evenstarr7evl : There was so much more to explore!

MP:  What more would you like to have seen?

isharell : Phileas recovering

MP:  Ah, well, Phileas would have recovered through the bottle, probably.

tamaraeus : The bottle?

treehugger20170 : <sigh> we were afraid of that

CD:  I think in “VC” there could have been some extras added, maybe more of the fight scene.  I know that Francesca and Michel and Michael worked really really hard to put together a brilliant fight scene, and unfortunately due to the constraints of television, they had to cut quite a bit of it, but that was really a spectacular fight.

daurmith : That fight scene was, IMO, one of the best in TV ever.

MP:  Is it true the ratings have been good the second time around? Can anyone confirm that?
evenstarr7evl : Yes!

CD:  You know, Michael, I’ve talked to Promark, and apparently it gets better every single week.  I know that David actually has some of those numbers and we’re winning some time slots, and in the ones that we’re not it just keeps improving every single week.
MP:  That, Chris, is very good news indeed. Do you think that we may possibly have a chance at a second season?
CD:  I guess that would be Talisman’s decision ultimately, but it’s certainly good news, certainly a positive sign. I thought our ratings were pretty good on SciFi considering they bumped us around so much.  We obviously have a fantastic group of fans, and I don’t see any reason why not, I mean I know the whole cast would be more than happy to do it.

MP:  Well you know Chris, I’m like you, cause I know we share the same feelings on this, I mean we both are dying to do a second season,  And it’s very true, we do have the most extraordinary bunch of fans, which is one of, no is the reason why both you and I, and Francesca, and Michel
. But it’s true, we’ve got the best fans, haven’t we?

lagniappetite : Flatterers

tamaraeus : Wow what a complement!

miss_yuriko : The cast getting along so well really helps.

CD:  You know when I have talked to everyone here from the boards, the one thing that they can notice is that we did have a great time filming, and I think that shows up in our characters’ relationships with each other, and I think they can see what a great time it was, so yeah, it would definitely be a dream to do it again.

MP:  I couldn’t agree more Chris, I couldn’t agree more.

gilesluver1 : Michael, how long had you and Chris worked together before you did that scene in the Mole ep?
MP:  Which scene in the “Mole” are you talking about, be more specific Lisa.  

gilesluver1 : The beating up scene you were discussing earlier.

MP:  Ah, that scene.  Right.  That is the scene where the director said to both Chris and I if we are going to do a scene which is basically an interrogation scene let us do it as real as possible.  Now this is a director who is a Vietnam War veteran, and so we decided to try to make it as truthful, read “real”, as possible.  I think, given the constraints of the show, we did pretty good on that one, what do you think?

sutherndesignr : Very well indeed!

CD:  Yeah, I think ultimately it turned out pretty good.  As I mentioned before, too, there was a heck of a lot more of it, too, took it to a level where the crew felt they might have to cut it down a bit, thought it might be a little too intense.

MP:  That’s very interesting, Chris, cause it’s absolutely right.  You and I know, cause we were there, but the scene that actually aired is not exactly the scene that we shot.  The scene that we shot was incredibly intense, and in fact it was, they felt, for it to be aired.  And I know that you and I disagreed on that, and we thought that, as did the director, he felt that the scene that we actually did shoot was the one that should be aired, and there were great discussion on, “Hold on a minute, this may be too intense” , so they did, I think I’m correct in saying, as far as we were concerned, they did back off a lot from what we’d originally shot.

CD: The full scene would be perfect for the DVD’s if they ever release that. 
MP:  I agree, I absolutely agree, because it would be wonderful for a DVD.  What, do a director’s cut do you mean, Chris?
CD:  yeah, sure, a director’s cut, or a missing scenes section, as well as the outtakes. 

odensdisir : What aspects of Phileas' personality do you most enjoy playing?
MP:  Well, odens..disier, forgive me if I got that wrong, the thing I love about Phileas is that he’s an anti-hero in the sense that he’s incredibly flawed, he’s fatally flawed, and it’s refreshing to play something, a character like that.
 

treehugger20170 : So...Garvin Scott did say that "the sexual tension on the set of the Aurora was so thick you could cut it with a knife".  How did it develop?
MP:  Well you know, treehugger, they do say that if you play with knives, you get cut.

mer_idien_wheel : So why does a Fatally Flawed character appeal to you then?
MP:  Because, meridianwheel, if you have a character who’s flawed, the possibilities of disaster are just always around the corner, and it makes it much more interesting than playing, say, the archetypal hero who will always get what he wants, be it the girl or the treasure or whatever.

zhaansacolyte : To what degree did you create a back story for yourself with regard to Phileas, MIchael?
MP:  I don’t create necessarily a back story to my character, I simply take what’s in the script and, as a natural consequence of what is written, develop something from there.  But you have to start from somewhere, and always the spawn, for want of continue the silly expression, is what the writers have written.  Does that make any sense?

melodyfla : You know, what I found fantastic was that there was no "fumbling" for each of you to "find" your character. You all stepped into immediately
CD:  You know, and I’m sure Michael would agree too, that we have to thank the producers and writers for giving us a lot of leeway.  We had some basics about who they were, but they gave us the freedom to explore their backgrounds, their likes and their dislikes and their interpersonal relationships

lagniappetite : You have mentioned Phileas is a flawed character.....What do you see as Phileas' greatest flaw?
MP:  Phileas’ greatest flaw is probably his arrogance in the fact that he’s always maintains that he is right, and always thinks he’s right, even when he’s wrong.  And it’s his arrogance that gets him into tremendous trouble.

gingerjc78 : Michael, I was a little disappointed in the Saratoga Brown/Phileas relationship in that it was so very rushed.  What was your take on this?
MP: gingerjc, what do you mean by the Saratoga/Phileas relationship was rushed? Explain that a bit more.

gingerjc78 : I think it was a little implausible in that it was love at first sight.  They'd had little exposure to each other when Phileas announces that she is the "woman I love"....it just needed more time, maybe more scenes to convince us

MP:  Yes, I agree, ginger, yes, there should have been a little bit more back story, but the confines of television scheduling and the fact that they kinda gotta get a move on.  You just have to presume yes, these two people clearly adore each other, and then they moved on, but I absolutely agree with you, it would have been nice to have a little bit more back story, but I think in one of the scenes that was theirs you saw a little bit more of their relationship, but I’m not quite sure which one you saw.  Does that make any sense?

Continued in Part 3

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