Q:How did working on E2 compare to working on Captain Power?
JS:Captain Power - I felt ...ok...the first thing I would say is that...just the basis of Captain Power was a bit of a turn off to me from the get go. The fact that it was Mattel toys that owned and operated [MTS - Mattel's TV production arm that produced Captain Power]... and it was a commercial - and the fact that Christmas came and the toys didn't sell big and bad enough they canceled the show. So the fact that we were.....and it was based on a post apocalyptic..err..war torn...We failed..basically...and Earth two is that too..err...failing as a race on this planet....umm...but it was all nasty - it was all guns and shooting and Lord Dread and all his minions...so that in itself and everyday going to work...and feeling kind of...you're contributing to something that I wasn't really proud of - commercialising, and kids with guns and they were shooting....I don't know, just the whole thing, the nature of it was kind of.... and I got kind of bamboozled into doing it...I was not keen to do it and was...directed into doing it and left my agent over it. The whole thing ...so it started on a bad note.Then [laughs] it was shooting in this...it was boiling, boiling hot, it was in a bus station - we were dressed in lycra, and then rubber, and silicon [laughter]- you know, fiberglass and gloves and leather and helmets and bleeaah! It was just like....we were either boiling, boiling hot or freezing cold - it lent itself to bitching - I don't know.[laughter] Giddy moments there too I must say ..but errr...Earth Two is totally different for me because of that kernel of truth which I felt like...um...contributing in a way that meant looking at Earth One with new eyes..looking at.. at appreciating what we do have now..just the whole idea that appealed to me more ...umm... I liked my character - I loved Santa Fe - going to work everyday was a joy - it wasn't in a bus depot.....you know...with bee-hive smoke and just chemicals and foam rock...it was just ...it was just a much more ....[sighs]really. I was riding my bike to work here - it was just a different feeling altogether.
But you were still boiling hot and freezing cold on Earth 2..
JS:Yeah - but in an outdoorsy kind of way. Yeah.. it was like and Outward Bound trip Earth 2... I mean having done an Outward Bound trip..and... being pushed environmentally..I think Earth 2 was great that way...we'd find ourselves on the peaks of these...you know....hey hey grab that..it's falling off the edge...we're all holding on to each other...one minute it's hailing in August, and you're like wow..the next minute you're out in the boiling sun again..so yeah I loved that.. that was fine by me.. - it was being cooped up in a rubber suit and in a bus depot that didn't appeal to me.
Q:I did understand that you have very strong feelings about the work you did on Captain Power...I was a teenager when it aired..there were a few scripts on that show..Larry DiTillio scripts....talking about how on the show you know the character started out on the wrong side and then [unintelligible].. being a complex figure that was [unintelligible]...actually I really enjoyed it... and that was why I watched Earth 2..just to know [unintelligible]...The neat part of Captain Power was that there were parallels with Earth 2...[unintelligible]
JS:I never even drew that out - you're right - totally right. I have to say that I was totally just sort of angry a lot on Captain Power because of [the message] I had a huge marker - everyday I'd come in and [scratch off the days] It just couldn't be over fast enough ..I was dying.. I mean my life was just a joke at that point anyway..so coming to work was just ten-fold worse. So I just was dying in there But there were - in looking back at...I should..I still haven't done it but I should really go back and look at them... In looking back at them, there were a lot of...they did deal with issues... I mean it was issue orientated.. and I didn't give it enough credit at the time....in fact it was my first realisation of what kind of impact..because there were women who wrote to me and did say that 'my daughter enjoys watching the show and you're a great role model' and all those things.. and I thought [growls] WHO WILL EVER WATCH THIS?[laughter] Why am I ..I mean really... couldn't believe that people were watching it...it was syndicated, it was on like five o clock in the morning Saturday somewhere who knows what.But people did write and watch and did find it...umm.. enjoy it..so it was a lesson for me for sure on that level... and on being a good sport...and on a whole lot of levels. but you're right there were a lot of scripts that did deal on some level on morality or...and humanity.
And three minutes of interactivity..
JS:Yeah, and I just couldn't believe...I mean I guess I'm always amazed... my proton spanner...it was Black and Decker you know...whirll,whirll thing...you pull it out and you just kinda like [gestures] oh it's fixed!! Jam it in there...magic little thing [laughter] it drove me crazy.. I don't know .and you have all these millions of buttons and you just like push a million buttons and pretending you know what you're talking about...and I just couldn't...I swore that they had this like science fiction dictionary....where they just go..ok like...Like how can anybody say this? But then I find myself on Earth 2 doing [the same things]