Sci-Fine Dining - The Fine Art of Cooking Klingon Bloodworms and Other Delights
Back in May, I was approached by the folks at SciFiRiot, a new NYC-based YouTube channel devoted to creating original science fiction themed shows for the web. At the time, they were just shy of two months from launch and had a show which had just lost its director due to other commitments. They were looking for a replacement and wanted to know if I’d be interested. Now, it’s true that for the past couple of years I’ve focused primarily on projects I’ve developed on my own, but I’m always open to working with other production companies if the project is interesting. The moment I heard the name, Sci-Fine Dining, I was in.
Find out more about the project and watch the first episode, after the jump.
Sci-Fine Dining is, as you might guess by the name, a science fiction themes cooking show. In each episode, Chef/Host Ed Robinson and his co-host Jodie Younse invite guests over and teach them how to make an iconic food from a beloved Sci Fi property, or something inspired by one. Over the course of Season 1’s 9 episodes that’s included Klingon Gagh, Soylent Green Crackers (don’t worry. It’s not people), Futurama’s Popplers and Slurm, and a whole bunch of other sci fi goodness.
I didn’t know Ed and Jodie personally, but I was a fan of their web series Pairings (a dramedy where food and cooking plays a central role) and I was excited about the chance to work with them. Even though we were only a month away from shooting when I came on board, the format of the show and its overall tone still hadn’t really been locked down. Working with the two of them to figure out how to go from a solid concept to an actual show was extremely rewarding.
And as a bonus, we had a great lineup of guests including Javier Grillo-Marxuach (The Middle Man, Lost, Helix), Sean Becker (The Guild, The Jeff Lewis 5 Minute Comedy Hour), screenwriter and columnist Stephany Folsom, Gen Anderson (A cast member of Star Trek: Enterprise, and chef herself), not to mention my Ladies & Gents co-producers Tanya Ihnen and Stephanie Thorpe.
Plus I got to work with Rob Gokee again (composer of SLBAAC’s score) and Ivan Kander, the incredible motion graphics artist I worked with on C&E.
Admittedly, it felt a bit odd handing over all the footage at the end of the shoot and not leading post-production as I normally do, but that’s the nature of work-for-hire. The team at SciFiRiot, in particular Jorge Rivera, took what we shot and ran with it and I’m happy that it’s finally out in the world for people to share.
Watch the first episode below, and be sure to check out the entire season at youtube.com/scifiriot
