“Knights of Bloodsteel”, “Dragons of Black Rock” ou “Mirabilis”

Knights of Bloodsteel By Tom Bock

Bloodsteel SciFi Channel Premiere - April 19; concludes April 20

Many mini-series will get a “nod” before the reviewers have a chance to go through the entire series. Such was not the case here. I was actually laid-up and had nothing but time on my hands. Not only did I watch the entire series, I re-viewed previously watched sections to make sure I was accurately following the story. It was worth it.

The biggest attraction for me was three-time Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd’s performance. One of my favorite actors, I’ve enjoyed him since his days on the TV show Taxi, and his career repertoire of accomplished movies. Another added benefit was the inclusion of actor David James Elliott, formerly of the TV show JAG. I have to admit I was not familiar with Natassia Malthe, the lead actress in the series; she ably characterized a challenging role.

Knights of Bloodsteel centers about a rare and magical element called “Bloodsteel.” This element is the only source of power in the fictitious world called Mirabilis; the issue confronting the Knights of Bloodsteel is that they are running out of bloodsteel. Searching for bloodsteel is an activity analogous to panning for gold. In fact, it may be said that they pan for bloodsteel based on what we witness when Malthe’s character, Perfidia, finds some Bloodsteel and it is quickly taken from her. An apparent bad guy called Ber-lak, played by Dru Viergever, steals it from her. Soon after, Ber-lak and Perfidia form an alliance and the journey begins.

When we first encounter John Serragoth, played by Elliott, he enters in a big way - fighting. It’s a grand entrance and after he wins, we can predictably assume he is the warrior of this slowly evolving group. In time, the “gore-some foursome” is knighted and their saga begins. A seemingly motley crew, they begin their quest for the bloodsteel. Adventure, peril and unexpected twists insinuate themselves along the way.

Christopher Lloyd’s involvement is against the evil and horribly deformed Dragon Eye who seeks the bloodsteel for his own nefarious uses. Suffice it to say, however, that Tesselink, Lloyd’s character, is one of the good guys. The subplot evolves as we learn that Tesselink and Perfidia have a spiritual link, similar to the strong empathic ties among twins, that affords her the ability to sense when Tesselink is attacked. Still, her skills have not developed enough for her to know exactly what has happened. Another subplot is the sexual tension between Perfidia and Serragoth; we wait anxiously for it to happen. While the opportunity presents itself several times, thankfully, it doesn’t happen.

One of the issues I have with so many shows today is the romantic coupling of the characters. One show that comes to mind is any of the CSI series shows. There is way too much back-story, too much angst between the characters for my taste. The slow motion anguish of relationships don’t work out, the awkward interaction, as they try to do their job, as they attempt to get past the failed relationship, and so forth. Millions of people work together, and while some do date, break up, and even marry, there are still millions that work side by side for years and have no romantic interactions. The tension here works and is present throughout the adventure. However, I’m relieved that we don’t have to deal with it beyond that.

This Sunday and Monday will feature Knights of Bloodsteel, on the SciFi channel. It’s worth the time to watch and enjoy, as there are interesting characters, great computer generated graphics, an intriguing story and terrific acting. So, at the end of the day when you want to kick back, put your feet up and turn on the TV, the SciFi channel delivers!

David James Elliott Plunges into Sci Fi's Knights of Bloodsteel

JAG's David James Elliott has traded his buzzcut and pressed uniform for a flowing mane and leather battle-wear to star in Sci Fi's two-part movie event Knights of Bloodsteel (Sunday, April 19 and Monday, April 20, 9 pm/ET, Sci Fi). Elliott stars as freedom fighter John Serragoth in this tale about the continent of Mirabilis, where humans, goblins, elves and dwarves seek bloodsteel, an ore that imparts magical abilities to anyone who can draw it from the Earth. TVGuide.com spoke with Elliott about making the leap into the fantasy genre, training for sword-fighting scenes and talking up the idea of a JAG reunion.

TVGuide.com: Knights of Bloodsteel could not be more different from JAG. What drew you to the project?
David James Elliott: I'm a fan of the genre and I'm always looking for something my 6-year-old can watch. I thought it was right up his alley. He's always asking me to be in a movie, because he's a big movie watcher.

TVGuide.com: Did you read all the Lord of the Rings books?
Elliott: I read The Hobbit, all the Tarzan books when I was a kid, and Conan the Barbarian — all that fantasy stuff.

TVGuide.com: Did you pass that love of the genre on to your kids?
Elliott: Well I have a 16-year-old daughter, so she was never aware of any of that, although I think she's reading Twilight. But my son is certainly into it, you know Star Wars and all that, and that's a similar realm, I guess.

TVGuide.com: How long did it take you to learn how to sword-fight?
Elliott: I grew up in the theater — the classical theater — I went to theater school and studied swordplay. I worked with a man named Patty Crane who was Errol Flynn's stand-in back in the '30s in Hollywood. So I wasn't a stranger to sword-fighting, but it had been a while.

TVGuide.com: It seemed pretty intricate. Were you ever nervous you'd get hurt?
Elliott: Well it's choreographed, so hopefully it comes off like a dance. ... The swords were made of steel and they were sharp. I had one glance off my eyebrow — ripped through my eyebrow and just missed taking my eye out. So I had one mishap, but it's pretty amazing that with all the fights we had, that was the only disaster. Usually in fistfights you get punched in the face. I remember on JAG, Joe Jackson punched Stephen Culp and shattered his nose. You know, we were going into our 18th hour of shooting, and they had a sequence where he had to pretend to punch him in the face, and he landed it and they had to take him away in an ambulance.

TVGuide.com: Would you ever return to series television or are you happier doing smaller projects now?
Elliott: I guess if the series was right, I'd like to do it. It's tiring though. At the time, at the end of 10 years [on JAG] it felt like, "never again will I do this to myself." But you miss it too. You miss that everyday practicing of your craft and it's a big family. But I do enjoy the freedom of doing a movie and then having some time off.

TVGuide.com: Any chance of a JAG reunion movie in our future?
Elliott: I'm not aware of any in the works, but that would be interesting. I've never actually had that question posed before. But maybe it's that time now when people are thinking, "You know what? Maybe there will be a movie."

David James Elliott - A Hero’s Journey
By scifiandtvtalk

Last August I had the pleasure of spending the day on-location at a working mine in Abbotsford, British Columbia with the cast and crew of Knights of Bloodsteel, a two-night movie event that will be broadcast this Sunday and Monday - April 19th & 20th - @ 9pm EST on the Sci Fi Channel. Over the next three days I will be posting cast and behind-the-scenes talent interviews from my time on the set. Enjoy!

Fans of actor David James Elliott probably best remember him as the clean-cut United States Naval officer Commander Harmon “Harm” Rabb, Jr. in the CBS-TV adventure/legal drama series JAG. This Sunday, he makes his debut played a very different type of hero in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Knights of Bloodsteel. As the sword-wielding John Serragoth, the actor sports long hair as well as a beard and speaks with a Scottish accent. It was brand-new territory for him and one he was happy to explore.

“I’d never done anything quite like this before,” says Elliott during a break in filming on-location in British Columbia. “I had just finished filming a miniseries [Impact!] in Victoria and was on vacation with my family in the Bahamas when I got a call about this project. They e-mailed me the script, I read it, thought it was well-written and they [the producers] offered me the role.

“Again, the fact that I had never really played a character like John was what made it interesting to me. My first day on-set was like most in that it feels as if you’re about to climb Mount Everest. Not only are you still digging through the script to find the nuances, but you’re also trying to find your character from inside yourself. That was certainly true with John because we took some chances with the character, including making him a Scotsman. We felt that that would help reinforce the fact that he’s different from everyone else around him and more of an Earth-type guy. He’s from the Moorlands, which is a wild territory on this world where our story takes place. So I was excited about the role and the chance to work with a new group of people.”

In Knights of Bloodsteel, John Serragoth is one of four unlikely freedom fighters recruited by the sorcerer elf Tesselink (Christopher Lloyd). Their mission is to stop the evil Dragon Eye (Mark Gibbon) and his minions from acquiring the remaining supply of bloodsteel, a sorcery grade ore that gives powerful magical abilities to those who possess it. Should they fail, the island continent of Mirabilis will fall under control of Dragon Eye. Accompanying John on his quest to find the legendary magical Crucible, which is the source of bloodsteel, are Adric Thane (Christopher Jacot), a charming con artist, the enigmatic goblin Ber-Lak (Dru Viergever), and a fearless warrior elf named Perfidia (Natassia Malthe).

“They’re a ragtag group,” explains Elliott. “Circumstances thrust them together and John has his own agenda as well as this quest for a Crucible that will help his agenda. The latter is how the Elders of our story sold my character on helping them, and, in turn, this will help John complete his ‘hit list’ for lack of a better term. So he’s a man with a list and he’s ticking names off. Let’s just say that he’s got some vengeance issues,” he says with a smile.

Off to one side of Elliott, Knights of Bloodsteel director Philip Spink is busy setting up his next shot. This project is the actor’s introduction to Spink and in the director he has found a kindred soul. “Philip’s enthusiasm is refreshing and he really gets into it, which is very inspirational,” notes Elliott. “Like me, he’s always digging and looking for the truth in every moment. Yes, we’re doing this because it looks very cool, but at the same time it has to be grounded in some sort of reality.

“Before we began shooting I had to get a hair weave, so I came in for a seven-hour process where they were tying hair and attaching the extensions to my own hair. Philip came and kept me company. He and I laughed and talked about the script as well as my character and we had a good time. We sat together until almost two in the morning, and we were starting work at six the following day. It was nice to have that time because you rarely get that; once a project like this gets going there’s really no stopping it and taking a pause.”

As with many of his previous roles, this one brought with it various acting challenges, including physical ones, for Elliott to face. “The climax of this piece, which we already shot, was extremely challenging just from an emotional point of view,” he recalls. “And it was late at night when we filmed it. We were working the night shift for a week straight, so that was tough. Again, you’re constantly digging deep inside yourself and embracing areas that you probably wouldn’t bother with in your normal day-to-day life.

“There’s also been some fighting for my character,” continues Elliott, “and I just missed having my eye taken out by a sword. It cut my eyebrow and I had a black eye for a while. People will often ask me, ‘Oh, man, do you enjoy doing the fights?’ Every time there’s a fight I know I’m going to get hurt, and we have a big fight tomorrow, so I can’t wait to see what happens then. I’m often cast in physical roles, probably because I have a high tolerance for pain. It’s either that or someone has it out for me,” jokes the actor.

“This is a large script and that makes the work quite challenging because there are numerous things to be considered and to have to hold in your mind. It’s important to always be in the moment, too. That’s tricky and a struggle every day. You’re trying to exist in this [make-believe] world and you’re forced to exist in the real world at the same time. Some days are better than others, but you endeavor to put your best foot forward.”

The second of three sons, Elliott was born in Toronto, Canada and admits that he fell into acting. “Music was my first love, but I just became frustrated because I tried to make a go of bands and you’re always having to rely on other people,” he says. “I went to Ryerson Theatre School in Toronto and then auditioned for and was accepted into The Stratford Shakespearean Festival Company where I spent a couple of years doing quite a bit of theater.”

While honing his craft onstage, the actor made his TV debut in an episode of the Scottish-Canadian historical drama series The Campbells. “I played a mentally-challenged young man who lived in the woods,” says Elliott. “I don’t remember much about the work, but it was a challenging role, especially from an emotional standpoint and trying to portray my character as truthfully as possible as well as with some dignity. It was a great first [TV] role to have.”

Elliott went on to win the Jean Chalmers Award for Most Promising Young Actor of the Season. Not long after, his performance as Dick, a dimwitted stripper in a stage production of B-Movie: The Play, caught the attention of those in charge of the Canadian TV series Street Legal. They cast the actor as Nick Del Gado, the handsome love interest for the show’s female lawyers. The program was a hit and made him a household name in his native Canada. Elliott eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting work there. Along with guest-spots on numerous shows including China Beach, Doogie Howser, M.D. and Dark Justice, he has had recurring roles on Knots Landing, Melrose Place and The Guard as well as regular gigs on The Untouchables, Close to Home and the long-running JAG.

“It was a joy to have worked on a character for that long,” says the actor. “It was also a pleasure to work with all those people in a collaborative effort for an extended period of time. The show certainly opened a lot of doors for me, so it was a great 10 years spent.”

All too soon Elliott is needed back on-set, but before leaving he adds to his previous response. “Overall, when it comes to this business, it’s rewarding to work with people who take it seriously and give it the respect it deserves. It’s also rewarding when people find entertainment value in what you do. That’s ultimately what we’re trying to do, entertain people, and if we affect someone then we’re doing our job.”

Steve Eramo