In the pivotal fifth season Sliders adventure Requiem, Rembrandt, Maggie, Mallory and Diana are pitted against a vicious female Kromagg. Colonel Kesh, in a battle which could seal the fate of the entire multiverse. Kesh is the latest ass-kicking alien to be played by Julie Caitlin Brown, whose previous genre roles include Ty Kajada in Deep Space Nine's The Passenger, Vekor in the Next Generation two-parter Gambit and Na'Toth in Babylon 5.
How did you come to guest-star on Sliders?
My agent saw the part and thought I could do it really well. I had worked with [Slider's casting director] Barbara Claman four times before, so when she heard I was interested, she sent me to see the producers. I did the reading for [executive consultant] David Peckinpah and the episode's director Paul Lynch, who actually directed my Deep Space Nine. They then saw four other people and immediately afterwards I was told I'd got the part.
Was the Kromagg make-up easier to cope with than Narn prosthetics?
They were like night and day. I still had to spend a lot of time in th [make-up] chair, but for Sliders, I only had make-up on my forehead, around my ears and down the back of my neck. It didn't cover my face like Na'Toth.
How does the character of Kesh compare to your earlier alien roles?
She's very different. Paul Lynch told me to play it gutteral and very real. Kesh is very sinister and very tough. She takes rifle-butts to the face and to the gut, so she's a tough cookie! Kesh is also intelligent, cunning and very evil. She really enjoys being evil; in fact, she could even be insane. And it was fun to play really, really bad.
Did you have a good time with the Sliders?
Absolutely. They were really lovely. Cleavant Derricks [Rembrandt] and Kari Wuhrer [Maggie] were right on the money. After 50-odd episodes, they are so aware and just get right down to it. Robert Floyd [Mallory] was very funny. He was gracious and sweet and eager, and very happy doing that job. And Tembi Locke (Diana) was a lot of fun. I had a great time with everyone.
Were there any significan changes to the script during filming?
When we were filming the [closing] fight scene, I looked at Paul and sait, "That's it? I go down in the fire fight? No one hits me?" He asked me if I wanted t be hit and I told him, "Yeah, someone should hit me. I've been a real bitch!" So they got Tembi Locke and we choreographed a fight scene! She was really excited about it because she hadn't done a big fight scene before. It's a great sequence and it's all us - there are no stunt doubles.
What did you enjoy most about working on Sliders?
If you're walking around a set in a rubber head and nobody knows who the hell you are, it is always a delicious when a buzz starts going around that this actor knows what she's doing and is doing a great job. That was very rewarding. Everyone was wonderful and I really loved playing that character. I had a blast.
David Bassam
Requiem, Sky 1 - Monday 22nd, 21:00