MONDO EXTRAS

RT: I'm using more flashbacks than I originally envisioned when we started the year. I'm not interested in those sort of procedural, C.S.I.-type shows in which you tell the murder investigation based on carbon fibers and blood samples -- I always wanted to create interesting character stuff like motive and jealousy and passion and rage, so using the flashbacks allows me to get to the heart of why characters become what they become. I have to admit, they're fun for us.

CB: The one thing about the flashbacks is that they're very...blue. In fact, there's a LOT of color filtering and lighting on the show. Are you going for specific moods or themes? Do you all debate whether it gets excessive?

RT: Well, we wanted the flashbacks to have a distinct look just so it would be clear when we were in one. But we gave a different colorization and treatment to the two-day flashbacks in "An Echolls Family Christmas," where it wasn't Veronica's memories. And in the latest episode we've filmed, Veronica manages to get hold of Keith's interrogation tapes, and she's listening to them and flashing back, and that's not her memory, so we gave that a completely different look from the other two. So we are trying to be stylish, and honestly, for me it's the first time I've been on a show that's attempted to have some sort of visual flair.

CB: Recently, the show has experimented with a couple scenes in which the editing was kind of...jumpy, for example, the karaoke scene in "Clash Of The Tritons." What did you think of the finished product there?

RT: I read all the complaints on the boards about the karaoke scene, and I understand them -- it did seem to break style, and probably if we did it all over again, I wouldn't do it that way. I think it somehow pissed off the audience. Part of it was cutting a three-minute performance into fifty seconds, and having nine different angles and wanting to use them. But I guess it was the quick cutting that really bothered people. I don't think it was a stylistic choice as much as it kind of felt fun and energetic in that moment, but given the reaction, I would hesitate to do it again.

CB: Speaking of the karaoke scene, I know it's been done, but...musical episode? Is that anything you'd consider, or is that strictly shark and motorcycle territory?