A final note about The Clearing in this author commentary as I look at the influences behind the series. SPOILER WARNING is in effect, maybe for more than just the DSA…
Major Influences
The X-Files
I think there can be no doubt about the influence of The X-Files on DSA. The stories of Mulder and Scully continue to follow me to this day. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without this show and the vital impact in had on me as a teen.
Not only are the mystery elements there, but also the way the show ended episodes. I loved that open-ended feeling, that ominous turn that the danger never really ends. The creepier themes of the show can clearly be seen in the DSA, as well as the investigative nature.
Grounding the DSA in a bureaucracy, giving it that sense of reality, allowed the series to find its way in Season One, and Chris Carter’s The X-Files was a huge basis for where those elements came from and how they played out in the narrative.
Babylon 5
I’ve written about this numerous times. Babylon 5 is the greatest serialized television show ever produced for the screen. No one will ever be able to change my mind on this. To have the vision that J. Michael Straczynski had when developing the series continues to astound me.
He went in with a five-year plan and he achieved that.
That is my hope for DSA. When I finished Season One, I went through every installment, every chapter, every paragraph, to see the seeds were planted for what is to come. There are questions asked in Book 1 that are not touched on until near the end of Season 2. Elements are introduced, like the Utopia Protocol, that are not addressed in full until Season 3.
I wanted the reader to feel that there was a larger story at play with DSA, and Babylon 5 was truly the major influence when coming up with a plan for the series as a whole.
The problem (and benefit) of my influences
My brother-in-law recently mentioned a training he led at work. In it, he referenced Star Wars (A New Hope). The new hires didn’t know what he was talking about. They had never seen Star Wars!
Most of the people I talk to haven’t seen The X-Files or Babylon 5. X-Files ended twenty years ago, though there were more recent revivals. Babylon 5’s ending came twenty-five years ago.
Let’s just say it makes for a more challenging selling point when talking about what the DSA can be compared to. And damn, does it make me feel old…
The benefit of having “dated” influences? Steering someone toward one of my favorite shows of all time. If I can get someone to discover these treasures, and enjoy the DSA even more because of it, then I feel like I’ve achieved something.
Asking Questions and Searching for Answers
That became the heart of the series. Both of these major influences helped guide me with plotting the series at the start.
