“Zoie!!!” is the reaction the Android elicits from my girlfriend every time she pops up on my laptop. I’ve screened 11 of 13 prod cuts for Akemi and, to date, she loves the show, loves all of the characters, but is especially fond of Zoie’s Android – which leads me to believe that #zobot is going to be BIG in Japan when the show airs on SyFyAsia in June!

This was the breakdown that went out for the role when we started the casting process:

“CLOSER TO A WRY BUTLER THAN YOUR TYPICAL SCI-FI ANDROID/ROBOT. CONCISE, IMPASSIVE, YET SURPRISINGLY POSSESSED OF A SUBTLY WRY SENSE OF HUMOUR, he is an indispensable member of the crew since he can exercise control over all the ship’s systems. He’ll prove a loyal supporter of his fellow shipmates, risking destruction to secure their safety. IN TIME, HE WILL ASSUME A DOTING CARETAKER POSITION OVER THE YOUTHFUL FIVE. ALL GENDERS AND ETHNICITIES.”

Yes, “he” because, in the original pitch, the Android was male. We ended up diverging from the source material by casting a very wide net in our search. And, as it turned out, it was a wise choice because some of the very best candidates for the part were women.

One such candidate was actress Zoie Palmer. She delivered a great first round audition and then, in her callback, wowed us with three very different, very impressive reads: first her original interpretation, then with a British accent, and finally with a Jamaican accent (let’s file that last one away for future discussion).

One of the biggest compliments I can give Zoie is that, in many ways, she reminds me of Amanda Tapping. Amanda, as Stargate’s Samantha Carter, had one of the toughest roles in the franchise’s run, tasked with delivering all the technobabble in believable yet entertaining fashion. And she did, time and again. She was so good at it that she made it look easy – but as anyone who has tried casting actors for similar roles will tell you (like, say, me for instance), it’s anything but easy. And yet, like Amanda, Zoie made it seem effortless. She was informative, convincing, and delightfully compelling.

After she was cast, Zoie took the role and made it her own, fashioning a character that is highly intelligent and powerful yet, at the time same, marked by some very human, occasionally adolescent foibles. Her Android is more Marvin (Hitchhiker’s Guide) or Kryten (Red Dwarf) than Data (ST:TNG) – in many ways, more emotionally flawed than her human charges. But, if I had to pick one word to describe Zoie’s Android, it would be “endearing”. I have no doubt she is going to be a fan favorite.

Working with Zoie has been a dream. She is uber-talented, incredibly professional, and just a lovely, LOVELY human being. And possibly one of the funniest people I know. Over the course of the season, I received more texts from her than any other cast member. Some where script-related but most were simply weird and wonderful missives sent my way to, I suspect, keep me off-balance. Some of my favorites…

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