Jonathan Frakes Reveals How STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE Rebuilt Its Void Scene
Frakes breaks down the split-screen trick that let one actor play two versions of Stuart.
Director Jonathan Frakes sat down with hosts Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton on the official STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE podcast to walk through the making of Episode 6, titled 'Spoiler: Corn Is Delicious.' The conversation, posted to HBO Max's YouTube channel as part of the show's Season 1 podcast companion, centered on the episode's cow-universe setting and the technical work behind one of its trickiest sequences.
Frakes detailed why the endless-void sequence had to be rebuilt and reshot, including the use of a flying camera operator to get the shot right. He and the hosts also discussed how the writers reworked jokes on set, bringing multi-camera comedy instincts into the show's single-camera format. Much of the discussion touched on directing actor Kevin Sussman, who plays both Stuart and an alternate version of the character called Stuart Prime in the episode, achieved through simple split-screen work and a body double.
The episode also gave Day and Wheaton room to dig into Big Bang Theory connections within the cast, including Kunal Nayyar's turn as a doomsday-prophet version of Raj and a role for the character Barry Kripke within the group. The hosts also floated their own fan theories about Stuart Prime's origins and pitched a fan-fiction idea they dubbed "Gripke."
