In 1996, the fledgling network UPN was seeking to capitalize on its flagship series, Star Trek: Voyager, and green-lighted a pilot from in-house production company CBS Paramount Television. It centered on Jim Ellison (Richard Burgi), a former special-ops captain working as a police detective in Washington state. When Ellison returns from the jungles of Peru, he discovers that he has developed hyperactive senses beyond those of normal humans. Together with anthropology student Blair Sandburg (Garett Maggart) and his police captain (Bruce Young), Ellison uses his abilities to solve crimes and keep the town of Cascade, Wash., safe from harm.

Although the series ran for only three seasons, it attracted a dedicated fan base whose continued support of the show inspired the studio to release the first season on DVD. While Burgi has gone on to have a successful film and television career (from the recent chick flick In Her Shoes to a recurring role on Desperate Housewives), he still takes the time to visit conventions and meet with fans. He and Maggart recently took the opportunity to look back on the series and their involvement with it in an interview with Science Fiction Weekly.Have you seen the episodes since they aired?

Burgi: I showed my son part of it one day, but no.In seeing just that part, does it bring back memories?

Burgi: Oh, yeah. Many, many great ones. I had a great time on this show.Thinking back in the first season, what stood out for you?

Burgi: Working up in Vancouver was just incredible. It's an amazing city. Working every week doing stunts and fight scenes was really an interesting endeavor. It's a challenge, physically. Yeah. I mean, I was just wiped out on the weekends. They were just long hours and the tedium of having a camera shoved into your eye. Just having to stay still for certain shots that were the substance of many of the inductive moments where the audience gets taken into his ear or his eye or his nose. It was fun. It was an interesting juggle between the material and the acting and the special effects, which took precedence sometimes. It was an interesting outcome, I'll put it that way.Did it take time for you to develop the character, or did you understand him right away?

Burgi: No, I knew who he was. I got a really clear sense of what he was about.What about the tone of the show? Did that take a while to develop?

Burgi: For me, I think I came into it with the relationship with Garett that was clearly hierarchal and part and parcel of the show. You had this guy who was militaristic and chain-of-command-driven, and this other guy who was an extraordinarily liberal, free-thinking, shoot-from-the-hip, fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants [guy], yet a real stickler for detail in terms of the scientific approach. They were just two different people, and it was nice to have that sort of synergy and the blend of those qualities. And I had those with Garett.How involved were you in the direction of the character as the series went on?

Burgi: I didn't create the character. It's a co-creative process. We all, all three of us, Bruce, Garett and I, we all were very passionate about keeping a level of integrity about the characters. And we would fight for what we felt were areas that could be fortified or adjusted to provide the audience or the story with a more compelling component. And ultimately, I think we just tried to do our job. We had some good battles with the writers.At least it shows that you all cared.

Burgi: Exactly. I can speak for all three of us that it wasn't about our egos. It was about a collective nurturing. And I guess the ego was involved. For me to say that there was not ego involved is pretty silly. I think we were just concerned more about when do you turn your child over to a teacher and when do you actually just trust the teacher's process? So I think there's some scrutiny that we all go through with our children or whatever, our dogs perhaps, for those that don't have kids. For a project it's the same thing. The writers, at some level, it's their baby as well. And a lot of times maybe there was a bit of a pissing contest as to whose baby it was. What it says is that everybody on some level cared.Do you ever miss working on the show since it ended?

Burgi: Yeah. I loved working up in Canada. I loved the people. Vancouver's a really magnificent place. The mountains and the trees and its proximity to real wilderness. It's powerful up there. And I really like Canadian people. Do I miss it? No. I don't miss the hours. I had a newborn son, I think the second season or something, and it was really hard.How would you say the show has affected your career or your life in general?

Burgi: It was a great job that provided me with a level of income that I wasn't accustomed to. And a level of awareness, too, in terms of the public's eye. And I'd go out and I'd get recognized a lot and a lot of people responded to that show. More so than it seemed the Nielsen ratings reflected. Or the networks. And everybody I spoke to, they were like, "What a great show."Do you still have contact with the fans?

Burgi: Because of The Sentinel, there were these folks that approached me to start a fan club, and I thought it was kind of weird, but I said, "You seem like very nice people. I sanction whatever you do. Go forth and prosper." So there's a fan club, the Richard Burgi fan club, and there's these Sentinel conventions that I go to. I just got invited to this thing, this place up in Big Bear where they have an animal rehabilitation center and zoo to help them raise money. So my fan club that was spawned from The Sentinel has raised money for several wildlife institutions. So that's been really, really fantastic. And the people are really sweet. That just makes my heart so full. And to be a part of the whole movement.

I was never a fan of anything other than football and hockey for a while, so I never understood that kind of attention and devotion, but it just feels great. I go to these places, and these people are so sweet and funny. The tongue is in the cheek as far as I'm concerned. And we relate more on a human level than anything. I'm sure they enjoy the fact that somebody they watched on TV or a show they like is spending time with them. And it's really me who's enjoying the fact that these are the people who were supporting the show. And I just have such gratitude for the support and that kind of reflection about the work that I really cared about.Had it gone on, where do you see the character going?

Burgi: Wow. Had it gone on? I could see him actually getting fed up with society and the struggle and trying to deal with the insanity of humanity. And I could see him spending some protracted periods in the wilderness, and maybe even going back to Peru or Canada and living closer to the earth. Hopefully somewhere with some good surf.

Garett, what about your character? Where do you think he'd be?

Maggart: Well, I think I'd become a secret-ops guy. I'd leave the academia behind and I'd shave my head and become a Navy SEAL and try to live the life that Jim Ellison lived for a while. See what it was like in his shoes.What do you remember about the first season of the show?

Maggart: Boy, that was 10 years ago. I was a completely different person. Since you weren't asked to do commentary for the DVD, here's your chance to say what you would have said.

Maggart: Oh, boy. "Enjoy." I'd have to watch them again to have a running dialogue, but other than just, "Enjoy and have fun," I don't think I could think of anything else right now. I was just a young excited actor, and I was happy to be there, and I hope it comes out on film. I hope you can enjoy it and relive some of the fun that you had when you first saw it.Are you still recognized from the show?

Maggart: Most of the time it's "Did we go to high school together?" Because I've cut my hair; I don't have the long hair anymore. But when I do get recognized, it's for the show. Do you still have contact with the fans?

Maggart: They're always asking me when [the DVD is] going to come out, but they always know more than I do, to tell you the truth. In fact, they were the ones that told me that it's now coming out. So yeah, I stay in touch through the charity events.How do you feel about your association with the show now, when you look back on it?

Maggart: Of course, I have fond feelings about it. It was a great time. It was a huge part of my life. It's not something I want to get rid of. I don't think I was typecast from it or anything. I don't have any negative memories at all. It was a wonderful experience, and I don't regret a moment of it. And I don't mind going back and talking about it.