Fans of SG-1 and Atlantis may be excused for not realizing that SciFi intends to air the back halves of both shows this year. A recent ad that aired on NBC showcased the 2007 SciFi line-up – shows like Battlestar, Eureka, Dresden Files, Painkiller Jane. That is all.
Hmmm.
Which reminds me of a funny story from the Strange But True files. Years ago, I was working on a show, and one of the producers couldn’t understand why the network wasn’t doing more to promote the series. He picked up the phone and put the question to one of the execs who replied: “The problem is we need to give our marketing department something they can get excited about.” I kid you not. Apparently, their weekly paycheck wasn’t enough of a motivation. They needed a bigger buzz. Who knows how many years of service had immured them to the once simple delights of going to work and, well, working; the satisfaction of a job well-done (although, to be perfectly honest, we would have settled for “just plain done“). I suggested making a game of it, sending the entire marketing department on a scavenger hunt in which they would have to piece together the clues that would ultimately reveal the identity of the show that needed promoting. Or maybe some sort of arts and craft project involving colorful construction paper, silver tinsel, and those plastic rounded scissors kindergarteners use. Alas, my suggestions were roundly rejected. In the end, what our producer referred to as the network’s “volunteer marketing department” never did get keyed up enough to bother with the show and it was eventually cancelled. In retrospect, we really should have gone with the scavenger hunt.
Went into the office today and caught up with Brad, Robert, and a still very green Martin Gero who, despite his fragile constitution, managed to force down two slices of greasy pepperoni pizza before being overwhelmed by the nausea that forced him to head home early. We watched a Day 1 mix of Unending. A great season-ender (I’d say series ender but, really, that’s up to the fans. So long as they keep supporting the DVD’s, the longer we’ll keep telling stories) that offers some truly poignant moments and finally offers up some major satisfaction for members of “that” fan contingent. We also watched a Day 2 mix of Vengeance. Joel did a great job on the score. It is, without a doubt, the best monster movie we’ve ever done on Stargate.
Tonight, we had dinner at Octopus Garden, a tiny Japanese restaurant in Kits. We started with the spicy tuna sashimi, fresh albacore in a pleasant but not too spicy sauce served in a hollowed-out orange. I followed with a nice lobster miso soup while Fondy went with a mixed salad. My sushi followed: Isobe Age (a tempura seaweed roll with squid, green bean, and cod roe), and one of this evening’s specials, a flounder (hirame) sushi. While the flounder was incredibly fresh and delicate, with a sweet and subtle flavor, I wasn’t won over by the Isobe Age’s marriage of green bean and squid. Fondy’s spicy tuna roll was excellent however. She also had the Pavarotti – stir fried udon noodles with sundried tomatoes, garlic, and chicken. She everything but the chicken. We ended our meal with two sour gummy octopi that accompanied the bill.
Finally, congratulations to fellow Student Bodies alumnus Leonard Dick who penned tonight’s episode of House. Great script and a fine end to the David Morse arc. Hey, is it just me or does David Morse remind you SG-1’s Gary Jones?
Nice to see a restaurant that is not mean with the Wabasbi!
Interesting serving dishes too.
**We watched a Day 1 mix of Unending. A great season-ender (I’d say series ender but, really, that’s up to the fans. So long as they keep supporting the DVD’s, the longer we’ll keep telling stories) that offers some truly poignant moments and finally offers up some major satisfaction for members of “that” fan contingent.**
OMG, OMG Makepeace is coming back and he’s been exhonerated cause it’s revealed he was working deep under cover in Shades of Grey. I just knew if I held on long enough and just kept hoping and posting and…What?
That’s not what you meant? * big dejected sigh*. Oh well. I’ll still keep watching and hoping.
**We also watched a Day 2 mix of Vengeance. Joel did a great job on the score. It is, without a doubt, the best monster movie we’ve ever done on Stargate.**
That’s so funny because I just watched a movie on Scifi the other day called ‘The Dark’ about a creature that lives underground in cemetarys, eats dead bodies and secretes this spit that has healing properties. It was written by RCC. Whom btw showed great prophetic vision with that storyline where he knows it or not.
Those like myself who have Type2 diabetes are reaping the benefits of an amazing medicine called Byetta that is derived from the spit of a certain type of lizard. So you could say it has healing properties that helps the human body. My Nephew, being a huge Stargate fan just like me, refers to this injectable medication as ‘Aunt Marla’s Tretonon’.
Can’t wait to see the back half of season 10.
Great to hear that you guys are hoping for more SG-1 movies. I bet you’d move a lot more DVDs if Richard Dean Anderson was in them. Everybody loves Jack!!
Sushi?! Oh god! Are you trying to kill me? Oh, great, I want sushi now (and it’s 1.40am…)! ^^”
Oh, and the “monster movie part” about Vengeance sounds interesting. Now I’m really curious.
Jack would be awesome! Can you tell us if he’s in the movies, Joe? It wouldn’t be the same if he wasn’t. Sam needs a little love!
Joe,
I realize that, as a show producer, you can’t really show the TV channel that’s still airing your show(s) a certain finger, but this post of yours just seems to confirm what I strongly sensed a little while back and expressed in this post.
My thoughts, very similar to yours, regarding SciFi channel’s complete omission of either Stargate show in their promos, are at the end of my post.
As far as I’m concerned, I’ll take direct-to-DVD distribution over ignorant TV network "brass" tyranny any time of the week…. and I promise I will record their "live performance" of shooting themselves in the foot… if anybody just lets me know what channel that will be on and when, just so that I can program my DVR properly…
I did have a laugh about your trip down the marketing memory lane and your ingenious solution of the scavenger hunt. First year we did “Hercules, the Legendary Journeys”, the Universal marketing/publicity department didn’t do a thing to help publicize the show — they waited until it was a bonafied hit before they came knocking. Luckily, I had a friend who was connected to some topnotch magazines who wanted to write some articles and I introduced him to all the major producers. The producers liked his articles so much that when marketing and publicity tried to take over and push my friend way down the list of contacts, all the producers went around them and kept feeding him articles. It was a great lesson in ‘when you don’t need them, there they are but when you do, they are nowhere to be found.
To anonymous who said that EVERYBODY LOVES JACK. Speak for yourself. O’Neill is my LEAST character on the show, I don’t like RDA and the current storyline without him is absolutely great for me. Joe, keep it this way, please 🙂
BTW, are Vala/Daniel shippers are going to be mad or happy after “Unending”?