Well, Happy Valentines Day. And, coincidentally, Happy Ferris Wheel Day. While I won’t be riding any Ferris wheels today (or any other day for that matter), I will be celebrating Valentines with dinner at one of Vancouver’s finest French restaurants: Le Crocodile. Fondy loves their skate wing with beurre noisette but, since the special Valentines menu is in effect, I very much doubt they’ll be offering it tonight. Also, as much as we love skate – usually pan-fried then finished in the oven with caper butter – it isn’t exactly a popular fish. When I swung by the local fish market to pick some up last week, I was informed that they rarely carried it. According to the frowning woman behind the counter: “it’s one of those fish you end up accidentally catching when you’re out fishing for something else”. So, any skate wing enthusiasts out there?
Well, busy, busy, busy day today. My biggest accomplishment was, of course, finalizing the menu for the Atlantis season four cast dinner. I made a special request for the squash-stuffed agnolotti with black truffle butter. Antipasto, starters, four mains to choose from including a filet of beef cordon rouge, and two desserts: the pear beignet for the fruit-inclined, and the tiramisu. John N. Smith presided over the wine selection which is pretty much anyone else‘s area of expertise but mine. I‘m more of a grape soda guy.
Fondy picked up a steamer about a month ago and, last night, it went from expensive stove top decorative piece to actual kitchen implement. Fondy made a delicious steamed sea bass with soy, ginger, garlic, and green onions. We also made our own version of sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke) soup which we finished with a little cream and some white truffle oil. I had three bowls. And, yes, felt sick afterwards.
Speaking of which…
Anonymous #1 writes: “How do you people not weight 500 pounds each with all the food you seem to eat?”
Answer: Modest portions, cardio, weights – and our script supervisor Alex’s home lipo kit.
Desiree writes: “If you were told you could change ANYTHING in the SG1 universe OR the Atlantis ‘verse what would it be? And if you could cross over SG1 and/or Atlantis with ANY SHOW, what would it be and why?”
Answer: Well, it’s no secret I’ve never been a fan of metaphysical “developments” (read: hoo ha) and omnipotent beings. In my best Homer Simpson: “Oma Dessala, you’re cut. Ancients, you’re cut. Everybody else made the team!” Beat. “Except you, you, and you. You’re cut.” As for a possible crossover – the Atlantis team joins forces with the Doctor to battle a wraith-cyber men alliance.
SGEureka: “In “Bounty”, was Mitchell’s falling off the chair an accident, or were Ben Browder and the others just that great actors?”
Answer: That was great acting. Ben did various versions on the day, literally falling all over himself.
SpArky writes: “Oh have you seen the Belgian dvd boxes of Stargate sg1/atlantis?”
Answer: They’re the nicest looking box sets I’ve seen.
Anonymous #2 writes: “Is there any chance of Amanda Tapping ending up on the new third Stargate series?”
Answer: Whoa, whoa, whoa. We’re getting way ahead of ourselves. That said, I’m sure it’s possible for any member of SG-1 or the Atlantis expedition to put in an appearance in the third series – whenever that happens.
Nyktelios writes: “Is there any chance for season 4 of Atlantis to be more character driven?”
Answer: Yes. We’ve made it a point to give each of our main players their own character-centered episode along with a number of team-centered stories in the first ten.
Mirjam writes: “Regarding season 4 of SGA, will we get more of Sheppard’s backstory?”
Answer: This is something we want to do and are trying to come up with a story that will focus on Sheppard’s life prior to his joining the Atlantis expedition. A number of ideas floating around but nothing has really gelled yet.
G writes: “I’ve also been wondering whether any of the hints you incorporated into that rhyme you posted in your blog last year relate to what happens to Weir during S4?”
Answer: The rhyme alludes to each of the episodes in the back half of season 3 and many of the episodes we have in store for season 4. Once new episodes finally begin airing on SciFi, I’ll reveal the meaning behind the various clues. By process of elimination, you should be able to figure out more of the hints as season 3 progresses.
Anonymous #3 writes: “So have we found any storylines for Ronan this season? Has he got one episode maybe so that Jason can show off them acting skills like he did in Sateda?”
Answer: Yup, just finished one.
Carolina writes: “Joe, I have to ask this… Are you always so well dressed?”
Answer: Since no one else dresses up around here, I make it a point to do so. Just in case company drops by. Suits, dress shoes, ties. I’m partial to French cuffs.
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