“You know what you are?”offered my writing partner Paul in a moment of clarity. “You are a dandy.” A dandy? Really? Just because I have two pairs of suit for every day of the week, a tie for every day of the month, and a clufflink collection to rival the average person’s dvd library? Okay, granted, I’m probably the only guy in Vancouver who goes to work in a three-piece suit and tie but that’s the point, isn’t it? Nobody is going to buy a slovenly dressed villain. Oooooh. Look at him in the Tommy Bahama shirt and flip flops. Soooo scaaaaary. Whereas my fellow co-workers prefer to go with a more laid-back wardrobe, some, who will remain nameless (Martin Wood and Dan Shea), even going so far as to wear shorts 365 days of the year, I personally enjoy the icy formality of a nicely tailored suit, French cuff shirt, and vibrant tie. Which brings me to tomorrow’s fan demonstration (weather’s not looking too good right now but hopefully it won’t be raining on the bagpipes) outside the Bridge Studios. What to wear? What to wear? I’m thinking of going three piece, black natch, possibly the scorpion cufflinks, but not sure about the shirt and, most important of all, the tie. I’m going to need something appropriately bad-ass. Here, take a peek at selection. Help me decide.
Watched Joe on dailies today doing the wire stunts and taking one heck of a beating. What a trooper. Also ran into Jason today and he told me he loved Reunion, has been jotting down notes, and is looking forward to the read-through. I put out the outline of the first part of the mid-season two-parter, an episode Carl Binder is particularly forward to. And speaking of Carl, he was in my office this morning discussing his early back half story (which I personally covet) that is going to be a blast (pending actor availability of course). Martin was at home today working on a first draft of his script (a follow-up to what I thought was his best script of season 3) while Alan worked on his final pass on Tabula Rasa (Lorne fans take note). Paul, meanwhile, was on set overseeing “the grisly procedure”. Just not sure how much of it we’ll be able to show but, according to Paul, MastersFX did a typically brilliant job.
Did manage to swing by Taz Comics today and, while I wasn’t able to replace the Venom bust I lost yesterday, I did pick up an even cooler Classic Venom sculpted by Ryan Trificana. Fearsome, no? Speaking of fearsome, I finished World War Z the other day (and on crazymom’s suggestion, will be picking up a copy of The Zombie Survival Guide this weekend) and started on Robert J. Sawyer’s Hominids yesterday. It’s a little over four hundred pages but a very quick read. I should be done tonight and moving on to Mr. Thundermug tomorrow. Nothing says fun like a talking baboon protagonist.
Checking the mailbag –
Peter writes: “How CGI-extensive are Adrift and Lifeline? Are we going to get more First Strike-style eye candy or will it focus more on the characters’ struggle to survive? Or both?:
Answer: They are both big episodes, offering much in the way of eye candy visual effects, character moments, and major revelations.
Anonymous #1 writes: “What kind of camera do you use to take your pics?”
Answer: I use a Sony 1080 Full HD 1080
Rozey writes: “Do you still have ice cream parties?”
Answer: No, but I do plan on serving ice cream at my Second Annual Chocolate Party.
Arctic Goddess writes: “Have you always wanted to be a writer? How did you get started? Did anyone help you along the way? Were you ever mentored? Did you ever do any writing that you absolutely despised to pay the bills? Are you coming to my Fan Party? How many years have you been a writer?”
Answers: I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was in elementary school. I got started by simply writing and writing and writing. No one helped me along the way (aside from friends who offered me feedback). I worked for an animation studio for several years as their in-house writer and, occasionally, I would have to write for certain children’s shows that made me want to claw my eyes out. Maybe. Many, many years.
J writes: “1) In the Joe and Paul profile on the dvds, Paul looks extremely tall How tall is he? 2) Has anyone ever mentioned to him that he bears a resemblence to Billy Beane, the GM of the Oakland Athletics?”
Answer: 1) I think he’s about 6”2 but he claims he’s 7”4. 2) Carl has started circulating a pic of Billy Beane (aka Paul Mullie). See what you’ve started?
Watcher652 writes: “Before you had a blog, did you write restaurant reviews just for yourself to keep track? Or did you keep them all in your head? […] Were you always a foodie? Is there a food that you used to dislike as a child but later as an adult realized that it was pretty good?”
Answer: I didn’t begin writing restaurant reviews until I started this blog which was originally envisioned as a travel/food blog detailing our trip to Asia. I have always been a foodie and if I had to name a particular food that I disliked as a child but later grew to appreciate it would probably be peanut butter.
Alipeeps writes: “As a fan of comics etc, what were your thoughts on the X-Men movies? Did you enjoy Singer’s reimagining of the X-Men universe? Any thoughts on the different direction of the third installment?”
Answer: I thought the first X-Men movie was alright but was not a big fan of the second one. I skipped the third.
Dori writes: “Just a question about Montreal. What’s your favorite restaurant there?”
Answer: Au Pied de Cochon. Check out my December 28, 2006 post.
Prior_of_the_Ori writes: “I was curious and wanted to ask if there were any Goa’uld System Lords that you wished you could have explored more, (e.g Yu, Bastet, Olukun etc etc)?”
Answer: I as always a fan of Yu because, unlike the other goa’uld, he possessed a sense of honor.
Mel writes: “How often do you guys get letters or comments from angry fans who don’t like what you guys are doing with the show(s)? Personally, I’d find hate-mail quite frightening.”
Answer: Roughly, oh, every day. It’s always nice to hear from the fans.
Nathaniel writes: “Any chance that you can get a special order of Joe Mallozzi Action figures made up by Diamond so you can add one to your wall of villians, since you seem to be a villian to so many?”
Answer: I wanted to get action figures of the entire writing department and did look into it but it turned out to be prohibitively expensive. I thought my fig could have come with foie gras poutine variant.
Zabadoo writes: “Is Dan Shea going to move over to Atlantis now that SG-1 is gone? Will we ever see anymore of Kolya?”
Answer: Siler will not be making the move to Atlantis but will be putting in an appearance in Continuum. As for Kolya…stranger things have happened.
So, if you are going with the evil look, 3 piece black suit of course and for a tie, I would recomend something dark with red… what about from the first pic, the 2nd one on the 2nd row (left to right) or the 5th one on the last row (left to right) of the 2nd pic. Oh and don’t forget the cat that you got as a present from a fan. Good luck and take care, we want you back tomorrow.
Joe,
That is an awesome Venom statue!!! Got to love the classic look. What do you think he will look like on the big screen? I think Topher Grace can probably pull it off.
I was wondering, are you a big fan of BBQ? What i mean is the southern stuff that is served with cole slaw on the side. Normally sometime of chopped meat (pork, beef, chicken, or turkey) that is smothered in sauce and served on bun. Are there such places where you are at that serve this??
Thanks.
Blaine
Mr. Mallozzi,
If a fan, like myself, wants to share an idea or two concerning the creation of a future episode for season 5 of SGA, where might he send a draft of the brainstorm. I mean I’m sure you would be at least interested in skimming through the work of serious fan who would like to contribute on his own way; and who knows just probably might like it and would want to buy the copyright 🙂
Your Moroccan fan
You should wear the tie with the flowers. The big flowers. (This is me grinning.)
Damn, everyday I get more excited about Season 4! At this rate, I’ll probably have a heart-attack by…June 4th? Seems about right.
Ok, since you guys doesn’t seem to mind critiquing each other, would you mind telling us your favorite script from each writer over the years?
And if that won’t do, I’ll ask my old question. Do you ever visit the thread at Gateworld that talks about your blog?
Wear the one in the bottom left-hand quarter of the first tie photo. It looks very evil-royalty.
Also, I just wanted to thank you (and your fellow writers) for the series finale of Stargate SG-1. I started watching the show when I was going through the hardest period of my life, and it kept me sane. I felt that you closed the series with something I found emotionally satisfying and absolutely wonderful, and for that I thank you.
Mel writes: “How often do you guys get letters or comments from angry fans who don’t like what you guys are doing with the show(s)? Personally, I’d find hate-mail quite frightening.”
joe m.: Roughly, oh, every day. It’s always nice to hear from the fans.
but you do get nice/complimentary letters too, right? (please say yes)
sally 🙂
That navy/blue paisley tie near the top looks like it would make a strong statement, but I’m not sure it would it would rise to the badass level. The red one would be more in that category, I think.
If I was a guy, I would definitely have a tie collection like that! As it is I have about 110 pairs of earrings at last count. When I travel, it takes me longer to decide which earrings to pack than which clothes. My husband only wears a tie about three times a year, so he has about three ties. Very nice ones, but it’s not like he’ll ever wear them out.
Let us know what you think of the Zombie Survival Guide. GeekBoy is deep into The Count of Monte Cristo at the moment, strangely enough. Whatever they’re paying his English teacher, it’s not nearly enough.
You were kidding when you said you were shipping Sam with Sheppard right?
Please tell me you were kidding.
Hey JM, great choice on the Zombie Survival Guide, I have a copy myself and really you can’t go wrong. Just picture the lemmings as the zombies and you as the lone soldier fighting for your right to write. 😀
On a more serious note, I also recommend reading I Am Legend by Matheson if you haven’t yet. He created the first zombies—albeit he called it vampirism. But pretty much any zombie film to date is based on Matheson’s I AM LEGEND. Which reminds me, there is a remake of Omega Man (I Am Legend rendition done with Charleton Heston in the 60s)—with Will Smith, I think in late 2007. Might be something to look forward too–or really, I’m looking forward to it!
Then when you’re done reading that, just read ALL of Matheson’s book—no horror novelist would have made their mark without Matheson, in my book.
As for X-Men can’t blame you, when I saw what they did to Storm, I was like—shame!!
———————————
Thought I would ask this again…
1) Why did you choose John to be in the Air Force rather than any other military division?
2) Would John’s father be in the Air Force too, or another division? Would we find out in S4? You can 8 ball me.
^_^
Hi Joe!
Pleeeese bring back Kolya! Don’t just tease us with that! The antagonism between Shep and Kolya is brilliant.
Black suit for the villian, definitely. And the silver tie (4th down on the left in the top pic, I think). Classic chic baddie, there.
Lauriel
Hey Joe!
I think, if you’re going for a truly villainous look, you should go for a sort of venetian red, with maybe a vine pattern print, as an accent to your sweet black number.
Do you also have a cane or walking stick with a serpent’s head at the top? And if you could maybe employ one of your colleagues’ young ones to act as your minion for the day, that would top it all off rather nicely.
“And speaking of Carl, he was in my office this morning discussing his early back half story (which I personally covet) that is going to be a blast (pending actor availability of course).”
Can you tell us if the actor in question was a member of SG-1? Please be Daniel, please be Daniel, please be Daniel….
As for Kolya…stranger things have happened.
‘Cause no one ever really dies in sci-fi, right? (Actually, I’d like to see Kolya again. For some reason, it wasn’t until Irresponsible that I really went, “Wow, he’s a scary villain.” Maybe it was just a look he had.)
Nice new Venom. Very pretty.
I’d recommend a red shirt, a nice crimson, maybe. And a gold tie, perhaps. But what do I know about menswear? Especially evil menswear. If I can’t suggest a black spandex bodysuit or flowing black robes, I’m afraid I’m not much use.
There’ll be bagpipes? Aw, now I kinda want to watch. 🙁
So, apparently you haven’t been liking my questions lately, so you’re not likely to care for this any more, but…re: “200”, the Oz segment. Who decided who was who? Sure, Mitchell makes sense as the Scarecrow (although that part truly belongs to O’Neill), but Teal’c as the Tin Woodman and Daniel as the Lion? Nonono. The Lion was the brave one, the fighter, so very Teal’c, while the Woodman was the caring, gentle one, which fits Daniel far better. Much as I adored that segment, as a big Oz fan, the casting sort of irked me.
Has Sci Fi approach you guys with plans to do another behind-the-scenes for the new season? I have always enjoy their “inside” stuff right before the season premiere.
How many episodes do you guys now have planned out, Joe? And how long can you hold off writing episodes without knowing about season five?
TT
I just wanted to say thank you for doing this blog! For a lack of a better word, it’s cool that we can communicate with one of the writers from our favorite shows. Just another reason why I love Stargate!
Thought for the day: Everything’s better with bacon.
Also: Have fun with the demonstration/protest on Thursday. You fein disinterested casualness, but we know better. A producer has gotta love that some fans are that passionate about a character and a show.
What do the guys on your team like to read?
Just throwing it out there again. Any idea how many eps Torri will be in? Please say it’s at least half the season. Preferably 14 eps like Amanda.
I can handle both of them, but losing Weir and having Carter there instead would leave such a huge gap. We love our civilian leader!
You won’t be disappointed with Sawyer’s Hominids. I immediately picked up volumes two and three and blew through them, too.
BTW, he’s got a blog on blogspot, too, and it’s really a worthwhile read a lot of the time:
Robert J. Sawyer’s blog
Love the ties! I vote for the purple one in the second picture all the way to the left, don’t remember which row. I think it would complete the bad-ass look. The black suit sounds wonderful.
Hi Joe!
Perhaps you should take one of your babies with you to the peaceful demo?…since you don’t have a fluffy white cat. Hold him in your arms, with matching suit and tie, and perhaps have your head shaved? Very Bond villainesque, don’t you think?
You do realise you’re driving me insane with all your little bits and pieces of info on SGA season 4? I’m loving every minute of it, of course, though it’s possible by the airing date, I may well have imploded…
talking of airing dates…I don’t suppose you have any idea when SciFi channel will grace its airing schedule with season 4? I know we’ve been told the ‘fall’, but that’s any time from September to November. Can you offer any insight as to when it may be? It’s not like I’m counting down the days painfully or anything… As I’ve said before, here in the UK season 3 has finished now, and I’m already getting desperate for the episodes!!!!
Hmmm… appropriately evil ties. Well, the silvery thin stripe in the top picture (3rd row down, 4th from the left) would look classically evil with the all black “Evil Overlord” suit but for sheer malevolence, I think I’d have to recommend the rich, deep red from the same picture (2nd row down, 2nd from left). Just the right combination of dashing yet dastardly.. 🙂
Soooo… wire stunts and a “grisly procedure”, eh? Your working week sounds such fun! 🙂 I must admit, you have me terribly intruiged now.. what ep are you filming that offers such sundry delights?
shawna asked “re: “200”, the Oz segment. Who decided who was who? Sure, Mitchell makes sense as the Scarecrow (although that part truly belongs to O’Neill), but Teal’c as the Tin Woodman and Daniel as the Lion? Nonono. The Lion was the brave one, the fighter, so very Teal’c, while the Woodman was the caring, gentle one, which fits Daniel far better. Much as I adored that segment, as a big Oz fan, the casting sort of irked me.”
The Lion thought he needed courage yet he was already very courageous hence Daniel, who is always more courageous than he would give himself credit, is the lion.
The Tinman thought he was a warrior in need of a heart yet he already had a wonderful heart underneath his shiny metal exterior; Teal’c comes across as being a big tough warrior but has a big heart.
It is not the number of ties that make a dandy, but the style of tie. You sir, are a dandy. Not a proper one, of course; you could have cravats.
Dark red or purple for the villainous look, oh yes.
And the mention of Kolya prompts me to ask, who is your favourite SGA bad guy? Kolya was the only one who gave me real chills, especially in Common Ground. That guy was awesome.
A bit confused here, is it the Evil Genius look you’re going for or the Pimp-Daddy look with a hint of Godfather? lol
I wonder what would happen if the Wraith met the Ori….
Question: will be be seeing any more of Mitch Pileggi in season 4?
*now repeat after me, I must remember to take my meds* ROTFL
I’m with Carolina and Blaine. You really need to go classic: black suit, red tie. (Of course, by the time you’re reading this, you’ve already picked out the outfit.) Please have someone take a picture.
And I’m also curious about your take on barbecue. If you ever find yourself in Kansas City (don’t laugh), then you have to go to Gates.
Remember. Pictures. We want pictures!
You’ve already moved on to the second book you bought? You read almost as fast as I do!
As to Heinlein, if you enjoyed The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, You’ll enjoy the one you picked up. May I recommend his Friday? It’s about a genetically engineered spy trying to survive in future North America after the political fragmention of the US and Canada. I’ve always thought it would make a cool movie — action, adventure, explosions, sex — and that Angelina Jolie would be cast as the lead.
Good luck with the Scottish people today. Be patient with them, they are in mourning.Though I’m not sure how patient I’d be if I had to listen to bagpipes for an extended period of time.
You should wear a black pin striped suit with a black shirt and a white tie… a machine gun optional.. And you should assume a New York City accent.. you know like the Godfather.. Of course you will be facing the Scots so you probably won’t have a chance anyway… They’re a tough bunch..
That restuarant in Montreal Does the name mean Foot of the Pig?
Dori
Great tie collection Joe, but you might want to show a little solidarity with the Scots and go with a nice blue one. Just a suggestion.
And my techie son says that Tommy Bahama shirts and flip flops distinguish the executives from the cubicle dwellers at the tech company where he works.
Have fun today. Can’t wait to see the video.
I’m sitting here on a hot autumn night in Australia .. 32 degrees at 11.30pm, just to make you Canadians and Americans jealous… watching Aurora.
There’s some brilliant stuff from Torri with Mitch, Joe, Jason an David H. She just has wonderful chemistry with all of them.
My questions are these:
1) Are you closer to getting a number of episodes that Torri will be in?
2) Will we be seeing Weir in the second half of the season?
3) Is there a chance Torri will still be in the opening credits? Because it just wouldn’t be the same without her there.
4) Were Cooper and Wright involved in the decision to reduce her, or was this a Mullie and Mallozzi decision, where you just don’t like/can’t write for the character?
Also, I believe Torri’s working this week. Can you tell her that we love her work and will miss her when her screen time is cut back to … God knows what.
Hi Joe,
Do you know if Torri liked the flowers we sent to her on Monday?
Thanks!
Suz
Hiya Joe,
Will the Goa’uld remain as a threat in the Stargate universe even after the movies? Say like in the third series or if more SG-1 movies are made? Also, any chance of seeing the crashed Wraith cruiser again in Atlantis?
And an unrelated SG question after seeing the Venom thing; are you going to watch the coming Spider-man 3 movie?
Thanks again Joe!
You seem to approach the topic of angry fans (ie hate mail, save carson stuff) with a bit of humour. But, it must get creepy sometimes! Was there ever a moment where you thought someone went too far?
Are Sam and Jack ever going to get together?
Which do you dislike more Irresistable or Irresponsible?
Hey Joe!
Quick question for you.
When should fans expect to start seeing promotional pictures for Season 4? I’m thinking July-ish. Am I right?
I know we haven’t even gotten the second half of Season 3 here in the States *grumble* *grumble* so this might seem a bit premature…but then again, you all are already working on Season 4 so maybe not.
Oh and also (because I actually remembered this before clicking on PUBLISH this time), does Keller have a first name yet?
Thank you!
Mary Beth 🙂
Hi Joe….I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the news you have given us about Shep/Joe – we are not used to him getting much of a mention (epecially on the DVD commentaries etc) and hope that s4 turns out to be the season where all that changes. He is much loved and appreciated and it is nice to know that TPTB appreciate him too!
Joe F. said in his foreword for the Season 1 Atlantis Companion that he likes going to visit the writers and production offices, because the food is better. Is that true, and is it because you demand a better quality of food because you’re such a connoisseur of it?
3 piece suits are great! Well, suits are great though I uh don’t have that many clothes… but my job does require me to look a bit more respectable. I like suits because it’s easier to go to job interviews without looking suspicious.
Uh, Martin W does indeed look good in shorts though I was extremely amused when I saw shirtles “promo” shots of him in Gateworld last year. Perhaps he should be persuaded to pose for the men of sci-fi calendar!
Ooh, woo hoo to Shep/Carter. No seriously. Why not?
Q: Do you ever bring your dogs to work? Do the other crew and cast members do as well? Do the dogs all hang around and get lucky???
dear joe,
what is your favorite episode of sga from a viewer’s perspective, in the sense that you would have to put yourself in our shoes and why? Mine is the siege part 1-3 and The Tower.
Molson
Joe,
Rumors are circulating that BSG’s increased order to a full season means that it’s done after season four. Jamie Bamber himself has also indicated that season four will probably be it, apparently. Does what happens with BSG impact Skiffy’s decision with regards to Atlantis? Is it a bad sign that BSG is probably done, or does it offer more hope for a SGA season five?
Joe,
I’m a concordia student currently attending my before last semester in civil engineering, I wanted to ask you if you ever were planning in coming back to your hometown and give a seminar on your experience working with Stargate… the pros and cons in such a job..etc. I know its an awkward question but our vips so far coming to our university were all boring and quite frankly politically orientated, so i was wondering, before i graduate, to experience a fun and interesting seminar especially with one of fathers of my favorite tv show.
thanks,
your montreal fan
I’ve heard the Pipe Band event organized by the SaveCarsonBeckett.com folk was a rousing success, despite pouring rain. Will you be elaborating on the event, from your point of view, in your next blog entry?
hi, joe,
i know you didn’t write ‘unending’, but i’m curious if you can answer a question for me.
i *love* the song ‘have you ever seen the rain’ by ccr, and i’m VERY curious on why rob used this song. did he want to use a rock ballad originally, or was he just going to use some music (possibly sam’s cello music), or… did he hear the song just before filming the ep, and decided the words and/or music would fit so well for the moment/scene?
(btw, i’m listening to this song right now.)
sally 🙂
Wonder what Joe is doing on wire?
Robert J. Sawyer is one of my favorite authors. Have you read any of his other works?
My fave books by him are Flashforward, Frameshift and The Quintaglios Series.
That was nice to see you to day !! We hope to see you in a french Convention !
Will there be an ascension in season 4?
Are you guys working on bringing new ship designs for season 4?
Joe,
Will Elizabeth die, if so can you make here ascend…. how bout making an episode based on sonny whitelaw’s book exogenesis.
thanks
Ditto on Suzotchka’s question.
We know they got there, can you make sure they got to Miss Torri herself?
I almost forgot…
Happy Anniversary
“I thought the first X-Men movie was alright but was not a big fan of the second one. I skipped the third.”
This may be the first time I’ve ever agreed with you on something! Everyone seems to think the second X-Men movie was far and away the best, but I really didn’t care for it all that much. I highly enjoyed the first one, though. And you didn’t miss anything at all by skipping the third one–it was absolute crap. I wish I’d skipped it.
“Watched Joe on dailies today doing the wire stunts and taking one heck of a beating. What a trooper.”
Which episode is this for? I read that you were going to produce Doppelganger, The Seer, and Travelers first. Has that changed?
Thanks 🙂