Yesterday, we bore witness to a true Easter miracle when, prepared to head out for a crappy Chinese buffet dinner, we received word that our host had been felled by a suspect Church potluck potato salad and that our dinner plans had been cancelled. And so, instead of chicken balls and lukewarm egg rolls, we enjoyed a home made feast compliments of my mother-in-law: roast soy chicken, stir-fried beef with broccoli, and shrimp and bok choy. While my sister-in-law’s husband attempted a textbook lecture on the rules of no-stakes Texas Hold ‘Em for all those interested (“I have two pair. You have three of a kind. So the winner is…Mr. Tam. That’s a point for you.”), I caught up on my blog. Somewhere between the completion of yesterday’s Q&A and the frantic drive home to catch the season premiere of The Sopranos, panic of another sort began to set in. Apparently, the script elves have abandoned me as no progress has been made on the first part of the mid-season two-parter since Tuesday’s creative outburst. I stalled out on page twenty-five – not so coincidentally, the scene in which the team seeks the explanation to a stunning revelation. This, of course, would be followed by the scene in which the team privately comes to term with said revelation. Tough, tough scenes in which I have to reveal…
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
…not only fact A and fact B, but the how’s and why’s of B which ultimately segue into A’s uncertain relationship with C and D’s ultimate fate. (I hope I haven’t given too much away.). As is often the case when I write, fear is a wonderful motivator and, after watching The Sopranos and returning to mom’s place to pack, I sat in front of the t.v. at 11:30 p.m. and wrote that bitch of a scene – three painstaking pages that set-up the next painstaking scene I’ve yet to get around to. Still, 28 pages and, once I’m past these two scenes, it’ll be smoooooth sailing. Until the top of Act IV when the team heads off to meet up with you-know-who. But I‘ve already said too much!
I woke up this morning and, with some time to spare between shower and smoked meat, I went over the scene I wrote last night. It will require a couple of more runs (in which I’ll print up the script and pace about reading it to myself, irritably mumbling away like some Bellevue outpatient, adjusting dialogue and description here and there before making the necessary changes on my laptop and moving on).
Lunch at Smoked Meat Pete’s was a bit of a disappointment as the meat proved more lean than regular, devoid of that glorious glistening fat that really makes this Montreal staple. The double-fried fries were very good, however, and more than made up for whatever cholesterol-reinforcing constituents the sandwich lacked. Still, as unimpressive as the smoked meat proved, it was downright heavenly compared to the “barbecued chicken” I sampled on the flight back. Boiled and then slathered in barbecue sauce, the chicken held a disturbingly medicinal flavor I couldn‘t place. It was either an intense rosemary or a hint of Pinesol.
Oh, and I keep forgetting something very important I’d been meaning to run by all of you. I really need to know. In your estimation, which of the following would you consider the worst movie title of 2007. I realize it‘s only April but, holy crap, it‘s going to be hard to compete with this early field:
The Last Mimzy
The Reapening
Disturbia
Please discuss.
Well, another hometown visit draws to an end as we return to Vancouver with fond memories of our trip, slight indigestion from the in-flight meal, and a pic of that accupuncture needle my mom fished out of her scalp.
And finally, get ready for a big season four announcement in the coming days. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday. And, no, it has nothing to do with me finally getting that Apocalypse statue for my office. I said “ a big season four announcement”, not a HUUUUGE one.
Mailbag –
Mel writes: “Your dogs snore, too? My dog did that (we had to put her down a couple years ago)”
Answer: Uh, I hope that wasn’t the reason you put her down.
Smiley Face06 writes: “ How good are you at using chopsticks?”
Answer: I’m a little on the excellent side.
Propagandor writes: “I’m pretty sure that nanovirus was the work of the Asurans, because 1) They use nano tech, 2) They hate humans and 3) they are unable to hurt Ancients (people with the Ancient Gene count as ancients as far as the virus goes I think)”
Answer: Bingo. And brilliant.
Vikitty writes: “Speaking of chibis (and anime), have you ever watched Serial Experiments Lain or Noir?”
Answer: I liked Lain a lot and Noir is among my top five favorite anime series of all time. I even own the soundtrack.
Pattirose 4 writes: “Curious about the signage comment and was wondering about franchise signs in Quebec. Please don’t tell me they have Le McDonalds and Monsieur Timmies?? Le Donut?”
Answer: Not in the case of McDonalds but many other cases, yes. They employ language inspectors to ensure businesses keep a lid on English, following up on all complaints. I worked for a company that produced English-language animation for the international market and we faced a “language audit” because someone complained to that our internal office correspondence was in English as opposed to the legally-required French. There was a pretty infamous incident many years ago involving a language inspector’s investigation of a unilingual pet shop parrot. Seriously.
Jenny Robin writes: “I know it will be difficult for you, but I must leave you once again, this time for a trip to Michigan for work.”
Answer: Okay! Have a good trip! I don’t want you bringing me back anything! I’m serious this time. Unless there’s something you come across that positively screams “Joe!”.
Zabadoo writes: “Ever tried to get anyone from Lost on the show…”
Answer: Funny you should say that. Stay tuned.
Someday Scientist writes: “How do you feel about fanfiction?”
Answer: I think it’s great that fans love the show so much that they will actually produce their own stories based the series. That said, for legal reasons I’m unable to check out fan fiction. I hear some of it pretty good though.
Anonymous #1 writes: “That not so western replacement location that you mention- what is that place? I know you have used it a couple of times and I have always wondered what it is in real life.”
Answer: It’s a placed called Fantasy Gardens. As for what it is in real life – good question.
Prior_of_the_Ori writes: “Will we see Oberoth and Niam this next season? Also, will we see those Asurans who wish to ascend?”
Magic 8 Ball says: Outlook is good.
Ruffles writes: “Has SciFi given you any indication of how they intend to air S4? Will there still be a long mid-season break since they are starting it so late, or will it be more like BSG with a six week break?”
Answer: Last I heard, that was still to be decided.
Ruffles also writes: “Will Carter be given the ATA gene therapy?”
Answer: No plans to.
Benny writes: “Which of these past episodes is most likely gonna have a follow up in season 4: The Brotherhood ( for the Dagan ZPM) , Before I slept( for the three unexplored planets with potential ZPMs), The condemned ( The fate of the Olesians and their technology), The Hive ( Ford’s whereabouts and the Wraith Civil war), Aurora ( wraith weakness), Common ground ( the noble wraith), Mckay and Mrs. Miller ( project acturus).”
Answer: Those last two look pretty promising.
Linzi writes: “…I asked if Reunion will air 7th, as reported on a fan site recently, or will it air 3rd, as you previously posted.”
Answer: It will definitely air third.
Anonymous #2 writes: “I was wondering if you have any tips for getting through writers block?”
Answer: 1. Take a break. Read something. Watch t.v. Go for a walk. Then get back to whatever you’re working on. 2. Print up what you have so far and re-read it to get back into a rhythm. 3. Set it aside until a couple of days before the deadline. Let fear be your motivator.
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