If Lost and Gilligan’s Island have taught us anything, it’s that being stranded on a deserted island doesn’t have to be a miserable experience. Amidst the adventure, exploration, and occasional crazed gorilla or polar bear, there is also opportunity for some downtime activities like ping pong, musical theater, and, I can only assume, watching dvd’s. After all, if The Professor could make a pedal-powered washing machine, sewing machine, water pump, and telegraph in addition to a coconut shell battery charger and bamboo lie detector, then it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he could jerry-build a dvd player. And if he did and you found yourself dvd-less, wouldn’t you feel foolish?
Well, not me. In the event I ever end up stranded on a deserted island, I’ve compiled a list of the t.v. on dvd box sets I’m bringing along – just in case:
1. Arrested Development
2. Curb Your Enthusiasm
3. Get Smart
4. The Office (both versions)
5. Seinfeld
6. The Shield
7. The Simpsons
8. Six Feet Under
9. The Sopranos
10. South Park
I have yet to get around to Dexter and Rome, so this list may change before my next planned trip.
By the way, The Ark of Truth finished filming this week. Pics: Ivon shooting, DOP Pete Woeste backs up his director, Rob Cooper wonder where all the time has gone, Producer John Lenic on a very important call, Camera Operator Andy Wilson prepares to ride off into the sunset, and the FX Stage.
Q&A
Firefly827347 writes: “What’s your all-time favourite movie?”
Answer: Hard to say. Off the top of my head, some of my favorites include The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Reservoir Dogs, and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
Rozey79 writes: “Exactly how is the shooting schedule decided?”
Answer: Production concerns dictate the shooting schedule. Who will be available when and, more importantly, how long will it take the Art Department and Construction to build the necessary sets. For instance, in order to give them time to put together the wraith set for Reunion, which airs #3, we ended up shooting it much later in the schedule.
Majorsal writes: “I know you guys -makers of stargate- don’t have any control over scifi and their decisions, but is there any chance of the channel changing their minds and airing atlantis before the fall?”
Answer: Sorry. Again, that’s up to SciFi.
Anonymous #2 writes: “Quote: “Answer: Er, again, you mean they don’t go the way you expect” Er, again, wrong.”
Answer: Mmm, no. No. I’m right.
Anonymous #3 writes: “Bounty….Worst Episode Ever.”
Answer: Come on. Irresponsible and Emancipation were way worse!
Alipeeps writes: “Do you own any suits that aren’t black? Or is that simply not an option when one has a supervillain reputation to maintain?”
Answer: A couple of dark blues and several variations of black (pinstriped, patterned, etc.). I prefer the black when I’m on-camera though for the reason you mentioned.
Anonymous #2 also writes: “Perhaps my not being one of the “lemmings” you called many of the fans in an earlier post (name-calling indeed) you find it necessary to make unfounded statements to give the impression that something transpired that didn’t.”
Answer: Sure, that’s one possible way of looking at it. Or, one can look at the fact that I have posted plenty of negative posts in the past including your lengthy list of complaints, and assume I’m probably telling the truth on this one.
Jessica writes: “What was your opinion on the Goblet of Fire movie then or any of the HP movies in general?”
Answer: In nearly all cases, I prefer the book over the movies. Of the first few books in the series, however, Azkaban was my least favorite – but was my favorite of all the movies.
Boodle writes: “Do you think that Scifi wants to do away with all the Scifi Friday shows? Maybe they want to create a new identity for the channel?”
Answer: Given the fact that they’re developing Flash Gordon, I’d say they’re still very much into science fiction – in addition to speculative fiction in general (shows like Dresden Files and Eureka are great examples). As for a possible season five pick-up – I don’t think a decision will be made until after the back half of season three has aired in its entirety, which means there is plenty of time for those to climb.
Kelly writes: “I’m curious how episodes like The Road Not Taken and The Shroud get made alongside an episode like Bounty. They’re so different, so completely alien to each other.”
Answer: One of the great things about Stargate is its ability to tell a wide range of stories, offering us as writers the opportunity to script everything from the high-drama arc-driven episodes (like The Shroud) to lighter one-offs (like Bounty).
Ruffles writes: “As Executive Producer, what do you find to be the most difficult part of producing an ep?”
Answer: Probably having to sit through endless screenings of a given episode over the course of its production.
The 2nd Lily writes: “Joe, I have a cold. Any tricks you can recommend so that I can get writing done without being strung out on cold and flu tablets?”
Answer: A cold? Are you kidding? I’ve done some of my best writing in a fevered state.
Karen writes: “Given that there are twenty episodes shot, how many additional stories don’t make the cut beyond the idea/planning stage for various reasons?”
Answer: Maybe only a handful every season.
Anonymous #4 writes: “Which episode (that you’ve produced) has been frought with the most production hastles? Which one really turned out worse because of problems behind the cameras?”
Answer: Of the episodes I’ve produced? Not counting Irresponsible? Fourth Horseman I and II for the first question. Prodigy for the second.
Mary writes: “What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a meal?”
Answer: A lot. At a restaurant called Serena in Shinjuku, Japan where we had kobe beef for the first time.
Dee in South Africa writes: “All black all the time, or jeans and a tee-shirt when you’re not working?”
Answer: Usually chain mail and a plate helmet. It makes the work-outs more challenging.
Nikki writes: “ – Do you have any advice for a budding foodie who is, quite frankly, broke. 2- It was really nice to see those photos of the Student Bodies guys and get a quick update because I used to love that show. Was it a chance meeting or did you keep in touch with some of the cast? 3- Of the many books you’ve read, are any of them mainly comedies?
Answers: 1. You don’t have to spend a bundle to experience a great meal. In fact, some of the best meals I’ve enjoyed were at smaller, family-run restaurants. I usually find out about these holes-in-the-wall through word of mouth. Ask around. 2. We do keep in touch for the most part. Mik, who played Victor, is doing a fair amount of writing in Montreal, Jessica, who played Flash, has been doing a lot of stage work, and Jennifer Finnegan is, of course, the lead of her own show on CBS, Close to Home. I don’t really keep in touch with the rest of the cast, but I have heard that they’ve been keep busy as well. 3. Not many are comedies but a few do contain a fair amount of humor. I would again recommend Scalzi’s Old Man’s War. Also check out Max Brooks’s Zombie Survival Guide.
Anne writes: “Joe, I don’t know if you generally do this sort of thing, but could you pass on a message to the playback people and/or people who do everything that shows on computer screens/data screens in SGA?”
Answer: That’s very nice of you. I will mention it although I know that a few of them do check out my blog from time to time.
Edward4th writes: “Speaking as a mother *slaps upside the head* do Italian mothers give free guilt trips as well?”
Answer: Yeah. Round trip and in business class to boot.
Amy Lynn writes: “prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe Never would have thought of that combination. Does it work well together?”
Answer: For me it doesn’t.
Siba writes: “…if you ever come to Italy, you could drop by and I’d cook for you!”
Answer: Deal! What’s your specialty?
Karen writes: “Just finished re-watching ‘The Game’ – is the clue you spoke of McKay’s question about killing one to save ten?”
Answer: Nope.
Anthony writes: “If you had a working Zat, who would be the first person you would fire upon?”
Answer: Depends. Would it be capable of traveling over the internet?
C.C. writes: “I’d never heard anyone refer to shrimp as ‘prawn’ until I went to Vancouver. Granted, I’ve not had the chance to visit a lot of other cities in the west, but is that a Vancouver thing, a Canadian thing, or a west-coast thing?”
Answer: It may be a Vancouver or west-coast thing as I always referred to them as shrimp, regardless of their size, while I was growing up in Montreal.
Crazymom writes: “all those McKay portraits on the Geldar set: how were those done?”
Answer: We commissioned various artists to paint them.
Anonymous #5 writes: “Can you please tell me that sheppard isnt going to save the day like he always does, whenever the city is hit by some epidemic..”
Answer: Let’s just say that all of the team will have a role to play in trying to save the day.
Logic Sequence writes: “What’s your favorite Italian dessert?”
Answer: Tiramisu and amaretti are up there.
Anonymous #2 also writes: about O’Neill’s reluctance to accept a team member without off-world experience in season 8.
Answer: Like O’Neill’s inability to find a replacement for Daniel from among a host of worthy candidates with plenty of off-world experience, this would indicate there is more at stake for Jack than he let’s on; his decision has less to do with the reasons for his claimed reticence (the lack of off-world experience), and more to do with a reluctance to replace Daniel in season 6, and an unwillingness to rubber stamp a candidate who is being shoved down his throat. Remember in The Tomb, he wasn’t exactly enthused about having to work with a Russian team. Again, I think this had less to do with who was accompanying them than why (again, a situation in which he was essentially forced to accept a decision already made). Finally, given the fact that he never was able to select a candidate to replace Daniel from all of the off-world teams, ultimately accepting Jonas, suggests that, to Jack, a person’s character is the deciding factor.
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