We tried out a new breakfast place this morning: Rob Cooper’s house. After breaking 80 on a recent golf trip (apparently, this is very good) and winning a bet with Ivon Bartok, Rob scored a state-of-the-art waffle iron he was just dying to try out on some prospective guests – and Fondy and I were only too happy to oblige. My waffle (pictured), was topped with maple syrup, three types of ice cream (dulce de leche, chocolate truffle, and roasted marshmallow), whipped cream, and a lone blueberry (because Fondy insisted I have some fruit). It was excellent as was Fondy’s latte. Service was also first rate. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this place to fans in town looking for some good morning eats. But best get there before 10:00 a.m., especially on weekends as line-ups start early.
Fellow Student Bodies alumni Ross Hull and I have been looking for a project to do together for quite a while and, last week, we finally found one: a two minute Weather Network report on how inclement weather effects television production. Ross, a weather anchor for the network, dropped by the studio on Friday and conducted the hard-hitting interview in which Paul and I revealed numerous shocking facts on the topic: how it’s not really not that big of a deal despite Vancouver’s notorious rainy season, how we’ll simply tarp a scene if the downpour gets too bad, how the only time it truly effects production is when the coverages don’t match (In which case Post performs magic with color correction, but even this isn’t always a solution. For a great example, look no further than the last few scenes of Nightwalkers). We also explained how, sometimes, the nasty weather turns out to work in our favor. Take Camelot for instance. We were shooting on location when the rain hit. Note poor Daniel’s walk and talk early in Act I. He is soaking wet. Bad for Michael but great for our director who got some wonderfully sloppy visuals of a muddy Mitchell during the swordfight sequence. Threshold is another great example. We weren’t expecting snow but we soldiered on and were pleasantly surprised by the ensuing dailies. Gorgeous. In this case, despite – or one could argue because of the bad weather, everyone won – with the possible of Chris Judge who had to spend hours lying in the cold, cold snow.
Finished the Harry Potter book this afternoon, then took a trip down to Chapters and picked up another stack (pictured). Earlier this week, I also picked up a number of George R. R. Martin, partly because I’d heard good things, but mostly because I met him at last year’s Comic Con and he struck me as a very nice guy.
A quick Q&A –
Anonymous #1 writes: “ I’m very excited about the Joe Flanigan pitched script. So when he comes to you with one, is it just a vague idea that all the writers hash out or does he have a more developed plot ?”
Answer: In this case, it was a very vague idea that we are hashing out.
Anonymous #2 writes: “When the newest stargate series comes to the public eye, will you have a hand in writing for some of the episodes?”
Answer: It’s way too early to say, however, if Brad and Robert would like us to write a script or two, we’d be more than happy to oblige.
Jason writes: “How are the background actors selected and do you audition them or just say this guys looks like a scientist and that guy looks like a soldier?”
Answer: We don’t audition extras. We simply tell our Extras Casting Director what we are looking for in a given episode and she will draw from her talent list.
Pauline writes: “Do you think of an actor you would like to appear in SGA, and then create the character for them or does the character come and then an actor fit the roll.”
Answer: We usually write the script first and then cast the role. In rare instances, we may hear an actor might be interested in the role, in which case we will write the part with him (or her) in mind. This was the case when Fred Willard played Vala’s father in Family Ties.
Craig writes: “Any chance of being told what role you had in mind for the lovey Miss Lilly?”
Answer: Don’t recall, but I don’t think it was SGA.
Anonymous #3 writes: “On the Shep back story and going to earth, very cool. Its got to be pretty drastic, we’re talking about a guy who didn’t feel the need to send a message home to anyone with everyone else, nor has shown to have any links back on Earth that he wishes to keep.”
Answer: Indeed. Odd, no?
Anonymous #4 writes: “wow. The food looks so good. Where is that restaurant located?”
Answer: Feenie’s – 2563 W Broadway, Vancouver.
Atlantisfannew1 a ecrit: “Un tournage d un épisode sa dur combient de temp?”
Reponse: Sept jours.
Shawna writes: “Well, Sci-Fi, ideally, but I don’t want to write something that no one here will understand.”
Answer: Then pick a genre show – something like Supernatural or Smallville.
Anonymous #5 writes: “Since I’m pretty new to fandom I had no idea that you didn’t like Michael. But judging by all the comments you’re unscreening on your blog about O.S., Daniel/MS fans…”
Answer: Congratulations. You’ve posted the single stupidest comment I’ve had the pleasure to approve in quite some time.
Redhooks writes: “Do you think the production quality might be better with the extra time?”
Answer: The production schedule is pretty much set in stone so the late premiere doesn’t really change how much time we spend shooting the episodes. Where it does give us some leeway, however, is in post – allowing us to switch around the production order to accommodate things like pregnancies and such.
As i have nothing other to do …. I must annoy you with another plea. Bring back Ford please .. yes?
Thx,
Joe,
From previous ads and such, we see that Bill Dow will make an appearance on SGA, Any chance Gary Jones will appear on SGA during season 4?
If Atlantis is renewed for a 5th season and you continue to air 20 episodes each, the 100th episode would fall into the season 5 finale slot. In your opinion, would you do a comedy style episode like you did in SG-1 or would you rather acknowledge it being the 100th episode in the trailer and have it be a normal action packed season finale?
Roasted Marshmellow icecream?
That sounds positively Heavenly!
Who makes it and where can I buy it or if it was homemade I’d love the recipe if at all possible.
Hi Joe,
Picked up my copy of S10 DVDs on Friday and have been checking out the extras this weekend. Still would love seeing a gag reel but the deleted scenes are a enjoyable extra this time, thanks for your intro and commentary on them. Pass along to all those that did commentaries that yes fans do listen to them and appreciate you guys taking the time to record them. I’ve listened to about half of them so far.
Your new breakfast hot spot sounds wonderful. Could you please provide directions and a phone number where we could make reservations? Thanks. 😉
In Season 4 will there be any more main character deaths like Carson’s?
Salut Joseph!
Hummm, il a l’air bon ce gateau^^
Moi j’adore lire votre blog, il est super, bravo.
Vous ètes entrain de tourner quel épisode cette semaine?
Hi Joe,
When it comes to naming the Daedelus-class battlecruisers you’ve gone for ancient Greek characters and symbols. IF (and big if it seems) we get to see a new cruiser in seasons 4 or 5, will you continue to name them as such (like the Zeus or the Hephaiston)?
well, we’ve already established that i recommend you read more Philip K. Dick, but if you’re going to read some George R.R. Martin, i enthusiastically recommend his A Song of Ice and Fire books. they’re not science fiction but they’re pretty damned good. check out A Game of Thrones if you feel like reading some Fantasy.
p.s. see you at Comic-Con. i’ll be some random guy in the crowd during your panels. be sure to say hello.
Hey joe
Just asking what George R.R. Martin books you grabbed?
I highly reccommend his Song of Ice and Fire. Truly amazing.
Keep up the good work on the show, cant wait for season 4
Thanks for the advice.
So, after having finished HP, how does it rank up with the others for you? Rowling has said it’s her favorite of the series, but I’m afraid I don’t share that opinion.
Wow, if I’d known you’d be interested in Naomi Novik’s Dragon (Temeraire) series I would have recommended it long ago! It’s simply incredible. The first book has been optioned as a movie by Peter Jackson, and I think it’ll make a great film. Naomi is a huge SGA fan and was active in the fandom for a time. It’s cool how things come full circle. Let us know how you like it!
Redhooks writes: “Do you think the production quality might be better with the extra time?”
Answer: The production schedule is pretty much set in stone so the late premiere doesn’t really change how much time we spend shooting the episodes. Where it does give us some leeway, however, is in post – allowing us to switch around the production order to accommodate things like pregnancies and such.
Joe,
You really didn’t answer the questions I made in my original post. By you editing down one of the questions to a partial question, you totally changed context of the original question that was asked! What I originally meant by “production quality” was the quality of the CGI production and not the overall production. Then you didn’t even answer the quality question but focused in on the extra time. Talk about spinning a question to fit an answer you want to give!! You sure you haven’t worked as a writer or publicist for a politician??? I think you might look into it if you have any trouble getting another job in TV (which you probably won’t) years from now when SGA is done. 🙂
So, if I read you answer correctly you should have about two episodes completed by this time (your original season premiere time of year,) but not necessarily the first two in the viewing order, is that correct? Or did you mean that the overall quantity of post-production work done would equal about two episodes, but because of the added time, the work is spread across many more episodes and none of them are completed?
I sincerely hope some of the GRRM books you picked up were of the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series, in which case welcome to the family. 🙂
“Un tournage d un épisode sa dur combient de temp?”
guys, when you don’t know how to speak french or write it, please stick with English !!! showing off by asking question in french when you obviously don’t know how is just silly and just annoy the hell out of us french speakers…don’t wanna start a fight or something and I greatly enjoy reading you Joe write, it’s always great to see the care you use in the grammar and all, but I had to say it because it’s starting to get ridiculous :s
Any other langage you speak Joe ? Are there more than english italian (I guess) and french?
I watched that interview!
Hi Joe:
I thought Mr. Purple shirt looked familiar. Ross Hull. Cool. I’m looking forward to watching that segment on the Weather Channel. Did they give you a time line when it would be on?
If you were trapped in an abandoned alien space ship with actors from either Stargate or Atlantis, who do you think would be of most help? This is asking about the actors, not the characters they play…
Personally, I’d pick Chris Judge and Jason Momoa to move any heavy junk, Gary Jones for his humor, Michael Shanks because he seems pretty smart and might be able to help problem solve, and Cliff Simon because he is very athletic and could find ways of getting into and out of tight spots.
Patricia
Could you make me and other fans happy, please. Bring back Elizabeth, my favorite, most wonderful character who doesn’t deserve anything less but being in every episode of a season. She means so much to me, Atlantis can’t be the same without her. Not for me anyway. Could you give me any hope so I knew she’d be back?
Salut joseph!!
=}Outch je n est pas passer une bonne nuit Aujourd hui , je me suis mi a saigner du nez en pleine nuit=(
=}hum ce restaurant a l air trés bon!
=}Waou quoi vous avez deja lu Harry PotTer 7? vous lisez super vite!
=}Merci de m avoir répondu!!
7 jours! Bah dit donc c est
beaucoup de travail!
=}Question:
Quant aller vous commencez le tournage des épisodes restant?
Bon bah! Gros bisou!je vous adore! passez le bonjour de ma part à votre femme ! a demain!
Have you ever or will you ever watch Smallville or Doctor Who?
Hi Joe:
What did you think of the final Harry Potter book? Do you believe it was a fitting end to a great series and did it meet your expectations? It certainly met mine and I can’t wait to reread it at a slower pace now that I don’t have to worry about someone blowing the ending for me. 🙂
Have a great day!
Sabina
Ever get the impression that, much like Dickens, Rowling gets paid by the word? That certainly was a long book!
No real question – because I think most of what I can come up with has already been asked and answered in previous blogs.
Hi Joe!
You know, I never get the emails that offer money like you, usually I get slammed with emails with senior citizen dating services (what the hell I’m 34!) and various great work at home schemes. Recently I’ve been getting new spam, emails that say I have an e-card that was sent by a worshipper! Of course I’m not opening the e-card link from the worshipper, because, I preferred to be showered with actual tangible gifts, not some silly e-card. Oh dear, I think I’m identifying with Goa’uld too much. I guess I shouldn’t be telling my co-workers they need to bow before now, since I’ve been getting the worshipper emails daily?
Have a good day!
Nichole
PS The waffles looks very yummy—even with the fruit on it.
There was color correction in “Nightwalkers”? Now you have me curious. I’ll have to set Tivo for it though since, alas, I only have season 9 of SG-1 on DVD.
Here’s a question for the curious, (if there’s time/space), regarding color correction. Does the director of the episode look over the scene and say “Agh! Change that!” and hover over the shoulder of the post-production crew, or is it the DP’s job? I’ve always wondered. Is it easier/harder with HD?
Hi Joe,
I just got the SG1 season 9 DVDs, late to the party I know, but what can I say. It was fix the car or get the DVDs, fix the roof or get the DVDs. You get the point.
Anyway, I’ve been going through all the commentaries and came across something interesting. Ben Browder was originally supposed to play Sheppard on Atlatis? What happened?
How long does it take to do an Episode of SGA on a GOOD DAY from start to finish?
Well Joe,
I’m really interested in what you think about HP, but I guess I will have to refrain from your comment board until I finish it. My husband and I are trading off every few chapters. Of course I think that is totally stupid since I waited in line to get the damn thing AND he only got into HP because of me. But he knows my weakness…damn you afternoon naps!!! (shakes fist). Does Fondy read much? What does she enjoy? You seem to blow through books pretty fast, so I’m sure there is no trading off on your end.
I thought I recognized that fellow in the purple shirt. Ross was a real cutie in “Are You Afraid…” and has only gotten better looking with age. A shame that he’s unavailable.
I hope you enjoy His Majesty’s Dragon. It’s one of my favorite books.
I was wondering about the SGA uniforms, what are they made of? The pants and jackets look like cotton and the shirts underneath look like some kind of poly-cotton knit but its hard to tell sometimes.
C est encors moi^^!
Je vient de faire un montage sur vous!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10127853@N06/877056446/
Quesque vous en penssez?^^ il vous plait?
Man you read *a lot* of books.
Is that what it means to be a writer, I read a lot of books 😛
I’ve only been reading your blog for a few weeks now. Even in this short period of time I keep observing stacks of books & the mentions of acquiring said stacks.
I do suppose it makes sense to read as much as possible 🙂
Savez vous a l’avance si un episode va etre apprecier du public (Et quel sorte de public)?
Est ce que vous vous en doutez?
God, please, no comedic 100th SGA episode!!! (in response to an ‘anonymous’ query, third one).Let the 100th episode be something dramatic/action-packed for a change…
But to a question. Have any of the SGA cast members expressed a desire to direct an episode, and if so, are you gonna let ’em do it?
Marion said…
guys, when you don’t know how to speak french or write it, please stick with English !!! showing off by asking question in french when you obviously don’t know how is just silly and just annoy the hell out of us french speakers…don’t wanna start a fight or something and I greatly enjoy reading you Joe write, it’s always great to see the care you use in the grammar and all, but I had to say it because it’s starting to get ridiculous :s
I find it more of a problem when people posting in French don’t use proper spelling and post in “textspeak” in French. I speak pretty fluent French but I still have to kinda read some posts aloud in my head to properly work out what they are saying… I’m not a fan of textspeak in any language and, given that the Stargate fan community is pretty international, it’s not ideal to post in textspeak/abbreviations/shortened spellings because it definitely makes it harder for people who are not reading in their mother tongue to understand.
Plus it’s just depressing that poor spelling and grammar and the prevalence of textspeak are not just limited to the English-speaking world… *sigh* 😉
Hi Joe, Anonymous said When it comes to naming the Daedelus-class battlecruisers you’ve gone for ancient Greek characters and symbols.
I have always like the name ‘The Damocles’ for a battlecruiser. It sums up the peril faced by the crew in the outer reaches of space. Failing that the Titanic has a certain ring about it.
Pauline
When will the next SGA promo clip be aired on Scifi?
Im off to America for a few days…(vegas and new york) ill be sure to take some culinary snaps from the B&J shop in vegas’ T.I hotel!!!!!!! ill have alot of log to catch up on!!!!!!!! hope everyone (human..canine…otherwise) stays well!!!!
Bad for Michael but great for our director who got some wonderfully sloppy visuals of a muddy Mitchell during the swordfight sequence. Threshold is another great example. We weren’t expecting snow but we soldiered on and were pleasantly surprised by the ensuing dailies. Gorgeous. In this case, despite – or one could argue because of the bad weather, everyone won – with the possible of Chris Judge who had to spend hours lying in the cold, cold snow.
Has anybody pointed out you really are quite mean to your actors? 🙁
Ah Ross Hull…
How long have you known him?? I remeber watching him on “Are You Afraid Of The Dark” on YTV. He’s come along way.
Ah more food 🙂
So I’ll ask the questing you skipped over on my last post… 🙂 no grudges honest 🙂
What is your fav dish servied by craft services, do they ever let the crew make suggestions??
So you finished Harry Potter! What did you think? I have enjoyed all of the books in the Harry Potter series but I really enjoyed the last 4 books. I think HP and the Goblet of Fire and HP and the Deathly Hallows are my favorites. The last book was just a great way to end the series. I am looking forward to rereading it later though, as I think I rushed through it for fear of something being spoiled before I could finish. It’s hard to ask specific questions without spoiling it for others here, but being as vague as I can, what did you think about chapter 33? I had suspected that for a while, and was glad to see it play out the way it did.
*waves*
Finally finished HP 😀 Loved most of it, was disappointed with the very last bit… but overall how can you possibly go wrong with such a noble quest. 😛
hehehe
I wonder how you can eat all that stuff first thing in the morning… I struggle with a slice of toast! Mind you breakfast made by someone else is always so much nicer than making it yourself.
So, how is the ‘hashing out’ coming along?
*tries to contain her squee at S4*
*hugs*
Oh btw, just read DH’s interview over at GW. Are Shep and McKay frightened of clowns?
Thank you Mr M, as Darth Vadar would say… “The FOURTH is strong with this one.”
Okay, so I have lost the plot, time to up the meds. 😉
Hi Joe,
I’ve just found out at GW that there is NO COMMENTARY for “Bad Guys” episode. I’m just disgusted with MGM/Fox ignorance… to miss the opportunity of asking and getting Ben Browder’s commentary for an episode which was his idea? Disgusting and stupid… I really used to have better opinion about MGM. Obviously I was very wrong.
Hi Joe,
I’ve just caught up with your blog due to a weekend devoted to Potter and the abstinence of all spoilers. Read HP7 twice now and seen HP5 film for the second time today. I agree with what Sarah said earlier about chapter 33, you could see it coming given all the clues in HP6, and also Chapter 10. I thoughly enjoyed it although I thought more people would be dead at the end, wait childrens book! I suppose a Reservoir Dogs ending wouldn’t have gone down too well:)
Well, enough about the scarred one. I’m actually posting to thank you Joe for signing my copy of ‘Stargate SG1 – A Celebration of 10 Years’. I received it this morning after finally snatching out of Customs grubby hands, and they had the audacity to charge me £27.63 for the pleasure! Ba*tard*!
So thank you Joe and please thank the cast for signing these for us. (I also got Amanda Tappings autograph)
Clark’sGirl
Since the question has been asked about every other possible combination, will there be any nice/emotional moments between Sheppard and Weir at all in season four?
I know the question’s been asked about Shep/Teyla, Ronon/Teyla, Rodney/Teyla.
So how about John and Elizabeth?
So another day is drawing to a close and England-Under-Water is THE place to be, the ultimate reality TV show on Sky News. Suddenly Gloucester is looking more like Atlantis every hour. I’ve got a train journey planned for Thursday so if you wouldn’t mind Mr M having a word upstairs about some dry weather would be greatly appreciated.
*sigh* Well, I’m having another astoundly crummy day. Would it be utterly presumptious of me to beg you to cheer me up again, Joe? I wouldn’t bother you by asking only you’re just so good at it!
I really need something to put a smile on my face. Interesting SGA info would be good, something to make me laugh would be even better.
*is feeling too utterly fed up to even do the Puss in Boots pitiful face*
“Farscapefan said:
Hi Joe,
I’ve just found out at GW that there is NO COMMENTARY for “Bad Guys” episode. I’m just disgusted with MGM/Fox ignorance… to miss the opportunity of asking and getting Ben Browder’s commentary for an episode which was his idea? Disgusting and stupid… I really used to have better opinion about MGM. Obviously I was very wrong.”
Oh look, Farscapefan has got it wrong again! How many times do you have to be told that who contributes to the extras on DVDs is dependent on people making themselves available to do the extra work?? It is not a hard concept to grasp. You seem to be regularly disgusted with other people’s ignorance, perhaps you should attend to your own ignorance first before lashing out at others.
Anonymous The Third
Hey Joe! Thanks for the pics! I SO wish I had been there… it looks AWESOME!
(psst, don’t worry about the sabataged photo op… you look cute with bunny ears!)
~ Antidisestablishmentarianism