Whenever someone comes to visit the set for the first time, they are invariably excited about being there, looking forward to the prospect of bearing witness to the magical process of television production. Well, I’ve got news for any prospective on-set visitors. It aint that magical. In fact, it’s not really all that exciting. It’s mostly standing around, waiting for the shot to be set up after which the actors are called to set, shoot their bit, and then retire to their trailer while everyone goes to work on setting up the next shot. Fans don’t believe me but the truth is it’s far more interesting to visit the set when the show is away shooting on location. When there’s no one around, you don’t have to worry about creeping quietly onto Stage 5 during rehearsals or suppressing that cough during filming or mustering up the courage to tell the director that the hilariously garish prop hat in the background of the bedroom scene actually belongs to you. When the cast and crew are away, the sets are empty and you can tour them at will. Step through the gate, man one of the gate room guns, sit in the command chair of the Daedalus, pilot a jumper, check out the sets of an upcoming episode, try on the Carmen Miranda headdress from the episode Pretense and strut around pretending you’re the goa’uld Zipacna. A recent visit afforded just such an opportunity, a two-hour tour that took us through Stages 5 (the Atlantis standing sets including the gate room, conference room, control room, the balcony, Carter’s office, and various corridors), Stage 6 (SG-1’s standing sets including the gate room, control room, conference room, Landry’s office, the infirmary, the observation room, and various corridors), the FX stage (the village, more Atlantis corridors and rooms, the Ancient chair, pieces of the Daedalus), Stages 1-3 (the puddle jumper, a section of new Midway set, the gimbled set for Trio, the Daedalus/Apollo bridge and its various corridors), Post (where the editors reside, working on Miller’s Crossing and Quarantine during our last visit), Costumes, and our Visual Effects department.
Fortunately, I brought my camera along and snapped a few pics. Yes, the only thing better than visiting a set where something is being shot is visiting a set where nothing is being shot. And, even better than visiting a set where nothing is being shot = seeing pics instead. Think about it. I’ve just saved you two hours of walking.
Mailbag –
LadyConure writes: “I would like to know if you have had any of the candies from Punta Clara Kitchen in Point Clear, Alabama.”
Answer: I haven’t. Any good?
Nathan writes: “Italian place, nearish to HMV, do you recall?”
Answer: CinCin?
Rosie writes: “Will Daniel ever get the chance to go to Atlantis again?”
Answer: It make sense that he would make an appearance. Eventually.
Anonymous #1 writes: “Any chance of seeing Jaime Ray Newman back on Atlantis this season?”
Answer: No plans to bring Cadman back.
Alison 974 writes: “Any recommendations for someone who hasn’t read much of a variety of books?”
Answer: Depends. What do you like?
Anonymous #2 writes: “I read that Martin said at Comic Con that there was a scene in Continuum where Daniel is walking down the street and sees Janet’s parents, but then Martin said he was only kidding. (…) Was Martin really kidding?”
Answer: No, he wasn’t. Just kidding.
Majorsal writes: “In reading the blog posts, the gene therapy thinger was brought up; will Sam have this done too?”
Answer: Given how long the gene therapy has been available and that Ancient tech exists in both the Milky Way and the Pegasus Galaxy, it would make sense that Sam and the other members of SG-1 would have received the gene therapy – with negligible results.
Anonymous #3 writes: “Any plans for an ice planet for our Atlantis expedition members this year? Or any other really different sort of planet environment?”
Answer: Hmmmmmmmmmmm…
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