ROAD TRIP!!! Today, I packed up the wife and dog and drove to Bellingham, Washington where Lulu (the dog, not the wife) underwent eye surgery. It took us roughly two and a half hours to make the journey, half of it spent at the Peace Arch border waiting to cross into the U.S.. We killed time by playing Whoopi’s Worst, a fun game in which you and a friend (or friends) each select one of Whoopi Goldberg’s atrocious big screen outings to champion and then proceed to debate which one is, in fact, the worst. Today’s match: Sister Act 2 vs. Theodore Rex. Ding!Ding!
We took Lulu to Animal Eye Care in Bellingham because Dr. Terri McCalla is the best and, naturally, we wanted the best for Lulu. After a quick consultation that confirmed she did, in fact, need the surgery to rectify the prolapsed third lid, we gave the go-ahead and handed Lulu’s leash over to one of the assistants. We expected our little puppy to put up a fuss, maybe do a little crying as she was bundled up and off to the back. Instead, she allowed herself to be led away, happily trotting off without so much as a backwards glance.
Faced with three hours to while away, Fondy and I had a choice. We could drive to Seattle and immediately turn around and drive back, or we could take our chances in nearby historic Fairhaven‘s quaint nick-nack boutiques. We elected to go with the latter. Barely.
But first things first. Namely: lunch. Rather than hazard one of Fairhaven’s tourist restos, we decided to check out some American-Vietnamese fare at Pho 99: Vietnamese Noodle House. Hmmmm. The portions were very un-American. I was served the thinnest pork chop I’ve ever seen. My chicken was even less impressive.
We motored over to historic Fairhaven where we balanced out a middling to fair lunch with a fair to middling dessert at Colophon Café. Fondy had the cloying chocolate chunk cake while I did a little better with the peanut butter pie – which I had to wait for because the non gluten free variety had to be hand-delivered from the downstairs dining area. On principal, I couldn’t settle for the gluten-free version. “I’m on a non gluten-free diet,”I told the girl at the counter. Turns out what makes the gluten-free version gluten-free is the lack of pie crust which is, presumably, chock full of gluten. In retrospect, I suppose I could have gone gluten-free after all because I never did get around to eating the crust.
Anyway, after desserrt, we did a little shopping. I hit a bookstore and picked up Scalzi’s The Last Colony and A.E. Van Vogt’s Slan, and checked out a beautiful but heartbreaking photo book profiling a bunch of stray dogs who had survived Hurricane Katrina and were awaiting a hopefully better life at animal shelter. The book includes an afterword that updates the fate of the dogs pictured. Although most do end up adopted, it’s not a happy ending for all.
Well, suitably depressed, we headed over to the Public Market and eventually headed back to Colophon Café (you’d think we’d learned our lesson) for a salmon Ceasar (I shit you not) and a veggie melt that wasn’t fooling anyone.
Finally, it was back to Animal Eye Care where we picked up a surprisingly upbeat Lulu who will be sporting one of those crazy Elizabethan collars for the next month while her eye heals. Also, we’ve been advised to keep her as calm as possible (which, if you know Lulu, is Impossible).
Well, back home now and thought I’d address an issue that’s been on my mind for the past couple of days. I’m not sure if any of you have noticed, but it would seem that the first two episodes of season four have made their way onto the internet. That, my friends, is what I would call a bad case scenario. But not a worst case scenario. No. You know what a worst case scenario would be? If Sci Fi sent out the first two episodes of the season in their press kits and mistakenly included rough cuts instead of finished episodes. Yeah, that would be the worst of both worlds. Not only would the episodes be available for the fans to screen well before the premiere, but they would be half-finished episodes with temp visual effects and devoid of music and sound effects. Ho ho ho! Imagine if THAT happened? Anyway –
Today’s pic: ROAD TRIP!!!
Today’s video: Click on the date for your long overdue Hewlett fix.
Mailbag –
Caty writes: “I go to USF and was actually among the few people that went up to Auburn to watch our team kick butt!”
Answer: Congratulations although I don’t know about kicking butt. Your kicking game was a little, er, shaky.
Steph writes: “On a side note, who is your favorite person out of the cast, and favorite person out of the crew to critique food with?”
Answer: Food in general = Marty G. Our tastes are shockingly similar. Chocolate = the gals down on set (Linda-Lisa, Beverly, Leah, and Sheri).
JedI writes: “Will we ever get to see Sheppard use the stick fighting skills he’s acquired from Teyla, other then just sparring?” Answer: Not this year. So if there is a season 5 will we see it happen?”
Answer: Yes. Even though we haven’t given any real thought to stories beyond the season four finale, we do know that we absolutely must do a “Sheppard uses his stick fighting skills” episode. To that end, I have both Carl and Alan working on this high-priority idea and hope to have the makings of a two-parter (if not three-parter) built around the concept a.s.a.p.
Moose writes: “Is there any particular reason Martin Wood looks like he’s gonna cry in the last one?”
Answer: Yes. It’s because you haven’t updated your live journal since July 23rd.
Promogirl writes: “Was the shot taken on location or at Bridge Studios?”
Answer: Bridge Studio. Stage 2.
Mrs.B108 writes: “Will Ronon get to show more of himself than the warrior we all know?”
Answer: Yes. We’ll be glimpsing a softer side to Ronon this season.
Dede writes: “1) Does Teyla or Ronon ever get the ancient gene? 2)Your take on Yorkies? 3)Rieslings – what kind if you like them?”
Answers: 1) Nope. 2) Love ‘em. 3) Like them but not enough to have a preference.
Gracey writes: “Anyhow on another online community we were asked which four famous people alive would we have dinner with…”
Answer: Thank you for choosing me. When are we going and who is paying? If I was asked the same question, I would choose Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, and Nicole Ritchie because I’m sure they’d let me eat their portions as well.
Sherwood Forest Maiden writes: “I have just finished Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy and honestly, I found the end of Amber Spyglass desperately disappointing. Any comments??”
Answer: Tried to get into the first book in the series years ago and couldn’t do it. I aim to give it another try later this year.
Wolfen writes: “I have an itch to do Utena art. Who and what would you want to see in an Utena drawing?”
Answer: Utena duels Kyouichi for Anthy.
Charles Schneider writes: “ What’s you favorite comic book character? “
Answer: Most any stylish villain. Dr. Doom comes to mind.
Sable writes: “I was wondering why the people on the Atlantis expedition drink from bottled water when they are in a city that is floating in a whole ocean of water?”
Answer: Pegasus water has a funny taste.
Twolly writes: “Props to Amanda Tapping for what looks like excellent ventriloquism, in your video.”
Answer: That’s actually Terry, our scrip supervisor, doing the play-by-play.
Apologies to Ben Browder. My bad.
As to Whoopi Goldberg. The two worst I can think of:
1. Star Trek: Generations and
2. The Telephone.
Actually. I think The Telephone has to be the absolute worst movie she has done.
It also rates as number 2 on my list of all time worst movies, ever.
Random question – Will there be an Atlantis panel at the 2008 Comic Con in New York?
Gracey writes: “Anyhow on another online community we were asked which four famous people alive would we have dinner with…”
Answer: Thank you for choosing me. When are we going and who is paying? If I was asked the same question, I would choose Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, and Nicole Ritchie because I’m sure they’d let me eat their portions as well.
P-diddy’s instant reaction to this was “you rule dude”. *shaking my head*
Lulu looks cuter than ever in her new conehead look. Those ears are killer! Is Bubba still being her Yoda and teaching the attack moves?
Glad lulu is doing better, sorry she has to use the cone of shame for such a long time!
Hehe, just try keeping her calm. When my kitten Schro had one of those on, my sister was told to keep her calm. She spent the first 3 days doing flips trying to get the collar off.
Seeing that Dr. Doom ranks at the top of your comic villain list, which villainous performance on Stargate do you think has been the best? Excellent taste in bad guys by the way. Did you ever get to read the Dr.’s stand alone TPB “Doom”? I gained new respect for him after reading it.
Hi Joe,
I was just wondering if you guys on the set had any control over the promotional pictures that are released. The latest batch has some serious photoshopping snafus. Poor David and Jason seem to be shrunk to a fraction of their heights, and Rachel seems to have grown a third hand!
Awww, little placky clown collar on Lulu – you should take the opportunity to decorate it!
Do you think that the ‘release’ of those Atlantis episodes will REALLY lose the support of the loyal fanbase? Heck, take pity on us poor Aussies who are STILL waiting for season 3 to air on free-TV. I’ve actually ordered my set of DVDs, which means I get to watch it sooner! AND yet I will STILL watch it when it comes on the boob-tube…why? Because I love the show!
In the immortal words of Douglas Adams, “don’t panic”…
– Dana
Hey look! A life size McKay doll!
Why would she need an action figure when she can play with the real thing?
OMG, Lulu is just adorable – poor little thing. Those collars look too damn cute.
Funny you should mention Scalzi as I’m about to start the Last Colony too. I’ve been working my way through all his books.
Have a nice day!
Ta,
M
I just wanted to let you know that from what I’ve seen in my little corner of the net, the leakage so far has had two effects – both positive.
First off, not a lot of people I’ve come across have seen them, and many in fact have said that they’re going to wait for the actual premiere, since they won’t be able to squee freely until then anyway (spoiler-phobes are rampant around some parts).
However, one of my friends has seen the premiere and would only tell us about a tiny, tiny bit of dialogue, something which I’m sure you guys didn’t think twice about writing in. But as a devout McShepper, the news of that little line made me look forward to seeing it for myself even more. And from the squeeing and general uproar that news of that little line created in McShep corners of the net, rest assured, we’ll all be watching the premiere.
And we promise to pay attention to the actual plot as well.
I just remembered that Schro wasn’t allowed outside because the other cats would laugh at her.
Poor Lulu can’t even bite Bubba when she gets teased.
If Sci Fi sent out the first two episodes of the season in their press kits and mistakenly included rough cuts instead of finished episodes. Yeah, that would be the worst of both worlds. Not only would the episodes be available for the fans to screen well before the premiere, but they would be half-finished episodes with temp visual effects and devoid of music and sound effects. Ho ho ho! Imagine if THAT happened?
You writers. Such imaginations! Just because SciFi doesn’t know how to spell the SGA characters’ names properly in their commercials nor how to spell the SGA actors’ names properly on their website, you expect us to believe a story like this. Tsk.
Hey Mr. Mallozzi. Glad to see Lulu is doing well. I’ve been doing my best at my college to spread the word about SGA this September. I’ve very excited.
I saw in your previous posts that you dedicated your blog entries to fans. If it’s not too presumptious sir could I get one entry dedicated to me? Maybe tell Mr. Hewlett hello and I’m promoting ADB like mad?
Like McKay I’m hypoglycemic and went into shock/had a heat stroke out on the archery field. I don’t remember much, but I guess the Texas heat got to me.
Thanks for reading sir, and keep up all the great work. I can’t wait until SGA starts up again!
Well, aren’t we looking rather dashing today happily driving to the USA.
On the gluten home front, my in-laws were drowning on about the “gluten-free” diet when we were visiting in August. It’s kind of funny because my father in law is a bread freak. He is a self-diagnosed bread-a-holic so I snorted at the thought he would ever stick to a “gluten-free” diet.
The whole glute-free talk became even more entertaining when my brother in law came over and made comments about gluten every five seconds.
He wins at running things into the ground, beating them with a pole, and having his dog eat the remains.
Lulu’s looking pretty good after her surgery. The husband manages a pet hospital so he see a lot of cherry eye cases.
Also, they sell no-scratch collars now that aren’t as bulky or akward as the one they provided you with. They are a thick band (width) that goes around the neck and serves the same purpose without the silly look. So you could probably buy one for Lulu and use it in the future if need be.
Holy crap! After all those pictures of food, upon first glimpsing that last pic, it looked like that was Lulu’s head on a plate. I was absolutely terrified for about 1/25th of a second there.
Just make sure to watch her with that collar. My brother’s dog had one for a time and he kept running into walls and stuff with it so that it got all banged up and warped. If there’s one thing more pathetic than a dog with one of those collars, it’s when the collar looks like it’s second-hand from a dogfighter.
Speaking of my brother, I had the “joy” of spending several days in Bellingham this January whilst attending his wedding. There really is not much to do in that town. It was funny when he (who’s from Seattle) and his wife (who’s from Vancouver) were planning to just meet in the middle and live in Bellingham. After seeing it, we were all like, “Yeah…right.” He even got a job there in preparation. Hee…but with some people, it’s best to just let them figure it out for themselves. (Which they did about two months later, if I recall.)
But that reminds me of something else. The first night we were in Bellingham, we went to this seafood restaurant over on the coast (or whatever you want to call it when you can see the water from the windows). I think it was called Anthony’s. Seemed like a pretty nice place and it was really busy when we went. Even though we had to sit at the bar, the service was excellent. Some of the best any of us had ever had. They accomodated all my weird dietary/menu questions/requests without getting annoyed or giving me that, “Um…what are you on?” look. The food was quite good, as well. If I recall correctly, I got steak, which was tender and delicious, and for desert we got a Bailey’s Irish Cream mousse. My dad complained of it having too much alcohol, but the one my mom got (which I tasted) was really pretty great.
Hey! I liked Star Trek Generations!
Anyway Joe, I’m back on your blog again after a week of really hard school work as I begin my third year at UBC. Ho boy, so much homework. Luckily, I now have a few days off thanks to my working my ass off during the weekend. Anywho…
Stuck at Peace Arch, eh? Well, I got a short cut for you. First, drive to Aldergrove and get to the border crossing there. The line is usually smaller, and, to cheat, you drive straight into the Duty Free store parking lot. Park, then go into the store and buy a pack of gum or something, making sure to keep the receipt, and drive back into the line. You will find someone at the exit waving you into a position within the line…that is about 3 cars away from the customs station.
That’s what we did on our recent trip (as you would recall), and it saved us about…2 hours. As long as you don’t mind paying a little bit for duty free stuff, this is a GREAT way to save time and money (through all of that wasted gas spent on being stationary and having your engine on all the same).
Hope that helps! Oh, and poor Lulu…I hope the other dogs don’t make fun of her for that collar thing…and if they do, you’ll stop them, right? RIGHT?!
As for SciFi…well, this is a new low. I wonder what shovel they used to dig themselves so far below their usual idiocy…if you don’t mind me saying so Joe.
Anyway, no comment of mine would be complete without a question or two:
Will you be able to tell us the show’s ratings after the episodes first air BEFORE SciFi Wire release them 2 weeks afterwards?
My condolences on the heinous food experience.
Re: the leaking of Adrift and Lifeline on the internet – I haven’t seen them, and I won’t be searching them out, though I did inadvertently stumble upon some spoiler-laden discussion of them. What I read is getting me more excited about S4 in general and has eased some of my fears about the handling of the Weir situation, and that same sentiment was expressed by others who hadn’t seen them.
And speaking of SciFi screwing up, I would also like to add my own complaint about the horrible promo pics of the cast that have come out in recent days. A color-blind, cross-eyed grade-school dropout using MS Paint could do a better manip job than the garbage that SciFi’s so-called professionals have given us. Yuck!
Wolfen writes: “I have an itch to do Utena art. Who and what would you want to see in an Utena drawing?”
Answer: Utena duels Kyouichi for Anthy.
Will do. 🙂 Should be done around mid-October. 😉
Poor Lulu! 🙁 *sends get-well-soon vibes!*
HA. Lies! And yeah, wow, speaking of lies, the promo pics are … somethin’. There’s been a lot of snickering over the group shot. They have no shadows, their feet don’t touch the ground, and they’re Gigantor-sized. But bad PS aside, most folks I know love the new overall look, (and so do I).
The first thing I thought, when I heard about the leaked eps, was ‘Someone is so fired’. But honestly? While it’s obviously less than an ideal situation, they seem to have ratcheted up fan enthusiasm, and won back some people who were determined not to like Season Four.
Poor Lulu. She’d fit in well with Lucy, the Great Dane puppy next door, who’s been sporting a hot pink fez for a month.
hi, joe,
there’s a smiley-making genius at gateworld forum that’s made some joesmilies. yes, joe mallozzi smilies. :p
here’s the link for the post:
http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost.php?p=7086651&postcount=514
sally 😀
With regards to Sci Fi I bet a few new swear words got invented that day. If they’re going to try and dent the shows ratings through incompetance I hope you guys at least got a fruit basket out of it. *rolls eyes*
Did you at least take the opportunity to throw your chair out of the window for dramatic effect? These moments can be few and far between – grab them while you can.
You know what a worst case scenario would be? If Sci Fi sent out the first two episodes of the season in their press kits and mistakenly included rough cuts instead of finished episodes.
How or why would something like this happen? Just some kind of screw up at Skiffy? I want to say I’m surprised, but as another poster noted, they can’t even spell The Flan’s name right.
Hugs to LuLu! Tell her she looks darling.
rough cuts instead of finished episodes.
It was all a clever plan to both let people feel sneaky and devious about seeing it early and yet still leave them wanting more so they’ll watch it when it airs.
Okay, so it was a complete cock up, but still probably not a catastrophe. *and* you can plausibly demonstrate to SciFi that were it not for there error, your rating would be double whatever they turn out being.
They serve pork chops alone at pho places? I thought they’d only come perched on top of a bowl of rice and veggies, possibly with a fried egg.
Oh shoot, I forgot something in my short cut. Ok, the reason that you needed to keep the receipt from the duty free shop is because the guy waving you back into line might check it to make sure you didn’t, well, cheat. So…yeah.
It really works!
I hope Lulu’s better soon and that your Mission: Impossible isn’t as tough as you imagine. Not counting your own darling, which on-set pet do you most adore?
If there’s a season five, do you foresee the Nox ever deciding to visit the Pegasus Galaxy? I mean, they are the only surviving member of the four great races (that we’ve met other than parodied in “200”).
How about Dr. Lee, Dr. Jay Felger or Dr. Simon Coombs – will they ever visit Atlantis?
Hey Joe
Next time you’re in Bellingham, check out Mallard Ice Cream. Some of the best I’ve ever had, and they do both seasonal and experimental flavors.
JM you need to petition to get away from skiffy. They screwed up one too many times and this was detrimental. It’s a shame too. Just know I’m totally waiting for S4 to air on the 28th and got a slew of friends prepped to watch the season premiere.
Oh I’ve been wanting to ask you since you like scifi books, have you ever read anything from Octavia Butler? If so, do you like her writing?
Let’s not forget that movie Whoopi did with Ted Danson…can’t recall the name, but I can recall that I should be ashamed I ever saw it.
Question: In the “Welcome to the United States of America” pic, what is that thing between the Golden Gate Bridge and the Space Needle? And wow, that’s an ugly sign. I’m surprised they didn’t manage to stick a bald eagle on there somewhere…
And what’s with the picture of Saturn on the Pho 99 sign?
I am highly amused both by the fact that you took a picture of the US sign, and what it’s comprised of. I suppose it’s a testament to the fact that it was made before 2001 that it doesn’t have the WTC towers on it (or something related). I’ve never understood why so many people drive so many miles to see faces carved into rock. I’d be more impressed if they put the Mall of America on the sign. lol
I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I really appreciate these little vids. They’re so much fun to view!
Nice pic driving through the peace-arch, impressed you’ve already taught Lulu to take pictures of you for you blog.
It seems my props have been misplaced and this Terry deserves them for her awesome Amanda Tapping impression.
Hypothetically speaking, if a person had… access to the leaked episodes, but had not downloaded them yet, and said imaginary person (who allegedly does not have a Nielsen box) were trying to be strong and wait until 9/28 (despite the fact that everyone and their mother is squeeing and flinging spoilers around), could you offer some words of encouragement, and explain the reasons why watching a rough cut of the episodes is a horrible, awful idea? Please?
Also, I’m glad that Lulu’s surgery went well, and I hope she doesn’t really need to wear that collar for the whole month. Oh, and thanks for the video of David and Jodelle! I’d rather play with the live-action McKay than a doll, too. Smart girl!
ever read the works of Harry Turtledove or any alternate history novels?
Well, back home now and thought I’d address an issue that’s been on my mind for the past couple of days. I’m not sure if any of you have noticed, but it would seem that the first two episodes of season four have made their way onto the internet.
1) how in the Galaxy did that happen? 2) even if for a few nanoseconds is Teyla going to be seen in the Last Man? 3) are we gonna see Teyla spill any blood this season like in Sunday, only a little more? *is a Teyla Whumper and darned proud of it* 4) if you had to pick any of the actors of the main cast to go to dinner with, who would you go with and why? 5) are you guys hiring if SciFi gives the “we want more At;lantis”? I’m in need of a job
~Teyilia.
Hope Lulu gets well quickly and good luck keeping her calm. We have enough trouble with our cats after they’ve had their shots…
I refrain comment on the whole Sci-Fi…incident. You’ld probably never allow a comment from me again. However, I do think you could make one hell of a good arguement with them if they try to complain about the ratings for the shows later.
Also, about the promo photos, well perhaps I’m wrong but I was under the impression that they ‘perspective’ photos – with David, Rachel and Jason more in the background, Amanda and Joe more to the front and then taken at an upward and slightly off center angle to create the ‘V’ under the edges of the stargate. I just play a bit with my camara from time to time, but I’ve done shots like that. Or at least tried shots like that.
The shot of the raven on the obelisk/pillar is awesome. I think that was Poe’s spirit welcoming you into the country, yet after he realized you were going to eat all of the pie, he quoth “Nevermore!”
Hey Joe,
After a battle of wills I did end up downloading and watching the two leaked episodes. And I must say they’ve only increased my excitement for the premier! Because they’re unfinished, they felt more like a rehearsal or a sneak peek. I’m a big geek for the commentaries, “the making of,” and “behind the scenes” kind of features. Getting to hear (who I presume to be) Martin Wood shouting “boom!” and the actors reacting to it, and the off screen line readings, was a really nice treat. The fact that there is no score or sound effects has given me a new appreciation for how great scoring can greatly affect a scene or just even a look on an actor’s face. Something I definitely took for granted before.
I’m sure you have reasons for being concerned with the leaks but I honestly feel it won’t affect the premier or the season in a negative way.
– Jennifer
*waves at Joe and Crazymom*
Poor Lulu, bless her little cotton socks. My Bella had to wear one of the collars after her op. Thankfully it was the new and improved material version collar. Alas, it did not stay around her neck! Instead when I got up the morning after her op, she was sporting the collar like a tutu and my kamikaze kitten had achieved her aim of pulling out most of her stitches! While I had to laugh at her ingenuity, I had to admonish her bad behaviour while keeping a straight face, not an easy feat! A quick trip to the vet, who told her off reausured me she hadn’t done any more damage. So good luck with the collar, I hope Lulu behaves herself. If nothing, i’m sure you’ll get some interesting pictures out of the whole experience. 😀
Can I just say, (get the earplugs out Joe), Noooooooooooooo!!! Raw and unfinished copies of the two eps? Cool! It’ll be like being on set! 😛 Thankfully it’s only 15 more sleeps until season 4. *does her happy dance* 😀
Thanks for the Harmony vid, and the pics. You’re a very kind man, Mr M. Before I go, what did you do to Martin? You might want to give him some of your chocolate, he looks like he could use it. 😀
*hug*
Vietnamese food. I think I love you sir.
while surfing tonight and searching for some old and rare movie soundtracks in torrent sites, i came along this: Stargate Atlantis S0401 DVDSCR.
well, i didn’t watch it because I’m waiting for the premiere later this month, but some of the commmets said there were 10 minutes missing in the middle of the episode, some sound and special effects were not added yet. anyhow my quesion is this: from where do you think could have this DVD screener leaked? from your production office, the special effects company or SciFi channel’s offices? who has access to the this screener DVDs.
Yikes. Really? Um… are SciFi trying to scupper the show? Or did they just accidentally hire some remarkably incompetent people? Have you seen some of the promo still they’ve released for Season 4? A five year old could do a better job of photoshopping… you’ve got incorrect perspective, incorrect lighting and shadowing and missing/extra limbs!!
Yargh. Apologies for the rant. Having a bad day… and it’s not even 9am yet. Don’t mind me… I’ll just sit here and picture that stick-fighting two (or three) parter to cheer me up..
Hey Joe.
You did this didn’t you? you switched the copies around to annoy us fans didn’t you?
I’m like staring at the links to the eps! i want them but i don’t!! WHAT TO DO!? Got any idea’s Joe?
“…but they would be half-finished episodes with temp visual effects and devoid of music and sound effects. Ho ho ho! Imagine if THAT happened?”
I’m assuming that SciFi did in fact make that error…I’m so sorry Joe. I just can’t imagine how unbelievably frustrating that must be.
I can’t imagine that even incomplete the quality of Stargate…Atlantis particularly…won’t simply will shine through.
Again though, I’m really sorry it happened!
On another note…I was wondering if its still possible to cross the border at Aldergrove (Canada Route 13). I’m from Seattle, but live in NZ now and we use to use that crossing all the time to avoid the Peace Arch waiting. Sucks, if that’s been shut down due to security or some such thing.
Anyway…looking forward to season 4 more than anything else this season (of course that isn’t new)!
Cheers Joe!
John
Love the pictures of the road trip. Lulu looks great after surgery.
I had to giggle at the very discrete Canadian border marker and the very loud US one. 😀
Great blog,good to see that Lulu came out alright.
Thanks for the video!
David was great, it seemed like that little girl was bugging him haha
Kids….
Hopefully you can find that nifty collar mentioned by tesajb. Animals always look so miserable in those cones. I know I wouldn’t want to wear one!
Okay. I’m curious. What possessed SciFi to send out those unfinished episodes? I thought you already had them in the can? I, for one, intend to wait. I want to see them in all their glory.
As for the promo shots? I like them. Maybe it’s my monitor, but they look just fine to me. (Of course, after the Season 3 DVD cover art, anything’s an improvement.)
I can’t say I’m surprised that SciFi would do something like that… especially given that have so much trouble with that awful website of their’s. They don’t update properly and their SciFi Pulse page is hit or miss as to whether it will play something. I’ve noticed that SGA’s newest promo won’t play for me and I’ve been trying every day… Hmm… sounds like a conspiracy…
Thanks for answering my question about the set. Your production design team does some incredible work.
Question – Is the arrangement with SciFi similar to how it was with SG-1? Meaning if (God forbid) you don’t get a 5th season pickup will you be able to take the show to another network?
Hi Joe!
First: I love your dogs. Second: I hate to see the yummy pics of delicious food on your blog, only to get hungry, go to my refrigerator and find it empty, thank you. Third: this is the first time I comment here.
Oh, yes, fourth: thanks for the great Shep whump tidbits. For that I would send you crates and crates of chocolate, but I can’t afford international posting fees, so I guess you’ll have to settle for some virtual chocolate instead.
*gives virtual chocolates to Joe*
I tasted some and they are very good. I hope you like them.
Question: Will some information about Sheppard’s past be shown in the form of flashbacks in ‘Outcast’?
Thank you!
Erika
1)Is the truth behind Teyla’s pregnancy shocking?
2)Will Sheppard or Ronon cross any lines in the eyes of the military this season?
You know what a worst case scenario would be? If Sci Fi sent out the first two episodes of the season in their press kits and mistakenly included rough cuts instead of finished episodes. Yeah, that would be the worst of both worlds. Not only would the episodes be available for the fans to screen well before the premiere, but they would be half-finished episodes with temp visual effects and devoid of music and sound effects. Ho ho ho! Imagine if THAT happened? Anyway –
I shook my head in sad resignation when I read this, and the sad thing is I wasn’t surprised to read this! Certainly not after the lack of promotion last season, the video interviews with major casting spoilers ‘accidentally’ being put online, and throwing certain areas of the fandom into a tizzy.
It just seems to me, as an outsider looking in, that it’s one disaster after another with a certain channel…mentioning no names, of course.
It’s a shame certain cable channels can’t get their act together when promoting a show of SGA’s calibre, and act profesionally or efficiently.
From what I’ve heard and seen around, the show looks like it’s going to be the best series EVER, and I’m so excited to know I’m going to see the completed, kick-ass episodes when they air, in a few weeks.
I pray the viewing figures will reflect the quality we’re seeing.
*Stomps off feeling annoyed at SciFi*
Hi Joe
Sending healing vibes to little Lulu and hopes that the others dont tease het too much about the collar.
hugs
Wendy
John Sheppard is my happy place
Heh. Great vid, great blog entry. Re: the SciFi screw-up, I’d heard the eps were out there, but had decided to wait until the premiere to illegally download them (hey, I have ethics!) Rest assured, though, I’m not American (and therefore can’t watch on SciFi) and don’t have a Neilsen box (just as well – Atlantis is the only tv show I watch). Also – I own the first two seasons on DVD and will be buying the others as they are released, so I feel that mitigates the whole “illegal download” thing somewhat. 🙂
Again, enjoyed today’s efforts very much – thanks!
I wouldn’t worry about the leak if I were you. From what I’ve seen on my corner of the net, it’s generated a lot of positive hype for the season premiere both among those who’ve watched it and those who only have been told about it. A bit of pre-season excitement in the air can’t be wrong, can it?
Forgot to say in my last post that I’m glad Lulu is ok. Her eye looked awful, poor little mite. Also, I wasn’t aware dogs had a third eyelid…and I own a lab puppy…how embarrassing…
“First off, not a lot of people I’ve come across have seen them, and many in fact have said that they’re going to wait for the actual premiere, since they won’t be able to squee freely until then anyway (spoiler-phobes are rampant around some parts).
Yeah, I’m planning to say I’m waiting, too … when I log into gateworld and post with my screen name.
The truth is I watched one. Can’t find the other, but when I do, I’ll watch it.
It was like a 43-minute tease for the real thing, and I’m aching more now for September 28 than I was before. Bottom line, oh man it rocked. And that’s without a score and with a chunk of CGI missing.
Joe, if you guys have made 19 eps just like this one, I will personally find you and hug you.
Signed,
Unwilling to Own Up to My Weakness for SGA & Even More Eager for Season 4
bonjour, bonjour joseph how are you?
j’ai lut votre commentaire mais je n’est pas très bien comprit les episode de la saison 4 sont fini?
il ne manque plus que les effet speciaux? Je ne me trompe pas!!!
sinon:
qu’est-il arrivé a votre chien? il va s’en sortir au moins? c’est une chienne ou un chien? comment s’apelle-t-elle?
en tout cas j’espere que tout s’arrangera.
ps: ma copine atlantisfannewone va etre contente vous avez mit une photo de vous sur votre blog^^ vous saviez qu’elle vous adore? plus que les acteur de la serie lol
bye bye
poutoux
joseph
Joe:
Glad to see that the precious Lulu’s surgery went well, but gosh you shouldn’t post her picture wearing the dish right after several photos of food. Makes it look disconcertingly like Lulu ended up on the menu as dessert!
Keep us posted on her progress. What a little cutie she is:)
Marla
So Joe… What was the worst swear word heard around the production offices after y’all learned about the season 4 eps leaking online? Care to share?
Thanks Joe for answering my questions!! Oh and Worse Whoopi films…
Burglar and Eddie.
With the cancellation of the Dresden Files and Painkiller Jane wouldn’t that make Stargate Atlantis a shoe in for a Season 5?
JM blogged You know what a worst case scenario would be? If Sci Fi sent out the first two episodes of the season in their press kits and mistakenly included rough cuts instead of finished episodes. Yeah, that would be the worst of both worlds. Not only would the episodes be available for the fans to screen well before the premiere, but they would be half-finished episodes with temp visual effects and devoid of music and sound effects. Ho ho ho! Imagine if THAT happened? Anyway –
and then Linzi remarked I shook my head in sad resignation when I read this, and the sad thing is I wasn’t surprised to read this! Certainly not after the lack of promotion last season, the video interviews with major casting spoilers ‘accidentally’ being put online, and throwing certain areas of the fandom into a tizzy.
You know, sometimes I wonder if SciFi is to cheap to promote the show, and this is (or might) be their alternative. So SciFi really did that, or are you being sarcastic? It’s hard to tell sometimes.
What SciFi really needs to do is create a website, with SGA material for press only on it, then ‘leak’ the URL to the web, and within a week the fans will do what their PR department should be doing, but we’d do it for free.
And yes, will there any Stargate presence at the New York City Comic Con (think it’s February).?
Danke.
Lulu’s cute! Too bad about the elizabethean collar though.
Pleasse answer these questions. 1) Any Jack and Sam moments in Stargate Continuum? 2) What happened to the little girl in Sateda? Did she survive? Does Ronon have any children? 3) Who is going to be in season five? Is O’Neill going to be in season five?
Thanks.
My kids are out of school today, and they were allowed one hour of TV to watch today. They chose to watch “Meridian”, the Stargate SG-1 episode when Daniel dies.
They had never seen it before.
Although I warned them that Daniel dies and his hospital room scenes are grim, they wanted to watch.
They thought it would be no big deal, since they had just met Michael Shanks at DragonCon, they knew “Daniel” came back in later episodes, etc, etc.
My 10 year old daughter left the room a few times (the bandages creeped her out), but I convinced her to watch the final 10 minutes (by putting her knee in her sight line, so as not to see Daniel wrapped in bandages).
When the show was over, both my 14 year old son and 10 year old daughter were crying. I have never seen my son cry before, unless he was seriously injured. Both my kids are pretty stoic, and although they laugh and get angry, crying is rare.
That episode was the first time a TV program evoked those kinds of emotions in my kids, especially my son.
It was amazing.
So, I just want to let you know that even though five years have passed since the original airing of that episode, that it still packs a powerful emotional punch.
And, I want to commend you (all of SG-1, writers, producers, editors, music, etc) for that episode.
I have watched “Meridian” several times but watching it with my kids was a completely different experience.
Thank you.
And, we can’t wait for Season 4 of Atantis to start.
Thanks a lot to whoever pointed out Teyla’s extra hand in the group promo shot. Now I’m completely disgusted and can’t stop looking at it. What a horrible montage; the worst ever.
I mean, maybe it’s Jason’s hand, but if it is, it is attached backward to a freakishly long arm.
Yep, Sci Fi is 0 for 2 today!
I had a heartstopping moment when I glimpsed that last picture of Lulu. I saw her head on a plate. I know you’re a foodie, but I thought, No Way! Thank goodness first impressions aren’t always right.
If season five becomes reality, will you allow your dogs a walk-on role, say as palace dogs for some alien princess?
Hi Joe,
Lulu is such a cutie. Glad she is doing well. Love the pictures. The difference between the two border markers is really funny.
As far as the unfinished episodes being leaked, I’d just like to say that I love your sense of humor about it. I hope you kept that same sense of humor when you saw the group promo picture. I think the incredible shrinking McKay, Teyla with two left hands, and Ronan having a left hand growing out of a non-existent right arm may have actually topped the season 9&10 (lets see if we can airbrush off all signs of any personality) promo pictures.
I read a recent T.V. Guide interview (August 29th) with Michael where he mentioned having talked to you about Daniel visiting Atlantis in season 5. Michael said he was really excited about that. I just wanted to say thank you. I love Daniel, and I think it’s important for him to show up from time to time.
Well, I’m off to clean up more debris. Hope you have a great day Joe.
Take care
Jill
This whole leak thing would be amusing, if it wasn’t so sad. I’m glad those who have seen the eps already are still jazzed. That’s a good sign. 🙂
I am concerned if SciFi sent the unfinished products to the critics. While they may be used to that sort of thing, Atlantis is already considered the redheaded stepchild of television… that prolly didn’t help. :S
~ the dancer of spaz
Hi Joe:
I’m so glad to hear that Lulu operation went well! How is she adjusting to the crazy “Elizabethan Collar” and what do the other dogs think of it?
Cheers!
Sabina 🙂
Hi Joe.
I know we’re all holding our collective breath for SciFi to order Season 5. Obviously, Nielson ratings are the big ticket item determining ratings. But for those of us without a magic box, does it help for us to buy episodes on iTunes? I can’t buy a whole season’s worth, especially if I plan on purchasing the DVD set when the season is complete. But if buying the first five or six shows will help the TV execs make their decision to order Season 5, I can do my part.
And if it is inappropriate for you to directly answer this kind of question, you can send a secret signal by mentioning either chocolate or puppies in your next post. [wink, wink, nudge, nudge]
…Salut joseph =)
3 seconde…..
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Vous voulez me tu� en mettant une photo de vous sur votre blog?? lol
Magnifique, superbe ,splendide, incroyable, formidable photo =)
Alalal vous m’avez redonnez le sourir! =)
Vous avez de la chance d �tre aller au usa^^!
Jespert que Lulu ira vite mieux! c est drole de la voire avec sa colerette.
Je vous remerci pour tout ces photos et cette video!
…Moi les �xtrais des �pisodes de la saison 4 je les est vu sur dailymotion.
Mince lol si vous voulez, mangez au restaurant avec moi! car je ne finit jamais mes plats lol! c est mon p�re qui est bien content =)
En tout cas vous avez passer une bonne journ�e!
Je vous remerci aussi pour votre commentaire sur mon blog^^! c est adorable^^!
Allez gros bisou!! je vous adore!!! a demain!!! Bonne journ�e!
ps: pas de question pour aujourd’hui, je suis encors trop sous le choque cette superbe photo!! =D <3<3<3<3
Vive Jospeh!!!!!! Alala si vous saviez comment je vous adore! =D
Today’s was a laugh-out-loud entry – Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, and Nicole Ritchie indeed.
I was wondering if, when you were living in Montreal, you had occasion to venture south to upstate NY and try the local delicacy known as the Michigan? Check the May 20th entry for notes on michigans.
Hi Mr Mallozzi
Pooor Lulu. It’s always so sad to see a dog enduring such breed-specific deseases.
If I may ask you a question:
I read the Atlantis episodes were filmed in HD. So are there any plans to release them on HDDVD/BluRay?
BTW:
Thank you very much for mentioning books you (dis-)liked.
Glad to hear Lulu’s surgery went well, even if your lunch didn’t. Ah well, can’t have everything.
Will Teyla’s baby be born before, after, or during the season finale?
Thanks a bunch!
Joe, if i’d only known you were going to be down this way, I’d of supplied you with some of my fresh fudge as it was Fabulous Fudge day(normally I do fudge on fridays so it becomes fabulous fudge friday). Yesterdays menu was a very nice european dark fudge that is(my opinion) delicous.
I wonder something. Why do the males of Atlantis only have the ATA Gene? Jack O’Neil and John Sheppard are the ones with the natural gene and I wonder why nothing has been said about females having the gene. Time to be fair males can’t have everything. LOL
Fran
Osiris said…
while surfing tonight and searching for some old and rare movie soundtracks in torrent sites, i came along this: Stargate Atlantis S0401 DVDSCR.
well, i didn’t watch it because I’m waiting for the premiere later this month, but some of the commmets said there were 10 minutes missing in the middle of the episode, some sound and special effects were not added yet. anyhow my quesion is this: from where do you think could have this DVD screener leaked? from your production office, the special effects company or SciFi channel’s offices? who has access to the this screener DVDs.
Ummm…. did you actually read today’s blog entry before posting this commment?
Will love be a factor this season?
Lies! You silenced him! Where is the rest of the video? you dont want the truth to get out!
Is lulu doing better after the surgery? Did the pugs shower her with affection upon her return?
On the topic of downloading the shows, I plan to watch them when they show up on scifi, but I might just check them out early from the download, but it isnt the same watching it on my computer. Having the first 2 episodes show up online is a great way to get people excited for the rest of the season (assuming the episodes released are worth getting excited over, which I’m sure they are).
I don’t know how much you have input on these types of things but if scifi is really worried about pirates then they should really look into improving the quality of the viewing experiance. i.e. Include bloopers during the first airing, as to encourage people to tune in. Interviews with cast and crew. The kind of thing that shows up on DVD’s as extras would really get people to tune in.
Even putting in the little clips you put on your blog inbetween commercials would catch a few more viewers, and help get people to watch the adds.
Anyways; I’ll be sure to remind my friends the gate is starting back up. I hope your family (dogs and all) are doing well.
To think, you were in the same country as me! Granted, Vancouver is negligibly further than Washington from where I am, but that’s not the point. 🙂
Did you figure out what makes Fairhaven historic? It always seems like places are being labeled as famous or historic.
Lulu looks adorable in her collar-thing!
petit message avant de me coucher…
Je me suis rendu compte que les deux premiers �pisode de la saison 4 etait disponible en t�l�chargement ill�gal sur emule..
je voudrais savoir pourquoi? quesqu’il ya eu?
hmmm c ‘est bizzard, jespert que les autres �pisodes ne seront pas en ligne avant leur arriv�e a la t�l�vision!
aller gros kissou! je vous adore!!!!
Advice for Connor: Drink water. And use an archery bow that sports an umbrella.
For Joe: I have ordered extra copies of Hogfather and Excession for the store. If it’s ok with you, I’m going to place them on one of our “Staff Recommends” displays with a little snippet on how you are recommending these for your blog book club. Just think, you are an honorary staff member of the hippest bookstore in Dallas. Go you!
Joe,
Yes, I am behind the times. I say this because I think every other fan of SG1 or SGA has seen season 3 Atlantis all ready. However, I only got to watch “Sunday” today. And I would like to thank you. I know there was a lot of backlash regarding the departure of Carson Beckett and that the furore has led to a brief (so far) return of Paul McGillion to the cast in the latter part of season 4.
However, the reason I say thank you is because I cannot imagine a more fitting tribute end to such a character. Others may not agree with me…but if Carson was to go, as he has, then he went the way he should of – saving a life. And for that, for provoking the emotional response in me (yes, I cried) I want to thank you and rest of the SGA crew. I’d love to tell you just how affected I am but…Damn…for once I’m without description…that doesn’t happen often.
Maybe I am behind the times on this one…by several months true…but still, it doesn’t hurt to say “thank you” does it. It was a beautifully made and presented episode – all credit to everyone involved.
Best wishes to Lulu on getting better – she looks so cute, bless her!
Dreams (who now desperately needs a lot of chocolate)
…a oui aussi …
sa veut dire quoi ce “ED” sur votre photographie..?
lol …attention je vais jouer les d�t�ctives lol !!
..enfin en tout cas, grace a vous et a ce “ED” j ai appri qui �tais
“Ed Wood”!
Je m’endormirais moin b�te ce soir^^!
Merci! bisou ^^!
hey Joseph,
just wanna say that i won’t be watching your blog for a while, i’m going to the country which started the whole Stargate Franchise (yes, thats Egypt!) tomorrow, so this is just a shout out to you and that i’ll be catching up on your blog on the 25th -26th Sept.
So catch you soon and behave! Yes, BEHAVE!! we know what you’re like! LOL
Keep the faith,
Kady xx
Hey, nice photo of you, say, what kind of car are you driving?
Hated the new promo photos, the only acceptable pic was that of Hewlett, but the group pic is just awful and wrong in so many ways.
The leaked eps… well, I’ve seen them. I’m not in the US, so I can’t see them on TV anyway and can’t influence the ratings. Yet I’d watch the complete versions for sure if I was in the US, because – great stuff! It was actually quite interesting to see an ep without music or special effects/sound effects. You learn a lot about the different actor’s acting talent and how much post-production can influence the effect an ep has on the viewer.
Hope poor little Lulu gets better soon and that her new older siblings take good care of her!
Great Hewlett vid! 🙂
Leah
i was wondering if you had seen this yet the first episode seems to have found its way onto bittorrent i thought you should
Also is there any chance of seeing any of Teylas family this season at all?
Glad to hear LuLu is doing well.
Sorry to beat this dead horse, but I just got a chance to catch up on your last few blogs. The Sept. 10 blog reminded me of Carly Simon’s “You’re so Vain” ballad–enthralling, honest, yet maddeningly obscure. You noted that the champagne scene in question was not from “Aurora”—was it from “Rising”?
I know you would never want to name names, but I certainly hope it was none of the actors we have come to love on both of the ‘Gates.
BTW–all those comments posted about life in academia are vey true. Unfortunately there are always a few rotten apples.
Thanks for the fabulous behind the scenes info,
Royal
My training officer and I plan to compare notes on our dinners when we get to work tomorrow. He’s going to a $250 a plate fundraiser somewhere, and I’m going to check out a new barbecue place. I’m betting my dinner is better than his.
You know, the funny thing about you having to wait for the non gluten-free food, is that I AM on a gluten-free diet (I have Celiac disease, so I don’t really have a choice) and I always have to be really careful where and what I eat, because specifically gluten-free food is not very abundant. Maybe I need to move to Washington.
Ordering anything but pho at a pho restaurant? That’s just crazy talk. A valuable lesson was learned here.
“Fondy had the cloying chocolate chunk cake while I did a little better with the peanut butter pie – which I had to wait for because the non gluten free variety had to be hand-delivered from the downstairs dining area. On principal, I couldn’t settle for the gluten-free version.”
OMG, There’s a restaurant there that knows about gluten-freeness! *flies cross country* It’s hard to find restaurants that understand^^ And they even keep them separated!!!
Nice video^^