Poor Carl. He’s been burned by our chocolate practical jokes so many times that he now views the most innocuous-looking squares with the utmost suspicion. There was the time I failed to tell him that the dark chocolate bar he was about to taste concealed pieces of sinus-blasting peppercorns. And the time I suggested he sample a bag of dark chocolate dusted cocoa beans, correctly predicting his panicky, grimaced reaction. And the time Lawren switched out a bar of sweet 60% dark for a mouth-puckering 100% cocoa. And, every time Carl’s eyes would roll back in their sockets, everyone in the writers’ room would celebrate: whooping and hollering and exchanging high-fives on yet another mission accomplished, another job well done. So, sure, we have steered him wrong one or maybe six times, but is that any reason to doubt us? We’re his co-workers after all. His friends. And his obvious distrust is, well, hurtful. Today, he picked up the bar of 62% dark I’d set down on the table and studied the wrapper intently before carefully unwrapping it and breaking off a piece. He warily eyed the square, brought it up to his mouth, then froze and threw me an uncertain look. “It’s fine,”I assured him. Clearly not convinced, he gave the chocolate another long, hard look and then, following a final quick glance in my direction, popped the piece into his mouth and chewed. Beat. He nodded, satisfied and very much relieved. Until – “I dropped it in the toilet!”I revealed. Whoops. Hollers. High-fives. Unfortunately, he wasn‘t buying it. Damn. So much for psychological warfare. I’ll have to come up with an bigger and better gag for next time. Hey, do they still make chocolate-covered Ex-Lax? Just wondering.
We watched the Prod cuts of Midway and Harmony this morning. Fantastic episodes both. Then, this afternoon, we had an extra special guest drop by for a visit. Bob Picardo had swung by for his costume fitting AND to drop off a gift for the pugs, compliments of him and his lovely wife Linda (Check out Bony Barney – the perfect Halloween accessory for those nervous dogs!) Bob is, of course, in town to shoot his scenes for the big season finale, The Last Man, and came up with a fun idea regarding the outfit Woolsey should be wearing in this episode. It won’t be his standard suit.
Today’s blog is dedicated to Lady Conure who will be going in for heart surgery later this month.
Today’s pics are compliments of Lawren Bancroft-Wilson: a photo diary of Lulu’s day at the office which includes a terrific snap of Carl discovering just how sharp her little teeth are.
Today’s video: Click on the date for a video of Lulu enjoying(?) her new gift.
Let’s wade through the various angry posts and find some questions or comments to field –
Elizabeth writes: “ 1) Is Cassie or Jack mentioned in S4 of Atlantis? 2) Why isn’t Carter getting the ATA gene? Is the fact that Carter was a Tokra host going to addressed in S4 of Atlantis? 3) Any alternate reality/time travel/people from the future stories coming up?”
Answers: 1) No comment. 2) Given that we’ve had the gene therapy since season one of Atlantis, and given that SG-1 has come across Ancient tech in the Milky Way galaxy, then it stands to reason that Carter would have already underwent the gene therapy. If that’s the case, and she doesn’t have the active gene, then clearly the therapy failed. In answer to the second question – no. 3) No comment.
Danielle writes: “Will any other characters from SG-1 besides Teal’c and Sam will be seen on Atlantis? Vala perhaps? Maybe Daniel? Cameron even?”
Answer: Not in season four. Although if we do get a fifth season pick up, it would make a lot of sense to have Daniel Jackson drop by for a visit. And, if Ben’s not too busy, it would be nice to have Cam drop by at some point as well.
Vern writes: “1) Is Lulu enjoying her stay with you at the office? 2) How many days/weeks to hiatus and three (or four?) months of no production headaches?” 3) Can I leave my e-mail addy for you so I can send Lulu a get well e-card (or vice versa)?
Answers: 1) Yes. She’s loving the attention. 2) That depends entirely on when we hear about next season. 3) Sure.
Zabadoo writes: “ 1.)Will there be any three-parters in the same vein as Reckoning/Threads, The Siege, or Avalon/Origin this season? 2.)Will Martin Gero be writing any McKay-centric episodes this season? 3.)Any chance of getting O’Neill in the fifth season of Atlantis? 4.)Any chance of getting Daniel and O’Neill coming to Atlantis in the same episode next season? 5.)Any Ford ideas as of late?”
Answers: 1) This Mortal Coil, Be All My Sins Remember’d, and Spoils of War are tenuously-linked three-parters. 2) Miller’s Crossing. 3) I don’t know. 4) If we get the pick-up, getting Daniel on Atlantis will be a priority. 5) None.
Lady Conure writes: “I will be at home for the actual airing of the new SGA episode then will in the hospital for a while.”
Answer: Good luck on your surgery. And did you receive the email I sent you a couple of days ago? I haven’t heard back.
Mel writes: “So, what are you going to do during the season hiatus?”
Answer: Read. A lot. Maybe do some writing. Hopefully.
Allison writes: “Have you ever thought about coming down and talking at SXSW in Austin?”
Answer: What’s SXSW? I’d love to visit Texas. Could you recommend any good steakhouses?
Anonymous #1 a ecrit: “Est-ce que t’es fache avec moi?”
Reponse: Er…non.
Anonymous #2 writes: “1-)Who is your nemesis and what super powers does he/she/it has? 2-)And what super power does The Baron Has?”
Baron Destructo answers: 1) Fool. My arch-nemesis is, of course, Captain Spectacular and his Confederacy of Justice. The cast of Rules of Engagement comes in a close second. 2) Besides my army of neural-linked battle-droids, my ultra-reinforced servo bitch-slap gauntlets, my Vidralian undergarments, and my all-proof micro-mesh purple velvet cape, my greatest weapon is, if course, my thoroughly engaging personality. What can I say? People love me. Thank you for asking, human scum.
Anonymous #3 writes: “Toe socks yay or nay?”
Baron Destructo answers: Oh. And my bio-luminescent toe socks. Dolt.
Anonymous #4 writes: “You’re blog is very popular. What do you attribute its success to?”
Answer: 12-15 extremely loyal fans constantly hitting their refresh buttons.
Dream-of-Skies writes: “What the devil ARE Tuxedo bars? You didn’t tell us!!!!”
Answer: To be honest, I don’t know. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say they’re sticks of butter rolled in crushed oreos and corn syrup, then deep-fried after which they are dipped in chocolate and glazed with caramel.
Emily writes: “Will the fact that Sheppard obviously has an Elf gene ever come in to play this season?”
Answer: We’re saving this revelation for the big stick-fighting three-parter.
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