Oooh, you guys are in for a treat. Carl Binder (Yes! THE Carl Binder!) has agreed to do a post-Missing guest Q&A on this very blog. So what I’m going to do is gather up your Missing and miscellaneous Stargate-related questions (ie. How is your three-part toilet episode coming along?, What is Joseph Mallozzi really like?) through Saturday, send them his way Saturday evening, give him most of Sunday to come up with his clever answers, and then post the responses on a special “Carl Binder Guest Blog Entry” Sunday evening.
Also, I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that Stargate Atlantis has been nominated for a People’s Choice Award in the category of Favorite Sci-Fi Show. More surprising than the fact that we were nominated is the fact that this category actually exists in the first place. Since when? Although, in all fairness, there were a number of other categories that seem new to me including “Favorite Reunion Tour”, “Favorite Threequel”, and “Most Meticulous Animal Guest Star in a Musical or Variety Series“. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see the genre (and, of course, our series) being recognized. If you’d like to support the show and vote for Atlantis, head on over to –
http://www.pcavote.com/pca/index.jsp
By the way, I am genuinely surprised by all of the excitement generated by my proposed virtual dinner prize for the 750 000th visitor to this blog. When I came up with the idea in passing, I never imagined fans would react so positively. As a matter of fact, I’m suddenly feeling the pressure of having to prove myself a delightful dinner companion. Well, at the very least, I suppose I’ll have to dress up for the occasion. For all those interested in chowing down on some virtual crispy pork hocks and/or squid ink fettuccine – it’ll be a while. We are presently ticking toward 675 000.
Another quiet day at the office marked by plenty o’ phone calls (finally got in touch with Mr. Shanks), budget talk, and a Day One Mix of Kindred II. I have to say that with Kindred I, Kindred II, and The Last Man, Atlantis’s fourth season closes out very, VERY strong, offering up a touching and bittersweet mix of character moments that I know fans are going to love. The ending of Kindred II in particular is incredibly moving (Carl was in tears. I was, of course, touched, but not overly emotional although the eye infection I’ve been battling may have made it seem like I was crying. Marty G., meanwhile, was not present as he is in Vegas – uh – scouting locations for next season – but would have been weeping as well. Paul, as usual, was impassive – the cold-hearted bastard). No doubt that Kindred II will have fans reaching for the tissue or their significant other’s sleeve while Last Man will have them jumping up, bug-eyed screaming: “HOLY F*&O$2@ S*$#!!!!!”. Heh heh. Stay tuned.
Today’s mailbag:
Fingolfin high king writes: “Have you every met a Stargate fan while at a restaurant?”
Answer: As a matter of fact, yes. Earlier this year I was at a local restaurant when the waitress introduced herself as, not only a fan of the show, but a regular reader of this blog.
Elizabeth writes: “1) What’s your favorite episode of season four? 2) When are the movies suppose to be compared to the Atlantis timeframe?”
Answer: 1) Hard to say as we are still finishing episodes. Right now, my favorites are Tabula Rasa, BAMSR, and Harmony. 2) The events of Ark of Truth take place before season four. The events of Continuum – anytime.
Mackenzie’s Momma writes: “I worked on my craft project tonight a very wonderful ‘sheep song’ shirt want one?”
Answer: I don’t even know what that is. Sounds great though.
LostCityGuardian writes: “Forgive the following extreme lack of knowledge then, but does the executive producer actually run the show? Does that mean that you and Paul Mullie run SGA in the same way that they would run SGU?”
Answer: The showrunners run the show and, yes, Rob and/or Brad will hold parallel positions to Paul and I on SGU.
Charles Schneider writes: “Was the rope bridge a “Binder Original” or did it evolve after the initial script had been turned in?”
Answer: It was a Binder Original. A very costly, over-budget Binder Original.
Shawna writes: “If you had to choose any Stargate race other than human to be, what would you pick? Also, would you rater be that in the SG universe, or in your real life?”
Answer: Other than human? Hmmmmm. Hard to say as most of the races SG-1 and the Atlantis expedition encountered were human. Hmmmm. Maybe one of those Foothold aliens with the illusory disguise devices so that I could masquerade as Lindsay Lohan and get into all the good Hollywood parties. Also, given the choice, I think I’d prefer to remain in my real life than exist in the SG universe. Unless the Stargate universe gets House and Survivor.
Scifan writes: “Are we going to know the answer to, “Who’s the daddy”, to Teyla’s baby soon or do we have to wait ’til the end of the season?”
Answer: Soon. Soon.
Anonymous #1 writes: “What do the others in your office think when you start snapping their pics and posting them on your blog?”
Answer: Depends who it is. On the one hand, you have my writing/producing partner Paul who is very camera shy on account of that international arrest warrant. On the other hand, you have Marty G. who has never met a camera he doesn’t like (and, let’s be frank, hasn’t loved him back).
Anonymous #2 writes: “Please remove the Carter intros to the episode previews, since she is not an actual, original Atlantis person.”
Answer: Sure thing. Allow me to put that on my To Do List, right after “record my gospel cd” but well before “start my edible lye soap business”.
Anonymous #3 writes: “…She’s had no scenes so far that couldn’t have been handled by Weir or Zelenka.”
Answer: By that brilliant logic, one could argue that all of McKay’s scenes could have been handled by Zelenka while all of Sheppard’s scenes could have been handled by Lorne. Also, I don’t think Weir or Zelenka would’ve fared as well leading that rescue op in Reunion.
Cyn writes: “Teyla’s always handled herself with grace, but I do like seeing her pissed off, too.”
Answer: Ooooh. Then you’re going to like Missing.
Joshua Meyers writes: “I love the chemistry of Larrin and Sheppard, can we have more of that?”
Answer: BAMSR.
Jenny writes: “Speaking of which, to pick a few Food Network favorites at random, who’s your favorite chef(or even TV personality): Emeril, Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay, or Giada De Laurentiis?”
Answer: Simply based on personality, I’d go with Anthony Bourdain.
Jim from Jersey writes: “I missed the d’Olivia bar when I ordered.”
Answer: I strongly urge you to continue to give it a miss and try the Barcelona Bar instead.
Morgia a ecrit: “Je me suis rendu compte que tu ne réponds jamais (ou presque) aux personnes qui t’écrivent en français…”
Reponse: “J’ai répondu à des questions françaises dans le passé et continuerai à les repondre. Il tout dépend du type de question demandé.”
Atlantisfannew1 a ecrit: “1}Quel est votre épisode préféré dans stargate sg1?
2}(Répondez franchement a cette question s’il vous plait.)Imaginons qu’une personne ne parlant pas anglais vous met la 750000 visite, choisiriez vous une autre personne qui parle anglais?”
Reponses: 1) 2010. 2) Non, je choisirais le 750 000ieme visiteur – et parlerais français avec eux.