Words hurt, but not as much as fists or fingernails. Still, they do hurt – as was the case today when I was labeled…a spammer! Well, actually, my blog was identified as a potential spam blog by the fine folks at blogger. I received the following email: “Your blog, […] has been identified as a potential spam blog. […] You will not be able to publish posts to your blog until we review your site and confirm that it is not a spam blog. To request a review, please fill out the form found here: […] We will take a look at your blog and unlock it within four business days. Please note that if we do not hear from you within 20 days, we will remove your blog.” Ah, I thought, a much-needed break. Four days would be just about right. So I clicked on the provided link to start the review process – and ended up with an error message. Successive attempts (oh, let’s say thirty) proved just as futile. Fortunately, I was able to navigate the blogger help section that, while wholly unhelpful, did provide me with an email address belonging to a real (and hopefully at least partially) live person. And so, I sit back and await my day in court. However, in the event I attempt to post an entry in the interim, I am met with the following warning: “This blog has been locked by Blogger’s spam-prevention robots.” Robots! How cool is that? I’m afraid to test their resolve lest I provoke them into zapping me with their laser eye beams or crushing me in their oversized mechanoid mitts.
Aw, hell. Since I’m killing time, why not answer a few questions –
Angel writes: “I have another book suggestion for you — “Spin” by Robert Charles Wilson. I just finished it last night and it was awesome…”
Answer: I read Spin a couple of months ago and agree with you. It was awesome. On the strength of Spin, I also picked up Bios which I haven’t gotten around to yet. Read it?
Anonymous #1 writes: “Joe, you do know that Reese wasn’t a replicator, right? Right? You do know that she was a robot, right? Because there is a big difference…”
Answer: Yes, thanks for that. She was a robot and not a human form replicator like Fifth. However, her ability to create replicators presumes a physiological parallel (or connection) between the two “life forms“. In other words, her ability to fashion replicators wasn’t magical but a direct result of whatever physical characteristics she possessed that allowed her to do so.
Jenny Robin writes: “Also, what are you sending me for Christmas?”
Answer: My love?
Jamie writes: “are there perhaps any other Rodney/Teyla friendship moments in upcoming episodes?”
Answer: BAMSR.
Neep writes: “Yesterday my twin sister and I (she is recovering from eye surgery and I have a nasty cold) went out for a birthday lunch at Strawberry Fare.”
Answer: Those desserts looked great! And kind of racy!
Thornyrose writes: “Do we get to see Teyla explain her ‘condition” to her teammates, or is that something that will happen offscreen?”
Answer: We will definitely see the reveal onscreen – as well as the ensuing fireworks.
Tim writes: “Just wondering, how does one perform a search on this here blog?”
Answer: Use the search function in the top left hand corner of my blog. For instance, write in “Cookie Monster”, hit search, and that should bring up most if not all of my Cookie Monster correspondence.
Gilder: “Would you please dedicate a blog to me this week?”
Answer: I dedicate this blog entry to you. So, how did you do?
ANAIS a ecrit: “Dite moi un chiffre entre 1 et 41?”
Reponse: 37!
Charlie writes: “Who’s the ranking military officer on SGA now?”
Answer: Colonel Samantha Carter.
Anonymous #2 writes: “earlier this year you said that it was a clue to carson’s return in one of the final 3 episodes of season 3, could you tell us now which episode it is in?”
Answer: No, but I can say that it’s near the very end of said episode.
Anonymous #3 writes: “At the Burbank Con, Joe F. revealed that under pressure from the actors, the producers agreed to do readthrus and then took them away because “there were more writers showing up then producers” even though there are two writers for every actor on the show!”
Answer: When Paul and I took over as showrunners, we had individual sit-downs with the actors to tell them what was in store for their characters in season four and to get their feedback. The actors had two requests: 1. Read-throughs, and 2. New Uniforms. So we changed the uniforms and started doing read-throughs (this despite the fact that a couple of producers who’d had experience with them warned they wouldn’t last). Well, they did last – up until about halfway through the season. While certain actors showed up for them, others were, uh, not quite as dedicated. As the season wore on, the turn-out consistently lessened to the point where we decided to discontinue the read-throughs. For the record, the “more writers than producers” was a joke.
Anonymous #4 writes: “He also said that every time he would go up to give you guys notes, you would tell him it was too late. He would read the scripts earlier and earlier and each time he would be told too late. Why is this?”
Answer: I’m going to have to go out on a limb here and assume you misheard him because we’ve always invited input from the actors. In fact, given the tight shooting schedule later in the season, I made it a point to personally visit Joe in his trailer to get his notes on Harmony and Outcast. Writers do their best to address any concerns. The only time notes are not incorporated into a script are those occasions when we fundamentally disagree with the note given.
Steph writes: “Well, it’s because I used the episode ‘Sunday’ as the topic for my essay. And seeing as I’m one of 108 students to be admitted early”
Answer: Congratulations! What will you be studying? Is it something space weapon-related? Baron Destructo and L.A.M.E. are hiring.
Anonymous #5 writes: “Are you planning to come back to Montreal for the holidays or will you be spending them in Vancouver.”
Answer: My mother and sister will be coming over to Vancouver for the holidays. Any suggestions for entertaining them while they’re here?
Morgia a ecrit: “Je suis ceeeertaine que tu te demandes: mais comment va son rhume ?”
Reponse: Comment va ton rhume? Mois aussi je souffre.
Promogirl writes: “Can you give us an update on Carl and how he’s fairing with the writers’ strike?”
Answer: Carl is out there picketing every morning at the Disney studios. Sadly, nary a Stargate fan has visited bearing those promised cookies. However, Xena fans did show up to distribute bottled water!
Anonymous #6 writes: “I was reading the news about Jason’s idea about Ronon going dark side in season 5 on GW. […] If you are throwing out ideas I hope it doesn’t come down to Ronon being captured and Sheppard unable to fee him because of the IOA.”
Answer: Well, as it turns out, Ronon’s desire to go darkside meshes nicely with a late season four story I had wanted to do – that, conveniently enough, has been pushed to early season 5. While the notion of Ronon feeling abandoned is interesting, I think it would be an irredeemable leap for his character to vow vengeance on Sheppard for not rescuing him in a timely manner. A more interesting scenario would have Ronon….ah, just watch the episode when it airs.
Rory21 writes: “From my point of view if Weir is alive or not is still a mystery, ¿I am right????”
Answer: From your point of view? Looks like it.
Sq2830 writes: “So, are you thinking about bringing Daniel Jackson in a comedic episode?”
Answer: I was kidding.
Kamilshka writes: “Of all the amazingly talented people involved with Stargate, he impressed me the most…”
Answer: Yep. John Lenic is a very talented guy and I couldn’t imagine making the show without him. In case you didn’t know, his non-Stargate credits include producing duties on A Dog’s Breakfast.
Anonymous #7 writes: “So, entire copy team is dead?”
Answer: Looks like it.
You escaped????
I slipped out the back while the Baron wasn’t looking. Just in case, put the rescue effort on hold but don’t disband the team entirely. I think I may have left my shoes behind.
What *is* a ‘spam blog’?????
woooooo HOOOOO! You are back! Call off the troops over at blogspot! It looks like Joe has made it out of the moonbase alive. We’re really good at rescues. I think there may be a part (maybe several!) for us all as walkons in season 5 (right, Joe?). wams352 aka the dixonstubblefield blog
Anne Teldy wrote: “What *is* a ’spam blog’?????”
To the best of m knowledge it”s a blog set up for the sole purposes of selling and distributing a certain canned meat that is immensely popular in Hawaii. I don’t believe I was doing that.
Much better setup. For one, the black text on white background will eliminate headaches 😉
I’ve been looking at the ‘Responses’ count and have come to the conclusion that you, Mr. M, don’t seem to count. At least, not to wordpress. I think we proved just how much you count to *us*.
Anne Teldy (No, sorry, Col. Sheppard, there’s been no change. Mallozzi is still being held. You’ll have to stay here where I can keep a han– an eye! keep an *eye* on you)
Hurrah! Good to see you back up and running again.
Yes, literally running. The League of Aliens and Mutants for Evil are hot on my tail.
After I wrote my last post, wordpress corrected the response count, making me look like an idiot. I think I hate wordpress already!
Anne Teldy (John I already told you. Baron Destructo put tracking devices in all your clothes. Trust me. Naked is better. I mean ‘safer’. Much safer.)
Well done, Joe! I hope it’s temporary, but if not, you have a nice new home.
I wanted to comment on all the quotes people are referencing from Joe F’s con appearance. He really did say those things about notes and read-throughs, as I reported in my Solutions con report, but you had to be there to hear his voice and see that he was in entertainment mode. He was exaggerating for effect, poking the production in the ribs, and turning a bit of conflict into laughs for the audience. Especially on the script change stuff, he really seemed to be exaggerating. Maybe he was really thinking of the times the writers disagreed with him, and maybe they told him he was too late to calm him down. 🙂 Anyway, maybe fans should stop reporting on cons if it’s going to be used to cause trouble in relationships we have NO real insight about.
So Stargate, Fancy Food and books are considered spam now lol. Are there any Witty banter moments for Daniel & Vala in Ark of Truth. Really fireworks at Teyla’s announcement I am a Ronon and Teyla shipper so in my mind he will be jealous very jealous. I was all prepared to join the fight for your release I was going ask to join.
hey Vancouverites — Paul McGillion is on Urban Rush tonight. He talks about his new play and Atlantis and the campaign. I’m told it’s very funny, so catch it if you can! 🙂
Uh, no, the person didn’t mishear anything. Joe Flanigan said that he goes to the writers earlier and earlier with suggestions and they say “No, sorry, too late.”
He also said that he asked TPTB to please change their minds about killing Beckett, and they said “Sorry, too late, we already told Paul.”
I’m just amazed at how Joe could see how bad the fan reaction would be to both Beckett and Weir being dumped, but you guys couldn’t. Why is that?
I know you’re writing stories ‘you’ want to see, but if the audience doesn’t agree, you’re not really going to have much of an audience left.
I have to say, I admire Joe F more every day for the support he’s shown to both Torri and Paul.
There are people out there who are hoping he can influence a decision to bring Weir back, but going by what he’s said at conventions, you guys don’t give a flying you know what what your own star thinks.
Think about it. It’s in his best interest to remain in a fulltime job. He’s hardly going to suggest things if he thinks they’re crap, and he’s been around enough TV shows and sets to know what he’s talking about.
HÉÉÉ ! You are freeeeeeeeeeeee ! I knew the rescue team was to powerfull, we afraid yours kidnappers !!!! Look like I continue to speak english… (clear throat ) Hourra, tu es de retour je me suis fait un sang d’encre j’en ai même oublier mon rhume !!!
Spam blog? Seriously? Sooo… if you’re a dedicated Blogger and actually post an entry every day without fail, you must obviously be a spammer? Oooh… or is this more a case of a malicious anonymous “tip-off” to Blogger intimating your blog is of a spammy nature… do i detect the nefariou hand of Baron Destructo at work here?!
This new blog comments section doesn’t appear to like my keyboard – random letters keep not appearing on screen as I type. It’s take me about 3 minutes to type this one damn sentence! *swears copiously*
Here’s a new Q for your new blog. What’s your personal favourite episode out of the first half of Season 4?
And I noticed belatedly that the mystery disappearing keystroke syndrome also affected my name! *kicks Weblog*
Is the onscreen reveal for Teyla in BAMSR?
Dagnabbit! you beat me to the Hawaiian spam blog sushi reference.
mumble, mumble, mumble … taking my titanium spork and going home now.
Nevermind, I am home now.
As you are here approving comments is it worth staying up for a bit in hopes of reading more entries????? (yes the strike team are watching your 6)
I have entries for the 12th, 13th, and today to post – but I don’t know whether I should post the all at once or post one tonight, one tomorrow morning, and another in the afternoon to space them out. Thoughts?
It’s great to see you back blogging. I was in withdrawl.
Maybe your posts including paragraphs taken from spam emails and your replies triggered an alert for those robots? Just a thought.
Grace et al… if you want to interpret what an actor says at a convention Q&A as supporting your particular point of view, that’s entirely up to you, but parading your interpretation to the producers, “Look! Joe F agrees with me! See?! He doesn’t like you either *and* he understands the fans waaaay better than you!”, is just tacky in the extreme. I think it’s great that Joe is such good friends with the people he has worked with for over 3 years and that he admits that he was sorry to see them leave and misses them; it would be odd not to feel that way, tbh. I do find it ridiculous – and inappropriate – though when fans with a particular bias suddenly claim Joe as the public champion of their cause and make him out to be a kindred soul who shares their righteous indignation and thinks TPTB are wrong wrong wrong and foolish not to see how wrong they are! Short of asking Joe – or any other actor – to plainly state their support or otherwise of any fan campaign or opinion, I really don’t think it’s appropriate to be ascribing opinions on behalf of people you don’t actually know.
I vote space’m out.
Anne Teldy
You have to leave your e-mail to leave a comment. Oy, who do they think they are, the pope? If I start getting junk mail…
You should post all the entries at once.
Oh, evil Joe. We’ve been waiting for 4 days. Please, post them all at once. Can’t wait any longer *inserts begging*
I have entries for the 12th, 13th, and today to post – but I don’t know whether I should post the all at once or post one tonight, one tomorrow morning, and another in the afternoon to space them out. Thoughts?
ALL AT ONCE! Come on, Joe.. you KNOW how impatient fans are! 😆
We’ve waited 4 days man.. FOUR DAYS!
I vote for an overload, nay an orgy, of blog entries to sate our impatience and then resumption of normal blogging service on the morrow.
Go on… you know you want to… 😀
uh, post them all. No atlantis on tonight so I need the entertainment! Also, what’s with the time stamp on this thing? Ha! I detect problems in the timeline…are we in the future?
I think spacing out is the way to go. It’s like when you’re a heroine addict and you have 3 hits in your pocket, it’s not good to take all of them at once. 🙂
Congratulations on the escape, and the new, if temporary blog. Now, to retrieve the Atlantis shuttle, get Henri the Chocolatier away from the still long enough to get him home, put back the arrowhead remover I stole from the Smithsonian(suitable for removing impaled sporks), and to share the rest of the kegs of beer(Moosehead, naturally) with the other rescuers. It’s been entertaining, if not as good as having your regular posts.
Post ’em all. Live dangerously : ) Plwity Pwease
We want all the entries !!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW ! Oups, sorry Im a little bit emotive today, with all the actions with the rescue team and your miracle return, Im nervous. Im gonna take my dangerous-ice-cream-spoon arm and take a dessert…
YAY!!!!!!!!!
Hi Joe
Glad to read you again.
I think you can post all your entrie today, at the end of the day, we’ll all read them, so, this doesn’t really matters when you post them as far as it’ll be soon :D.
bye
Quilani
I was going through withdraw from not seeing your blog update for four days. Glad to see you back up and running. 😉
What exactly are you getting at (or not getting at) in that response about Reese? I never questioned her ability to make replicators or implied that it was in any way “magical”? That’s pure misdirection. You said, essentially, that she makes replicators because she’s physically capable of making them. Well, thanks for the news flash.
The point of origin for this comment was the fact that you used Reese (and Fifth) to explain, in some weird way, the reasoning behind the factious Asurans. I said, no, Reese wasn’t even a replicator. You then responded (forgive the paraphrase) “She makes replicators because she can make them, it’s not magic.” How does that go along with the conversation? It’s a total non-sequitor.
Nice to see you being able to post somewhere, Joe. I find it both funny and sad that Blogger thinks your blog is a spam blog. Sorry you are having the trouble.
*sniff sniff* Ahhhh, I love that new blog smell. Good to see you out and about Joe! Don’t worry, as commanded by you, the rescue team is all waiting snuggly in the Puddle Jumper while it’s parked in orbit of the Moon, cloaked. If you need help, we’re only a few hundred kilometers above you.
And I’d say space’em out, as well. A sudden, huge dose of Awesome is just too much for us.
What kind of response was that? wrote: “What exactly are you getting at (or not getting at) in that response about Reese? I never questioned her ability to make replicators or implied that it was in any way “magical”? That’s pure misdirection.”
The point I was making was that her ability to create and control replicators suggest a connection between Reese and the replicators, one that would strongly suggest she’s not as “not replicator” as you would suggest.
Pg15 says: And I’d say space’em out, as well. A sudden, huge dose of Awesome is just too much for us.
NOOOOOOOOOOO I want the huge dose! I need the huge dose! (Shaking hands reach for the bottle of Awesome pills)
Wasn’t it implied in the episode that Reese invented the creepy crawly replicators? So she is a robot queen of the replicators?
Just because she isn’t made of blocks (she can create them though) doesn’t mean she isn’t part of the replicator club. Urgo (lol) She is a non replicating replicator.
Joe just wrote:
“The point I was making was that her ability to create and control replicators suggest a connection between Reese and the replicators, one that would strongly suggest she’s not as “not replicator” as you would suggest.”
OK, I’ll play. You and I are both humans, but we can create a multitude of other things with our hands and with our minds. You and I can build a house or a car, we can write a computer program or a science fiction TV show. Just because we can create and control those things which we create doesn’t in any way imply that we’re akin to those things. You and I aren’t even close to being a house or a car, a computer program or a TV show.
The connection you point out, that Reese is the replicators’ creator, suggests just that. Nothing more. I say again, Reese’s ability to create and control replicators is in no way an indicator that she herself is a replicator. There’s no logical progression of thought to get there. Unless you want to create one, that is. You’re the writer/creator in this case. Are you telling us something new about Reese?
If so, what exactly? That Reese was built by an Ancient who returned from Pegasus after they lost the war with the Wraith, and that this Ancient was familiar with the Asurans? That there is a similar idea/methodology/program that is common to both Reese (the robot) and the Asurans?
If that’s the case, I would contend that Reese’s need to believe that she is “real” is not the same as the factious Asurans’ desire to ascend. Ascension is, as far as we know, enlightenment. It’s a form of evolution (one which you’ve never singled out as solely belonging to humanity). Reese didn’t want to ascend. She wanted to be human, be accepted as real.
PS This is fun.
Yay! New blogs!!! Ok…I gotta go read the rest! Welcome back Joe….if not to your home, then to blogging!
Kimberly
True, but the Asuran desire to ascend is part of a general desire to emulate humanity. Fifth, for example, was more interested in this potential humanity than ultimate ascension.
Joe writes:
“True, but the Asuran desire to ascend is part of a general desire to emulate humanity. Fifth, for example, was more interested in this potential humanity than ultimate ascension.”
Is there an Asuran desire to emulate humanity? T think that is stated backwards. The Asuran desire to emulate humanity is a part of their general desire to ascend. Which is the other way around from how you just stated it.
The Asurans desire to emulate their creators, not humanity. They want to be like the Ancients, not like humans. That’s why they want to ascend, because their creators ascended. Humanity is just a pit stop along the way. And it’s not even a necessary pit stop. Anubis wasn’t human, but he ascended. Granted, it was with help from Oma, but he did it. Which begs the question, could the Asurans ascend with help from another ascended being?
As for Fifth, I don’t agree that he was interested in potential humanity. He was more human than other replicators, he was different, but he desire greater humanity. He didn’t want to shed his replicator self and become more like us. We were interested in his humanity (whatever small or large bit of it there was) because we could exploit it. He accepted that he was “different” from other replicators, but he never had an identity crisis about it. And in the end, I think Fifth was proved to be just the opposite of what you imply–he was just another replicator. His goal was to self-replication, either in the form of bugs or other human form replicators (like RepliCarter). Maybe he possessed a greater degree of humanity, of human qualities than other replicators before him, but there is no implication that Fifth was somehow fascinated with his own humanity. And he never desired ascension. Saying he wasn’t interested in it is only stating the obvious.
Your turn.
What kind of response was that? wrote:
>The connection you point out, that Reese is the replicators’ creator,
>suggests just that. Nothing more. I say again, Reese’s ability to create
>and control replicators is in no way an indicator that she herself is a
>replicator. There’s no logical progression of thought to get there. Unless
>you want to create one, that is. You’re the writer/creator in this case.
>Are you telling us something new about Reese?
Reese had a power cell, so she wasn’t a true human-form replicator BUT she also had replicator-type nanites in her which she used to make her ‘toys’. The Ancients created the nanites that eventually became human-form replicators. It follows — at least to me — that possibly (more likely, ‘probably) one of the Ancients had something to do with Reese’s creation. Who else in the Milky Way had that kind of technological knowledge?
Am I right, Mr. M?
Anne Teldy
Joe, I’ll probably get jumped on by the anti Weir people for even mentioning her — heaven forbid anyone should have a view that differs from their righteous view — but what are the chances of Elizabeth being back for some episodes in season five?
An interesting point has been made on GW, that those who claim Weir with nanites is no longer human should also probably see someone with a pacemaker as no longer human, because it’s the pacemaker that’s keeping them alive, not their own biology.
Those who claim there’s no way she’s alive, by the way, to quote Joe M (I think you said this): you have trouble with that, but you have no problem with people going through a stargate into other galaxies?
I’d love to see Torri back. I’d love to see Paul back. And all those people who say “they’re dead, let them stay dead”, don’t forget Daniel Jackson. How many times was he killed? Fans wanted him back, even though the actor said many times he wasn’t interested. He came back and nobody seemed to have a problem with the fact that the once dead Jackson was again alive.
If it’s good enough for Jackson and Beckett to suddenly come back to life, it’s good enough for Weir.
yay, more joe blogging fun! 😀
so, when will we know who’s signed up, cast wise, for s5? i’m eagerly awaiting news on amanda/sam.
sally 😀
Joe wrote:”While the notion of Ronon feeling abandoned is interesting, I think it would be an irredeemable leap for his character to vow vengeance on Sheppard for not rescuing him in a timely manner. A more interesting scenario would have Ronon….ah, just watch the episode when it airs.”
I actually wrote the original question about Jason’s desire for Ronon to go dark side, but forgot to login. Anyhow, this is great to know, while I think a personality change would be interestingly even a darker one—I’d find it a total character assassination to Ronon’s character to suddenly feeling left behind when The Team-lead by Sheppard has gone overboard to help him and still supported him after “Reunion”.
I’m giddy about season 5..and we still have 10 eppys of four to go!!
Congrats on switching blogs, hope you keep this one, its easier to read.
Oh I asked if you ever read any Scott Lynch Novels…have you?
Anonymous #5 writes: “Are you planning to come back to Montreal for the holidays or will you be spending them in Vancouver.”
Answer: My mother and sister will be coming over to Vancouver for the holidays. Any suggestions for entertaining them while they’re here?
Well, since I’ve never been to the Vancouver area I really can’t recommend anything. My sister and her family were there this past summer and the only things that I heard about was Stanley Park, the aquarium and the sky train. I don’t know if the sky train is the actual name or if it is a name that my nieces made up. Anyways, they loved the sky train so much that they took a couple of extra trips on it for no other reason than to be on it.
Hi Joe! So glad to see you back on the metaphorical horse again! I’ll keep a spork’ni’katel in hand, just in case something happens, but my fingers are crossed “Jonas-style” that wordpress keeps you online!
Haha, sorry Joe. Just realized that I use Zygoptera as a handle on all the other sites I visit throughout my geeky day, but on blogger, I’m just under the name Brenna. Mind changing the post you just received from “Zygoptera” to brenna please? You don’t have to actually post this one, either.
((((((JOE)))))
I am glad to see you have managed to escape those incompentent kidnappers or did the fear of facing your rescue team make them come to their senses and release you?
My question for you today is Since Michael and Carson are returning in the same ep, is there a connection between the two. It seems like too much of a coincidence. Hmmmmmm?