The other day, I received the following email:
“My new friend,
I am well pleased to contact you after going through your profile on my search for genuine relationship. I will like to be your good friend, please contact me.
I am waiting for your reply soon,
Rita“
Well, hot damn. I passed the message along to Baron Destructo who, coincidentally, has been playing matchmaker for a buddy of his. The Baron wrote back:
“Dearest Forlorn Human Wretch,
I am contacting you on behalf of an ally and fellow supercriminal who, not unlike yourself, has reached that point in life where he is no longer desirable to the opposite sex and thus seeks to cut his losses by settling down. In his search for a meaningful relationship, Glaxnor the Miscreant has tried various introduction services such as vdate (The Leading Villains Single Network!), eDisharmony, and RateMyRack – all to no avail. To date, he has yet to find his soulmate, that special someone with whom he can share in life’s joys: parenthood, long walks on the beach, the destruction of enemy forces. Could you be that someone?
Glaxnor is 8 foot 5, well-built, and considered not unhandsome by those who know him. Many have described him as an adorable mutant human-pitbull hybrid and a big puppy at heart. A big homicidal temperamental puppy. He is shy, kindhearted (often displaying great sensitivity in his rapid dismemberment of victims), is far from the stupidest member of our League of Aliens and Mutants for Evil (that distinction, of course, belongs to The Pummeler), and possesses of a singular sense of humor. His laugh is infectious. As are his various infections. Glaxnor’s interests include ballroom dancing, wholesale slaughter, and macramé. One day, he will make one lucky psychotic highly insecure woman a very happy wife. Could that psychotic highly insecure woman be you?
Glaxnor is for real. UB2.
Feel free to contact:
Glaxnor the Miscreant
c/o
Cc: Calamitous Jane, Sinderella Washington, Xxxaptak’qul, Dr. Catastro, Dr. Disastro, Dr. Quinn Meddlesome Woman, Ray Mephistopheles, Archfiend Animus, Brutus Badly, the Plague Zombies, Vorzik the Planet Squisher, the Malevolater, Count Sinister, Kugal Baruth, Death Knell, Star Father Celestio, Shatterdam, Princess Arcana, the Mystifier, the Procrastinator, the Soul Emancipator, Quickstrike, Professor Frosty, Flamer the Flaming Man, the Pummeler, the Purple Lamprey, and John Tesh.”
Hey, thanks to everyone who has been weighing in with their suggestions of underrated and underappreciated authors for January’s Book of the Month Club. However, I do feel the need to point out that Stephanie Meyer is neither. I’m looking for some off-the-radar selections here. Let‘s hear ‘em.
Speaking of the Book Club – finish up The Missing and start thinking up some questions for the author because Sarah Langan is rarin’ to go.
Hey, amid all of the recent excitement, I failed to mention two past visits by some old friends. The first was from a guy I used to know in Montreal who used to go by the name Tean but, apparently, now goes by Schrecker (Help me out. Is that Ukranian?). He dropped by the production offices with his band, The Gods of Now. The Bridge Studios was just one stop on their cross-country tour and, I’m sure, the highlight as they got to visit set AND meet the lovely Rachel Luttrell. Read all about it and check out the pics here:
http://thegodsofnow.com/blog/the-gods-of-now-on-tour-day-12/
Today’s entry is dedicated to blog, BOTMC regular, and all-around Ph.D’errific Antisocialbutterflie.
Thanks for the laugh. With the Baron’s writeup, I might consider dropping Glaxnor a line…if I could remember what romance was….on the plus side no doubt he’d enjoy my small but impressive weapons collection….
Still trying to come up with some off the radar authors, but most of the ones I considered probably count as established or known ones. Still, I’ll have something by tomorrow night. Hope you’re enjoying the weekend.
Hip… Hip Horary for Baron Destructo! His back and black as ever! Oh how I love his evilness! I’d be his soul mate in a different time line or alternate universe!
So Mr. M,
I guess my previous post was too much of a spoiler. Sorry about that! I understand why you did not approve it! I’ll know better next time!
Cheers,
Patricia Lee
Yesss!!!
Glad to see Baron Destructo is baaaaaack!!!!
Just getting a chance to weigh in on First Contact…
Fabulous!
Just as I’m getting used to the idea that SGA won’t be back as a regular series, I see another episode that hits me in the head with the fact that this is the BEST SGA SEASON YET and that I’m REALLY going to miss seeing the new adventures and interactions of these characters every week…
First Contact was fabulous on so many levels. Like Gero, I love heist movies, and this ep definitely lived up to my expectations. And Jackson and McKay together…priceless. I can definitely see why Gero had to write more scenes because of this fast-talking duo. Didn’t think it was possible to talk faster than the speed of sound, but I think they may have achieved it. At one point, they were talking so fast that I saw their lips moving but there seemed to be a split second delay before my brain could catch up with the flurry of words.
By the way, were there any scenes or dialogue added to fill time? If so, which ones?
Can’t wait for Part 2.
First Contact was so awesome! I can’t wait for part 2!
hey Joe,
regarding First Contact, you said Chuck was reading The Martian General’s Daughter by Theodore Judson. what was Shep reading? or was that just a comic or something? also when Banks told Chuck “Get Sheppard” it sounded like an order. I was wondering if none of the senior officers are in the control room, who’s in charge: Chuck or Banks? thanks
Hey Joe,
Not sure if you’ve spent much time in Toronto, but do you know of any good, moderately priced places to grab a bite?
Thanks,
-G-
First Contact was a great ep, but the suspense of the cliffhanger is kinda wiped out when the network follows up with scenes from the next ep showing everyone is hail and hardy… I mean, obviously chances are that everyone will survive, but what fun is a cliffhanger if you can’t enjoy it?
Can we look forward to another Team-heavy ep a la Daedalus Variations in the second half of the season? It seems like they’ve all been scattered to the four winds for most of the first half, either not there or off with other people. I miss my team!! 🙁
Ashley
I just reread the transcript of “The Last Man” at GateWorld (click here). Rodney never calls Keller his wife and never says they got married. Also, when they were walking down the street, Rodney was not wearing a wedding room (screen capture can be seen here) nor was he wearing one at the SGC when he formulated his plan (screen capture can be seen here).
Sorry.
Anne Teldy
Mr. M, I screwed up the links.
Ashley
I just reread the transcript of “The Last Man” at GateWorld (click here). Rodney never calls Keller his wife and never says they got married. Also, when they were walking down the street, Rodney was not wearing a wedding room (screen capture can be seen here) nor was he wearing one at the SGC when he formulates his plan (screen capture can be seen here).
Sorry.
Anne Teldy
Hooray for the return of Baron Destructo!
Saturday’s Hey!Nielsen rankings for this blog:
#8 out of 758 Internet listings right behind Google and before MySpace.
Overall (all types) #102 out of 12, 960.
To voice an opinion about Mr. M’s blog, just follow this link.
Anne Teldy
Hey! Stephenie Meyer is Awesome! She shouldn’t need to be underrated and unappreciated for you to read her books! I no longer like to Joe. *Goes and sulks in a corner for a few hours but eventually wonders back* I’m still mad.
This may not be the comment thread in which to post, but I had to respond. First contact, Daedalus variations, Whispers, etc., have all been high-quality episodes this season (especialy First Contact and Daedalus variations). Sg-1 did not find its stride (consistently high-quality episodes) until season 4…Window of Opportunity, the replicator arc, and others. Canceling this show right when it appears to be finding its stride seems to be a particularly crass decision on the part of the network. It plays like a giant finger to the fans…this fan in particular feels cheated out of more seasons like the current one, just so we can do another series? My opinions of SG Universe notwithstanding, can someone tell the network that this was an obnoxiously poor decision? Thanks.
Hi Joe – Many thanks for inviting Robert Picardo to your blog. Thanks to Robert for taking the time to answer questions.
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed “First Contact”. It was quite a surprise to see an alien space ship pass through the Atlantis shield, like a knife through warm butter, snag McKay and Jackson and leave without any of the Ancient tech stopping them. The alien ring device slicing through layers of Atlantis was a total”WOW”.
I believe we need a “talk off” between McKay and Jackson – who can say the most techno-babble in one minute!
Will we find out if the new aliens are robots or a super soldier type creature?
What was the device that Todd used on the Daedalus crew? I assume no one bothered to search him, since we’re all suppose to be “buddies” now. He looked rather too comfortable sitting in the command chair!
I have to say I reallly liked First Contact, I was so glad to see the whole team in an episode again!
While I still don’t like “shipping” on SGA, I find Keller and Ronon together to be far and away a better pairing than McKeller, they just seem more natural, althought maybe that could just be be the hair thing? Keller’s Farrah hair and Ronon’s Wig could get together and have little rug rats – literally…
I wasn’t sure about the MENSA comments, I wasn’t exactly clear if they were really dissing Shep or just poking fun at him to annoy him. Cause (and affirmed for me after reading that original casting sheet for the character) I’ve always thought of him as a math wiz. He has always been written as a pretty intelligent guy (I guess except for in MG’s episodes), just someone who likes to cut to the chase and not get bogged down in all the details.
I thought CH’s portrayal of Todd was wonderful, any other actor delivering the “who would we be” lines would sound cheesy, but he made it deeply believable and introspective.
I liked Daniel’s character here too. I wish the show would have gone another season so he could come back for another visit or two.
Liked the John/Teyla moment towards the end.
Sure hope Radek didn’t bite it (despite him being a bit dismissive of Sheppards intelligence) as he is one of my very favorite characters.
OMG!! I LOVED “First Contact”. Michael and David were fantastic together. I agree with your Hardy Boys/Abbott & Costello vibe that Daniel and Mckay had going on. All of their scenes together were so much fun to watch. Terrific chemistry between two really good actors. Great stuff.
Can’t wait to see “The Lost Tribe”.
dff
RateMyRack, OMFG hilarious!
Thanks to Robert Picardo for stopping by.
First Contact was GREAT…very difficult to now wait 2 weeks to see what happens. The graphic manuevering was sooo cool when they had to wander around Atlantis and camera shots moving over the city.
das said …
You’re not getting mine!! :P~~~~’
@Ashely What Anne Teldy said — Rodney never said in “The Last Man” that he and Keller were actually *married*, and neither of them wore rings. The ep aired Friday and I *looked* for rings, and paid attention to what Rodney said. That’s why I asked the question in the first place, because I knew nothing was said/show there to support the claim so many have been making lately. 😉 But it does have me wondering all the more about Hewlett wearing the ring in those “Vegas” set pics — maybe McKay’s married to her in *that* alt univese.
“I just reread the transcript of “The Last Man” at GateWorld (click here). Rodney never calls Keller his wife and never says they got married. Also, when they were walking down the street, Rodney was not wearing a wedding room (screen capture can be seen here) nor was he wearing one at the SGC when he formulates his plan”
I still have the recording, so I’m going to watch it again and find out why I thought they were married.
“Saturday’s Hey!Nielsen rankings for this blog:
#8 out of 758 Internet listings right behind Google and before MySpace.
Overall (all types) #102 out of 12, 960.”
Sorry, I meant what are the ratings for the show.
OK, Shep may be MENSA, but those dudes over at SciFi sure aren’t!
What’s with the MAJOR spoilers in the promo’s for the next ep? They are really good at spoiling the fun, darn them all to heck…
Have you ever read the book Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge? It might be a good selection for the BOTM.
It’s good to see the Baron back in action, Joe, I’ve missed hearing from him. One of these days I’ll take his lead and try messing with the yahoos who spam my inbox, just to see the responses I get back.
As far as Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series goes, I think you should check the books out of the local library just to see what all of the hubbub is about and I would love to hear your thoughts on them. There’s an excellent review of the series here, if you’re interested.
Hi Joe!
I’ll be the first to say that I am not the most critical book reader in the world. But I like what I like, and I like the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman.
I highly recommend checking out her (yes, it’s a her) books, the first of which is entitled Nightlife. Maybe our tastes in literature won’t coincide, but I think she should be considered for your list anyways.
Thanks!
🙂
-Pansy Chubb (aka LilRicki)
People suggested Stephenie Meyer? Didn’t see that, but excuse me while I snicker. …
Yeah, I just read Twilight recently and I haven’t yet moved on to the others because I’m still kind of processing it… and I want to draw my versions of the characters before the movie comes along and shatters my mental images. Really, it’s hardly high literature. I like it, but it’s a guilty pleasure. It’s silly and melodramatic, and plays so much to teen girl fantasies that I honestly wonder how anyone with a Y chromosome can enjoy it. Although I read her alternate viewpoint novel (same story told from the vamp’s POV) that she posted half of online, and frankly found it far, far more interesting than the book that actually got published. But then, that’s probably because a family of mind-reading/future-seeing/empathic vampires is just a tad more interesting than a whiny high school girl and her vacuous friends.
But anyway, I’m afraid I can’t help with suggesting authors. I don’t read as much as I like, so a lot of the time it comes down to me reading a book because it’s become such a big deal that I feel like I’m living in a hole if I don’t.
Bailey wrote:
>What’s with the MAJOR spoilers in the promo’s for the next ep?
>They are really good at spoiling the fun, darn them all to heck…
One more reason I like iTunes: no commercials, the full-length opening credits, and NO spoilers. (Remember the SG1 promo “The bomb isn’t in the building. The bomb IS the building.”? Argh.) SO glad I gave up cable for good.
But I’ve been wondering: How (if at all) does SciFi factor iTunes (season passes or individual episode purchases) into its rating calculations?
– KB
Coucou joseph =) Sa va ??
lol vous jouez les agences matrimoniale ou quoi? En tout cas moi je suis avec un homme merveilleux et je suis très heureuse. Je souhaite a Glaxnor de trouver le grande amour^^!
Rolalala hier j’ai passer 1 heure à chercher des photos de Rachel si rare, et je suis tomber sur celle là, c’etait bien la peine que de l’ai checrher si vous les mettiez sur votre blog, enfin sa veux simplement dire que je suis une boss dans la recherche de photo lol!!
Gros Gros bisou, je vous adore!♥
About Shep and MENSA, if I remember correctly, in a very early episode, it was said that Shep had the IQ to be in MENSA, but he didn’t join. I think after that, whomever Shep was talking to about expressed surprise he didn’t join — probably Rodney because he’s the only one I can think of on that show who’d be impressed by that — and Shep said something about not wanting to hang out with those people. Remember Shep thinks it’s cool to fly airplanes, not do the intellectual stuff people like Rodney do. It’s just that he has the brain power to do it if he were that way inclined.
I don’t think Rodney was poking fun at Shep with the MENSA business. I think that was part of his competitiveness with Daniel (that oneupmanship guys have) where he was trying to say ‘my best friend is smarter than you’…
That’s what makes that smile Daniel gives so priceless, because not only does it show he understands what Rodney is doing, but he so doesn’t care if anyone is smarter than he is.
Shep on the other hand always strikes me as uncomfortable when MENSA and himself are mentioned in the same sentence. He seems to want to be seen as one with the grunts, at least in that way.
He came back! 🙂
As for my thoughts on “First Contact”. First thought was-boy did this episode blow the budget (had to be one of the more costly one right?). It was great! Pretty much everytime I saw McKay and Jackson together I just started laughing. Amazing work those two.
But I admit my favorite part (as of this moment) is when “Todd” put together those stun sticks (?) and knocked everyone out. Really great. Though someone in behind “Todd” moves after this happened. Just didn’t seem right.
Kudos again on a great episode. And yeah thanks alot to whomever does the promos at SciFi. Like we didn’t know but still.
Howdy Joe!
Good to see Baron Destructo back 🙂 I bow to his indelible evil groovitude!
As for underrated and underappreciated authors, I suggest Kate Forsyth and her Eileanan series…she’s an Australian author, so I don’t know if you (or anyone north of the black stump) would have heard of her (thus the ‘underappreciated status’)
Enjoying your blog as always, and hoping with crossed limbs and all that Atlantis will be airing in Australia long enough for us to get to season 4 let alone 5!
Je me pose une question éxistansiel …
Comment faites vous pour avoir les dent aussi bien aligner O_O..vous avez deja eu un appareil dentaire??
Car moi a chaque fois que j’assaye de faire un sourir à la Joseph, je ressemble à The Mask mais avec un fort aire de serial killer -_-‘.
Mais bon je préfére rester naturel et faire les sourirs à la Anais^^!
Ah, our dear Baron, So good to hear from him again.
Thank you for the dedication Joe. And thank you to everyone who has been sending thoughts and prayers and positive energies my way. They are very much appreciated and welcomed. I have to get through today and tomorrow and the worse parts will be over.
The Q&A with Robert Picardo was great! Such a friendly, funny man. He was a wonderful addition to the Atlantis cast. I’m so glad you brought him onboard.
I’m not sure where people have gotten the whole Rodney and Jennifer were married in ‘The Last Man’ stuff from. Wishful thinking on the part of those that like that ship, I suppose. (For the record, I am not a part of that group, I very much dislike the Rodney/Jennifer ship – but I am willing to see how it plays out) But it used to be the industry standard that any photos taken that were seen by the public prior to an episode of a series airing were taken during rehearsels. Which is why it wasn’t uncommon to see someone wearing sunglasses in an outdoors scene still but never see them with the glasses on in the final aired episode. Not saying that is the case with the ‘Vegas’ episode, just saying that it was the industry standard. Guess we’ll all just have to wait and watch the episode to see what happens.
just finished watching “First Contact”. great episonde. in fact. i really started enjoying this season since “Whispers” (loved that one. saw i about 5 times already)…
uuupps.. almost forgot “The Shrine” (ep. 6 if memory serves). that one was great too.
had my problems with episondes 2 to 5. don´t get me wrong. they were quite good, but in my mind they were a step down from season 4. possibly because i´m a huge fan of the carter character and i needed some time to get over her…
altough i really love the woolsey character. loved him since the first time he showed up in the SG-Universe (S7 Heroes). i had high hopes for that character, especially because he was set up to be disliked in the beginning. just as so many characters bob picardo plays are. as confirmed in his interview (thanks very much for that by the way). the Voyager Doctor still is and will always be one of my favourite characters in the tv-universe!!!
but…. back to SGA. the last few episodes of atlantis were really great and it´s getting better and better. can´t wait for the conclusion of the mid-season two-parter!!!
thank good we only have to wait 2 weeks instead of several month this time..
😉 michaela
by the way: “Schrecker” sounds more like german to me. it isn´t really a word you could find in a dictionary though.
“schrecken” is a verb and means to scare so. or to terrify so.
making it into a noun like “Schrecker”, it describes a person who scares so.
that might sound like a really cool, scary and intimidating name to anyone not speaking german, but believe a naitve speaker when i (austrian myself, where we speak german) say ‘In austrian / german ears it sounds quite silly and not the least bit scary. introducing oneself as “schrecker” to a naitiv would quite certainly get you anything from a little suppressed giggle (if your opponent really is a master in showing restraint)up to a ROFLMAO reaktion….. sorry!
just because something is german it doesn´t automatically mean it´s the least bit intimidating. i really don´t know what´s the big deal with you north americans and the german language. (e.g. in this weeks episode of “Bones” a big bulldog was named “Schatzi” and only responded to german commands !?!?! and that´s only one example in a long, long list. i mean what the f..??? ). maybe somebody can fill me in some time……
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the Todd/Sheppard confirmation in the latest episode!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Joe!!!! I needed some warm-fuzzies this morning.
As a possible suggestion for BoTM books, I would like to put forth the Mageworld series by Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald. I’m not sure how obscure they are, but I definitely liked them a lot.
Joe, just a thought, you know how for a crossover you wanted Stargate and Dr Who, was it a specific Stargate series, or any?
If any, and hence possibly Universe, I think story intertwining would be great, although it might be a bit wierd having to travel a fair bit (unless they ship some of the areas to SG as well)
22 Bailey wrote:
IMO I think it’s part of Skiffy’s secret plan to reduce the ratings of future SGA episodes so they wouldn’t have so much egg on their face if SGU’s ratings don’t match up to this season’s SGA ratings. The advertisers will be unhappy next year if there’s a decline in ratings. The spoiler preview might be one of Skiffy’s attempts at hedging the future SGU ratings. So they wouldn’t look so bad in comparison to the SGA 5th season.
Too bad about the Skiffy preview for The Lost Tribe episode. Skiffy could just use the last 20 seconds of First Contact as a preview teaser.
>
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Mr M, please delete my previous posting. Mess up my coding
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22 Bailey wrote:
IMO I think it’s part of Skiffy’s secret plan to reduce the ratings of future SGA episodes so they wouldn’t have so much egg on their face if SGU’s ratings don’t match up to this season’s SGA ratings. The advertisers will be unhappy next year if there’s a decline in ratings. The spoiler preview might be one of Skiffy’s attempts at hedging the future SGU ratings. So they wouldn’t look so bad in comparison to the SGA 5th season.
Too bad about the Skiffy preview for The Lost Tribe episode. Skiffy could just use the last 20 seconds of First Contact as a preview teaser.
Afternoon, Joe
‘RateMyRack’.. Classic.
Glad i’d just swallowed that gulp of coffee before continuing with the reading. These last few weeks, i’ve been simply ignoring my spambox. For some peculiar reason, folks keep sending me emails offering all kinds of toxins and potions to ‘enhance my sex life’. Not that I mind the very kind words of wisdom flying my way, but as a waif of the very female variety, I don’t find i’m having too many problems with ‘length enhancement’, or ‘erectile disfunction’. And as Jenks went through the snip ‘n scratch stage before he even knew what to do with the thing, I hardly think they’re aimed at him.
Bizzare, in a completely odd sort of way.
Emails aside, I got dragged out (kicking and screaming, might I add) to a local Golf Club yesterday and was introduced to the President of the very-nice-but-very-much-out-of-my-price-range establishment. Coincidentally, he was Canadian and arrived in his own small, personal chopper on the edge of the car park.. not something I really get to see everyday and was therefore suitably impressed. Even more impressive was the sleek, black Ferrari waiting to drive him the two hundred yards over to the main Clubhouse. Exccentricities aside, if I had that kinda disposable fortune, I couldn’t think of anything better to flash me from one door to another.
Needless to say, I kept Jenks well away from the shiny paintwork and spanking new leather interior. Some things are just meant to remain untouched and perfect in each and every way.
I try not to look at the comments as we have not had the new season here in South Africa and don’t want to trip over spoilers, but had to comment on the Gods of Now.
What an odd blog! Perhaps great music stems from depression and insecurity – I hope in this case it is true.
Heavy Metal is not my cup of tea but I wish them all the luck in the world.
That’s one lucky devil, is Glaxnor. I bet he does a mean mambo.
Too bad I couldn’t find a link to listen to TGON; I like metal. I never did outgrow angst in music.
Possible good news. My brother gets to come home, maybe even on Monday. I had no idea he was well enough.
Off-the-radar hm? I’m currently reading the (fantasy) Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling; a series I never would have tried because of the imho rather unfortunate cover-art, but I’d seen it recommended here and there in places I usually get good tips.
I love the worldbuilding, how she has me care for the main characters so quickly and thoroughly, the way they’re however not flawless, the interesting secondary characters, the way characters develop, the magic, how dark the story sometimes gets and has me on the edge of my seat, and how there are lighter moments in between, with room for humor.
Okay, I can’t help myself: I see someone looking for book suggestions and I have to comment. A sure way of getting me out of lurkedom 😉
A must-read (IMHO) and hopelessly underrated: James Barclay’s ‘Chronicles of the Raven’ and ‘Legends of the Raven’ (six books all in all). They are absolutely fabulous.
And while I’m at it I can just as well comment on ‘First Contact’. I have to say I have mixed feelings about the episode. I lovelovelove to see Daniel Jackson on SGA, it is one of those things I desperately hoped to see before the show ended, and I liked the overall plot.
However: what happened to Teyla and Ronon? Where did they go? I feel that their screentime over the entire course of S5 so far has been minimal, and seeing as they are part of the ‘flagship team’ it’s…yeah, odd. And grating. Because when a secondary character like Keller gets more screentime and dialogue than two main characters combined, something’s cleary going wrong. (Plus, and I slowly get the feeling that’s just me, I’m annoyed beyond reason by that ‘love triangle’ because…well, it’s not working for me).
Other than that, I liked the episode a lot and I’m looking forward to the conclusion.
~ Kirst =^.^=
Just wanted to say that I absolutely loved “First Contact”! It makes me even more disappointed that the show won’t be returning for another season. This is definitely one of the best episodes Stargate has ever done. I can’t wait for the second part.
Thanks for a fantastic episode on Friday, Joe! Sorry I didn’t have a chance to comment earlier, but I’ve been busy watching and re-watching and re-watching….This is definitely one of my favorites.
I was wondering if anyone has suggested Diane Wynne Jones as a BOTM author? Her fantasy and sci-fi novels (for both adults, YA and children, are amazing fun. She has so many amazing series and stand alones that I don’t even know how you could pick just one book. I’d suggest you take a look at a few and pick your own favorite.
Can’t wait till next week’s episode!!
Slian
Hahaha… Stephenie Meyer… That’s so not your type of book. It’s crack for the brain!
I do suggest Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett though. Still haven’t finished their book, Havemercy, but I’m really loving it so far.
Authors I think are under-rated:
Emma Bull (War of the Oaks — great urban fantasy);
Simon Haynes (Hal Spacejock + series — humorous SF);
James Alan Gardner (Expendable, Vigilant, Hunted — smart and funny, featuring a great heroine);
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (The Liad series — space opera at its best);
Kelley Eskeridge (Solitaire — wicked awesome first novel);
Sarah Monette (The Bone Key — great set of short stories featuring an interesting narrator);
Karin Lowachee (Warchild + series — SF with interesting take on war);
Robert Charles Wilson (Darwinia, The Chronoliths — great author);
J Gregory Keyes (Age of Unreason trilogy — a fantastical look back at the past);
Mona Clee (Branch Point, Overshoot — one of the best authors around that nobody seems to know about, more’s the pity);
Barry Hughart (Bridge of Birds — fantasy);
Gordon Kendall (White Wing — only book that I know of by this author, and one of my favourite ever space opera novels. Sadly, out of publication, but worth the digging in secondhand bookstores if you have time)
Sadly, I don’t read a whole lot of horror outside of the likes of Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and James Herbert, and I wouldn’t really call any of them under-appreciated.
Book Club of The Month Suggestion – I stumbled onto a book called “The Alchymest”. It is part one in a series titled “The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel”. It is about two teens that stumble onto a millenia old secret and are forced to learn the magic arts of the elements and alchemy. They battle many creatures from mythology, and it has a great backstory behind it. Everything in the book, except for the twins, is based on real people, creatures, events and places taken from history and mythology. The way he puts events and creatures together is wonderful. It is written by “Michael Scott” an Irish Folklore writter. The second book “The Magician” was just recently released and the third book in the installment is coming in May i believe.
Go Baron! What a good evil-doing friend he is…
Loved First Contact, Joe!
Recs for BOTM:
Anne Bishop (fantasy): To be honest, I don’t know how well known she is. I always see her books in B&N, but I’ve never met another fantasy reader who has read her work. It’s stunning and dark and witty. Writer of one of my all time favorite series, The Black Jewels Trilogy.
Piers Anthony (fantasy and sci-fi): Ok, he’s pretty popular in some circles, actually. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen him mentioned here on this blog (except by me). His most famous series would be Xanth, but he also has two brilliant series that are sci-fi/fantasy crossovers, Apprentice Adept and The Incarnations of Immortality, which while popular certainly, are less well known. Even less, his Mode series. And, if you’re interested in something that could perhaps be classified as horror (though more 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea than Stephen King kind of horror), he wrote one called Spider Legs with Clifford Pickover which I found suitably disturbing.
Garth Nix (fantasy): I mentioned him the last time you were looking for ideas and I whole-heartedly stand behind him. I read his book Sabriel (1st of The Abhorsen Trilogy) back in 8th grade (the first time, and I’ve recently picked up the entire boxset to read), and haven’t heard about him since. Definitely less well-known.
Melanie Rawn (fantasy): She’s another for which I see tons of books in B&N and at the library, but they’re never checked out, and I never hear her mentioned in fantasy conversations. Her imagery is outstanding and her plots thick with intrigue, magic, and human realism.
So, I bought First Contact from iTunes, and it had the full-length intro (music and all!)… then I went online to the imdb board, ecstatic that TPTB had seen the light and decided to put the full-length credits back, only to discover that the show aired on SciFi did not have the full-length credits? What gives??? Does this mean that the DVD’s are gonna have the full-length intro??? What else is different between the episodes I bought on iTunes and the ones that were aired???
Also, waiting 2 weeks until the conclusion seems like forever to me, but other people have said that, in the past, the mid-season break has been longer than that. To which I said longer?!?
As an “off-the-radar” SciFi author I suggest Dan Ronco. His website: http://danronco.com/dev/index.php
Hi Mr M.
I totally agree with Michaela…”Schrecker” certainly doesn’t sound very intimidating to a German….it rather sounds…dunno…cute 😛
“First Contact” was such a great episode that nearly glued me to my screen (I say nearly coz otherwise it would have been difficult to still see anything of what happened) although – as a German – I sometimes had problems keeping up with Rodney and Daniel (David and Miachel did a fantastic job here!!!!)
Like so many others, I feel so frustrated whenever a new episode airs because yuo guys get better and better all the time!!!
And for me, the whole love-trianlge thing is great fun even though I still have doubts whether Ronon really is serious about the whole thing. Do you think that because in Stargate Atlantis you have more characters you can more easily fit in a romance than in a show like SG1 where the action is much more concentrated on a team of just four?
Underrated authors…uhm…don’t know if you’ve heard anything of Samit Basu’s “The Simoqin Prophecy”? An Indian writer. The book is hilarious fantasy with a bit of science thrown in and lots of great parodies (in the past you might have described it as “The Empire Writes Back” but it certainly is more than that).
Why did Carson and Carter not air in The Shrine.It would have been appropriate given the circumstances.
Thanks
Hey Joe,
First Contact – it was great. It had everything that I love about Stargate. I appreciate that some viewers don’t enjoy the cross-overs but Atlantis doesn’t have anyone with the archaeological expertise of Daniel Jackson, so it felt nice to have that knowledge and experience back in the show.
Poor Sheppard. Each time he was spoken to in a condescending manner I let out an “Awwwww”. So maybe the elf ears help a bit in pulling in my sympathy, but I was relating. I’m not brilliant by any means, my IQ is 131, but the way that I am spoken down to by some members of my working community gets rather frustrating. After 12 years in this game I should be used to it, and I guess it does open up the opportunity to play the dumb blonde on occasions and then just wait for them to drop their guard and nicely set them on their arse. Does that make me a bad person?
RateMyRack Joe? Thanks for the chuckle.
I second the Lee and Miller nomination. They would be interesting Guest Bloggers too since they virtually restarted their writing career through self-publishing and selling chapbooks of their writing. These were so successful that their early novels were republished and additional novels were contracted. They are currently selling their latest work online through a subscription system which has recently closed since they net their price point. The chapters are available for reading online without a fee at this point.
As for the stories themselves I once suggested that if Georgette Heyer, that mistress of the Regency comedy of manners, wrote science fiction it would come close to Lee and Miller. Great characters, plot, dialogue, and interesting interpretations of human – and alien – societies abound.
Find out more at:
http://www.korval.com/liad.htm
For your January Book of the Month club, I would like to suggest Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series, the first being Furies of Calderon. I have really enjoyed this series.
I have also enjoyed some of the books you have suggested. I really liked Old Man’s War and the subsequent books based on same. I really appreciate John Scalzi’s sense of humor in his writing and he is an excellent story teller.