Own a piece of Stargate history! My co-workers Lawren and Tanya have organized an auction of props, set dec, and costumes from SG-1, Atlantis, and both SG-1 movies. According to Lawren, they’ll be putting up over a 100 items. Every auction starts at 0.01 and there’s no reserve so if you’ve been dying to get your hands on Zipacna’s crazy hat from Pretense, this is your chance! Pictured above are some of the items that may one day adorn your workspace, vestibule, or fancy bathroom. And where will you be able to get your hot little hands on the likes of ARG (anti-replicator gun) or GDO (garage door opener)? Great question! Unfortunately, Lawren didn’t tell me. In addition to the aforementioned info, all he said was that they had branded the sale: “Stargate Legacy Auctions”. Hopefully, he’ll be able to provide more information tomorrow.
Back at it today, spinning Stargate: Universe. With a first draft of episode #1 in hand and episodes #2-4 mapped out, we turned our attention to episode #5, Carl’s baby. After much heated debate on the motivating factors that “complicate things for our gang“, we ended up breaking the story in a little less than two hours. We took a break from the brainstorming to watch a Day 2 mix of Infection. A very interesting episode for you wraith-fans out there as Todd crosses paths with our heroes for the first time since the events of our mid-season two-parter (And one particular event comes immediately to mind. Todd setting the Daedalus on a collision course.). Some interesting scenes in which we learn where the different members of our crew line up with regard to the wraith.
We ended the day with a general discussion of SGU: some future storylines, a couple of surprises, yes there will be a mid-season two-parter, and the types of individuals who will make up the Destiny’s extended crew.
Well, just dropped off Jelly at the vet’s. She’ll be spending the night there for observation after a bout of vomiting and diarrhea and a refusal to eat anything (not even her favorite liver treats!). According to the blood tests, her kidneys and liver are fine. Of course, the tests also revealed she had no white blood cells – a result the vet attributed to possibly faulty equipment. They’re sending the samples out to an independent lab to run a full blood panel. The poor gal (my pug, not the vet) is on an IV and getting some rest. Hopefully, she’ll be on the mend soon and humping Maximus in no time.
Mailbag:
Sessy writes: “If I remember correctly you also said a significant character was gonna die in the movie?”
Answer: Actually, I said that there would be a significant character death in the series. And there was – in The Prodigal.
Ponytail writes: “Are we starting to get on your nerves? Are you getting a little sick of all the moaning?”
Answer: Not really. People are well within their rights to watch (and not watch) what they want. Hell, they’re perfectly within their rights to not even give a show chance if they don’t feel inclined. What I have a problem with is people: a) making assumptions about a show they haven’t seen and spinning them as fact and, b) whining about the fact that they’re sick of hearing about something when it’s painfully obvious that they go out of their way to track down every morsel of information just so that they can have something else to whine about.
Trekkiegirlt writes: “When one of the residents of Atlantis uses their little earbuds to call another person in Atlantis can’t everyone hear them and the subsequent conversation to follow?”
Answer: Unless they switch to a private channel, yes.
Freidag writes: “Now, it’s probably just my oversensitive nature, but since the original question didn’t mention any Stargate characters, I’m curious why you felt the need to mention all of them (and Amanda Tapping, not fictional!) and only one Atlantis character, McKay, in your response.”
Answer: Oops. I meant to say Samantha Carter, not Amada Tapping (although Amanda is quite the lovable character in her own right). As for the other characters – when I said “ SG-1 and Atlantis owe much of their success to great characters like…” I think it was pretty clear that I was not speaking exclusively of those characters. Ben Browder and Claudia Black brought new life to SG-1 with their portrayals of Mitchell and Vala. Similarly, Bob Picardo and Jewel Staite, two of the most accomplished actors I have ever had the pleasure to work with, did much the same for SGA with their characters: Woolsey and Keller. Jason Momoa and Rachel Luttrell brought a depth to the characters of Ronon and Teyla that made them a joy to watch. And, yes, the Sheppard character has many fans as well.
Katya writes: “The characters on the audition call sheet seemed very two-dimensional, which makes me worry that the show is going to be more character-based. If the show were more action/plot based, it could help cover for the weaknesses of the characters. A character-driven show has to have interesting, realistic, three-dimensional characters in order to be successful in my opinion.”
Answer: Right. Which is where the script comes in. Fact is you’re not going to find three-dimensional fully realized characters in a breakdown for a show that has yet to be written.
Thornyrose writes: “With the core group of writers currently working on SGU, have any measures been taken to bring in some new writers to the series? If so, do they come in as “one shot” writers, with the Execs looking at that trial to decide to bring them on board full time?”
Answer: As I said yesterday, an effort is made every year to audition new writers. The quality of their script (if they get that far) decides whether or not they are offered a staff position. Occasionally, however, a writer may not be interested in committing to a full season and prefer to either consult or simply write an episode or two.
Thornyrose also writes: “ Are there any folks from other parts of the crew who might be eyeing taking a shot at writing? I’m thinking specifically of directors, though I know you’ve said in the past that your directors…”
Answer: Nope, no director has ever expressed an interest in writing a script since Peter DeLuise.
AmILeo writes: “Do you know if earth plays a role Stargate:Universe, besides that that’s where our main characters (I assume) are from?”
Answer: It will play a part in SGU – but in a very unique way.
PG15 writes: “Here’s a question: since you guys were discussing cosmology today, I wonder who amongst you is the best at science?”
Answer: Brad Wright and Paul Mullie are our resident science wizards.
Shawna writes: “Do you guys put out the notice to agents saying that you’re looking for pitches for freelance eps? Does this usually always happen at the beginning of the season?”
Answer: Yes and yes. Although, often, WE are approached by agents at the beginning of each season.
Shawna writes: “How would a writer show that they “get” the show when it’s just starting out and no episodes have been aired yet? Doesn’t that make it harder to find the right writers?”
Answer: It does make it hard but if a show has yet to air, we’ll look at things like: the ideas they pitch out, their ability to structure a story, their ability to write believable dialogue and characters, their ability to tell an engaging and entertaining story.
PL writes: “Since it seems like the characters in SGU will be much more isolated than those in SG-1 or even Atlantis, do you think the show will be more “serialized” than the others?”
Answer: It’s looking that way.
Das writes: “So, Joe – is there ANY chance that this crew will be sequestered with a tyrant of some sort…”
Answer: Chances are good that with a bunch of strangers thrown together by circumstance, several of them may not get along.
Chelle DeBoer writes: “Do you find that sometimes the actor doesn’t look the part of the character name you have chosen?”
Answer: Sometimes, but over time they grow into their name. For instance, the name Rodney was not exactly a favorite of ours when Atlantis kicked off – but it grew on us.
Amy writes: “As a producer of a show, I’m guessing you’re given a budget. Who gives you the bugdet? I’m guessing it’s the studio… but is Scifi involved at all in those decisions? Or do they simply purchase rights?”
Answer: Yes, the studio (ie. MGM) gives us the budget. It off-sets some of the costs of the production by acquiring a licensing fee from the network (ie. SciFi) for the right to air the show.
Ganymede writes: “Need some clarity Joe… You mentioned Feb 4 as the currently scheduled date for principal shooting… IS this for the SGA movie?”
Answer: Nope. The movies probably won’t shoot until Summer of 2009.
Ian cai writes: “Just wondered if Brad Wright has gotten round to reading Questions yet?”
Answer: He’s still working on them.
Anais33 a ecrit: “Allons nous revoir des personnes connues de sg1 dans sgu?”
Reponse: Peut -etre.
Translation: It’s possible we may see some familiar SG1 faces in SGU.
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