So I’m sitting at my desk, working on my script, when my writing partner Paul strolls in, tape measure in hand. “Hold this,”he says, handing me one end and casually walking to the other side of the office, unfurling the thing so he can get the exact length of the room.
“Uh, what are you doing?”I ask him.
“Two hundred and thirty-one inches,”he notes as the tape measure retracts back with a snap. And then, on his way out: “Working on those blog questions.”
He emailed me his responses an hour later. I can’t help but think how much better off financially we’d both be today if he turned his scripts around as quickly. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this rare glimpse into the mind of one of Stargate’s most prolific writers (especially if you count those uncredited rewrites).
And get those questions in for actor Mike (Kiryk) Dopud!
Karen writes: “Thank you for taking the time to answer some fan questions.
You and your partner Joe seem to get along famously, where /when / how did you guys become friends and writing partners? Also, what do you like to do in your spare time, for fun?”
Paul: We met, as I recall, around 1985-86, in a creative writing class. We also had some mutual friends. There may have been Dungeons and Dragons involved. I don’t like to think about it. As for the second part of your question, let me put it this way – I have a daughter who’s about to turn three, another daughter who’s 19 months old, and a son who’s five months old. In other words, I have no spare time. Or fun.
Sessy writes: “Question for Paul Mullie: what’s the reasoning behind taking the city back home? And by that I mean, was this something that was written because this turned out to be the last episode of Atlantis, or was this originally planned as the season’s cliffhanger? Does it have anything to do with the storyline of the upcoming Atlantis movie?”
Paul: Most of what became Enemy at the Gate was originally planned because it was going to be our 100th episode, as well as the last episode of the season. When we found out it was also going to be the series finale, that just made it even more appropriate.
Anne-Marie Sloan writes: “WHY has Paul Davis never been promoted past Major in the last 12 years, while many other people including Walter Harriman has received promotions??? This has become a lively debate over there and has now reached 3+ pages!!!”
Paul: Hmm. Good question. My guess it’s because he won’t play the game, y’know? Sucking up to the brass, making sure he gets noticed, that sort of thing. Also, he’s not afraid to say what he thinks, even if he knows it’ll piss off the wrong people. As for Harriman, everyone knows he’s a kiss-ass.
Johnny E. writes: “1. Joe is a self described comic book villian fan (Darkseid, Deadpool, Doom, Mysterio, etc.), do you have any favorite comics, or characters?
2. I know on the commentary for season 4’s episode “Prodigy” you and Joe Sang the theme song ya’ll had written for the show. Who really wrote it? or was it truly a collabrative effort. Thanks!”
Paul: I’ve never been much of a comic book guy, although I did teach my daughter the complete lyrics to the Spiderman theme. As for the Stargate song, that was all me. Joe wouldn’t know a good lyric if you hit him over the head with it. His all time favorite song is “Go” by Tones on Tail, which feature the chorus “Ya ya ya ya ya ya y-ya yaaa.” That pretty much tells you all you need to know.
Erika writes: “Thank you for talking to us first off and my question for you out of the all the regulars characters on Stargate and Atlantis which one was the hardest to write for and who was the easiest?”
Paul: I find the hardest characters to write for are Teyla and Ronon, because their skill sets don’t always apply, especially in space. That’s why we added that bit about Teyla taking some training in ship systems in The Daedalus Variations.
Chevron7 writes: “Thanks for taking the time to venture out of hermitdom into scary fan world. Kudos on Enemy at the Gate. You made me cry. […] 5. Who has the bigger office, you or Joe?”
Paul: That is a very good question. Our offices are basically mirror images of each other, although decorated differently. I always assumed they were the exact same size, but your question got me thinking, so I got a tape measure and checked. Turns out my office is 238 inches long, which makes it a full seven inches longer than Joe’s. I would be happy to see the wall moved, in order to correct this terrible oversight, but I’m pretty sure it’s load-bearing, so what can you do?
Todds Worshipper writes: “No.1. Why did you write Sheppard as being so horrible to Todd in Enemy at the Gate?
Todd doesn’t deserve it at all, he has suffered in many ways: frequent loss of his own hive ships, nearly dying from radical treatment, so he could stop feeding on humans and even changing into stupid clothes (why a black T-shirt underneath? that was cruel to us;))
He has saved their lives (Infection), helped in the war against the Replicators and has just handed them the ZPM’s to save Earth!
I expected a little hostility between them, but Shep went too far. Like the line “To be honest, I didn’t think you were going to live!”
Just as well Todd’s above all of Shep’s hot air and didn’t react to any of it.
No.2. WHY did you not show us so much as a glance of Todd’s feeding hand. We want to know if he was restored fully by the bug or just partially?
Please tell us, does Todd have a feeding hand in EatG??
No.3. Thankyou for leaving Todd’s story unended because I’ve been praying for him to be in the SGA movie. This is now a strong possibility! Right???!!!
No.4. When Sheppard called Todd “Todd” at the beginning, did Todd not hear him? Or if he already knew, are there deleted scenes somewhere that show him first finding out what Shep named him? Can we please have this and lots of other yummy “Todd” deleted scenes on the Season 5 release? and can the release also please be available on Blu-ray??? (For the UK-Aus market as well as the US)
No.5. Can you please scrap SGU and make SGW instead?
StarGate Wraith! We would love that, but Christopher Heyerdahl has to be in it, as Todd.”
Paul: Holy Crap, you don’t call yourself “Todds Worshipper” for nothing, do you? Not that I have a problem with that. He’s a great character, played by a very talented and dedicated actor (Chris Heyerdahl). I’m not sure I can answer all your questions satisfactorily, but I would like to clear one thing up. Todd is very much back to being a full-fledged human life sucker at the beginning of this episode. I realize it wasn’t that clear, and a lot of people have asked the question. What happened was, originally in the first scene, when Todd said the treatment was successful he added something about being “fully restored.” Woolsey then asked him “does that mean you’re back to feeding on humans?” To which Todd responded “I am exactly as I was,” or something like that, meaning “damn right I’m back to feeding on humans.” But then the network wanted a scene with Keller earlier in the show (as it stands, she only shows up about three quarters of the way through and it’s a little jarring), so I cut that dialogue and added a whole separate scene at the top of Act One where Sheppard goes to Keller, who’s done an exam on Todd, and SHE tells him he’s back to feeding. But then it got cut for time. That scene and several other moments that were trimmed out will be available at some point in a special extended version, I’m guessing on DVD.
Ytimyona writes: “[…] 4) Was there more about the “wormhole drive” that was cut out? What exactly constitutes a wormhole drive?”
Paul: 4) A wormhole drive is just that – a drive that sends the ship through a wormhole, like a person stepping through an active gate. The advantage being that you don’t “travel” through hyperspace for hours on end. You get de-molecularized, or whatever you want to call it, and then spit out at the other end a few seconds later. It’s basically instantaneous, which is why I needed it as a device in this episode. Some people have complained that it was a bit of a deus ex-machina, to which I don’t really have much of a defense. At one point, Brad was thinking about using this as a set-up for a similar drive in Stargate Universe, but he’s since changed his mind. But since it IS set up now, Joe and I do intend to use it as part of the story for the Atlantis movie.
Trish writes: “Hi! Thanks for stopping by here! I feel very honored!
My question is really from me and my friend Kimberly (aka kdvb1): My favorite episode of all time is SG-1’s Window of Opportunity. What Kimberly and I would like to know is, was Jack eating Fruit Loops as a joke because he and Teal’c kept looping? Kimberly realized the connection. So we are both wondering if that was intentional.
And then my other question is more of a thank you. I was really touched by the renaming of the Phoenix to Hammond. I know Don S. Davis was a great man. And I miss him terribly. So thanks for giving him a moment in the final episode of Stargate Atlantis.”
Paul: Neither Joe nor I came up with the “Froot Loops” (or “Frooty Loops” or whatever our legal clearances people made us call them) gag. That was someone’s brilliant idea on set, I guess. I can only assume the reference was intentional. I’m glad you appreciated the Don. S. Davis tribute. Several others were kind enough to say the same. We knew Don had a history of heart problems, but his death still came as a total shock, at least to me. We originally talked about doing an “in memoriam” card at the end of the show, but then I thought, if he’s gone, then the character of General Hammond is gone too, and so maybe we should acknowledge that. Renaming the ship seemed like an appropriate way to do that.
StellaByStargate writes: “With Area 51 destroyed, are we to assume that all the other really cool technology (including possibly some Asgard tech) that was being researched there was lost as well? Also…was The General Hammond under construction at Area 51 and if so, what happened to it?”
Paul: Well, I don’t think it was totally destroyed. Just the building that housed the chair…and maybe that time traveling puddle jumper from “Moebius”.
JoJoB writes: “All through seasons 3 and 4 Rodney rarely went off world without a P90 (unless they had another team with them). By the end of season 5 he rarely had a P90 and in Identity and EATG he didn’t even have a TacVest. Joe’s answer was that he doesn’t carry the P90 if he doesn’t think he’ll need it. So my question is: Why wouldn’t Rodney have a P90 when there were only 4 of them invading the Wraith ship and they knew they’d probably have to fight their way through? Heck, without the TacVest he didn’t even have a bandage for Ronan (not that it would have helped but still). It just seems like an odd choice.”
Paul: You would think that, as both Executive Producer and writer of this episode, I would have been the one to decide that McKay shouldn’t have a vest or a P-90 on the mission. Barring that, you would think that at the very least I would have been consulted by those making the decision. Barring THAT, you would think that at the very, very least, I would’ve noticed. Sadly, you would be wrong on all counts.
Trish also writes: “My sister, Colleen, wants to know: If Ronon was dead how could the wraith bring him back to life? The wraith can’t feed off of dead humans so how could they restore life to someone who’s already dead?”
Paul: He was only a little dead.
Davidd writes: “Hi Paul. First of all, thanks for 5 great years of entertainment! Secondly (if that’s a word), I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind:
1) What has been your favourite episode of SGA you wrote?
2) Is Joe often hard to work with, or usually easy-going?
3) Why do you choose to write as a partner wth Joe, as opposed to on your own?”
Paul: 1) My favorite episode of SGA that I wrote was The Last Man.
2) Usually he’s pleasant enough, unless he’s on one of his no-sugar-for-two-weeks-because-I-just-got-back-from-Japan-and-I-made-a-total-pig-of-myself kicks, in which case he’s just a pain in the ass.
3) For all his many, many, many faults, Joe is a finisher, and I’m not. If it weren’t for him, I’d just dick around endlessly and I probably wouldn’t have a career.
Morjana writes: “[…] 2) Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years, I noticed that Atlantis was NOT in San Francisco Bay, but outside the Bay, in the Pacific, looking into San Francisco Bay, through the Golden Gate Bridge . (Which is why you can see the Berkeley Hills in background, and the Fort Point arch on the right hand side of the bridge.) I’m presuming Atlantis landed way further out in the Pacific, and then somehow made its way to the San Francisco area. Was this written in homage to Star Trek, as Star Trek Academy and Starfleet Command are based in San Francisco…in the future, of course?”
Paul: A lot of people have asked about the Star Trek connection, so let me explain what happened. We knew we wanted the city to come down somewhere on Earth. We also knew we wanted some recognizable landmark to be visible once it was down (if they were just in the middle of the ocean, the view wouldn’t have been any different from the way it was in Pegasus for the last five years.) In my mind, the city would have to come in at an angle over open water, then land – as softly as possible – within sight of a coast. But what coast? What landmark? Martin and Carl were insistent that it should be the Statue of Liberty, but when you Google Earth it, you realize it’s almost completely surrounded by land. There’s just no real open water there. Tough to bring the city down and leave it there cloaked for any length of time without anyone noticing and/or getting killed. And so we settled on San Francisco and the Golden gate, and I was very insistent that it be the view from the ocean looking into the bay, and not the other way around, as you noticed. As for the Star Trek connection, I’m sad to say it was a pure coincidence.
Special writes: “Do the writers ever discuss how the marginalization of Ronon and Teyla contributes to rather horrifying racial and sexual politics of this show?”
Paul: I love the way this question is phrased. It’s like, “Mr. Mullie, do you and the other writers ever sit around and discuss what jerks you all are?” To which, I guess the short answer is, no.
RangerOne writes: “*How does the Wraith in Vegas know the location of the Ancient chair?”
Paul: Several people asked this, or related questions. My guess is that, as their hive was being attacked by drones, the Wraith would have been able to calculate the exact coordinates of the place where the hostile fire was coming from – that is, Area 51. Those were the coordinates the surviving Wraith sent in his message, which is how the super hive in our reality got them.
Sorrykb writes: “Did you encounter any resistance from other writers or producers or others to the idea of bringing Atlantis back to Earth?
OK, one more question for Mr. Mullie: What made you finally decide to do a Q&A and subject yourself to the slings and arrows of internet fandom? Are you insane?”
Paul: Resistance? From who? Carl? Martin? Pffft. They wouldn’t dare. As for your other question, I just figured it’s the last episode, so why not?
Anyway, thanks to all of you for watching the show and caring enough to voice your opinions.
Paul
Oh, poop…Paul didn’t answer my question. 🙁 Oh well, that leaves YOU, Joe… 😉
Guess you guys don’t love me NO more… *sniffle*
But thanks, Paul, for answering Todd’s Worshipper’s question, as well at the others. It’s much appreciated!
das
Thank you, Joe, and Paul Mullie! 🙂
Great Q&A, had me laughing many times. Thanks Paul and Joe for many of my favourite stargate episodes.
“He was only a little dead”
LOL !- best answer yet
Thanks for coming by and answering questions, Paul! I hope it wasn’t too traumatic. And the Golden Gate bridge makes a great backdrop — even if it wasn’t a nod to Star Trek.
Hey Joe! Are you going to stay carb free or switch to a low-carb diet when your two weeks are up? Or are you just going back to your previous evil ways?
Oooh! Congratulations, das — you had the first post today!
I did not get a chance to ask any questions due to my busy schedule, but I did want to thank Paul for doing the Q&A and giving such witty responses. Quite entertaining. 🙂 It sounds like he’s looking forward to the end of your two weeks of no sugar just as much as you are. 😉
Joe, do you have any plans on updating spambait?
Jeez…
It’s bad enough that I beat Shawna to the #1 spot for a change…but do you have to leave me just hanging there, aallll alone??? 🙁
das
Promote Maj Davis please…..!!!!!
Isn’t O’Neill his “Boss” anyways…? O’Neill would be able to see right through that…
Love the picture sequence at the top of the blog page. Which cunningly allows Mr. Mullie to NOT show off his handsome mug in full. Bashful to the end?
Really appreciated his responses. Your styles of humor overlap, but seem different enough to really compliment each other. And the man is smart too. I notice Mr. Mullie didn’t offer to simply swap offices, in order to rectify the 7 inch discrepency. And the truth is out about how the dietary restrictions are affecting you, Mr. Mallozzi. Anyways, thanks to both of you for taking the time to do the blog.
Questions for Mr. Dopud. First, what inspired you to make the shift from stuntman to acting? What is your favorite form of acting, theater, tv, movies? Which genres are you most eager to do, or enjoy most? Sci-fi, comedy, romance? IMDB shows you have some roles coming out this year. Do you have any other roles lined up for the year? Thank you very much for your participation, and I hope to see you both in future Stargate episodes, and in other venues in the future.
Paul is a great guy, I can see why you two get along so well.
I’m sorry he doesn’t have time to have any fun and I can see why with 3 kids under the age of 4, he’s been a little “busy”. I’d be glad to babysit for him – but it may be a bit of a commute from S. FLA, he could always send them here…just a thought.
Thanks Paul!
Joe why didn’t Paul answer my questions. I thought they were good..did you give my questions to him? I’m so hurt now. 🙁
Loved Mr. Mullie’s answer to “Special”. It’s amazing how people can find something to bitch about in anything/everything. Great Q&A!
A very big thank you to Paul for finally biting the bullet and answering our questions.
RE: On Basilisk Station – I hope it’s not too late for a question for David Weber. Anyway, here goes…
Politics and sneaky, backstabbing political machinations play a huge part in the later books of your “Honorverse”, and also in your “March” series. Do you yourself have stong political leanings? Are you active in politics? Or do you just enjoy creating political ‘stews’?
Also – the science and math in the books is very detailed and complex regarding the warships, weaponry and space travel. Did you have to do a ton of research on this before you started writing the series?
I apoligize if these topics have already been brought up – I have been so busy that I haven’t had time to read all the comments… 😳
Special writes: “Do the writers ever discuss how the marginalization of Ronon and Teyla contributes to rather horrifying racial and sexual politics of this show?”
Paul: I love the way this question is phrased. It’s like, “Mr. Mullie, do you and the other writers ever sit around and discuss what jerks you all are?” To which, I guess the short answer is, no.
Hahahahaha! That is awesome.
Paul: Well, I don’t think it was totally destroyed. Just the building that housed the chair…and maybe that time traveling puddle jumper from “Moebius”.
Aw, I was hoping that time-jumper would come back one of these days (possibly in some storyline involving the fact that barely-alternate-timeline!Daniel and alternate-timeline!Sam/Jack/Teal’c were left back in the history of the current timestream.
Well, that was fun!
So, what now about the difference in office size? I whole can of worms there….
Great Q&A Mr Mullie, Take some time for a break there, get Joe to babysit for ya. or not…
Mr. Dopud, great work on Tracker, enjoyed that episode. Did you get many injuries from the work on SGA?
Paul: The advantage being that you don’t “travel” through hyperspace for hours on end. You get de-molecularized, or whatever you want to call it, and then spit out at the other end a few seconds later.
FC: Hey wait a minute here, de-molecularized? Wormholes don’t de-molecularize! Get that Creative Consultant guy on the phone! Geeze! Wormholes rely on “folding” space and opening a gateway between the two (or more) areas of folded space. So the wormhole isn’t really long, and its not really a tunnel, and the really cool thing isn’t even the wormhole at all, its that the Stargate or in this case stardrive actually folds space so that two or more points are so close that you can get there in one step.
Paul: He was only a little dead.
FC: So what your saying is the Wraith are the SciFi equivalent of the Miracle Max?
Many thanks to Paul Mullie for doing a Q& A.
The answer – just a little dead – is precious!
Thank you for many entertaining episodes.
Hey Joe,
A non-Stargate, non-dog, non-food question…
What do you think of The Wizard of Oz – the original movie?
We have “Wicked” playing in town and everyone is telling us to go and see it. And then go on to say how much we’ll love it.
Problem is, The Wizard of Oz gives both Hubby and I the creeps. We were pelted with rotting fruit by the Wizard of Oz lovers following our admission so I’m intrigued to know if anyone else has the same reaction to the movie as they do to clowns?
PS: Couldn’t read parts of the interview due to still not having watched the final two eps (yes, I’ll get there) but a big Thank You to Paul anyway.
LOL @ Fathercrow!!
I had the same thought when I read that he was only a little dead. Gotta love the Princess Bride. 😀
Ok Joe (aka great food guru),
I’m watching the Food Network and they just fixed Scrapple. It doesn’t look too pretty – a big square grey blob really…
Question 1: what the heck is Scrapple? Is it like Spam, Treat or in a whole category of its own?
Question 2: have you ever had it?
Question 3: what does it taste like?
Hi Joe:
Just in case, my email to you went straight to your spam folder:
I’m sending you a little something to help you sleep. No, it’s not a large mallet. 🙂
It’s completely safe. Please let me know if it helps.
There is a great deal of discussion among the fans regarding the sets and if people will be able to see the Atlantis set or the SGC gateroom during the tours at the Stargate convention in April. Is there anything you could say to assuage the fans fears that there is nothing left of the sets except what has been built for the new series?
I’ll relay your information to everyone at GateWorld.
Thanks
Patricia
Thanks for coming by, Paul Mullie. I see how the two of you complement each other. FYI, I’d expand your stub anytime.
Questions for Mr. Dopud:
1. Did you ever tell somebody that you were a stuntman and they asked if it’d be alright to sock you? How often did they not bother asking first?
2. I’ve perused a couple sites listing your acting credits. Do you mostly enjoy film work or does the stage at all strike your fancy?
As for Major Davis, he’s got awful timing, constantly the bearer of bad news. He was up for promotion when the Prometheus was hijacked by Col. Simmons’ minions. But he lost it when he back-talked to Col. O’Neill. Long story short he got this MO of having a bad attitude, even though he only scratched his nose with his middle finger once while O’Neill’s back was turned, and stink-palmed the emergency iris pad two or ten times.
mazeykins
I first meet scrapple many yrs ago when I lived in Maryland.
The locals told me it was anything crawling along the ground
that the butcher could catch. To which I told them “I’m polish-american and we eat headcheese, keeshka, and duck blood soup.
Scrapple is like a breakfast sausage.
mary
Sussed it! Paul and Joe are one and the same!
Seriously though its easy to see why you guys are the perfect writing team and I would LOVE to be present when the two of you get going, all that wit and snark, I love it. I was going to say I’d love to be a fly on the wall but we all know what’d happen next in that case.
So thank you Paul for taking time out of your hectic life though not as hectic I suspect as your wifes with those three kids and as for spare time and fun….isn’t that what work is for?
Keep writing and don’t be a stranger, Joe needs someone to keep him in line and we all want to see that LOL.
Thanks both of you for the many years of quality entertainment you’ve given us and I for one am looking forward to many many more.
Moyz
BTW why does size matter again?
I don’t have any questions for Mike Dopud apart from how do you pronounce your surname? I would also like to thank him for being so good at what he does and adding considerably to our enjoyment of quality viewing.
Heeeey…Paul expresses himself waaaay too well for a recluse, and I should know! Why, he’s not a recluse at all, is he? He parties all night long, I knew it!
Great Q&A! Thank you Mr. Paul Mullie, and Thank you Joe for hosting it! Paul definitely has a different way of responding to fans; I noticed that he’s less snarky. Is that good or bad? 😉
Also, it’s sooooo obvious that you two best buds; I would love to see you and Paul just…interacting; I’d imagine it’d be hilarious. 😀
Admit it; Sheppard and McKay’s friendship is modelled after you and Paul, isn’t it, Joe? 😉
Wow, i think he’s been the most polite question answerer to date. I enjoyed this one. He even admits his flaws.
Hi again Mr M!
Thanks to Paul Mullie for the Q and A. It’s great to hear from him! He should do more Q and A!! (*please*).
Now that Atlantis Movie / Universe is in the writing phase, are you still travelling in and out every day to The Bridge, or are things a bit more relaxed…ie can you work from home every so often? Also, you gotta bring Mr Scalzi to Don Francesco’s!!
Best to all
Shirt’n’Tie
Wow, I guess none of the 16 questions I worked VERY HARD on ALL DAY LONG was worth replying to?
Wow.
Guess I’m about done here…
Spikey
A couple questions on SGU….
1) Was it intentional to name a character Eli Wallace? Can’t help but think of the actor Eli Wallach.
2) Some fans are wondering why the black character is the one with the ‘explosive temper’ and, well, how did a Marine get sent to the Pegasus galaxy if he can’t control his temper?
3) Casting info: Wondering why there was no press on the female lead (assuming there is one?)?
Thx.
Joe, Who does the walkon contest,? could they plan one for SGU? I will watch it without promises of prizes, but it could be fun. thanks. ..Once I went on a low carb(less sugar) diet, it really worked, I felt great, lost weight, but alas some holiday came up and I lost myself… Lots of luck with the sugar reduction plan. It will be better for you in the long run. Good Luck! ;-D
Thanks for the Q&A Paul!
I was pleased to learn that you’re not reclusive or shy. You’re just insane! 3 kids under 4? Jeezus man! If you ever do an East Coast con, drinks are on me.
Joe, please thank Paul for taking the time out of his busy life to come here and entertain us.
Loved his answers especially “He was only a little dead.”
I hope that this won’t be the last time he makes an appearance.
@narelle: I always kind of liked “The Wizard of Oz”, but I still remember how creeped out I was the first time I saw those flying monkeys. And when Dorothy is looking into the crystal ball and sees her Auntie Em, them the image fades and the Wicked Witch appears, mocking her … Scared the bejesus out of me. And that tornado looming in the background at the beginning …
Yeah, you’re not alone in finding “The Wizard of Oz” creepy. But I liked it anyway. I’m from the Midwest (and by the way scared to death of tornadoes) and was probably 8 years old when I first saw it. At the time, Dorothy seemed downright heroic (and she had a little dog that was so ugly it was cute): the way she overcame her fears to save her friends and get back home again really appealed to me. The music was good and her side-kicks were entertaining. And now I get kind of nostalgic when I see it.
My 15-year-old daughter and I went to see Wicked last fall in Chicago and loved it. I had read the book and found it pretty dark, but the musical not like that at all. It struck me as more of a “coming of age” story that centers on Elphaba who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West and also on Glinda. No creepiness factor in there at all. My daughter loved the strong-minded, independent Elphaba and got a souvenir “Defy Gravity” tee-shirt that pretty well defines her (and Elphaba’s) attitude.
Do you like musicals? If you do, I would recommend it.
Joe…could you do me a favour and pass this message on to Paul Mullie for me…
“What do you mean you’re not having fun? You’ve got 3 kids under the age of 4 and you’re not having fun? And I’m not just talking about the kids themselves here. I mean, you’ve got to have some fun to have kids…right?? Of course congratulations to you and your wife on the bundles of joy. I only have 2 and I know how much work they are…although mine are much older. Thank you for taking the time to answer all those questions.”
Thank you also Joe.
Take care guys and have a great week! ~ Chelle
Well thank goodness the SOL isn’t in open water. Geez, if that had been the backdrop in the final scene it would have made it very bad and cheesy. A little too much with the “America is the centre of the universe”.
Great Q and A!
David Blue cast as Eli Wallace? Pretty cool man. He’s one funny dude. One more great reason to watch Universe. Well done.
LMAO
Joe, I was cracking up at the start of your post ‘cos I knew what you were talking about. Can you please tell Paul he’s brilliant, even if he did write the dorky McKeller line at the end of EatG? Now, how are you going to compensate for a smaller office?
Cheers, Chev
Hey Joe, just two quick questions.
From what I’ve heard, when the final episode was written it wasn’t confirmed it would be the final episode. When the news came through that it would be, were there any rewrites at all to better reflect this and which episode(s?) were filming at the time?
Thanks to Paul for stopping by and especially for the DSD/Hammond answer.
@ Narrelle
I have not seen the musical, but the novel WICKED is very different from the 1930’s musical and original Baum Oz series. I doubt you will find the musical frightening. Know what you mean about the Hollywood Oz, though.
@mazeykins
Scrapple tastes like wet cardboard mixed with lard, if I remember correctly. I tried it during college in Pennsylvania.
Thanks Paul
forgive me butting in mazeykins
Question 1: what the heck is Scrapple? Is it like Spam, Treat or in a whole category of its own? Question 2: have you ever had it? Question 3: what does it taste like?
My grandmother described it as a mush of everything that was dropped that day on the kitchen floor. I have eaten it. Fried, it is crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside. Like sausage with ketchup, only worse.
DD
Hi Joe,
Thankyou so much for posting Paul’s answers and thankyou so much to Paul for coming up with those answers 😀
@ Paul Mullie:
I’m really happy that the treatment was completely successful on Todd, with the cuts to the episode, you really couldn’t tell. Maybe next time, could you please include a gratious shot of his right palm so that when the dialogue’s a bit vague, we can see it for ourselves 😉
I’m also glad there will be extra scenes in the DVD release of Season 5. A few hours of extra Todd moments would be heavenly and a huge fold-out poster of Todd would also be fantastic, maybe even life-sized 😉
Seriously though, I feel honored that you answered my question about Todd’s feeding hand, I realise that this was probably because many others asked the same question.
At the same time, I’m also devastated that some of my friends weren’t so lucky. I know that one of them spent an entire day working over the questions they had for you and because SGA has ended now, all of our hopes and dreams rested on your answers. If you could please spare a moment, at some stage in the future, could you please look over the questions written by GoSpikey and dasNdanger?
Pretty please? 🙂 I’ll even set up a Paul Mullie fan club if you can do it for us 🙂
I realise that your young family keeps you very busy, so we’ll appreciate your answers even more 😀
I loved reading through all of the other answers you gave Joe, especially the one where Ronan was “only a little dead” 🙂
Thanks again for your time and we’ll cling to the hope that you might be able to help us with those extra answers in the not so distant future (fingers crossed),
TW
Joe,
Stargate legacy put a few items up for bid after that nothing!!!! did they run out??? when is the SGA Season 5 DVD comming???? i have yet to see one season 5 episode…
Rotflol.
Thanks for the Q&A
Just another quick SGU question. Skiffy’s press release said “Stargate veterans Brad Wright and Robert Cooper are writing/executive-producing the series, which will debut in the fall as a two-hour movie and will be distributed by MGM Worldwide TV Distribution”
Just curious about ‘two hour movie’ if it’s three parts, and what does Fall mean? As in, September, October, November, or do you not know yet?
Thanks.
Coucou Joseph! Vous allez bien?
Moi oui trop!! Il y’a pleins de new de sgu aujourd’hui. Quoi de ,mieux pour commncer le week end?^^
Bon week end. Bisou.
Dear Narelle from Aus,
Not Joe, but we have seen Wicked.
Wizard of Oz was/is not my favorite movie.
Wicked is a musical on a completely different scale. The music is engaging. The story moves quickly. If your friends have not told you the plot line there are entertaining surprises. I enjoy the “behind the scenes” type aspect (probably why I read Joe’s blog!) of the story.
My daughter and I will be going to see it a second time in a few weeks. We knew nothing of the music or the story the first time. It will be interesting to see how different an experience it is knowing not only the story but all the words to every song…teenager you know…
All in all, if you enjoy theater and musicals, you will most likely enjoy Wicked. Hope this has helped at least a little.
Joe, your favorite song is “Go” by Tones on Tail? I’m impressed!
So, if you had to choose albums from just one: Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, Dali’s Car or Peter Murphy’s solo work? (I’m sure there’s some other Bauhaus offshoot I’m missing…)
Thanks for the Q&A! As always, they’re appreciated.
I enjoyed Paul’s answers. He’s really not grumpy like he seemed in the video months ago and he’s a bit more politic in his responses than some. The comment about Keller’s scene made me think. Something as fans we don’t always know is how much the network can influence a script. Her scene is jarring, just as Paul describes.
Joe, I had a question related to your post about “On Basilisk Station.” You mentioned somthing about this book being the first book that you liked as military SF. I’ve heard others describe “Old Man’s War” as military SF and I know you love that book. I’m curious, do you think of “Old Man’s War” more a space opera? How do you define military SF?
4 Narelle from Aus,
Echoing Donna’s comments. I saw Wicked in Chicagoland and its run here was at least 4 years. It was very nicely done with surprises. It is a musical, but not overwhelming. Nice story twists.
Wow I didnt even know he was going to have a Q&A. I wish I would have known cause i had a few for him.
Haha Paul is awesome! His Q&A had me laughing quite a few times!!! And I must say that I like the wicked cool black MacBook!!!
Still finishing OBS, but almost there!!! Thus far, Nimitz is definitely my favorite ‘character’ 😉
Well, I don’t usually post here, but I just have to say, that was a brilliant Q&A!
So, Joe, since it appears you are making your way through the powers that be, are we ever going to have a guest Q&A with Martin Wood?
Many thanks Paul for an entertaining and interesting Q&A. 🙂
@ mazeykins – Don’t listen to the others! Scrapple is very good! It’s the Delaware Valley’s version of haggis!
Scrapple is a Pennsylvania Dutch creation, and since my grandpop was 100% PA Dutch, it’s been a fairly common breakfast item in my family. I used to LOVE it as a kid…then I saw it made… 😯 …and I couldn’t eat it for a very loooong time, despite how good it is. But now I’m fine with it.
It’s basically made from pig’s head – eyeballs optional. 😉 Some add the heart and liver and other pork ‘scraps’. The head and other scraps are boiled down, the bones removed, and the meat mixed and cooked up with cornmeal and spices – especially sage – and then the ‘mush’ is turned out into loaf pans, and refrigerated. Traditionally it’s sliced and fried up (I prefer it thinly sliced so that it fries up real crispy), and served however you like. I like ketchup on mine, some prefer Worcestershire sauce, and others maple syrup. All depends. Scrapple tastes very sagy…with a hint of pig. 🙂
Nowadays folks make scrapple with pork shoulder and butt and skip the whole ‘boiled pig’s head’ stage. I call that cheating!
@ Todds Worshipper – No worries. I realize they can’t always answer all the questions, especially those that maybe they have no real answers to. I don’t think they know how to answer most of our Wraith questions because they don’t think about the characters as deeply as we do (i.e. they are not obsessed 😉 ).
My only concern is that – by avoiding a lot of Todd-related questions – it doesn’t seem to bode well for Todd in the movie (if he’s in the movie). I love the fact that he’s back to his normal feeding habits, but at the same time, that spells death for him as long as he’s with the Lanteans, and on earth. If that’s all the character is going to be good for now, I’ll just imagine in my head that he found his way back to the Pegasus, and is now happily feeding on what’s left of the Genii. 😀 Otherwise, I might watch the movie and be heartbroken.
Of course, I guess they could perfect the gene therapy, turn Todd into a giant green fruit bat, and sign him up as part of the team. At this point, I’d happily take that…it’s certainly better than worrying every second he’s on the screen that he’s gonna be killed. It’s that worry that kept me from enjoying the second half of this season, and I want to be able to watch – and ENJOY – the movie, not fret myself to death and then walk away pissed off. No fun in that at all.
das
So as it’s been addressed that Major Davis is indeed well over due for promotion, even if it is because he’s not a ‘kiss ass’ like Walter, any chance of him getting a promotion to Lt Col for the third SG1 movie, SGA Twilight or SGU?
Thanks.
Thanks for this, Paul! Very funny responses.
And congrats to Scalzi for joining the show! Very exciting. I hope he does get a chance (or even have the desire) to write a script.
I second Das’s scrapple vote. Scrapple rocks! As a matter of fact, I had some today on a kaiser roll with egg, cheese and hot sauce. You have to get over what it’s made from and just eat it. It’s too damn good.
About the SGU casting news: like wraithfodder, I was wondering about the rationale behind casting a black actor (the only black actor in the show so far) to play a character whose main personality trait is his explosive temper. I think that fans would love to see a black scientist, archaeologist, linguist, diplomat, etc. — someone who is more than a stereotype.
Thanks.
Joe,
I was curious about what Paul said in regards to the network wanting to see Keller earlier in Enemy at the Gate. I take it that it’s not an unusual practice for the network to make suggestions like that? In what other ways might they interfere with a writer’s work?
Oops. Did I say interfere? I meant to say contribute. *g*
Best,
Rose
Joe, please thank Mr Mullie for an excellent Q&A. Then, please whack him on the head and shout, “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???” Seriously, three kids under three? Yikes. All the best to Mrs Mullie and her sanity!
Seriously, back to the Q&A. Very well handled, and an enjoyable read.
hi, joe,
do you know when the females of the cast are going to be revealed for stargate universe? *that* is the number one thing that’ll make me want to follow any show, whether i can get into the female lead(s).
sally =)
Please give a big thank you to Paul for both braving fandom and answering questions. I got a kick out of his answers and sense of humor. Thank you for hosting him, too.
I am really into withdrawal now – Friday night and no Atlantis. *sigh* I really miss the show already, no Team Sheppard tonight. Thanks once again for the wonderful characters and the fun you’ve given us.
“Special writes: “Do the writers ever discuss how the marginalization of Ronon and Teyla contributes to rather horrifying racial and sexual politics of this show?”
Paul: I love the way this question is phrased. It’s like, “Mr. Mullie, do you and the other writers ever sit around and discuss what jerks you all are?” To which, I guess the short answer is, no.”
And yet, he didn’t actually answer the question, which comes from a perfectly valid observation. The thing is, y’all (the writers) chose to have Teyla come from a rather primitive hunter/gatherer/agrarian society. And even though Sateda was advanced by Pegasus standards and Ronan’s significant other was some sort of medical professional, y’all chose to make him their equivalent of a hick – he shoots & grunts but doesn’t want to do much else. And yes, those choices of yours do marginalize the two of them (the team’s only non-Earth members, and the main cast’s only people of color) a lot.
I think a lot of us would like to know if this issue has been discussed. Would Ronan learn to read Earth languages at some point? (Seems like Teyla has.) Why wouldn’t either of them learn more of Earth tech, so they could be more useful in some situations? What would Ronan have done with his life on Sateda if the Wraith hadn’t come, and could he pursue that in some way now? There are all sorts of places these characters could have been taken, so why they spend a lot of time treading water out on the edges – I echo the question. (I’ll even assume there’s a good reason beyond the rather snippy answer.)
Thanks to everyone who asked a question of Paul, to Joe for giving up the blog for the day and especially to Paul for answering them. 😀 Thanks for the pictures of Paul, although one of him looking at the camera would have been nice too.
Just saw info on more additions to the Universe cast:
http://popculturezoo.com/archives/1799
Don’t know any of them.
Cheers, Chev
A little late, but I want to thank Paul Mullie for answering the fan questions. I really appreciate the thoughtful way he responded. Sometimes some of the Q&As can get a bit frustrating to read because the guest will only answer part of a question or not at all. I’d rather not even see the question if it’s not going to answered and is only going to be used as a joke. I’m sorry that Paul didn’t do the Q&As more often, I like his style.
Thanks for getting Paul on your blog, Joe.
The Last Man is the only Atlantis episode I’ve ever purchased from iTunes so hopefully you got a few pence from that. I also really liked the last two episodes. Thanks for so many great Stargates over the years and for this blog, an oasis. Obviously for this Q&A, very interesting and amusing, I had wondered about the writing partnership too (though not about your office sizes). Best of luck with SGU. The Carlyle hiring certainly was a fantastic start. I’m one of those Joe noted as fans who know him as Hamish Macbeth, plus the other great roles.
Only a little dead…
Check.
Just wanted to point out that Paul’s take on wormhole drive may be inaccurate. Or at least it doesn’t seem to jive with my understanding of wormholes from 15 years of SG. The Stargate devices themselves were responsible for de-molecularizing matter and sending it through the wormhole created. There were repeated mentions of the gates storing energy patterns that would then be re-integrated into actual matter. A wormhole drive, at least what it sounds like, would merely be the generation of a wormhole large, stable, and accurate enough for a ship to pass through. There may be a whole slew of new laws such a wormhole has to obey that make it different from the wormholes the Stargates generate. But with a wormhole drive there’s nothing to do the de and re-molecularization, so I don’t think they would work that way.
Here are a few possible reasons for the differences:
1. Power: Stargates need far less power than a wormhole drive, not just because of the distances and size of the wormhole, but the Stargates don’t need to create one as accurate or stable, since it’s just sending a matter stream to the gate on the other side, rather than trying to have a physical object pass through.
2. Development: If the ancients invented Stargates, why did it take so long for them to come up with the wormhole drive and why didn’t they finish it? Well, the Stargates are really an extension of the ring transporter technology, in that they create a matter stream. Only instead of sending it through realspace like the rings, they send it through a wormhole through subspace. But the de and re-materialization would likely operate the same. Also, like I mentioned before, the physics of a wormhole physical objects can pass through and the one that only energy can pass through may be hugely different, which accounts for their different development times.
Also, you guys may want to think about limiting the wormhole drive use to Ancient tech with more than a few ZPMs, just so it doesn’t become a really cheap copout when you need to move something across the galaxy.
I really think having some differentiation between the Stargate wormholes and the wormhole drive wormholes would be a good thing.
thanks Paul for taking questions from fans. i’d nominate you for an emmy if i could. (and you too joe)