Hey, they revealed the official Oscar nominations today and, while perusing the Best Picture category, I couldn’t help but notice a few notable omissions. Where was The Hangover? And Coraline? Thirst? Ponyo? Zombieland? Fantastic Mr. Fox? Sadly, handcuffed by the fact that they are only able to nominate a very limited number of films in the Best Picture Category, the Academy has once again overlooked some very worthy candidates. It’s unfair and I think steps should be taken to see that this doesn’t happen again. To that end, I would strongly suggest expanding the Best Picture category to twenty nominees. Being more inclusive would not only generate interest in more movies, but it would ensure fewer producers with hurt feelings at the end of the day.
Of course as most of you know, this year the Best Picture category was extended from five nominations to ten (Not good enough, I say). According to Sid Ganis, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: ““After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year.”
I applaud the Academy for this decision and would love to see them return to their roots by also bringing back a few more of the classic elements that made those Oscar’s of yore truly special. Specifically, the following retired categories:
Best Assistant Director
Best Dance Direction
Best Film Tinting
Best Short Subject, Two-Reel
Best Title Writing
Best Pantomime in a Silent Film
Best Vitaphone Recording
Best Unique and Artistic Quality of Production in a Talkie
Best Photoplay Music by a Pianist or Organist
Finally, given that these extra categories may add a few extra minutes to the show’s time and that the biggest complaint about the Oscar telecast is its length, I’d like to propose the following suggestions to help speed things along:
Move the opening monologue and dance number to the commercial breaks.
Condense all five Original Song nominees into a 3 minute medley.
Choose: Best Sound Editing OR Best Sound Mixing. You can’t have both. Unless someone present can explain the difference.
If you’re not there to pick up your award – too bad! Next winner gets two!
Final Oscar of the night is awarded in the category of Shortest Acceptance Speech
A big thanks to everyone who took the time to offer up their list of SGU likes, dislikes, and general wish list for what lies ahead. Many of your responses confirmed what I’d suspected while others came as a bit of a surprise. I can reveal that a significant number of your requests and issues will be addressed in the back half of season one, specifically with regard to character and backstory development, set-ups and pay-offs, pacing and plot, exploration and extraterrestrials, and even those damn communication stones! Others have garnered some serious in-room discussion. Would love to let you know how it all turns out but I figure it might be best if you simply tuned in and found out or yourselves. In the meantime…
Have I mentioned yet that the first ten episodes of SGU’s first season hits store shelves February 9th? Extras include actor commentaries, Destiny SML, kino video diaries, and Stargate 101: Presented by Daniel Jackson.
Mailbag:
Deni writes: “Right now, I’m SO enjoying “Arthur’s Mantle” and can’t help but miss the story-telling in SGU. I understand SGU is a completely different thing, just saying I still would love to see a bit of the old humour back once in a while. Who came up with the idea of using Arthur and the Knights of the Round in Stargate?”
Answer: That would have been Exec. Producer and idea-man Robert Cooper.
Michael A. Burstein writes: “But pulsar belts?”
Answer: Wait! Not pulsar belts. Photon belts. Much better!
Thunder writes: “Happy Birth Month to little Miss Jelly!”
Answer: Jelly thanks you. And wants to know if you’re planning on finishing those leftovers.
Bloomgate writes: “If I used the stones and entered a normal person’s body, would I be able to eat anything I want without consequence? Have you guys considered anything like that?”
Answer: You could eat anything you wanted, but would still suffer the indigestion-related consequences. Or the host body would anyway. We will be exploring the pros and extreme cons of body-swapping in episodes to come.
Tawny writes: “Will what happened and its consequences of Rush and Young seeming to trust any Earth based scientists less continue to affect the way they handle and major problems, and make the ship based crew the first option in the remainder of the first season, and into the second?”
Answer: The events of Earth certainly soured Young on having so-called experts onboard and calling the shots. Rush is equally reluctant – but has his own reasons. That’s not to say they wouldn’t bring in experts on an as-needed basis however.
Tawny also writes: “Seeing as though you enjoyed the Haggis, what are your top 5 foreign cultural foods you would most like to sample? And are there any you are adamant you never want to taste?”
Answer: I don’t really have a top 5. I’m a fairly adventurous eater and have covered a lot of ground in that respect. As for anything I’d probably never want to try, it’s unlikely I’ll ever sample the Peruvian delicacy of roasted guinea pig.
PJR writes: “viewers are only 10 eps in but you see the arcs, so do you think we’re (mostly) where you’d expected? Pleasant surprises on our take? Disappointments?”
Answer: To be honest, a little of all three. But that’s been the case with every season of Stargate to date.
Niall Mcnamara writes: “i only asked because it’s wat i wanna do when i am older i am olny 14 and it would be my dream job”.
Answer: Hi, Niall. The best advice I can give a new writer is to write! Read, get feedback from people you can trust and keep writing!
Kabra writes: “Someone a few days ago had a question about belly fat, I found that drinking green tea helped me.”
Answer: Yep. I do green tea first thing in the morning and then again before dinner. Don’t forget to add a squeeze of lemon juice as the citric acid apparently makes it easier for your body to absorb its beneficial properties.
Alexander of Houston writes: “hey joe, you think you could set up one of the viseffects directors for interview?”
pilotjeff writes: “After the dust settles with MGM debt can we expect some definitive statement on the SGA/SG1 movies?”
Answer: At this point, you’re guess is as good as mine.
Overmind One writes: “I have my snarky attitude because I was insulted by Mr Mallozi’s rant a few months ago where he basically said he was going to do this the way he wanted, and our Stargate format was passe. We were going to be in for a “loooooooong haul”. He implied that “old” Stargate fans were IQ challenged.”
Answer: Really? Did I kick you in the nuts and steal your wallet too? I love how, on the one hand, those posting critiques of the show decry the fact that the show’s producers aren’t pay enough attention to them and yet, on the other hand, are prone to silly generalizations or quick to wholly dismiss any comments made by said producers. If you’ll go back to my “rant” and actually read what I had to say, you’ll note that my issue was not so much with the criticism but the way in which that criticism was being expressed. Furthermore, the show is the show. It will continue to develop and evolve (and, judging from the input of many fans over the past few days, I’m happy to say it will do so in ways that will please many), but don’t expect a complete overhaul of the premise, style, or tone. Also, do direct me to the quote in which I “implied that “old” Stargate fans were IQ challenged.” It sounds to me more like you’re allowing your own insecurities vis-a-vis your television viewing preferences to color your interpretation of my remarks.
Kevin writes: “The element I’d like to see changed most is that I’d like to see the word “Stargate” dropped from the show’s title. Let it stand alone as a independent soap opera in space.”
Answer: Stargate mythology? Stargate elements and characters? Check. Stargate? Check! If we lose any of the aforementioned, I’ll let you know.
I stopped watching award shows long ago…hate ’em.
And that’s about all I have energy for tonight. Another huge day, and I gotta go to bed. Nite, sir!
das
Some other forgotten Awards:
– Best clacker board clacker
– Neatest handwriting on cue cards
– Most accurate order taker for lunch
– Actor who managed to destroy their life the most through taking method acting too far
– Best Young Actor who isn’t on prescription pain killers
– Actor who has rammed the most papparazzi with their car while driving or body guard driving
– Most Outstanding performance in a bank robbery while allegedly sleeping
– Reality TV star/Rich Heiress that is talented at something other than being famous.
The last Award became redundant when they found year after year there were no contenders.
Das, Tammy and Deni – Possums carry an awful amount of bacteria in their claws and mouths so this could be a side effect of that. Also, a major drainage tube (more like a sewer pipe!) came out too early when he first got hurt so that could be a contributor. But really, everyone is in the dark and Ralph just sits staring at us all while we talk about him. I might suggest the ultra sound though d.
Hey Joe,
Thanks for the snark. It made me smile. The past week has been…well…somewhat less than ideal and your snark managed to brighten my otherwise dreary day. Thanks!
LJ
Hello,
I was reviewing the nominations on CNN this morning, and noticed that the animated short film catagory was overlooked.
Does this mean Nick Park will not be allowed to continue his dominance in this category with “A Matter of Loaf and Death”? Oh well, I guess that’s what you get when you double the amount of best picture nominees.
Also, I think they should add a direct to video category. The “Tremors” sequels (and SG1) films showed that you can make a quality film on a modest budget. Not to mention some of the films in the best picture category (“The Hurt Locker” for example) earned about as much revenue as “Stargate Continuum”.
By the way, we haven’t heard much about your mother these days and hope she is doing well in rehab. Best wishes.
Sincerely,
Bryan M. White
And why don’t they have Awards such as Most Convincing Media Interview by an Actor Who Knew the Film Was Total Crap?
So are you waiting until the DVDs come out or are you watching Lost more or less as it airs this season? And if the latter, how about those happenings? The goings-on?
Just to quickly clarify my direct to video comment: I feel that directors Like James Cameron have it easy, because the studios are more likely to take a chance on them. Take “Avatar” for example. Great film, but remember there was a lot of talk last year about how 20th Century Fox took a huge risk with the film, but because it was Cameron, the studio figured it would be a worth while investment.
Compare that to a film like “Slumdog Millionaire” which almost got the direct to video treatment itself. For a relatively unknown director, a studio might not be willing to take the risk, but the film is still a quality piece of work, and may deserve a shot at best picture immortality.
Stargate 101 presented by Daniel Jackson you say? I’ll be buying the thing just for that! Like you didn’t know that already 😉
1. Do you know if the SGU DVD releases will alternatively have a full 20 episode season set or should I get that superglue ready?
[Underlying reason for question: It’s irking that they’re charging only $5 less than the full SGA season sets for these 10 episode sets. I loved and watched Stargate since the original movie but I ain’t made of money. I liked the previous format. Season finale. Wait. Buy one DVD set. Wait. Watch Season Premiere.]
2. In theory, do those ships that are ahead of Destiny send data to Destiny through a subspace link and populate its database with the new address for the stargate they just seeded a planet with?
3. Did you record your commentary for SGU 1.0 as the episode was filmed or did you go back and do it after it was finished?
Hi Joe
I’d asked: With us 10 eps in and you knowing the arcs, what did you think of where we’re at: 1) we’re (mostly) where you’d expected? 2) Some pleasant surprises on our take? 3) Disappointed in part?
You said: To be honest, a little of all three. But that’s been the case with every season of Stargate to date.
I’d like to add: Tell us a little more, please, especially on the pleasant surprises and disappointments.
And add this, too: But, in noting the mix has been felt ‘with every season of Stargate’ isn’t that still a strike out of the park for a new series that is breaking the mould (to a degree), especially so early in the run?
Plus: What do your co-writers think of the feedback you’ve been getting? Private thoughts or chewed over?
Thanks, once again. Great show.
Patrick
Joe SGU release date FEB.9 Dont forget to tell the fan’s MGM is putting out half a sesaon of SGU at $50.00 BUCKS A POP. Is this how SGU DVD will go out in half a sesaon increment’s???
Joe I loved the mythology aspects of Stargate from the beginning, Egyptian, Norse, Arthurian. Will we be seeing this in one form or another in SGU? There are still tons of possibilities, Greek, Roman, Aztec, Celtic, or even Japanese.
Just think the fire breathing dragons from legend could be ships firing rockets or something. Come on your a smart guy, write it!
P.S. Rob C was narrowly missing out on my #1 spot for favorite Stargate writer. Now that I know he came up with the Arthurian idea, he just bumped Carl out.
You and Narelle are hereby nominated to “do over” the Acadamy Awards, from nomination catagories to choosing the awarders. We’ll let Das do the decorating of the award theater. Whoever is the biggest, strongest, and most intimidating reader here will be the award winners’ escort, to ensure that there is in fact competition for the shortest speech award. And to provide some action and entertainment when someone goes over the 34 second limit and is forcefully removed. I believe that we, as a group, could put on an Awards show that would double the ratings.
As for Overmind One, I do believe we have a resident troll. I recall the exchanges from a few months back. And any attitude shown by Mr. M. was more than justified by the provocations. When you come into someone’s house and not only insult the decor but try to piddle on the carpet, don’t be suprised when someone smacks you with a rolled up newspaper. And no, I’m not calling you a dog Overmind. I wouldn’t dream of insulting my own K’Tesh, Mr. M’s pack, or the other many fine animals owned by other readers here by doing so.
Thanks for the morning laugh, as well as a tasty mailbag. Now to go off to make the mandatory panic run for milk and bread before the next storm bears down on us Friday/Saturday. How rude of Ma Nature to act like it’s wintertime….
Coucou Joseph!ça va bien?
Moi oui, un peu fatiguer car je ne dort plus très bien depuis plusieurs jours.
C’est vous qui devriez avoir un oscar!! Vous êtes le meilleur ♥
Je suis impatiente de voir la saison 2 , je pense qu”elle me plaira !!!!
Dites vous ne savez pas si sgu sera traduit en français?…car pour l’instant on n’en sais rien =(.
Pleins de gros bisou!!!!
Je vous adore!!!
Narelle: the closest I’ve seen to a possum bite is a rat bite. Rats are pretty nasty but most are nowhere near the size of a possum. An ultrasound is worth asking the vet about but the tissue is probably too dense to read anything. The Vet is the expert, though. Sending good vibes Ralph’s way.
Thanks Mr. M, for the great blog today and the mailbag!
I am so happy that Up is nominated for Best Picture. I thought it was such a sweet, beautiful, funny and sad film, I cried like a little girl when I saw that movie. Boy am I glad that cinemas are dark!
I would also love to see Star Trek win an Oscar. There’s a couple of reasons for this; firstly, I love that movie and secondly, it would be great to see sci-fi acheive. I don’t really mind what it acheives, but as long as it’s acheving something… preferably good. And I realise that Avatar is also sci-fi, but it strikes me as more of an epic, and I really liked the Star Trek movie ^_^
PS.
I actually am a girl, so I don’t feel to bad about crying like one (as long as I don’t get busted doing it, because I don’t and you can’t prove it).
Still in total awe of your snark…
“Wait! Not pulsar belts. Photon belts. Much better!”
Why do I think of a photon belt as something to keep on a pair of light pants?
WRT the Oscars, I had thought that the entire point of expanding to ten nominees in Best Picture was so Star Trek could be nominated. So where is it? 🙂
(Although from what I’ve heard, District 9 is the kind of SF movie that deserves being on the list and probably wouldn’t have been had it not been for the expansion to ten nominees.)
One of the best blog entries I’ve read about the 10 movie nominees! I love your suggestions for other returning categories and I hope someone takes into consideration your time-saving ideas.
Guys stores won’t sell it for 50 bucks. That would be suicide!!!
Oh and got your reply Joe. Thanks for responding!!!!! Sorry if it was a little long. I meant to shoot you an email back in September so i had a bit of stuff I wanted to say.
Thanks again for being so active on your blog! In the whole year I have been on your blog, I can only remember one time where you missed an entry, and you ended up only being delayed for a half day. No matter if your in Vancouver or Tokyo, you still post. That’s really some serious dedication!!
Thanks so much,
Major D. Davis
Mmm, snarkalicious.
And I’m still all tingly.
We got more snow last night – and a threat for more on the weekend, and next Tuesday. This sort of snow is very unusual for us. Hubby just said today that he thinks 2012 might be coming sooner than everyone thought…
@ maggiemayday – I’m all tingly, too…but I use peppermint soap. 🙂 This stuff – just have to overlook the insanity on the label:
http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/PEP.htm
It is good stuff – SO refreshing in the summer!!! And it does make you tingly! I’ve tried the others, but always come back to this.
das
Oh and Joe for some reason I can’t remember something a fan of sgu should know.
How did the kino come into existence? Who’s idea was it?
Thanks so much,
Major D. Davis
I think it is great how you genuinely believe (or want us to believe) this series is a natural progression/evolution from the previous incarnations of Stargate. It is admirable that you believe that simply having a round prop on the set is enough of a tie-in to the core mythology surrounding the round prop. It is astounding how you can so readily dismiss the core complaints of the series by pulling fragmented details culled from wherever and hope we don’t notice how poorly the elements go together. I think it takes brass ones to keep promising that, despite the bland, pedantic, soap opera that was the first half of season one, things will be radically different in the later half of the season. We gave you nine episodes to pick up the pace — to give us a reason to care about the characters, their situation, or the overall story arc. We did this because of our appreciation of the Stargate franchise. It is beyond incredible that nobody involved in Stargate Universe has issued a public apology yet.
thanks for the advice just wanted to ask a Professional
@maggiemayday: I think you LIVE tingly:) I’m jealous!
@Narelle: Just a few nights ago, Mr. Deni and I were talking about how it’s possible that horrible movies get made all the time. Are these people insane? Then, I saw that “District 9” is up for best picture…come on, really? Really? WTF? No, really? Cockroach people?
Hi Joe!
Hi Joe:
Let me first say that I love the acting in SGU. I think that Jamil Walker Smith, Alaina Huffman and Louis Ferriera are brilliant. I am also impressed by Peter Kelamis, David Blue and Patrick Gilmore.
I am wondering, however, about the point of your request for feedback about the series, so far, if you appear to be using it to confirm things that are already being done in the show. Are the production executives going to seriously take our suggestions for changes into account, or was this merely an exercise in justification of current policy?
Also, I don’t plan to buy the SGU DVD until the entire season has been provided, if then. I’ve noticed that many companies provide a season, for example, then they will provide a combo pack of three seasons, so the customer actually ends up buying that first season again. But, oh wait, they will sweeten the deal with some exclusive extras. Then, maybe a year later, the same episodes will be offered in “extended versions” with more extras so we get to buy the whole thing yet again. It works as a great way to fleece the fan, but, seriously, I’m not into that.
Thanks for listening.
Patricia
Correction: I just checked, and they updated the site, both noting Animated Short Film, and Nick Parks’ film.
Grin!
I just goggled ‘Photon Belt’ for the heck of it and…. SNARK! The Wikipedia entry I found is rather humorous, though perhaps I should apologize for laughing so loudly to anyone here who might actually believe that the Earth is set to be enveloped by a massive Photon Belt in 2012 thereby ending all life or causing us to Ascend to a higher plane of existence.
‘Hmmm… wonder if it’s a repeat phenomena and that’s how the Ancients first Ascended? Or if some small aspect of it remained here on Earth last time resulting in the Bermuda Triangle. :’D
Mmm… Maybe you were thinking about the Destiny passing through a Pulsar Wind Nebula, or exploring a planet the orbits a Pulsar? Radiation would be a problem. Hmmm… aliens who could live in such an environment would be incredibly different…
I’m with Das. Hate all those awards shows, and the reality shows, too. Maybe they should combine them all. Survivor of the Oscars/Grammys/Emmys and the Biggest Loser gets to Dance with the Stars! I might watch that.
Thanks. That’s pretty much what I expected.
I’ll keep a watch on MGM and hope the situation improves.
The latest posted price for the SGU 1.0 demi season DVD set in a flimsy perforated regular size case is $27.99 USD and $41.99 CAD on the Amazon sites. Most of the Amazon buyer feedback indicated the demi season format is a money grubbing exercise by Skiffy, MGM and Fox Home Entertainment. Doesn’t the suits learn anything after they pull the same stunt with BSG. Included me with the viewers that bypass by the overpriced BSG DVDs at the stores.
Boy oh boy!
Kevin wrote:
And I think it’s equally Awesome how you can’t accept that someone else has a different opinion from you.
And I believe it’s just as precious that you seem to have missed the “Stargate mythology? Stargate elements and characters?” part of Joe’s response. Why, yes – having O’Neill, Carter, Daniel, Dr. Lee, the George Hammond, the Ancient chair, the Ancients, the IOA, Homeworld Security, the Lucian Alliance, the Ancient communication stones, the wormhole-travel-through-solar-flair-causes-you-to-travel-through-time thing, Ascension, references to the Asgard, and…oh right, the Stargate, is a pretty good tie-in to what came before.
Please don’t insult SG1 and SGA by calling them “wherever”, good sir.
Well, I’m sure you’ll tune in to find out come April.
Who’s “we”?
L.O.FREAKING.L – you know, humor-by-exaggeration only works if the rest of your comment wasn’t just as exaggerated.
At least, I hope you were exaggerating. No one in their right minds would think that the producers of a TV show should apologize publicly because a group of fans are pissed off at and whining about what they’re seeing.
Just repeating:
At Amazon.com – for release Feb 9, 2010
Stargate SG-U:1.0 Blu-ray at 38.99 and not the “original” listed price of $69.99.
and
Stargate SG-U1.0 DVD at $27.99 and not the “original” listed price of $49.98.
Don’t know how the prices fluctuate for other countries.
I preordered on Dec 6 when they announced availability.
Speaking of 1.0…
Some people claim to have seen the extended version of “Air” (don’t know how, the DVD isn’t out yet) and talk about scenes between Rush and O’Neill and that there’s some additional backstory about the 9th chevron.
I haven’t seen the longer episode myself, but sounds like clips from those scenes were added to the trailer presented at Comic con last year. Now having re-watched all bigger trailers I have always wondered how come we haven’t seen this / heard that. Yeah, trailers are kind of overlapped and manipulated by playing with different scenes, but we have never heard anyone say ‘a key to the universe itself’, ‘yes, through an open wormhole’ nor seen some brief (and not so brief) seconds. I do hope to see all of this in the 2nd half of the season, but the rest was based on the 1st half.
Will those cut clips be used in future episodes, maybe as flashbacks? If not, it’s not cool to advertise a new series with clips that people won’t see on TV. It’s probably not up to you, sorry, but I’m just saying.
PG15: I believe Mr. M. should put you on the payroll!
Does anyone else find humor in Kevin’s rude demand for an apology?
eddy
@Mr M
After some time reflecting on the demi season of SGU so far. My conclusion is that the show doesn’t have most of the elements that make the previous incarnations enjoyable to watch for me. The shaky camera shoots and murky look of the Destiny sets is distracting.
And who come up with the bright idea to interrupt the show for 5 months. not helping the ratings with viewers losing interest and drift off to other things.
IMO SGU should be winded up after 3 seasons, if not sooner. This will give a beginning, a middle and an end to the SGU saga. Time to start reboot the franchise with something closer to SGA & SG1. The current show is too SOAPY and tedious for me and probably much of the previous fanbase. The new fans will probably start melting away in the next season after sampling the first demi season like many of the recent genre shows.
One last thing. Hope the writers will not over used the Eli character to the level of the Wesley Crusher character in STTNG.
Hi, Joe!
1) Have you any plans for the continuation of SGU and the SG-1 and SGA movies if MGM does get bought? Will it be up to the new owner? It probably will be, but I want to hear what your plans will be.
2) Any chance of a discription of what aliens ”abduct” Rush in ”Space”?
Get rid of the “Stargate” in the title? Enterprise already tried that, and we all know how well that worked.
Personally I love the award shows: get together a group of friends, perferabbly the cattiest and snarkinest ones you know. Dish on the dresses and bad speeches. Add generous amounts of martinis, tequila, and jaegermeister. Mix in an oscar pool where people bet money to see who guesses the most categories right. Result: fun time for all.
I adored Fantastic Mr Fox, but Up was also terrific. I am sad Star Trek wasn’t nominated, I think it deserved it.
How’s Mom?
Noticed Kevins question and follow blog comments, sure okay, you don’t like the *Soap Opera* parts when they occur, but why do you continue to watch the series Kevin? Clearly Stargate Universe isn’t for you, and as long as that round thing that lights up, makes wormholes and is generally a part of everyones hearts is still aboard the Destiny, dropping the Stargate part would be impossible.
Instead of asking for an apoligy Kevin, maybe you should apoligise for your rude comments towards the show/writing staff, you havent really made a decent enough point to warrant any validity to what you’re saying.
@ Thornyrose – Decorating, eh? I wonder how ‘Wraith chic’ would go over in Hollywood? 😉
@ Tammy – More and more I’m convinced that pg15 is Mallozzi’s very own Mini-Me. Must be why Carl loves him so much. 🙂
das
1. They should give an Oscar to the best opening & closing credits – I love when they have cool things at the end like bloopers or something funny like Ferris Bueller.
2. What are the Aussies doing about SGU 1.0? I found out that the blu-ray coming out next week is confirmed Region A (Movietyme)
I’m now scrambling to see what I can do….there’s no word on the disc being available in Australia so that means at the very least its a few months away.
This blows!
Cheers, Chev
@pg15: “They” is “we”… at least I think “they” are. 😉
Tammy Dixon
PG15: I believe Mr. M. should put you on the payroll!
I’ll second that.
At the end of the day, if you don’t like, don’t watch! You have an off-switch on your tv… use it! sheesh
Could you do two posts a day for a while? I usually supplement your snark with my own, but my snarking work has slowed down lately and, without a deadline, I’m suffering from snarker’s block.
Yeah, yeah, I know, snarkers snark, but I need to see the reason behind it. I could go and re-snark some old snarkings, but I already did that and I’ve found doing that too much re-snarking strips the voice out of my snark.
For those who rose to Mr. M’s defense, that’s fine. As some stated, you’re entitled to your opinion, as I should be entitled to mine. As for thinking my comments were rude or whatever other adjectives were used, people in this comment section seem to enjoy when Joe is snarky, so I figure he gets what he gives.
I do respect his abilities and the abilities of many of the SG crew, but I feel they have done a big thing badly, and that my opinion has as much right to be voiced as anyone else’s.
No, I don’t watch the series anymore, because it holds none of the elements of the other two. Calling a character O’Neill, even casting the same actor to play him, isn’t enough to recall the Stargate character if you make the character an emasculated desk jockey. Calling a character Carter, then having that character unable to fix or prevent a catastrophe isn’t in keeping with the character (which they seemed to realize on Atlantis eventually). Incorporating elements from Galactica, Lost, and Days Of Our Lives might make for a decent TV series, but it does not make a decent Stargate series. And since I was looking for a decent Stargate series, I was disappointed.
if that seems too rude or too snarky or too whatever, my apologies, but I feel my opinion has merit.
Oh, just read PG15’s post. Just what I need – snark interns snarking for free, flooding the snark market. Excellent snark, but some us have mortgages, Dude. Make them pay for it.
hey joe, am currently watching stargate the ark of truth on dvd, and am gonna watch cotinuum after it, and i noticed that the style of production is similar to SGU. was it a sort of testing ground for the style of filming for SGU, just keeping more elements of the SG1/A shooting style than the finished product in SGU?
i also keep watching the first ten episodes of SGU! can’t wait for it to come back!
PG15: I am in awe of your snark!
Um…
Just heard the ‘coastal storm’ we’re getting this weekend will be a full-blown nor’easter…
Best case scenario (and least likely) – rain and wind.
Probable – 10″ of snow, and wind.
Worst case? Blizzard dumping at least 2 feet.
I can’t remember the last time we had that much snow – back in ’78 or ’77, I think (I know it was deep, and afterwards I went back in the woods with my dog, and played ‘to build a fire’ under a cedar tree. It worked, and I cooked hotdogs for us! 🙂 )
My biggest concern is if the power goes off AND we get snowed in. We have an all-electric house – no back-up heat (lots of blankets and a few cats, but still…don’t want to lose my plants and or have my pipes freeze). We do have a camp stove, but really shouldn’t use that inside. I can just hear it now – hubby will be nagging, ‘See??! I told you we should have hooked up to gas!’ 🙄 I have plenty of stuff to eat that doesn’t require cooking, so we won’t starve. 🙂
However, since they forcasted a dusting to 2″ of snow for us the last time and we got 10″ instead, I’m guessing the opposite will happen – they’ll forcast 10″, and we’ll get two.
Time will tell if my theory is right…
das
Mr M please delete my previous 2 posts. Messed up the html formatting,
— —- —- —- — — — —-
@sylvia wrote:
You might be interested in a couple of business practice that Amazon engages in.
If Amazon can’t fulfilled orders with their initial stock for an item. They will sometimes assigned a new ASIN number to the item and cancel the unfulfilled orders. Their reasoning is that the item you ordered is no longer available. Since the item’s original ASIN number is deactivated. Got burn several times like this.
Sometimes Amazon will also import limited quantity of an item into a market (e.g. from the US into Canada) with big discount. Once the limited stock is gone, Amazon will cancel unfulfillable orders like above.
The prices above will bounce up by $5 to $15 the day the item becomes available. So if Amazon helpfully cancels your order than it will cost a lot more getting the item from Amazon.
Everyone is invited to visit my Stargate Movies 2010 post at http://abbaskarimjee.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/stargate-movie-2009-2010/to find out all of the details regarding the awaited Stargate Movies. Be sure to also share your thoughts on the info as well as discuss your anticipations for the films in the comments segment of the post.
Thanks!
Sorry – the link did not turn out right -http://abbaskarimjee.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/stargate-movie-2009-2010/
In Australia we’ve just had Air released on DVD as a ‘Limited edition extended pilot’.
Apparently it has 12 minutes of extra footage.
Not sure when I’ll be buying a copy as I’m not fully mobile at the moment…
Cameron
@PG15 – Here, Here! Thank you for putting into words exactly what I was thinking!
Kevin,
I wasn’t rising to Joe’s defense, as there is no need. I was just calling “shenanigans” on the tone of your previous post.
This last post of yours, in contrast, is perfectly fine IMHO, though I completely disagree with your opinions. At least I better understand where you are in the realm of SG fandom, and could possibly engage in a respectful discussion with you.
See you on the other side!
eddy
@Das. naturally we’d also let you hire the MC. Think Mr. Heyerdahl is available? And if Wraith chic wasn’t the in thing before, it will be after.
@Kevin. Not sure how others read you but I find your comments to be respectfully phrased. I think it’s the how you say it rather than the what you say that matters most to Mr. M. I can’t imagine anyone in show business can afford to have a very thin skin, given the number of critics amataur and professional out there to evaluate every product offered.
I’m personally surprised at the expectations of some people in just a few episodes. I give at least one season, and some shows I even give two if it needs it. That is assuming I am interested in the initial premise.
I can definitely see promise in SGU. I’ll patiently wait for the initial show setting to be set and some major story lines to begin.
Das: when I lived out in the boonies, we kept a propane or kerosene heater for when the electricity went off. Everytime somebody ran into the electrical lines or we had a bad storm. It happened on a regular basis.
Also we had our outdoor gas grill for cooking. Do you have enough time to go shopping? A few around here get those generators but they can dangerous. Every prolonged power outage, somebody dies from carbon monoxide poisoning. Whole families get wiped out. Sad and so preventable.
Ten inches of snow? Maybe we should all go visit Narelle this winter.
@Narelle from Aus: I poured my wheat puffs into a bowl, added milk, and declared that they looked like giraffe skin. Thus was the extent of my experience and observation. Give it a whirl and see if you agree.
As for the bat wing/testicle comparison. I know where I can get a willing testicle or two, but the bats are keenly afraid of getting near me with my bowl of giraffe skin in hand.
Now, this is a PG-ish blog, so I’m going to stop misbehaving.
Ha!
I’ve never really watched an awards show the whole way through, except for this last People’s Choice awards. And that was because NPH was hosting. I just don’t enjoy watching other people get awards that I don’t have any personal ties.
On another topic, I was wondering how many of the crew were vegan/vegetarian. I noticed that a lot of the cuisine you’re showing off seems to be mainly vegetarian in nature. Maybe I just haven’t been reading the ingredients closely enough.
I have a question. If someone claims not to watch a certain show anymore, why would that person still comment about said show? Wouldn’t deciding not to watch mean they wouldn’t care about it anymore? Just curious.
@Kevin What do you have against Days of Our Lives?
Ahhh Joe I think I am your biggest fan. One of the masters of Stargate, a foodie, and a fellow Canadian. Rock on man.
My issue with someone like Overmind One is that nothing will ever make him happy. Comments regarding the amount of money he makes and his intelligence and that SGU is an affront to that says to me that he takes his TV VERY seriously…probably too seriously.
Not that TV isn’t a serious thing, however, when you use it to define your existance…well…this dude reminds of an Ori.
At any rate, I appreciate the snark and you are spot on in your response. Keep on keeping on.
Question for you though…and I appologize if this has been asked already…but do you have an end game in sight such as the creators of LOST? Do you have a vision of how long SGU will last for say….four seasons or whatever and then it’s all over? Or do you view this like SG-1 where in theory it can on forever with no finite end in sight.
@pg15
Crazy dude!! Epic post. Joe, you should consider adding pg to the sgu staff. 😉 lol
@PoorOldEdgarDerby,
I have no problem with Days Of Our Lives. I worked on the NBC Burbank lot, off and on, for five years. Delightful people over at DOOL (as it is known over there). And I imagine if the DOOL writers decided to launch the show’s characters into an ancient spaceship trapped on the other side of the universe, the resulting story arc would resemble SGU in a myriad of ways. Alas, they have not created “Days Of Our Lives: Universe.”
… or have they?
Hey Joe, maybe I’ll squeeze this one in before you post, but since it has nothing to do with anything anybody’s talking about, it doesn’t matter much.
Watching one of my all-time favorites, “The Quest” (both parts) and couldn’t help but think that this could have been a movie with a couple of tweaks here and there for the non-Stargate fan. Beautifully written, and everything from the sets to the acting was top-notch. I’ve watched it dozens of times, and it never fails to capture my imagination and always makes me laugh (Puff and the exposed underbelly of the dragon) out loud. There’s something very cool about a story that can make a 50something year old woman yell out “Venti!” and “Clavia!”. Never fails, I wake Mr. Deni up with it, too. I’m not one to blow sunshine up anyone’s ass, mind you, but for this one, you are truly the master(s) 🙂 Have a good night!
On the note of Coraline, Ponyo, and Fantastic Mr. Fox… yes yes and YES! *Sighs*
And now…
“It sounds to me more like you’re allowing your own insecurities vis-a-vis your television viewing preferences to color your interpretation of my remarks.”
*snicker*
About SG-1 and SG-A: They were cute. They had their purpose as something to turn my mind off while watching. I knew the plot of EVERY SG-1 Episode just by watching the Teaser (Ask my room mate, she hates me for “spoiling”)– except one… The whole pattern buffer thing (48 Hours) That just threw me for a loop. I didn’t expect it to be THAT easy.
Everyone goes on about ‘edgy’ sci-fi like BSG invented it. I remember Babylon 5 and Farscape being ‘edgy’ (That thing just BIT her!), and aimed at an audience that ‘gets’ it. No spoon feeding!
SG:U does something for me… it makes me think. It *challenges* me. I think I understand what the whining is about. I have friends who tell me they don’t WANT to think that hard about their Television shows… *Sighs* I can read any television show like a comic book. It’s all boring. Nothing is surprising.
I re-watched Justice, I saw something new… something that just *really* gave me pause. I was going to wax lyrical about it but decided not to start a new tangent. I’ll go blog in my own little space.
Mr. Mallozzi, thank you for NOT rolling up the script and beating us with it. I am enjoying SGU immensely… and before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, I hate soaps. I don’t watch them. I quit watching BSG too. (The boxing episode did me in. I *trudged* to get that far.)
@pg15 thank you for the giggle. I needed that too.
And in my opinion, V 1.0 isn’t buggy, it has less features… like: upload only. *grins*
Did I say thank you? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you– Thank you!
@ Thornyrose – Chris as Todd as MC! Have to keep with the theme… 😉
@ Jenny Robin – PGish? Ack. I’ve failed. 😛
@ Tammy Dixon – I’m not TOO worried…and, like I said, I’m mostly worried about my plants and pipes. Hubby and I should be okay – we know how to keep warm – layers, blankets, etc. We’ve had power outages before during the winter, and usually they don’t last more than a few hours. I am a bit concerned about our feral cats – we’ll have to shelter off a larger area so they can eat and get into their kitty houses without burrowing through the snow.
I have a few issues with propane/nat. gas heaters. I’ve mentioned before around here about a dear friend who died back in 2001, and whose death affected me very deeply – I’m still not fully over it. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty heater. He died trying to save his wife (she survived), trying to get her out of the apartment, but he was overcome by the fumes. They were so much like Mr. Das and I – our twins – and probably the closest friends we’ve ever had. It’s been very hard for me to deal with, especially considering his name was the same as my husband’s. I am still very close with his wife – she’s my buddy – but there will always be that hole there when we’re together.
So, this is why I butt heads with Mr. Das every time he brings up the subject of gas heat, of any kind. He’s practical, and I’m passionate…and I’ll freeze right now before I have gas heat in my house.
Ten inches of snow really isn’t that much, considering. But we might get rain/ice first – which can be bad – makes everything heavier and tends to break branches, and that tends to take out powerlines. If it’s a light, fluffy snow like we just had we’ll be fine – it’s only gonna be a problem if it’s 10 inches of heavy, wet snow…then we might have problems.
Eh…like I said – maybe we’ll just get mostly rain. We’re usually right on the snow/rain line…and right now they are saying it could go either way for us.
das
Re DVD prices: Guess I’m a Luddite. I seldom buy DVD’s and never watch those I own. Which means I’ve STILL not seen Ark of Truth or Continuum.
@Simon: When you mention unaired episodes, please remember that some of us don’t like spoilers.
My apoligies Kevin, I just found the *they should apoligise* comment incredibly disrespectful. The series in general isn’t over yet, I think if anything you need to wait and watch the remaining 10 episodes and base a judgement. SGU is like a book, clearly only a few chapters of many have been shown.
I like your blog by the way. I think you should give SGU another shot and come the final episode of Season 1 base a judgement here again. I would love to see that.
@ Thornyrose
“As for Overmind One, I do believe we have a resident troll. I recall the exchanges from a few months back. And any attitude shown by Mr. M. was more than justified by the provocations. When you come into someone’s house and not only insult the decor but try to piddle on the carpet, don’t be suprised when someone smacks you with a rolled up newspaper.”
Im a troll? LMAO. Mr Mallozi simply reacted in the same way to me as he did to Maureen…with hissy retorts. I have a right to be snarky when the show which I have paid money to a cable company to watch turns from an science fiction/action/adventure show into a drama/soap opera/reality show. The house was decorated just fine, and when I was invited back in October, the walls had all been painted gray and black with fake rust and my host started serving tofu and haggis instead of steak and potatoes.
It never ceases to amaze me how some people like you feel the need to attack others on here AS IF your comments were somehow more important or more highly regard than others. Just LOL. The reason I came here was not to make friends with Mr Malozzi, but to air my complaints and concerns which he solicited. I have done so to my satisfaction, and he has responded. I admire him as a man for doing that without censoring my comments, and answering them without biting his tongue. But the issues remain.
Since when did a troll write like me? Ill thank you to keep your comments to yourself and stick to topic. My comments to Mr Mallozi have absolutely NOTHING to do with you. Have a great day!
@ Tim Lade
You AGAIN? What is it with this “new” Stargate fan clique? All of you seem to spend inordinate amounts of time commenting on OTHER people’s comments sitting in judgement AS IF you and your friends somehow are “in” with Mr Mallozi. I am a computer geek, and non of this Hollywood fan behavior interests me. But I am definitely into science fiction and Stargate was one of those creations which only comes along every few decades…like Star Trek (and ST is its competition, not BSG).
You said:
“My issue with someone like Overmind One is that nothing will ever make him happy. Comments regarding the amount of money he makes and his intelligence and that SGU is an affront to that says to me that he takes his TV VERY seriously…probably too seriously.”
LOL. Just LOL. How would you know what makes me happy? Why would you care? You arent a writer or a producer and you are not involved with the show. The only reason I am responding to you directly is because you have made a post with regard to my comments. There are several things which would make me happy about SGU and I have already enumerated them elsewhere on this blog.
Mr Mallozi has promised that the back half of season 1 will “delight the fans”. I would be more apt to believe him IF those episodes were not “in the can” already. But they are, and that means no real changes can be made. If THAT is true, then its only a 50/50 chance that the remaining episodes will be enough different from the first half of season 1 to make a difference. The things which would “delight the fans” are things which are at the very core of this show:
1) The communications stones. Is he going to get rid of them in the back half? I dont think so.
2) The epileptic cameraman and “tryna be BSG” camera angles is derivative. How about a mix of steady cam and shaky cam? No? Not good.
3) The earth based dramas have already been set up, so that means more “phonestones” episodes in the back half. No delight there, sorry. Make an episode where the stones are destroyed? Im there.
4) The heavy drama and soapy “character backstory” which for some reason these producers think we care about is not going anywhere. Chloe still lives. Why cant we just take her back to the slug planet and send Scott with her? Let the audience fill in the end of that story.
Kidding aside, this is just not working. This is not just my opinion, its being reflected in the ratings TRENDS (not the spun up averages and spun up press releases. Its being reflected in the anger of the very fanbase which has allowed this franchise to exist. Its being reflected in the DVD sales (or lack therof), and the reviews for this show. Its not all about me, and it most certainly isnt about you.
Why not simply direct your concerns about my comments to the ether instead of TRYING to sit in judgement of my thoughts? I couldnt really care less what you think, but I care what Mr Mallozi thinks. He is in control of MY show (thats right, the fans own this show in a very real sense). He and his partners gave me many years of “delight” and now he has stumbled a bit. I know they wanted to go in a new direction, but they made a wrong turn…again, not my opinion, a fact.
The reality is that if things go as they are going, the show will not see a season 3. Many are surprised it has gotten a season two, but I know how things go with contracts. No addressing Atlantis or their crew either? No “phonestones” episodes to0 Atlantis? No using of the awesome technology that Atlantis has? What is that all about? LOL.
Its just gotten all silly and dramatic.
@ Joe
You:
“Did I kick you in the nuts and steal your wallet too? I love how, on the one hand, those posting critiques of the show decry the fact that the show’s producers aren’t pay enough attention to them and yet, on the other hand, are prone to silly generalizations or quick to wholly dismiss any comments made by said producers. If you’ll go back to my “rant” and actually read what I had to say, you’ll note that my issue was not so much with the criticism but the way in which that criticism was being expressed.”
Hmmm. How interesting. “you’ll note that my issue was not so much with the criticism but the way in which that criticism was being expressed.” Funny, I was going to say the same thing about the rant I read about the “loooooong haul”. Oh, the arrogance.
More:
“Furthermore, the show is the show. It will continue to develop and evolve (and, judging from the input of many fans over the past few days, I’m happy to say it will do so in ways that will please many), but don’t expect a complete overhaul of the premise, style, or tone.”
LOL. Whats left? The premise is fine. The style is derivative…too much BSG. Stargate HAD its own style, you sacrificed it to be more like BSG and Lost and Firefly…but BSG came out the most. Since when did you guys need to mine a less successful franchise for ideas? So many great episodes of Stargate! I really liked the “Time” episode. It was the best yet. The tone….well, Im not sure what that means to you. If you mean the drama/character backstory stuff, well….
And this:
“Also, do direct me to the quote in which I “implied that “old” Stargate fans were IQ challenged.” It sounds to me more like you’re allowing your own insecurities vis-a-vis your television viewing preferences to color your interpretation of my remarks.”
Okay, you didnt exactly say that. But Brad Wright implied it. The thing is, the notion that SGU is somehow “elevated” from the old series formula is at best, a stretch. Teenagers in space, having affairs and using implausible “science” to facilitate those arcs? Please. And I am not insecure, you are. You should be. When I turn my television off (which is most of the time), its just off. But when people turn your show off, it affects your future as the producer of Stargate and its ancillary products and movies. Your reputation is at stake, and I know that is VERY important to you.
I will be right there in April, live. If you can stand my snarkiness, I can take your punches to the jaw (I actually like you better for the fact that you arent spineless and thin skinned!). If this show delivers, I will become a loyal fan. But if it doesnt (rolling sleeves up). LOL. Good job on “Time”. Looking forward to episode 11. I really need some Stargate “delight” about now!
Staying true to your creative genius, is not cutting it for SGU and Stargate franchise. The story line is flat. Please read customers at Amazon concerning the DVD that is to be released on the 9th. I own all SGA and SG1 and respective movies, but wouldn’t pay one dime for SGU. I was so upset with the cancellation of SGA (still upset) because it wasn’t really replaced with anything viewing worthy.