The psychic octopus does it again! Not only does he correctly predict the outcome of every one of Germany’s World Cup matches including both losses AND its final victory over Uruguay, but it correctly picked Spain to triumph over the Netherlands in today’s final match. Amazing! Is he on facebook? If not, he should be. Unless, of course, he’s already been eaten by irate Germany fans.
I watched the game with friends today: Special Features Producers Ivon Bartok (who cooked), actor Patrick Gilmore (who carried plates and helped clean), and actor Tobias Slezak (who just showed up).
After the game, Ivon suggested we all watch The Boondock Saints, a presumed “cult classic” – and a film that is the focus of one of my very favorite documentaries, Overnight. The latter tracks the rise and fall of Troy Duffy, a humble bartender once trumpeted as the next Tarantino who impresses Hollywood with his first spec script, is given his first big break, and then proceeds to squander this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by burning bridges and generally acting like an out-and-out jerk. As for The Boondock Saints – well, at one point, the blu-ray player froze for about five minutes. They were, by far, the best five minutes of the movie.
Hey, heard from Rob Cooper yesterday. He dropped me an email titled “I thought of you”. It contained the following pic…
In the third installment of The Pineapple Diaries, we pick up our interview with actor Louis Ferreira, conducted on a day when he was called in to work on his day off (Can you tell?). Here, Louis discusses the challenges of working in those space suits –
Which reminds me of one amusing behind-the-scenes incident from my Atlantis days. We were shooting the episode Subversion which required our actors to strut around in these enormous, unwieldy underwater suits. Joe Flanigan’s suit necessitated some repairs and so, while everyone waited, a crew member hopped inside to fix the problem. We were hurrying to get our day so when the crew member had finished, he hopped out and Joe stepped inside. Too late did he realize that the crew member was feeling unusually gassy that day. And by “too late”, I mean “by the time they sealed him inside the airtight suit”. Now THAT would have been one for the blooper reel!
Mailbag:
Sean D. writes: “Hi Joe, can you make those videos available in another format or through another source?”
Answer: Hey, Sean – when I have time, I’ll upload them to youtube. I’ll keep you posted.
Bailey writes: “You know, rereading the mailbag, what I think PG-15 and a few others may have been tactfully trying to ask, without actually asking, is why haven’t you or Paul gone to bat for Extinction as Brad has for Revolution?”
Answer: Hmmm. I spent the better part of an hour attempting a tactful response to this question before eventually giving up. Let’s just say that when news of the Atlantis cancellation first came down, I was crushed – as was everyone else associated with the production, from cast and crew to the entire writing staff. My disappointment was somewhat mitigated, however, by the prospect of continuing Atlantis’s story in the direct-to-dvd format. Since then, circumstances have tempered that initial enthusiasm. I still want to see the movie made; I’ve simply adopted a more practical outlook with respect to its (hopefully) eventual production.
Major D. Davis writes: “1. Now I know the SG-1 cast is signed to do the SG-1 movie, but what about the Atlantis cast? When the movie is greenlit, are you worried that it might be to difficult to get the cast back together?”
Answer: The SG-1 cast has not been signed.
Gategod writes: “What might a fourth stargate series be about/be set?
Would you be the show runner?
Would any of the SG-1/SGA cast members star in a 4th stargate series?”
Answer: No thought has been given to a fourth Stargate series. We’re wholly focused on the terrific series presently in production.
Deni writes: “Hi Joe, any news regarding Jelly?”
Answer: She heads in for her procedure on Tuesday. Will keep you posted.
Don writes: “One thing I’ve been curious to see is a story where someone uses the stones to come to Earth and something big is happening there.”
Answer: Like in season two’s Alliances?
Quade writes: “Have you seen Avatar the Last Airbender, the tv series??”
Answer: Nope. My anime to-view list will probably take me well into 2015 as it stands.
Pol writes: “About how long does it take you and Paul to knock out an episode script? Do you do a solid pass and then give it to Paul (or vice-versa)? Or do you sit in a room and collaborate? How does that process work?”
Answer: Even though we are credited as co-writers, Paul and I haven’t co-written a script since SG-1’s 8th season.
Pol also writes: “But…back to my main question, how long does it take you (’til you’re happy with the script – or at least willing to release it into the wild) to write an hour-long episode?”
Answer: From concept to finished draft, about a month.
dasNdanger writes: “Any chance of a sexy long-locked albino sort finding its way into your story??”
Answer: Not in the short story but quite possibly in the comic book series.
Lewis writes: “Just a quick ? about Gauntlet (ep. 20). Is it already mostly written at this point or do you wait until later in the fall when you find out if SGU has been picked up for Season 3… or is it a matter of plotting out 2 different endings?”
Answer: As was the case in every other season, the script for our season finale will be written by the time a decision is made on a pick-up. In fact, I suspect that by the time we do hear, we will have already wrapped production on season 2.
Boris writes: “1) Who are the writers of the last episodes you give out in this post:
215: Seizure, 219: Blockade, 219: Blockade, and 220: Gauntlet?
2) What happened to episode 218: Radio that you mentioned some days ago?
3) Will we see many new different species of aliens in season 2 or just a few like in the first season?
4) Will there be a CD of SGU’s first season soundtrack, I will buy it ASAP, the music is just awesome?
and finally just out of curiosity
5) Which episode of SGU is shooting now or will start shooting soon?”
Answers: 1) 215, Seizure – Remi Aubuchon, 216, The Hunt – Joseph Mallozzi, 217 – Robert Cooper script, 218 – Carl Binder script, 219, Blockade – Linda McGibney, 210, Gauntlet – Paul Mullie,
2) That’s still under discussion.
3) We’ll definitely be introducing several new alien life forms in season 2.
4) No idea. Sorry.
5) We just wrapped on Deliverance (211) and will be moving on to Alliances (213).
Collegeboy8907 writes: “Did SG-1 ever find the Clava Thessara Infinitas that was mentioned In SG-1 Season ten?”
Answer: Nope.
LaWanda writes: “I was wondering about something else when they were fighting those aliens guys on Daedalus variations could they have been a new form of wraith.”
Answer: No, it wasn’t our intention to create any connection between the two alien races.
dioxholster writes: “Joe, is that alien concept art for season 2 or was it something for season one?”
Answer: It’s an alien concept for season 2 – that we won’t be seeing in season 2.
Valaur writes: “1. Does the Destiny have a teleporter similar to that of the goa’uld or the Ori? Seeing as the Goa’uld stole that technology from the Ancients, it would be really cool to see the first or second generation of that technology.
2. I think it was Brad who said he immensely disliked having the Asgard beaming technology as a quick get-away device or a gimmick used by the SGC. Are there any pieces of technology that were imagined, then suggested in the writer’s room but received an unequivocal no? Like the Zat being able to make a body disappear with 3 shots.
3. In ‘Faith’, the marsh looks similar to the one used Battlestar Galactica’s ‘Home Pt. 1 and 2.’ along with ‘Kobol’s Last Gleaming’. I’m only curious if it’s the same location or just really similar.
4. Will the answer to why the environmental suits of the Destiny looks so similar to the ones used by ‘The Lost Tribe’ or was that already answered?
5. Will there be an ascended Ancient sent to the Destiny to help the crew in any shape or form?
6. I really, really enjoy the real science element of the show, like the white dwarf and pulsar in ‘Incursion’. Is there anything coming up that you’re excited for, science-wise?
7. In comparison to SG-1 and SGA, could you give us a rough estimate or figure of how many crew work on the show to give us what we see on the TV? Also, have most of the crew from the two previous franchises moved on to bigger and better things or stuck around for SGU?”
Answers: 1. Nope.
2. Actually, I’m the one who hated the convenience of the beaming technology. And, yes, plenty of ideas get bounced from the writers’ room – though none come readily to mind.
3. Sorry. No idea. Given that both shows were produced in Vancouver, it’s likely however.
4. Nope.
5. You’ll have to stay tuned. For the record, however, I’m not a huge fan of ascended visitors.
6. Yep.
dasNdanger writes: “Joe – you like cool spooky stuff, right? Please tell me what you think of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6flB0XvmTo
Answer: Love it. I spent the better part of my after-dinner wind-down watching the entire Daywalt Horror line-up.
First!!!
lol..Ivon’s getting attacked by every Boondock Saints fan…it’s amusing…those Tacos look awesome!!
I missed the big game…set the alarm for 4AM and slept through it….oh well
Cheers, Chev
The World Cup finals managed to affect even the Shore Leave convention. Q&As were moved around to allow Katee Sackhoff aka Starbuck to get to the bar to watch the game. Edward James Olmos had a half hour head start to get to settle in for the game, and Torri Higginson finished her talk in time for the second half. Good time had by all and a very satisfying con. If there was a chance a certain executive producer would consider attending the convention, committe members could be approached to see if an invitation could be extended….
Sounds like a good day for everyone. especially those who didn’t have to cook or clean dishes. Hope everyone else had a similiarly good time. Thanks for the video, even if it will take a few months before we get to have all the quesitons answered.
Joe wouldn’t you say those aliens from Daedalus variations could just be a random alien race from another Galaxy that just so happened to come into conflict with Atlantis?
What with the universe being a big place, and it being alternate realitys, it could stand to reason that an advanced enough species in one reality could be peaceful and in the next could be war mongers and invade other Galaxies.
Joe, are we sure that the Joe Flanigan space suit incident was an accident? I suspect foul play. 😉
Thanks for the amusing stories as always.
Cheers, Chev
Answer: Not in the short story but quite possibly in the comic book series.
eep.
(That’s ‘eep’ in a good way…as long as he’s not a ‘red shirt’! 😆 I’m so pathetic. 😛 )
Answer: Love it. I spent the better part of my after-dinner wind-down watching the entire Daywalt Horror line-up.
Glad you – and other readers here – enjoyed! 🙂 Someone posted that on the Bendis forum, and I thought it would be right up your alley. I’m not much into horror – I prefer suspense – but that video was just right, that’s how scary should be done. HOWEVER…RIGHT after I watched it there was a knock at my door (it was dark outside), and I opened it only to find my sister’s face plastered up against the screen, sticking out her tongue and making googly eyes. Needless to say, I yelped. 😳 😛
Gotta go, gotta turn off the lights so my sister can sleep…she’s been up since 3:30 am – drove all the way from central Florida to Jersey in one day – got here at 9:30 pm. She’s diehard.
Have a good night, sir! sweet dreams!
das
Hey, quick question: I know the cast is on holiday now, but if I mail my fan mail for Ashleigh today, will she get it? (YOU GUYS aren’t on holiday, right? I guess that would be a better way to phrase that question…)
1) I’ve read that SGU is moving to Tuesday but has the timeslot been announced?
2) I didn’t recognize Louis Ferreira in that robe and floppy hat, how the heck did he get past security?!
3) Why haven’t you done any commentary, the world needs to hear your genius!!
Thanks Das for the link! That was rather creepy! I’ve shared it on facebook 😛
What are those things in the pic you got sent?? Pretzels? I recognise the Nutella.
As for the gassy suit Joe had to put up with, I guess farts are warm 😉 so perhaps he was trying to do Joe a favour.
Can’t believe that you are getting such warm weather here when in my city, it’s gale force winds, hail and rain. Yay..
Thanks for sharing the Joe story!
And while I’m not sure you exactly answered the question, it was very tactful!
So, then, as regards the SGA movie, there’s no point in you pushing for it until MGM gets better and the SG-1 movie gets made? Is that the idea?
Like in Season 2’s Alliances? Is this an episode that has already been talked about in the forum?
I see the title referenced in yesterday’s answers. Number 18 is it?
I see where you said that Ancient Visitors weren’t a favorite element of yours. Personally, I always saw more potential in showing the Ancients than was ever realized. When they were talked about they always seemed like the be all end all…but when they were shown(non ascended)…they usually seemed so small and common. My favorite examples of Ancient Visitors goes 1) the one they found frozen in the ice who showed the startling recuperative abilities and the ability to learn english (and presumably any language) with amazing speed. 2) Ganes Lal (Sarah Strange was really good in the role) 3) the one that was restricted to protecting one planet as punishment. Oh and of course Oma Desala. I have always thought that showing a language barrier like in the first case (even one that is relatively easy to overcome, especially with that whole “elapsed time” thing.) helps to sell the idea of “these people are beyond us”. Like speaking in our terms would be a step back for them.
Especially since Stargate made a point of establishing why most of the humans in the galaxy look the same and speak English.
Not that they wouldn’t have the capacity to speak English, but that they wouldn’t speak it like we would.
Joe,
Why are you and Paul credited as co-writers on scripts if you don’t actually co-write them?
Still smiling at: Louis’ “homage to Will Waring” Diaries…. The orange bathrobe…. The idea of The BlogFather in a similar fuzzy bathrobe (see previous blog). Sure you want to do that? Then you’d have to shave your legs and paint your toenails. You might scare the babies, er, puppies. 🙂
Deirdre/Das, sassy Dad gets a kick out of how pleased you are with your halogen light, from the comment the other day. (I’m still trying to catch up on sleep and blogs.) Am so sorry about the carpal tunnel trials you’re going through. I know you like doing accounting/books by hand, but doing them with Quicken or something else could be like more computer play time for you—when you’re healed up, of course! Note: Aspirin is in the same drug class [NSAIDS] as ibuprofen, so if you can’t take any ibu, then aspirin’s out, too. (Please excuse the repeat if someone already said so.) Cold packs (refrigerator cold) are also anti-inflammatories. Twenty minutes on, 20 minutes off. You’ve probably heard the drill. 😀 Elevating your arms on pillows also keeps swelling down, since you have to take a break from work. God bless your Sis for coming all the way from Florida!
Joe, your Jelly grrrl will probably be in all of our thoughts and prayers on Tuesday. Do you get to send along a favorite toy with her, so she has something that smells like home with her in the recovery area? I’m sure we’ll all be thinking of you, too, on that day. I remember when I had to take my Samoyed grrrl in for dental surgery the same day I had my own dental appointment. I was more jumpy for her sake than I was for me—and that’s saying volumes. How long will Jelly be at the vet’s?
As a pep rally for the grrrl, here’s the Animal Planet “Breed All About It” video for Pugs:
How boring must that game have been for you if I already found it boring beyond believe… #SpainvsNetherlands
Greetings Commander!
I were watching a 4th episode of Atlatis ‘Thirty Eight Minutes’ this weekend. There Ford was in event horizon and Teyla and McKay took him out of it. This is mistake? In worm hole he should stuck, as explain McKay to Teyla when she suggest to took the people from front of the jumper. Sorry for orthography, and other mistakes.
Cheers Chris.
Laughing at your line about the best five minutes of the movie; it’s unfortunate it was so disappointing. – Hey, people better not mess with the octopus. (Just saying, based on what Jeffrey Ford’s psychic octopus did in The Drowned Life.)
Louis continues to make me grin over his chosen attire for that day.
Edmonton must be an unusual place. I hadn’t realized that orange is a color of mourning there. Of course in Boston, it’s the traditional black.
It took me a while to find the chicken in that first pic. Too much backlighting, I think . . . Yes, yes, that’s it. Technical problem. — The tacos look delicious *and* healthy; props to Ivon.
– Well now, that would be more like frontlighting from the camera’s POV, wouldn’t it? Or, um, something.
I do know where to find the on/off button on my little digicam, since someone showed me. Very considerate, even merciful. Like helping a person with a broken lock on the garage door.
Loved the food pictures as always. It looked like everyone had a great time. Thanks once more for the Louis Ferreira series. I’m enjoying each of the installments.
I agree with Chevron7: Sabotage w/flanigan’s suit. You probably sent a vegan to work on the suit. 😉
Food looks great!
The SG-1 cast has not been signed.: With the possbile succes of “Conan” coming up-signing everyone might be improbable the longer they wait. 🙁 Though, I am glad J. M. is doing so well post SGA.
Prayers going to Jelly on tomorrow’s procedure! I hope she will be, if not springy, more comfortable.
Yum, the picture from Rob, those look like the french cakes(waffle like pizzelles) that my mol used to make, so melt in your mouth and spread with/dipped in Nutella, wow.
And Ivon can cook, so if need be in Japan, you won’t go hungry.(like that might happen)
Not sure why I can’t get your videos on my mac laptop, but they work fine on my desktop hp, so I guess that problem is solved. The mac also won’t show you tube stuff?? ok anyway.
Joe, have you ever googled yourself? I mean a bazillion sites to choose from, you are ever so popular. congrats I think.( ok I know what was I doing googling you…) 😉
Good thoughts for Jelly baby on Tues, let us know, fingers crossed.
(Waves)~~ to momma M and sis, hope you are well.
Hey Joe,
Judging from the Pineapple Diaries, Louis doesn’t seem very camera shy, Are there any cast members or have there been cast members who don’t like to be photographed and put in your blog?
My guess is Bobby doesn’t like to be photographed considering I can’t remember a single time he appeared in your blog? (Probably a busy guy though, So maybe some pictures will turn up in the future?)
How about guest stars?, Robert Knepper perhaps?
And, Did anyone ever freak out about you posting a picture of them in your blog?
Anyway, Have a great day,
Angelus
What SGA episode are you talking about? Only similar title is “Submersion”.
Hi Joe,
I hope you’ll answer my questions:
1. Will we see Colonel Samantha Carter again in season two of “Stargate Universe”?
2. Will we see any of the Earth ships in season two of “Stargate Universe” and in the movies?
@ for the love of Beckett – Nah. I can take aspirin just fine. Ibuprofen wreaks havoc on my kidneys – not sure why – but if I take the stuff I get really nauseous, then I’ll start peeing like a horse that just drank up all of Lake Superior. I stay away from the stuff like the plague.
I’m not too worried about the crappy tunnel. I figure I’ll either find a way to deal with it non-surgically, or I’ll break down and have the operation. Whatever. It’s not like facing cancer or something where a really big decision has to be made within days or weeks.
As far as bookkeeping – I use Quickbooks for billing, but I really don’t want all my ‘stuff’ on the computer, especially not with my office ‘puter being hijacked 3 times in the last year and a half. I don’t want to risk having too much info tied up in this box under my desk. I’m not even that fond of Quickbooks for billing because there’s always something that just doesn’t fit their program, and it either takes too long to customize what you want, or there’s no way to customize it anyway, and you’re stuck. At least when I do the bookkeeping by hand, I can make little notes to the accountant and stuff. So, between my concerns about computer viruses/hijacking and just getting really frustrated that there’s ‘not an app for that’ in Quickbooks when I need something customized, I just stick with the old fashioned pen and paper way for now. Besides, I doubt dad will be in business much longer (he’s 80), and I do NOT want an office job ever again after this. I hate the mental strain, and I do not want to work in an office with a bunch of catty busybody broads.
Truth be told, my OCD-self really wants a job stocking shelves (ANYWHERE!) on a night shift – I love organizing things, and I love being out and about at night, with few people around. If I can find something like that, I’ll be pleased. 🙂
das
Brain hurts…must get out of…Palatial… phew, I finished House of Suns late last night and my brain still feels like it’s been taken apart and put back together like the Spirit of the Air.
One thing that freaked me out about the book was how vividly the vastness of space and incredibly long spans of time were described in the book. That huge sense of scale, of the giant ships, incredible speeds and enormous machinery that can envelop whole planets kinda made me feel like an atom on a gnat’s back. .
Star Trek and SGU are set at a time when Earth is at the beginning of space exploration, but Suns is like Dune; we are millions of years away from approximating the technology in the book.
I don’t know if I’ll go back and read Thousandth Night but I would like to read the next book in the series and learn what happens to the Gentians in the new galaxy.
But man, the book is very absorbing and hard to shake; it creates a disorienting alt reality for the reader that’s every bit as engrossing as Palatial.
I also wonder how I would relate to this book if I had physics degree. I used to get that head spinning feeling watching Carl Sagan’s show years ago. It’s not a bad feeling tho; it’s just your brain having to stretch and expand to accomodate a huge amount of new ideas.
Thank you for answering my questions!
Hi Joe !
How are you ? I’m french and I didn’t go here for a long time.
SGA misses me so much !
We interrupt these comments for a special announcement, courtesy of John Picacio’s Twitter feed:
Samantha Kate Picacio born July 5, 2010 at 2:57pm to her proud parents John & Traci Picacio. A new beginning…. http://tinyurl.com/2cjq55t
web • 7/12/10 9:35 AM
Hey Joe, keep doing what you’re doing, this blog is wonderful.
That said, mailbag question.
Anyone on the cast or crew have an ‘out there’ favorite food? Eg. does RDA secretly love teriyaki covered crickets?
What’s with the pineapple and the psychedelic orange bathrobe?
Deirdre/Das Yay, for the aspirin! Having a painkiller that works without side effects is a big deal. Boo for Quick Books. Sounds like using it is just as much work as not using it. Organizing things late at night? A distribution center for one of the big box stores might be the thing, but then we all would miss out on your middle-of-the-night comments. You do make us smile. 😀 Hope you get some relief soon.
–Lise
Ivon’s offerings look really good, a tad bit on the healthy side, but the most important question is, what was for dessert?
What hockey team does Ivon cheer for?
Oh-oh I am feeling particularly puckish this afternoon, so I made a comment (which I’ve deleted). I was joking, but it may not be taken that way. LOL!!!. I better keep this post short to keep my butt out of trouble…..
So a couple of weeks ago we were talkin’ twinkies. I just found this cute look at 50 ways to kill a Twinkie….
http://www.cakespy.com/blog-old/2008/11/23/sweet-but-dark-fifty-ways-to-kill-a-twinkie.html
(keep with the cute, keep with the cute…I can feel the evil starting to leak hahaha). gotta go….
Have a good one!!
Kymm
Since then, circumstances have tempered that initial enthusiasm.
I offer the following translations for your Atlantis movie diplomacy:
a. MGM is in so much debt, even the SG-1 movie has a .001% chance of getting financed, the SGA movie even less. Why should I waste my time?
b. Flanigan has said negative things about SGU’s ratings and prospects; no way am I fighting to get him a gig.
c. You fans are so naive. The sets are gone. SGA is over. Get a clue!
d. Have you not noticed I’m branching out to fiction and comics? I won’t be around long enough to make an SGA movie.
e. MGM never paid me for the script. I don’t work for free.
Care to comment if any of those are accurate? 😉
Joe, Thanks for another great bit of Louis-goodness. I will never be able to eat any pineapple again without thinking of this wonderful outfit. 😉
“how long does it take for a 304 to be built?”
Speaking of you and Paul’s Comic Book Series..Hows that going for you guys???
Been lurking, but enjoying. You’re good medicine, Joe. Thanks.
@ das… give ginger in supplement form a try. It can’t hurt you; I used to be on Celebrex for arthritis and I’ve gone off it since I’ve begun ginger. Celebrex was raising my blood pressure. At least consider it, do a bit of research to see if it would be useful to you.
I have lovely prints from the colonoscopy on Friday. I’m still dehydrated a bit and it takes a while for the prep to um, work through the system. But these pipes are clean! YAY! I always fear more polyps, that means more scopes. And of course, I really fear the thought of more cancer. Yuck. And the universe’s sense of humor kicked in, the city shut off the water to the house just as I began the prep. Oh joy.
Well, if you didn’t like Boondock Saints I don’t suppose you would want to check out the sequel, also by Troy Duffy?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1300851/