Less than two weeks until the SGU second season premiere! That’s Tuesday, September 28th at 9:00 p.m. on SyFy for those in the U.S., and Friday, October 1st at 10:00 p.m. (ET) on Space for those in Canada. Steve is madly working on that Superfantastic Stargate Trailer to End All Trailers –
We’re aiming to release the trailer within the next five days. Stay tuned!
Final tech survey in North Van this afternoon for episode #216, The Hunt, followed by the production meeting. Between the stunts, special effects, visual effects, set builds, make up, and props, the budget was positively vertiginous. Fortunately, after making a few harmless trims (most notably scenes 56, 60, and the bone budget), it’s now only slightly dizzying.
If you read our September book of the month club pick, the superhero-themed anthology Masked, and have questions for editor Lou Anders, writers Matthew Sturges, Paul Cornell, Marjorie M. Liu, James Maxey, Mark Chadbourn, Gail Simone, Daryl Gregory or yours truly, make sure to post them by Friday night!
Hey, look at who Carl and I ran into on the way back from post today –
A couple of Stargate-related links for you to check out.
First, Curt Wagner over at ShowPatrol.com has the scoop on some of the guest stars fans can look forward to in season two of Stargate: Universe – http://bit.ly/ag5dWC. In addition, he’s posted a slew of set pics including photos of one of our cool, new (fan-demanded) standing sets – http://bit.ly/b1qkP9.
Over at his scifiandtvtalk, Steve Eramo has posted the first part of his reader Q&A with actress Rachel Luttrell (SGA’s Teyla Emmagan) – http://scifiandtvtalk.typepad.com/scifiandtvtalk/2010/09/stargate-atlantis-rachel-luttrell-answers-your-questions-part-1.html#tp
I understand some fairly detailed (read: spoilerific) synopses of the first three episodes – Intervention, Aftermath, and Awakening – have found their way online. If you really have to know – http://www.gateworld.net/news/2010/09/new-details-on-stargate-universes-first-new-episodes/
SG-1’s Camelot makes Io9’s list of The Best SF/Fantasy Cliffhangers Ever Shown On Television – http://io9.com/5636086/the-best-sffantasy-cliffhangers-ever-shown-on-television
Thanks for all the info, links, & pics, Joe!
Hi Joe, love the pictures and am looking forward to the trailer. Has Steve ever been told he looks like Michael Shanks in profile? When I looked at the full-face shot, I knew it wasn’t him, but I sure did a double take at the profile shot.
Have a good night!
David Nykl looks totally different with his hair combed.
I hope that the puppies are well and behaving themselves.
🙂
I’m just wondering, what’s the coolest pattern the arts department have come up with so far (used on any prop or set)? I like patterns, but it’s always hard to see the details.
Hi Joe,
Things are really starting get exciting for the upcoming season of SGU! 🙂
Quick question –
Will the SGU season 2 trailer that comes out next week be the same one that was shown at Comic-Con or different?
Thanks!
Dear friends,
I’m writing to you to ask you for some help for my dear friend Beatriz Flamenco who lives in Houston. Her dog, Oreo (see attached photos), who is only 4 years old, needs to have orthopedic surgery on both his hind legs, which will be very expensive. Oreo is in considerable pain and this needs to get done as soon as possible. Beatriz does not have the money to have it done and she is desperate for financial help. If you can contribute anything at all, it would be so appreciated. If you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me or Beatriz.
We have set up a Paypal account in which you can donate money as a gift. In order to do so, go to paypal.com and then to “send money”. From there, it’s pretty self-explanatory. Beatriz’ email is bflamenco@hotmail.com (you will need this to send through Paypal). For those of you who would prefer to send a check or money order, her address is:
Beatriz Flamenco de Rosal
15218 Jasmine Creek Court
Houston, TX 77095-3288.
Thank you so much for your help! If you could pass this along to your contacts, it would be so appreciated, as well!
Deni (and Oreo and Beatriz, too!)
Hey, here is a question for anyone reading this that has a knowledge about stars (the celestial kind, not the movie kind). I was just outside w/ my dog and saw the Orion constellation. For some reason the star that would be considered as Orion’s right hand had a reddish twinkle to it (rather than a white twinkle like the other stars). I can understand if it was a planet, because that would give off a different light glow, but this is definitely a star out of the Orion constellation. I noticed it on Monday night as well. What would cause a star to look reddish like that, but not the other stars?
If anyone has an answer, I’d sure appreciate it. Thanks.
Joey, I’m sorry…I just haven’t had a chance to think up more stuff for Masked. Partly it’s because real life stuff pretty much has me brain dead, especially with the ongoing crap at work and stuff with my parents and Mr. Das’ out-of-commission hand and monkey-wrenches that just keeps getting tossed into everything, and partly – and you knew this was coming – because I’m totally obsessing on Ragdoll right now. 😛
There is one thing I wanted to discuss, and it has to do with the third question I asked Gail – about character descriptions. I noticed you didn’t go into too much detail, and though you did include some description, for my tastes it wasn’t enough. That was the only thing I found lacking in your story. (In your defense, I did read your story during a particularly distracting week, during a very stressful summer, so I may have overlooked some stuff the first time around, and I have not had a chance to re-read.)
That said, Joe, if you could also address the last two questions I asked Gail, I’d appreciate it:
1. When you write, do you always stick to your outline, or do your characters start writing the story for you? (I am always curious about this aspect of writing, and like to get different takes on it…and I can’t remember if I’ve asked you this before.)
2. I’m a very visual person and need detailed physical descriptions of characters if I’m going to connect with them – I need to ‘see’ who I’m reading about. However, Elmore Leonard said in his 10 Rules on Writing: “Avoid detailed descriptions of characters”, and I’m finding this to be the case more and more with modern writers – and I hate it. Where do you stand on character descriptions?
Sorry, Joe, it’s all I can manage right now. Life is throwing just too many distractions at me, and I am having a time focusing on anything that isn’t covered with scars and a raggedy-hair-topped mask . 😉
das
Hi Mr. M,
Thank you so much for the pic’s and links. I looked a few of the links but I don’t want to be surprised so I will bookmark the rest for later!
I was wondering if you could please ask Writer/Supervising Producer Linda McGibney a few follow-up questions from one former U.S. Army Sergeant to another … Hi Linda, Thanks for the Q&A it was so illuminating. I didn’t know you were in the Military, otherwise I would have asked what was your MOS, what years were in the Army and beside the Azores where else were you station? What was your best/worst experience in the Army? What’s your Twitter handle? Thank for taking the time to answer. Best regards, 97Bravo
Maybe she could just answer in the Comment section of your Blog!
Thank you Mr. Mallozzi and if we’re putting your potentially new nickname to a vote…I vote for McSmirky, a super “evil” villain who disarms unsuspecting targets with a charm and stile equal only to his amazing characters in Downfall, which enables him to launch his evil plans time and again with unheard of panache!!!
Cheers…
*wave* Still lurking.
Within the next 5 days!!!!! 🙂
Does that mean we might get to see it this weekend… Pretty please. 😉 It would make my weekend. 🙂
Thanks so much,
Major D. Davis
No, not reading what the first three episodes are about. Nope. I’m still the foolish one trying to know as little as possible about the upcoming season.
When to think of it, I should probably avoid this blog, too. But it’s way too awesome place, plus having goldfish memory really helps. 🙂
SGU getting close …
Hey Joe,
You might want to add that the Super Secret Australian premiere of Season 2 Stargate Universe is on Friday 1st October 8:30PM on SciFi channel.
Cheers, Chev
Coucou =)
ça va bien?
Moi super, today je vais à Paris pour choisir votre cadeaux d’anniv, j’ai des idées mais j’ai peur que vous les aviez déjà =S
Merci pour ces photos, David et Gary on bien changé….alala nostalgie!
Je vous fait de gros poutoux!
Je vous adore méga hyper fort!!!!! <3
Bisss
Here is my one question for Matthew Sturges. I don’t think he covered it in the story (if he did, I apologize for missing it), but it’s been bugging me ever since I read it.
How did Wildcard discover his powers? Given how he gets his powers, it seems unlikely he ever would have, um, taken the action needed to get his powers to kick in the first time.
Is there going to be any mention of Jonas in Seizure or another ep? I’d like to think he’s alive somewhere, he was one of my favorite Stargate characters?
Doesn’t seem so much a ‘secret set’ anymore… if the article is calling it “Destiny’s Bridge”
of course it might just be a ploy to misdirect us. 🙂
Less than two weeks to go…. can’t wait!
Really good to see Rob…working 🙂
Thanks for the pics. Looking forward to the trailer.
My sweet 14 year old dog isn’t doing well. I have some really tough decisions to make.
On a happier note, I have a new grandson 😀 He’s adorable of course.
Hey Joe, that creature you showed us awhile back, it looks great now but I still cant figure out how it walks. Something tells me the CGI team will have many sleepless nights working on it.
and I got two questions: Is John Scalzi still working on SGU? and why hasnt he become a writer yet or written an episode?
The other thing is well, is it possible for you guys to convince MGM to do a Stargate 3D theatrical movie? not right now of course but maybe 4 years down the line? If MGM is looking for a way to save itself, this is it and to mainstream audiences, its as close to AVATAR’s story as it can get so who knows.
Hey Joe thanks for the Pics!
Is all the lighting for the work being done or did they find new sections of the ship where the light bulbs aren’t all burned out? 😉
Hi Joe!
Now that Atlantis is on Earth will General Oneill and or the ioa
send people to Atlantis to check out and catalog the remaining unexplored areas left to be discovered?
Also will we see any bits of Atlantis on tv when McKay and Woolsey go to Destiny and does Atlantis have its own set of Ancient Communication Stones in case Atlantis leaves Earth and gets cut off from Earth again like in Season 1 of SGA?
TRAILER! TRAILER! TRAILER!
PLEASE POST SOON! MUST HAVE! MUST WATCH!
S…. G…. U….. CAN’T WAIT!
Mr. Binder still tucks his shirt!
I was thinking about it you guys have always made a huge into for all the Stargates.. Although you did make it really short towards the end of both Sg-1 and Atlantis.. But anyways thank whoever decided to make SGU have a short intro to begin with. Long intro’s do get annoying after the first few episodes. 😉
Intro**
And btw thanks for all the secret pictures.. Can’t for my shows to come back on.. And I have to admit I think I’m most excited for SGU 😀 Once the Season 2 trailer is FINALLY reveled that will satisfy my need for a Stargate fix for about two seconds. Can’t wait for the show!!!!!!!!!!!
So much for best laid plans. I don’t have a lot of Masked questions because a sore throat/virus has knocked me on my keister. At least the news today was that it was not strep. Yay for that. 🙂 (If I forgot to turn the coding faucets on & off in the correct places, please forgive!)
Am not completely done reading the book, but have enjoyed what for me is a new genre. Certain story elements have worked for me, such as:
humor
originality
ingenuity
ordinary-people dilemmas
conflicts of conscience and the heart
and twists thoroughly supported by back story
Other elements didn’t work so much:
Some sketchy & compressed culture-building was difficult to follow. As a reader you know you need it to follow the story, but there’s not a lot of real estate for world-building in a short story. Perhaps a narrower focus would help sharpen some stories while still allowing for necessary development. No surprise then that I enjoyed the longer stories, eh? 😀
Also, I’m probably not the best appreciator of violence without a reason-for-being, or of mutliation simply for the pleasure of it (especially of a minor). That will happen when you’ve lost a friend to violence, and had a close family member become a victim of abuse.
Stand-out stories for me would be:
Chris Roberson’s “A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows”
our own Joe’s “Downfall,” 😀
Gail Simone’s “Thug”
Ian McDonald’s “Tonight We Fly” (great buddy story, loved how they bickered)
and what I’m currently reading, Bill Willingham’s “A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too)”
Will have specific questions and comments for Joe re: “Downfall” when my ears, nose, and throat feel like they belong to me again. 🙂
Achoo!
Joe, I was wondering whether you would happen to have a picture of the exterior Icarus Base set with the green screen in shot.
In particular, I would love to see a before/after pair of photos showing how it looked before and after compositing with CGI. The special effects in that sequence were mindblowing.
Any chance of another VFX Q and A one day?
Wait, wait, wait. Chekov died in Camelot! I just went back and watched Camelot and S10 opener. No where did he get out alive. Unless he was “one of the 6 who beamed out” but the way it looked in S10 was that he went down with the ship!
Was he just visiting? Or is there a surprise in order?
Hi Joe,
I am new to your blog. I heard you talk about it in the dvd sets for SG1 and Atlantis so thought I would check it out. Can’t say anything about Universe because I do not have cable. It just started to show up in syndication in Minneapolis or wait for the dvd. The sets look fabulous. I wish to see the character developments. I will have to go back and check out some of the food you show. Looks great.