I finally have time to come up for air, so I’m making today’s post a dedicated mailbag entry. It’s a brief respite since it looks like I’m looking ahead to a crazy-busy few months to end 2010 chock full of Stargately excitement, holiday planning, a Tokyo trip, and not one, not two, but three super secret projects (including that comic book series I’ve been talking about for what seems like forever). On to your questions…
But first, check out the snooze time photos –
Mailbag:
Tim Gaffney writes: “If they are 73% better with the +7 numbers, does SyFy take that into consideration when they decide on renewal? That has to be the highest addition of viewers to a shows ratings of any show. To me, it doesn’t matter when or how a show is watched. Just count the total number of viewers and use that to make your decision.”
Answer: Ah, if it were only that easy. At present, there is no system in place that will provide an accurate assessment of how many viewers a show actually commands across the various viewing platforms. The +7 numbers are good news in that we know there are far more viewers out there but, on the other hand, they are frustrating because networks generally don’t place as much stock in those numbers. Knowing that our audience could be three times as large if everyone watched the show live or same day is interesting to note, but it isn’t as impressive to a network that generates ad revenue by selling to advertisers interested in reaching an audience that will actually sit through their commercials.
My Name Is Scott writes: “One question… what did Simeon say to Dr. Park?”
Answer: In the scene you’re referring to, Simeon walks up to Dr. Park and whispers something in her ears, eliciting a horrified respond from her and causing everyone around her to leap up and confront Simeon. The script never specified what, exactly, he whispers to her so we were curious to see what Robert Knepper would come up with. Would he mumble something incomprehensible or would he actually offer up something offensive and egregious in a bid to remain in loathsome character? Which would it be? As it turned out, neither. On the day, the director yelled “Action!”. Simeon spots Park sitting a table, walks up, leans in and silently whispers: “Try the carrots!”.
amychr writes: “I’ve noticed you link to Goodreads for your book posts and I wanted to invite you to claim your Goodreads author page. I’m a librarian for the site, so inviting authors is kind of my thing 
”
Answer: Done and done. Thanks for the invite!
whiterose64 writes: “Will there be anymore of the Q & A with Louis Ferreira?”
Answer: I’ll definitely try to track down Louis for another round of questions soon.
Alfredo De La Fe writes: “Is there ever a time when you go over time and rather than cut something you have a scene shot over again to save time?”
Answer: To save time? Never.
Gilder writes: “What are the Snow Monkey’s team colors, please?”
Answer: Grey and white with select pink bits.
maggiemayday writes: “Is it me, or is “first annual” just plain wrong?”
Answer: Not if you’re trying to strongly hint at something.
Major D. Davis writes: “Will the Aliens/Telford/Seedership story be further explored later this season?”
Answer: At some point in the season, yes, we will learn the fate of Colonel Telford.
“2. The mystical elements have been so well done on season 2 so far. That said, will we see/learn more about Franklin and the faith planet this season?”
Answer: Yes.
“4. Besides the atlantis alums and Dr. Brightman, will there be any more characters from the older shows in season 2? I heard a rumor that Daniel might show up again? Could you comment on that?”
Answer: Daniel Jackson will not be making an appearance in season three.
“5. SPOILERS for UK! When exactly in awakening was that VFX extravaganza you were talking about? Was it at the end where the 30 aliens are closing in on Telford?”
Answer: You’re getting your episodes mixed up. The VFX extravaganza was a reference to episode 10, Resurgence.
MyNameIsNada writes: “Quick question, and I apologize if it has been asked before-when can we expect new Kino videos?”
Answer: Alas, no plans to produce new Kino-sodes.
nate writes: “Is there a working gate on the seeder ship?”
Answer: Presumably, yes.
“IS there a reason for the bridge of the Destiny rising from the hull other than being cool?”
Answer: It’s a defensive measure.
Renegard writes: “What is the powder stuff the crew is eating on Destiny in reality?”
Answer: It’s exactly what it’s intended to be in the reality of the show – protein powder.
Kaleb writes: “Aside from the typical ‘do your best, kid’ segment, what advice could you give a student looking at getting into screenwriting?”
Answer: Read a lot. Write a lot. Watch a lot of film and television. Try to get your foot in the door by writing for animation.
Audrey writes: “So I really liked that scene between TJ and Simeon in the infirmary in Awakening, and was wondering if we’re going to see that sort of ass kicking/military side of her again?”
Answer: One of the things I loved about T.J. in season one were those flashes of the ass kicking/military side of her. As a result, I wanted to do an episode that highlighted this aspect of her character. We see a little of it in the scene you’re referring to, but will see more of it later this season.
Nbkbauer writes: “Quick question….some of us over at gateworld are latching on to this little theory about these brown fellas having been former residents of the Milky Way…should we continue to hold out hope for this or forget about it right now?”
Answer: Abandon hope. Sorry.
dasNdanger writes: “If, say…Todd and Rodney… switched using the communication stones, would Todd (in Rodney’s body) chow down in the cafeteria all day, while Rodney (in Todd’s body) threatens to suck on the first human ‘snack’ he stumbles upon? In other words, both have strong appetites, but would their food cravings be influenced by the bodies (and the needs of those bodies) their consciousness is in at the time?”
Answer: The need to feed is a physiological drive, so Rodney in Todd’s body would have the desire to feed but his mind would undoubtedly be revolted at the prospect.
ytimynona writes: “Hey Joe, did you happen to see any of these while you were last in Japan?
http://www.mikesblender.com/indexblog88.htm”
Answer: Answer brought me two uniquely Japanese flavors of KitKat – green tea and wasabi. Meh.
nate80 writes: “Another non-related question…are you a basketball fan? If so NBA or college?”
Answer: I love college basketball. And the NBA just as passionately.
Carrots! That MONSTER!
I love the green tea Kit Kats! Too bad the huge box my daughter brought me is gone 🙁
Dear Joe,
I am curious about your itinerary for your trip to Japan. What is your plan and your objective on this forthcoming trip?
How long will you go for? What does Ivon think about it?
Nick
?
Hey, Joe, the doctor overseeing Eli’s Mom looked really familiar, was she the same doctor who worked at the SGC shortly after Janet’s death on SG-1?
You know who sits through commercials? Hulu watchers. You can’t fast forward them and they’re too short to get a snack. Oh, and hulu makes you choose your commercial sometimes. Devious, but effective.
Hey Joe
“Answer: Daniel Jackson will not be making an appearance in season three.”
How ’bout in later in season 2?
Elminster
Hey Joe
I hear Canada’s SGU numbers are up 16%. Are we anywhere near parity with the US with this?
Elminster
Oh, and Joe, I’m going to assume you’ve never heard of Andrew Nichols or Daryl Vickers.
Elminster
Awww, such cute pics of Lulu and Bubba! Here’s a blurry pic of my cat, Dion – she turned 21 yesterday (when this picture was taken).
http://yfrog.com/879n7kj
*snort* Helps if I include the damn link *before* I click Submit Comment.
Question: Dealing with the Seeder ship, how does the Stargates get from the Seeder ship to the planets?
For a spin off show, was there any thinking of haveing something ala to Deep Space Nine where they have something like the McKay Bridge connecting the Milkyway to some other Galaxy and at the bridge connecting them have a hub an have stories based there.
Feel that would of fit the stories of SGU better there with all the drama etc with other aliens.
Interesting reply and comments.
Interesting reply.
Carrots, eh? Perhaps Dr. Park had something like this in mind…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/dasNdanger/babycarrots.jpg
😉
Answer: The need to feed is a physiological drive, so Rodney in Todd’s body would have the desire to feed but his mind would undoubtedly be revolted at the prospect.
Oh, god…that would have been priceless to see! I hate to say it, but sometimes I think Atlantis would’ve worked better as a comedy. 🙂
Thanks, sir, for indulging me! Have a good night! And LOVE the sleepy baby pics!! ADORABLE!
das
Question: If there is a season 3, will there be any attempt for more Adventure, visiting Aliens worlds ala SG-1?
Will we ever visit the planets of the aliens we have met already?
And can you crush the rumor that the Destiny actually destiny is to go back in time to the Planet Altera an the crew of Destiny will make up that group of people that helped spur the Ori and Our
Ancients.
Awwwww, sleeping babes! Sweet.
@Riley: Awwww, too cute!
Hey Joe, What are your thoughts on the ratings? I think it’s doing really bad in terms of number.
Mailbag plus doggie pictures make for a great post. Thanks. Now you’re up to 2 1/2 secret projects?( If one of the projects is the comic book thing, that only counts as half a secret).
The Rodney/Todd thing is rather intriguing. The Wraith, at least Todd’s caste/class, seem to have an almost supernatural control of their desire to eat. On the other hand, Rodney, when not focused on some project, seems to have the self control of oh, an 8 year old. In a contest it would be interesting to see which would break down and feed first. Of cours, if the two were locked in a room together, which one would feed on their own original bodies? Ok, I know, watching too much sci fi does weird things to a person.
Thanks again for the post, and good luck on coordinating all the projects and events coming up in the next few weeks.
Thanks, Joe. I think I have Snow Monkeys team colors in the yarn stash. Problem is, the stash is scattered all over the house. De-cluttering incentive for tomorrow!
Hey, Das, great cartoon! Sharing the post link with SGU talent & fans on Twitter.
Hey, Just thought I would stop in and let you know that I’m really enjoying SGU. The acting and writing is awesome and I hope you guys get season 3 (and future season’s for that matter). A question I do have is when Syfy is deciding on renewing for a thrid season do they take into consideration Canada’s and the UK numbers into consideration and how are they weighted vs US numbers?
–James
Gak! Now I understand how frustrating it is for everyone else on the planet waiting for an SGU episode that’s already aired in the States. Bloody Yanks.
At least I found out it’s on Friday night at 10:00 on Space Channel here in Van, if the dang cable doesn’t go out again. Sheesh, it’s just like home. Even the hot weather feels like LA. But I’m loving the great fall colors though!
If you get a chance tomorrow, be sure to dive under your desk, or Carl, and duck-cover-hold. It’s our annual ShakeOut earthquake drill in California at 10:21 am.
Think of it as a practice for your upcoming drill January 26 ShakeOutBC.ca – http://www.shakeout.org/bc/ – when I hope you’ll all be back at work prepping for Season 3.
So by saying that daniel will not be showing up in season 3, are we to assume there is a season 3 or just that if there is he won’t be making an apearance 😛
Just dawned on me why Dr. Brightman is so familiar besides appearing in SG-1 epps, she is also shown as one of the original Ancients/Alterans who broke away from the Ori in AoT. That had been bugging me for some reason but am all better now.
From what we are left with at the end of tuesdays episode I can only assume that chloe is no longer really chloe but the blueberry alien part of her which is now in control. I say this from rush’s comments at the closing of the episode. Is this too big a leap or should I just stay tuned 🙂
Thanks Always,
Zpb
Doggie cuteness overload! What a great way to start Thursday. Thanks Joe.
Just saw/read your blog from yesterday. I have to admit I’m one of those staying away from SGU… but that ALien looked preeeetttyyy cooool!
Does it stay that cute? I guess I’ll have to find out myself, huh? 😛
Maybe it was just my copy of Aftermath i was watching but in the “previously on SGU” catch up segment at the very end of it, it cut VERY sharply from TJ lying on the floor with camera in the face (at the end of Incursion 2), to the next shot of her waking up in Aftermath in a similar position. There was literally no gap at all.
I have to admit i liked that segment like that. In production terms that was my favourite portion of the episode. It felt hurried and incomplete and practically bridged the gap between the “previously” segment and the episode itself.
However when i watched it on Sky One the same scene split the two with the Incursion 2 shooting scene and the Aftermath waking up scene being split by a fade out/fade in. Which version was correct? OR do international TV channels make edits as they see fit?
1 – Can we expect the Lucians to be on the ship for a good length of time?
2 -How deep will the TJ/Varro relationship go?
Robert Carlyle directing, cool, great job everyone on the episode, moved really fast, a lot happening. And good vibes for season 3.
Loved the dog pictures, let sleeping dogs lie, cute.
Make sure your passport/visa is current, and don’t pack too much, you know how the airlines love those baggage fees, and then you have to lug all that stuff around, leave room in suitcase for goodies to bring home/what doesn’t get shipped. Is Akemi going to be around for your visit in Tokyo? You always seem to have a wonderful time, so I just wish you lots of good eating.(and good weather)
Yes Joe
I think just by reading that SGU is still doing not so good in ratings.
As I said if no movie then bring a good end to SGA by crossing over not just Mckay and Woosey, but also Shepperd ( Joe Flanigan) and the actor who plays Todd and answer unanswered questions that way, especially finish the pairing of Shep/Todd. You had everyone paired but him. That is why some of SGA fans including me are upset about. If you could do that it would draw the rest of us to SGU.
The Shep/Todd pairing is more intriguing. There is a connection between these two.
Puppers AND a mailbag! Thanks for the great start to my morning!
Look at that cute face on Lulu! She is adorable with her little stuffed…rabbit? Aww, this makes me want to adopt a cute lil’ Bubba or Maximus of my own, but I am barely keeping myself fed and alive in my tiny place.
Re the ratings, I hope that the network does not leave you guys hanging in terms of renewal and that you will be given the opportunity, if necessary, to wrap up the story line in a way that is satisfying.
And I agree with Julie M that the connection between Todd and Shep was intriguing and worthy of a great deal more exploration – I just can’t see how it fits into SGU…
@ Ponytail – Awww… I made you blush. 😀
@ Gilder – That cartoon is actually an American Greetings card! On the inside it says, ‘Oughta get a couple cherry tomatoes, too…’ 🙂 I had one set aside to send to Joey, but…ya know…I figured it probably wasn’t appropriate to make fun of his wee bits…
😉
das
Pathogen is unbelievable. There are no aliens, no gunshots, no chasing, no action at all – but I must say – this is the best episode ever. Maybe it reminds me of Tarkovsky’s scifi films 🙂
Joe
I think the Connection between Shepperd and Todd can fit into SGU. I agree that the network should let you wrap up season 2 with a satisfactory ending.
Joe
I hope you will put Joe Flanigan in another of your shows as a regular. He is a good actor and one of my favorite actors.
Hey Joe. Just wanted to ask could you remember to wish me a HAPPY BIRTHDAY during your October 28th Blog entry.
Can’t wait to watch the newest episode of Stargate Universe tomorrow on SPACE.
Is there still the capability there to tie things up properly at episode 20? It hasn’t reached principal filming yet has it?
Just wanted to stop by and say how much I’m enjoying SGU. Yep, it’s different from SG1 and SGA (which I loved too), but I’m totally LOVING season 2 right now. Keep up the great work 🙂
joseph i’m a regular reader of your blog but never got opotunity to do some replys…
I’m writing because of a great consern i have with the stargate series to keep going…
i do love stargate SG.1 for me was a series i will never forget i can still remenber “torment of tallanus” allmost in detail… it was one of the huge list of favorite episodes, atlantis for me was a little to fast for me… with the lack of the earth mythology (a shame in my point of view)…
then Universe… to be seriusly on this i’m a follower of many series but Universe was just something in another level of Tv entertainment… i got glued to the couth reached the episode’s end and ask myself if it realy was 45min long…
With all this what i want to say is:
I’m realy concerned about SGU’s rates and the future of SGU i whould like to die of old and still have a new stargate episode to see every week… but i have a problem, in here (portugal) we don’t even count for ratings… SGU in cable tv here is like reaching the last episodes of SGU’s first season… where in canada it’s almost reaching (in a month) the mid season break of season 2…
how can we ( out of the premier release zones) make the diference, showing MGM that we want the series to keep going????
BTW sorry about my english writing but i don’t practice it for some time now.
keep the excelent work you all are doing with SGU and push those SG movies to production fast :D:D:D:D:D
Hey Joe,
Considering the similarities between the spacesuits used by the Destiny crew and those used by the lost tribe of Asgard on that episode of Atlantis, And the ship those same Asgard used which also looks like the shuttles on Destiny…
Is it safe to assume that the Asgard had a hand in building the Destiny for a stake in whatever purpose it was build for?
Kind regards,
Angelus
@ das – look what you’ve done! You’ve got Joe talking about his Snow Monkey’s and their “pink bits”. Oh my goodness! 😳
@ Ann-Marie Sloan – “Hey Joe. Just wanted to ask could you remember to wish me a HAPPY BIRTHDAY during your October 28th Blog entry.”
Ann-Marie, Joe doesn’t even know what date it is half the time. Your gonna have to remind him THE DAY BEFORE the 28th. In case you forget to remind him – have a great birthday!
You have had many cute pictures, but that one of Lulu is absolutely the best ever.
Streetb: Joe might want to answer you himself, but I figure his answer will be similar to mine… There is nothing you can do. Only US and only Live ratings count. You can buy the DVDs, but that won’t do that much if the show is cancelled, since MGM needs the income from Syfy AS WELL are DVD sales to make a profit.
So hope for the best. If the show gets cancelled, there’ll be another show you’ll like sooner or later.
Since the live ratings in the us are down to under a million, a third season is a doubtful, but who knows it might happen.
And if there won’t be a third season, there might be a DVD movie to end the series. If not, I guess we’ll get to see whatever Joe might be up to after Stargate. I’m curious what that might be…
Joe
I agree with Whoops. Even if SGU is not canceled, since MGM claims they need the money as well as SyFy it along with SGA Extinction could be put on DVD in the US, because DVD sales are going good here. And that way Extinction can be made put on maybe Blue Ray DVD and you and gang could tie SGA storyline up especially the Shep/Todd story line. I saw on yutube where evidentally you and gang in SGA were pairing Shep/Todd and that would be great with me. They have a chemistry and are cute together and have a future together.
@ Ponytail – 😀
das
Bah, everybody knows that Shep only yearns for Rodneys sweet embrace! And speaking of: Isn’t it time for Lt Scott to lose the beard, dump Chloe and act on his and Elis forbidden love!
No everyone knows that Shep loves Todd he just needs to realize that he and Todd are one and that they do need each other. As for Lt. Scott, I do not watch SGU, I tried the first season and could not get interested.
I think SGU’s ratings wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t use the word Stargate. I think the main problem with SGU is that by claiming it’s a Stargate show it brings certain expectations to the table, and SGU fails to deliver on those, leaving most Stargate fans to conclude the show is crap and simply trying to cash in on the Stargate name.
At least if it didn’t use the Stargate franchise it could then simply be judged on its own merits. As it is most Stargate fans who have watched the show end up raging and moving on, which I think accounts for the extremely low ratings. If I remember correctly, even when SGA was cancelled SGA’s ratings were much higher than SGU’s, which does not bode well for SGU fans.
I agree with SG about SGU, but the problem is if you can crossover Mckay and Woosey to SGU then you can crossover Shepperd (Flanigan) and The actor who played Todd. If they can fit Mckay and Woosey in the storyline then they can do it with Flanigan’s Shepperd and Todd. And if they could bring those storylines to a good ending, then they would not have a problem and would have alot of SGA fans from this country moving to SGU.