As I was walking into the Production Office this morning (after waiting some twenty minutes for the recycling guy to move his truck out from in front of my parking space), I ran into actor Peter Kelamis (SGU’s Adam Brody) who had just dropped off the cast’s crew gifts.
Check ’em out –
Cool, no? A big thanks to the cast. Every time I have to remove the dog tags before taking a shower, I’ll think of them.
Speaking of the cast, yesterday marked the final (until, hopefully, next season) shooting day Mike and Julia. Today, we bid a fond farewell to Peter and Patrick.
I visited the set with Ashleigh and Lawren. I know, I know. I always get them confused too.
- THIS one’s Lawren.
- And THIS one’s Ashleigh.
Anyway, as is tradition this time of year, both Ashleigh and Lawren head down to stage 4 to set up squatting rights to the various areas they intend to occupy during the hiatus.
- Look at them, all comfy in their new living room.
The living arrangements are perfect of course. The kitchen only has prop food and the bathtub is actually an old crate that used to store a repair robot, but they call it home.
Following our set visit, we grabbed lunch at the truck. There, I witnessed something so shocking, so unbelievable, that I had to capture it on digital…
Check out eco-friendly, environmental know-it-all Ashleigh using a STYROFOAM CONTAINER for her lunch!!!
She claims she only went styrofoam because she didn’t bring her plate with her to set, but I believe that if she truly loved this planet, she would have walked all the way back to the office, picked up her plate, and walked all the way back to the catering truck (before walking all the way back to the office to eat). Shameful, really. Rumor has it she also requested extra styrofoam that she used to stuff her boots because they had a comfortable two inches of height.
This afternoon, I went to post where I had a visual effects spotting with Rick, Mark and Bones, then did the cut notes for The Hunt. As often happens when it comes time to lock my cut, the challenge isn’t how to implement the various notes but how to make sense of them. Specifically, my handwritten scrawl. 1. My handwriting is atrocious. 2. My handwriting is atrocious when I’m scribbling down notes quickly so I can continue watching my cut. 3. My handwriting is atrocious when I’m scribbling down notes quickly in the dark so I can continue watching my cut. Anyway, I was able to decipher most of what I’d written. And I’m sure you’ll have no problem doing the same. So here you go, the cut notes for The Hunt.
Spoiler warning!
Here’s an early review of tonight’s episode of SGU, Malice, from the gang at popculturezoo: http://popculturezoo.com/2010/11/malice-and-revenge-on-the-next-stargate-universe/
Today’s blog entry is dedicated Riley. Very sorry to hear about Moochie.
Mailbag:
Gen writes: “Does Lulu have food allergies? I’m having trouble remembering if you’ve said so already or not. Anyway, an elderly Cocker Spaniel who we adopted into our family some years ago had a habit of chewing on her paws, along with occasional digestive ailments. The vet told us it was likely a food allergy, and suggested we either change her diet to a special dog food or that we start cooking her meals for her. We started off with the special food, but one night when she was feeling under the weather I ended up cooking for her. That was that. I cooked that goofy dog dinner every night for the rest of her life.”
Answer: What a great dog mom (or dad)! Lulu is certainly very particular about her food. She won’t eat raw and I have her on a special canned food for hypoallergenic dogs. Might try cooking for her. How do you think she’d like her foie gras? With a rhubarb compote?
BA writes: “Also, took your advice and bought a copy of “Revelation Space.” I LOVE THESE BOOKS! Reynolds is an amazing writer. I’ve burned through every one of his books, even his short stories.”
Answer: Hey, Brad, pleased to hear you’re enjoying the show (Tell your friends!) and equally pleased to hear you’re enjoying Alastair Reynolds. He’s a recent discovery and I love the fact that I still have several of his books to read. Show co-creator and Exec. Producer Brad Wright is also a recent Reynolds convert.
Viv writes: “If you are already working on the season two finale, when the mid-season finale has yet to air, how does this allow the writing team time to react to something that doesn’t air well? […] The only show I know definite production info about is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I think had more sets, actors, locations, and maybe special effects that an SGU episode, and by the end of each season, they were shooting the episodes a bare three weeks prior to airing.”
Answer: It takes us about six months from shooting to final and Buffy was a show that made use of visual effects as well, so I find it highly unlikely that they would have been shooting episodes three weeks prior to their airing. The realities of production simply don’t allow for that type of creative shifting.
Llyod67 writes: “I want your opinion : does Wraith feed on pregnant women?”
Answer: Don’t see why they wouldn’t.
Renegard writes: “Joe, could you provide some information on the Destiny’s FTL drive? Is the intergalactic hyperdrive in Daedalus-class ships faster?”
Answer: Ivon Bartok is putting together a special feature that will focus on SGU’s various tech elements, from FTL to shields. Watch for it!
Debra writes: “As for Bubba… do me a big favor? Bitch slap your vet. Do it now, do it hard. Eyelashes cause horrific pain to the eyes. They should have fixed the eyelash problem LONG ago with entropic type surgery to prevent rubbing.”
Answer: Jelly had the procedure done long ago. Your comment spurred me to bring Bubba in this weekend for a check-up and referral to a specialist. Thanks.
Deena writes: “On a related note, are we going to see Varro pop up anytime soon?”
Answer: Varro…Varro…hmmm….doesn’t ring a bell…
Holloway writes: “However one issue that I can’t overlook, one that’s been agitating me since season one, is the handling and under usage of Greer.”
Answer: In season one, we set the groundwork for the series and tried to give each of our main players a spotlight episode (in Greer’s case, it was Lost). As we headed into season two, we broke down our stories and ensured that each main character would have one (or more) spotlight episodes. When it comes time to lining these episodes up in the production schedule, their placement is dictated by the overall season arc and ongoing storylines, so even if one character may seem light in the first half of the season, that won’t be the case for the second half. In the case of Greer, he’s got two big episodes in season 2 (in addition to a lot of terrific beats and throughlines in other episodes), but you’ll have to wait until the back half to see them: episode #213, Alliances, and episode #216, The Hunt. In fact, one of the things SyFy’s Erika Kennair remarked on during her last visit to the Stargate set was the significant development in both the Greer and T.J. characters this season.
I’m envious of those dog tags!
Dear Joe
about the picture, I think we now know what the blueberry’s written language is based off of. o_O XD
I still say it’s Pittman (or very bad Gregg) shorthand 🙂 At least some of it!
Yes, those dog tags were cool! Any chance of those ever being sold to fans? I would buy them. Off to watch Malice!!
Hey Joe
I’ve got some questions for the mailbag
1) Is it possible that Destiny and not the Stargates is actually the ancients most important invention?
2) hows the anime going? Did you finally finish or at least watch Eureka 7? I remember you having some trouble getting into it, besides the slow start it picks up and really is an amazing series
3) when are we going to see more Destiny specific tech? like the repair drone for example
4) Is “Ursini” the official name of the Awakening aliens? if so what compelled you to reveal it on here
5) is your comic project going to be Marvel/DC or Image?
6) I really enjoy the supporting characters, Brody, Volkner, James, park and co. Please tell me you are keeping them around and they won’t suffer the same fate as Riley
also will we be seeing more of them? not centric episodes, just more awesomeness in general and learning more about them
7) Does Destiny have any secrets you aren’t telling us tech-wise, specifically in the weapons department, maybe version 1 drone weapons?
thanks for the time Joe
I made out the word “Volker”. My 5 yr. old called out “t – h – e spells the.” So, there you go, even a 5 yr. old can read your writing.
I had a friend in high school who would interpret my handwriting for me.
Oh, I’m a dog mom. Forgot that I hadn’t really specified before. And thank you. She’d be so thrilled about cooked food that it didn’t seem like much of a chore to make dinner for her. The fact that she wasn’t terribly fussy about presentation or originality helped. (“Chicken and brown rice again? YAAAAAY!”)
Given that Lulu has more refined tastes, however, I’d say that the foie gras and rhubarb compote sounds lovely. Have you given thought to an amuse bouche? 😀
Dear Mr. Mallozzi,
When you started in the entertainment business, obviously you probably wanted to get any job you could but creatively did you want to work on a certain genre? Like science fiction, or drama, or comedy? I know any job you could get you had to do but did you start writing to work on something specific?
I was curious, because I’m very interested to work on Stargate Universe in some way, but not if I can’t really put my best work forward. Obviously you probably have a favorite kind of writing to work on, but is just having one favorite enough to try getting a job or try to get a degree?
Just something I’ve been trying to figure out for myself, was curious what it’s like for you.
Thanks,
Jordan
P.S. Just went crazy spell checking this.
I just have a quick question: where do you find these locations? This locations fits sooooo perfect!!! 😉
Best wishes,
Bryan
Thanks, Joe. For such a little munchkin she’s sure left a big hole.
Thanks also to Penny, PBMom & Tammy Dixon. She had a great life, and mine was sure as hell the better for having her around. She was a very cool cat.
And a little general advice for those who haven’t thought it through: if someone tells you their cat is dying/has died, do not: a) offer them one of the kittens you’re desperately trying to rehome because you didn’t get your cat spayed; or b) ask them if they’re going to get another cat soon. They are living creatures, not socks or DVDs that can be replaced without thought if they wear out. Give it a little time. Jeez.
Now, back to the grindstone. I hate Wednesdays.
So I won’t spoil anything for anyone who hasn’t seen Malice yet, I will just say this about it.
Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!
And double wow!!
And triple wow!!!
Nice job to SGU cast and crew!!!!!!!!!!!
Answer: In season one, we set the groundwork for the series and tried to give each of our main players a spotlight episode (in Greer’s case, it was Lost). As we headed into season two, we broke down our stories and ensured that each main character would have one (or more) spotlight episodes. When it comes time to lining these episodes up in the production schedule, their placement is dictated by the overall season arc and ongoing storylines, so even if one character may seem light in the first half of the season, that won’t be the case for the second half. In the case of Greer, he’s got two big episodes in season 2 (in addition to a lot of terrific beats and throughlines in other episodes), but you’ll have to wait until the back half to see them: episode #213, Alliances, and episode #216, The Hunt. In fact, one of the things SyFy’s Erika Kennair remarked on during her last visit to the Stargate set was the significant development in both the Greer and T.J. characters this season.
___________________________________________
Alright, Joe. Fair enough. Although its strange that for two straight seasons anything focusing on Greer must always come in the back ten episodes. But that’s a quibble I suppose. I simply hope whatever storyline Greer gets is something of importance to the major storylines.
As for my prediction about what would go down in “Malice”, I was on the money. Excellent episode and that’s what counts. But just like I guessed Rush ended up taking out the crafty, dangerous warrior. You guys might as well make him in charge of security of Destiny too since he did something Greer couldn’t (wasn’t allowed to do). Don’t know why you guys even set up Greer’s conflict with Simeon in the first place since in the end it went nowhere and it all came down to Rush being his true worthy nemesis. And why was Greer written as if this was like the 8th episode of season one rather than season two? That whole line about his not still trusting Rush seems silly and out of place considering everyone else on the ship appear to be trying to get beyond the whole Rush-Young divide. But, I’ll like I mentioned earlier it was a GREAT episode so I guess my point ultimately is moot. I hope the ratings are equal to the quality of the episode.
Last of all as for Ms. Kennair’s remarks doesn’t that simply confirm in part what I was saying last season in that Greer was underdeveloped compared to most (or all) of the main cast?
Thanks for addressing my post.
*****DON’T WORRY – CONTAINS NO SPOILERS*****
Joe, your TV show is really different this season. Full of very interesting stuff. Take Malice for example. I couldn’t believe you know who went you know where. I was hoping that other guy would get let out to take care of the issue. Where were they? I couldn’t believe I saw you know what! Who thought of that?! Your special effects were great but you didn’t show too much of the you know whats. Poor you know who. And wasn’t you know who acting sneaky. I guess all the others don’t trust that person very much any more. Yet they trust the other person…humm. Why? Doesn’t that person got “it” too? You know who kicked butt tonight! That person sure does have an evil streak. I felt that touch by you know who to the shoulder of you know who. You should have showed that longer. A tender moment. Anyway, just like last week, another great show! If you know what I mean. 🙂
3 damn good episodes in a row. Tonights was great. My favorite episodes of the series are now Time, Human, and Malice. Weird.
Joe, tonight’s episode was absolutely fabulous. One of the most gripping episodes of anything i’ve seen in a while.
Dave
Oh My God! That was the best episode so far of SGU. Just when you think that R. Caryle has given his best performance, he just outdoes himself. Guess that is why he won the Gemini Award. Kudos to R. Knepper as well. We knew how bad Simeon could be, and he showed that he could be ten times worse. Can’t say any more without:
Spoilers
Spoilers
Spoilers
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From beginning to end, a perfect episode. I was cursing the commercial breaks, wanting to see what happened next. The body count was brutal. We know some died during the initial L.A. siege, but seeing Simeon do it up close and personal, and with that look, made it seem so much worse. As deranged as he seems, he is so intelligent and methodical that he is one of the most dangerous foes we have seen so far. Too bad he had to die, but it was inevitable. But his use of the clamores, first on Park and then on the rocks, you guys certainly got your bang for the buck. Rush showed so much range in this episode. First the rage, then his grief, then he used his superior intellect to construct the perfect weapon against Simeon. I doubt that any of the military would have thought of it. I loved the scene of all those animals trampling that thug. It’s too bad that Rush returned to the rage phase though, it is likely that the crew could have gotten the info on the attack on Earth at that point. Scott’s words to him at the end of the episode appeared to make him think about the weight of his actions, not just on the planet but since he got control of the ship.
Poor Eli, he finally finds someone who is smart and understands and likes him and she is killed. I really wish you hadn’t done that. I would have liked to see her stay on for the rest of the season. I think Young’s words about how he is not the only one to lose someone were what Young needed to get Eli back in some frame of mind to try to stop the ship, but it came across to me as kind of meanspirited. Eli isn’t military, he can’t just set his grief aside as easily as the others. I loved the scene where he is “gearing up” and thinks he can just go to the planet and go all Rambo on Simeon.
I also liked how Young took the time to go see T.J. and try to comfort her when she couldn’t save everyone who was hurt.
Now that we know that if one person who uses the stones dies, the other person connected does too, will that make people more hesitant to use them?
And Chloe looked like Data for a minute there, going thru files with lightning speed. The fact that she doesn’t know what she did shows that she is losing the battle against the alien influence.
Except for the fact that you killed Ginn, this was simply a brilliant episode. From the writing to the directing to the explosions to the acting, it was as perfect as an episode can get. I don’t think you can top this, and I can’t belive that there are only two more episodes until the spring, but bring on Visitation!
EPIC. No spoilers (at least until Friday night) then watch out.
This is Stargate at its best, really. I just couldn’t tell who was going to live and die and every time someone got hurt I wondered if they were going to be another dead crew member (our main and supporting cast). Then after watching it live in my office, I went to our bedroom where our 42 inch high-definition beauty machine is, and it was 1000% times more clear, crisp and awe-inspiring.
Love the visual effects, too. You know the one down on the planet especially.
@ riley – Very sorry about your 21 year old “baby” Dion aka “Moochie”. My first thought was, wow, that must be equivalent to a person dying at 100 years old. Obviously your cat had a long and well cared for life. I bet it was a great life. I know you miss her terribly. Don’t take it to heart what other people say during this sad time in your life They are not being callous. Everyone is different and cope differently. Some told me to get another dog before my dog died because “the loss will be easier if you already have another dog”. Some wanted to hand me a dog the next day after my dog died. It took me 3 years before I was ready and brave enough to get another one. Some people never want to go through the heartache again of losing a pet again and never get another one. (I think that is sad, yet I understand.) Sometimes it can be the same with human lives. I’ve known some to have another baby to fill the void left when a child dies. Or have another baby to fill the depression that sets in when your kids all grow up and go away to college leaving a very quiet and lonely house (the empty nest syndrome). So Riley, don’t be too hard on others with different ideas. Your next cat (I hope you get one) won’t care how or when you got him. I just hope he realizes he just won the lottery when he gets you as an owner. A very lucky cat – just like Moochie was!
Great episode, loved it.
Realized I just missed a few mailbags, but figured I’d throw out some questions anyway.
How much longer until the cast revolts and starts burning their wardrobes? I can only imagine as you (hopefully) head into season three that some of them are simply going to just fall apart, especially those who regularly head off world. I keep waiting for somebody to stumble across a random storehouse of ancient clothes to raid.
Was it wrong for me to be surprised to see Park jump right back in after returning to Destiny?
Trying to catch up…
@ riley – So very sorry about your Moochie. 🙁 *hugs*
@ Joe – Thanks for the puppy updates. Sad to see our babies getting older. Yesterday my Big Girl Kitty vomited blood. The vet thinks she broke a blood vessel in her throat while throwing up (he said it’s not uncommon). Still it was frightening. We have no idea how old she is – we’ve had her indoors since Jan. ’07, but she lived in our yard for nearly a year before that. She was probably old then. She has bad teeth, she might be developing diabetes, and who knows what else. In the meantime, my old lady kitty, Marbles, is wobbly and thin, and I really didn’t expect her to make it through the summer. The least of my worries is China, my hermit cat – she’s living in the garage and seems as healthy and happy as can be!
My wake/sleep cycle is all kaflooey. I fell asleep at the beginning of NCIS (about 8:15), woke up at 11:30 – missed both NCIS and SGU. I have them DVR’d, but it’s not the same as watching live, especially since I have no idea when I can find time to watch 2 hours of shows now. I think Mr. Das (who is asleep now) watched SGU, so maybe I can just watch it by myself tomorrow morning. Ugh. It’s been like this all week – fall asleep early in the evening, wake up and putter around until about 2 am, then back to bed. I really need to reset my cycle, but…
okay,betweenyouandme…
Obsession alert!
The reason I’ve ‘let’ myself fall asleep early, is so that I can wake up and – while the house is all quiet-like – read these Preston/Child Agent Pendergast stories. 😛 Guh. These books are SO indulgent! I know it’ll wear off soon enough, but for now I’m enjoying the ride. 🙂
Off to read!
das
@ PBMom – Hey! Good luck on your upcoming kidney stone surgery in a truck! I hope you don’t wake up in Mexico! Will they be using seat belts to strap you down? Is the recovery room in the SUV parked out back?! I guess instead of a diploma hanging on the wall, the doctor has his drivers license and proof of insurance framed! Well, thats all I got! God bless and take care. I’ll be thinking about you.
@ JeffW – I carefully read through your cheesecake recipe. That ain’t so scary after all. You do a lot of explaining. Exactly what I need. I’ve got to get me one of those special pans first, then I’ve got to make that cake! Thanks for posting it!
Poor Jelly. I had to have the surgery done FOUR TIMES on my Chow Bridget. Sutures, acid, they did it all. 🙁 Give him kisses for me.
In ‘Awakening’, was the Destiny using an 8 or 9 Chevron address to dial Earth?
I clearly don’t agree with anyone else here. Really hated this episode. The moment Ginn and Perry were fridged, I stopped emotionally engaging. Great – now Eli and Rush have manpain. Giving Eli a girlfriend briefly JUST to kill her off so he can have manpain is LAME.
Since we have control of Destiny now, why aren’t they going back for Telford? Yes the aliens may have chopped him into a million pieces by now but don’t you think Young and the crew would at least try? Is this related to Lou Diamond Phillip not coming back for future appearances. You have said you really like the actor, but that implies to me you like the actor but he won’t be coming back…….
Your handwriting there… could almost pass off as a doctor’s handwriting, were the notes not regarding SGU.
@ PBMom: Best of luck on your surgery and recovery. I’ve discovered that as soon as I became 50, I began falling apart with three seperate health issues all happening within months of each other. I’ve done the tour of all the hospitals in Edmonton.
@riley: So sorry about your dear friend. I too miss my kitties who have passed away. I hope they will be waiting for me where ever I end up when I die.
Joe: Regarding your notes, you would have made a good doctor, at least when it comes to writing prescriptions.
Love the picture of Peter Kelamis. He looks hot. Patrick Looks like he’s up to something. You have a great bunch of people to work with. I hope it continues for a very long time.
Patricia
Great episode. Give Rob a pat on the back next time you see him for me. He always delivers, without a doubt, and Malice was no exception. Up there with Time, Justice, Lost, Aftermath and Cloverdale as my favourite SGU episode ever.
Joe,
I’m quiet right now. I’m usually like this after watching a film in the theatre – not comedies or anything, of course – usually action movies that end tragically or something of that ilk. There is just something about being blasted by emotions and actions by a huge screen and an ear-splitting sound system that makes me become introspective.
Malice managed to do this.
I never thought there would be two episodes in a row that redefine what I consider the best of a series, but here we are. To go into detail about what I enjoyed would basically result in me typing out the transcript of the episode and unfortunately I don’t have the episode in front of me to accomplish that worthy task.
So instead I’ll rely on generalities. “Malice” was amazing. It never relents. From a beginning that trusts the viewer to know what happened the week before without spelling anything out, to the subsequent bloodbath – it was yet another payoff similar to the previous episode. Except, this time, instead of it being an emotional catharsis followed by a ingenious science fiction premise, it’s the occuring of that which we dreaded, but knew was coming. Simeon was making his move, and all the subtle body language of Robert Knepper coagulates into a single terrifying image as he walks down the hall shooting at anything and anyone in his way.
Oh look, I’m doing a transcript now. Funny how that just seem to happen these days.
From there on out Malice is blanketed in a sort of melancholy. The action sequences weren’t exciting as much as tense and desperate, which is more rewarding at the end. It wasn’t about “pew pew action holy crap yeah shoot him!!”, it was a lot more…substantial. The scene where Greer purposely avoids killing Simeon, and the subsequent Rush freak-out – that was just such a great scene. Rush’s anger and desperation at seeing Simeon getting away was radiating through the TV like a fusion reactor. And then, when Greer gets shot, Jamil did stuff I didn’t know a human could; the noises he made – it just added onto the realism.
And then there were all those little details – an entire little arc played out with Park’s abduction, Volker’s guilt, and Brody’s comforting them both. It was great seeing those three getting air time and seeing their friendship; they genuinely cared for each other. The scene in the gateroom, with Volker trying to be a hero by offering himself to replace Park, and her desperate “No.” at the suggestion – it was so authentic. And then seeing Park struggling with her own mortality on the planet as Rush tries to disarm that bomb – and yet still showing that inner strength when she told Rush to go when all seemed hopeless – it’s times like this when the show’s premise of seeing real people dealing with extraordinary events comes through loud and clear. I think that if I were in her position, I too would neither be a blubbering mess nor some stoic hero.
Jennifer Spence was great in that scene.
Of course, we had Eli’s arc in the episode as well (thinking back, I’m not sure how you guys managed to fit so many arcs into this episode and yet still have all of them seem perfectly-paced). I was taken aback by his “give me a gun” at the beginning of the episode – I wasn’t prepared to see Eli this far outside his comfort zone, and I loved it. His anger throughout the rest of the episode was intense and David Blue did a great job with it. His scene with Young was especially powerful – the line about killing changing people – considering what Young has done, not just as a soldier but more recently with Riley; that statement is so loaded in continuity; this is what happens when characters are slowly built up before the pay off.
Alright, this is getting out of hand. See? What did I say about writing out stuff in detail? Ok, short points then: Chloe is losing herself, and soon she will have to deal with that instead of burying herself in Rush’s equations. Scott’s command presence is growing exponentially with time and his levelheadedness will no doubt lead to him taking command at some point – Trial and Error seems like foreshadowing, looking back. His attempt at trying to comfort Rush when the latter broke down was great to see; that whole scene was just a good, calm, friendly breather between all the tragedy. Also, it was great seeing the parallels between here and Air III, with Rush, Scott, and Greer walking around in the desert, and especially with Rush urging Greer to shoot.
But oh, I cannot just do a short point about Robert Carlyle’s performance here. It was excellent timing considering that he won the Gemini a few days ago, because this episode just screams “you’ve seen nothing yet”. His performance here deserves at least one more Gemini and a few Emmys, which he would only get in realities that made sense, unfortunately.
That scream as he walked down that corridor; his constant attempts at getting away from Scott and Greer; his agonizingly-slow breakdown among the sculpted rocks of the Bisti Badlands; his anger at Greer for not killing Simeon; his determination at ending Simeon’s life as the latter taunted him through the radio – I was awed by them all, and then some. There is just such sincerity in everything Rush did; here, let me put it this way – I wouldn’t say it was nice acting, because it wasn’t acting – it was being. Robert Carlyle went beyond acting and became this tortured, calculating, vulnerable man. The way he killed Simeon – there was no talking, no posturing – he calculated the best way of killing him, and he went through with his plan. The end.
Brilliant.
Oh, and Robert Knepper was extra helpings of evil-incarnate in this episode. Like I said before, the menace was being extruded out of Simeon like a volcano. With all his traps and his “philosophy”, it felt like he was a tv-friendly version of Jigsaw from those sickening Saw movies. And then that speech – considering that Rush was the one who defeated them all the way back in Intervention, you just know this was coming – Simeon wanting to make Rush suffer for what he did to them.
At the end, I don’t think he really wanted to live – his “I have information” may say differently, but his facial expression was really what revealed the truth; he knew it was over, and his line was just one last dark joke.
All of the above was made even better by the surroundings. When I first heard that you were filming in the Bisti Badlands, I immediatly went on Google to find out what it looked like! This was far more remote than the White Sands! I was very excited to see how much you guys will take advantage of the surroundings, and you did not disappoint. Rob Cooper’s direction was incredible; I especially love the pans around all the rock features – it made things cinematic. The shots in the middle and at the end when the sun was setting was especially beautiful, and fit their respective scenes extremely well. You guys really lucked out with this one; every single scene set there seemed to be set in a unique location, thanks to the rock features. So beautiful.
Of course, giving every scene a common look just furthered the common feel of melancholy throughout the episode; a twisted, washed-out wasteland it was.
Finally, there is the music at the end. I did not expect the episode to end like that, but I’m very glad it did. A haunting melody of calm, of tragedy, of self-reflection coupled with Rush heading back to the Stargate, knowing that Amanda is not coming back, and neither is Destiny. A perfect capper on a truly excellent episode.
I’m not exactly sure why Rob Cooper decided to leave/take a break from Stargate productions, but I do know that, as of right now, I’ve never been sorrier to see him go.
@Ponytail:
You’re welcome!
This may help on the pan:
http://tinyurl.com/27hdhmf
(Although I found my pan at a local supermarket for $9.99).
And the parchment Paper:
http://tinyurl.com/3yp3smb
If you don’t use parchment paper, the crust welds itself to the bottom and turns into a 10″ cheesecake covered, unbreakable cookie/pan composite! (Even with non-stick pans!)
Cheers!
Loved “Malice”. Though I didn’t expect to feel anything else about this episode…
SPOILERY BITS!
Funny how Eli seemed to be like young version of Rush when he was still mad and before Young talked to Eli. Feel so badly for Eli, poor guy. But I gotta say that I liked Rush’s more raw reaction even better. Hitting the wall, and just running through the gate after Simeon, and then just…. bam! in the end. One of the best hours of Stargate. 🙂 Honorable mentions also go out to TJ and Chloe.
Thank you, for such amazing TV series as SGU.
*fangirls*
Dammit. Ten minutes into SGU and I’m FREAKING THE HELL OUT!!
Damn, this is intense! REALLY wish I had watched last night with Mr. Das (he said this morning that it was a GREAT episode; Mr. Das usually doesn’t make such commentary).
Well, there goes this morning’s housework. 😛 😛 😛
das
Daaamn, Your handwriting is more difficult to read then the Ancient language 😮
Also loving the dog tags, Those are major awesome.
Didn’t really enjoy Malice as much, I think that mostly came down to Simeons character not being used as much as Il’d of liked. I mean the start of it was good with everyone upset and what not and Simeons escape, but there were parts I simply didn’t find enjoyable. That being said the ending was good with Rush walking back to the gate thinking OMG everyone is gone then they just appear.
I think if Simeons character was used more I’ld be more excited to see him die lol
Anyway Aubuchon’s episode next week. Looking forward to seeing how that plays out.
Kinda big
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“Yeah, shut up.” LOVED IT!
Westerny music as Rush walks off into the badlands – perfect!
Rush sure is a frisky li’l pipsqueak! LOL…loving this bit between him and Scott.
“Is it something we can barbeque?” 😆 Gotta love Greer.
Rush. Crying. 😯
Is Eli tall, or is Young short? (Nice ‘angry Eli’ moment there.)
WTF??!!!! YOU shot…SHOT!!!!!!…Greer???! 😮 😡 (okay, Rob did it…no wonder he jumped ship. He’s runnin’ to avoid the Wrath of Das!)
“I’m fine.”
“Nah, yer not…you are bleeding pretty bad.”
“You said it didn’t look that bad?”
“Nah. I lied.”
😆 Great exchange! Brian/Scott’s delivery of that last line was spot on!
Rush needs to take target practice. 🙂
Oh! ouch,ouch, OUCH!!! WHOA! You do NOT mess with the Scotsman. 😛
Excellent episode. Mebbe my favorite so far (of course, I’m saying that a lot lately).
Well done, sirs…well, done.
das
Okay, Joe…I might have just sent 3 or 4 posts to spam, or something. No idea why they won’t go through. No links. Maybe too many smilies. 😛
Sorry for troubling you this morning. Leave it to me to have ‘issues’. 🙄
😀
das
Short and sweet, gotta run to class. Awesome ep last night! These last 3 have definitely been in my top 5, right up there with Time. Props to RCC!
Oh, and I got a vibe that Volker may have a thing for Park.
Next week looks good too (Caine! But what about little Carmen? Hmm…)
If Destiny’s mission would allow one to “change things”, maybe it was abandoned because the experiment was banned? Just like the Ark of Truth earlier, and the time machine and Attero device later?
That would also be consistent with the whole non-interference rule of acended Ancients.
Hey Joseph have you read the Lost Fleet series of Jack Campbell??
IDK because I dont see it in the previously read books.
Also “Containment” of Christian Cantrell its very good, and its a short story.
Joe,
This is only my second time posting on your blog but I wanted to say how much I enjoyed last nights episode and what it showed in character development. Last nights episode was definitely one of my favorite episodes of the entire SGU series. The opening 5 min were intense and and the growth that Scott is showing as a leader is awesome (referring to the final remarks made by Scott to Rush at the gate at the end of the episode) . My question to you is how you choose your locations to shoot when traveling out side of Canada / the studio. If I remember correctly last nights episode was shot in New Mexico, SGA had an episode shot in Vegas and SG1 had a few times south of the boarder and at the moment I can’t remember specifics except that I remember a mention of Utah, but don’t know if it was actually shot there or not. So finally on with the question; So if/when SGU is picked up for a 3rd season do you see it possible to come back to Utah for an episode? I would think that with the deferent terrain and the new filming incentives by the state office that it would be more enticing than New Mexico or Vegas for example. I ask as a fan of the franchise since the movie and also one that is on a film board for the south central part of Utah.
Thanks for a great series!!
I think my only complaint in general is the lack of Varro(Mike Dopud), always thought he’d be awesome as a series regular lol
I mean 8 episodes have gone by and his character hasn’t really had that much screentime. His potential isn’t being tapped yet. Not really sure if I’m the only one thinking this but Varro is just so underused it’s criminal.
Speaking as someone who likes the character.
I assume you had these last 2 episodes filmed and ready to go long before they aired. So my questions would be: Did you know in advance that Ginn would be such a fan favorite? In other words, did you create her to be so well liked, or did Julie Mcniven just come off that good in the character? If you didn’t know the reaction she would get, are you wishing now that you had kept her around longer? Had you hoped the character of Chloe would have been as well liked as Ginn instead of borderline despised by much of the verbal fanbase? Any plans for us to see more of Lt. James?
Thanks for saving it, Joe!
Also, heard this song this morning, thought it was a good fit for the show:
Swamped by Lacuna Coil
Destiny flying high above
All I know is that you can realize (realize}
Destiny who cares {destiny who cares}
As it turns around {as it turns around}
And I know that it descends down on me
It’s just another day
The shame is gone
Hard to believe
That I’ve let it go, let it go, let it go
Destiny can’t replace my life
Scary shadows of my past
are alive {alive)
Destiny who cares {destiny who cares}
As it turns around {as it turns around}
And I know that it descends
With a smile
Just another day
The shame is gone
It’s hard to believe
That I’ve let it go away
It’s just a melody
It bleeds in me
Hard to believe
That I’ve let it go
When you’re taught through feelings
When you’re taught through feelings
When you’re taught through feelings
When you’re taught through feelings
Ooooohhhhhhh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly9E30Hc5pg
I likie. 🙂
das
Like OMG!!! I was walking back to my desk the other day at work and took a double take – I saw Ashleigh’s look alike! Ashleigh do you have a twin, an evil twin maybe???
Hey Deni – what up?
We are on on way to RI for a pre Thanksgiving celebration,leaving this nice warm comfortable weather for 50 cloudy and drizzle, but it will be fun. Looking forward to seeing some old friends and relatives, kinda like watching an old ep of SG-1 and SGA, sigh.
So Happy Thanksgiving to all and please check out my stroefront http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/kabras – making a lot of sales and all my proceeds are going to Locks of Love.
Hey Joe, once again…great episode the pace of the show seems to really be picking up. So here are my thoughts….
Possible SPOILERS
1.) Simeon… brilliant acting. It seems as though the character was underused up until this episode, but the amount of action in this episode was worth the wait..nice to see him go out with a bang!
2.) Rush…what a range of acting skills on display…can’t wait to see the repercussion of his choice at the end.
3.) Eli…The change in this character is very noticeable…he seems to be taking charge and understanding the responsibilities he has.
4.) Park and Greer…. what a touching little moment they shared after Rush saves her and the team comes through the gate…more than just a physical bond?
Questions..
1.) How much time had past between The greater good and Malice? Was it just a few minutes or hours?
2.) Are there any episodes coming up that reveal new areas of Destiny? You mentioned the dome room being repaired at some point…
3.) I may be mistaken, but didn’t you imply in a recent mailbag that Ginn isn’t really dead? Was that just to keep us in suspense or is there more to come from Ginn in the form of a vision for Eli, like Rush and his wife?
4.) Why has no one thought about going back to the seed ship for Telford, since they can plot a new course and control destiny?
5.) So, is everyone on board with the mission of Destiny now?
Other thoughts…
Loved the updates on the dogs! I kinda thought you would be one to cook for the little ones.
My fantasy team is 8-1-1 and I got rid of Brandon Marshall weeks ago, he’s having a terrible year get rid of him he has no one to throw to him!
THATS NOT WRITING! I could make out three names and thats it!
Keep up the good work!
Im very sad to hear that your contest is only open to residents of the milky way galaxy… i geuss ill have to wait…
Loving SGU, loving that its cause quite a few rows between my g/f and I, Look forward to the last 2 of this year… and bring on next summer!!
On a side not:
Are we ever gonna get Camille on an offworld mission… every one has to chip in right??!
Also: As SGU continues, have you guys been discussing a new enemy that will be sticking around. Or will the blue’s be it a haunting presence over 5 years then they return…?
Have we seen the last of the Blueberry Aliens, and i dont count hallucinations or flashbacks??
Paddy
@riley sorry about your cat Moochie. Ralph was 21, it took me 3 yrs to welcome another cat.
HATED Malice, just personal feelings. Starting to feel like everyone featured on Destiny had some sort of mental illness before getting stranded & why I never watched House.
Love the tags.
DD
Mr. Cooper really out did himself with Malice. Absolutely Brilliant!!!!!! Just loved the location, all the camera angles, fantastic music and the acting….superb!! Especially Robert Carlyle and David Blue. This episode should get an award…several.
Hello, good Sir =)
As always, mucho thanks for this week’s episode. Really loved it. Robert Carlyle is a master of his craft and it really showed this week. His cold, unflinching point-blank execution of Robert Knepper’s character was pure genius. Props to the latter as well, he made his character work brilliantly.
Also really liked the nod (not sure it was intentional) to old spaghetti westerns, where typically the good guys chase the bad guy throughout the desert. Do those bison/velociraptor hybrids have a name?
Speaking of which, may I ask where those scenes were shot? The picture quality continues to baffle me every week. While watching those desert scenes on the big screen, I could really feel the heat and the intensity. So to speak. It’s hard to believe that SGU is not a big budget Hollywood movie.
Last, but not least, thank you for the reminder of what Destiny was sent out to investigate.
Anyway, I can’t wait to find out what you guys have in store for the rest of the season. Never a dull moment!
@kabra: What up wit you? Didn’t realize you were leaving already!
Hi Joe, oy, did not like “Malice” at all, and must agree with @drldeboer on this one. Who are these people? I don’t think I’ve ever watched a show that has had me running so hot and cold 🙂 I almost feel guilty not liking it!
I really really hate you guys for what you did to Ginn/ Amanda Perry…. but at the same time, I suspect that’s why you did it.
But, for the rest of the episode, this was epic. No matter how long the run of the show lasts, I think this will become one of the classic episodes.
Robert Carlyle was just sublime. Well, even more than usual. 😀 (Ok, so I’m a bit biased, I could watch him read the phone book 😀 ). I even endure viewings of Eragon to watch him.
All the cast was brilliant in this episode. But you should have let Varro help too! At least you did give us a small “quickie.”
I think my nails are now bitten to the quick after last night.
And the rumor that “Watch Malice again” takes up over half of my to-do list today is not true. *Hides to-do list*
(Or maybe I should start letting you write my to-do list; but I would also need the encryption code.)
Interested in the recipe contest… I do a lot of cooking.. But… Southern cooks guard their recipes carefully. Haven’t been able to think of one of my “specialties” that I am willing to share the recipe for.
Does seem like Wraith would feed on pregnant ladies, unless they are Michael in which case they will kidnap them, set them up in a beautifully decorated prison cell (with Wraith webs that he spun himself) and he’d serve them his special home cooked gruel while purring about having touched their “minds” across ten thousand light years of space. Sigh!
Dang, that catering table looks fabulous. It makes my sugar free Jello cup look pretty paltry; what are those delicious round things; veggie meat balls? And is that roasted garlic? It all looks yummy and healthy.
PS, forgot to help you translate your notes. The first line I think is: “no mo xr on scone” Then I think it says ‘xtra’, with other stuff crossed out. The next bit is Kurdish or Algebraic: “add t/\ to sop ru han.” After that my eyes started hurting so I gave up.
So my questions would be: Did you know in advance that Ginn would be such a fan favorite? In other words, did you create her to be so well liked, or did Julie Mcniven just come off that good in the character? If you didn’t know the reaction she would get, are you wishing now that you had kept her around longer? Had you hoped the character of Chloe would have been as well liked as Ginn instead of borderline despised by much of the verbal fanbase?
__________________________________________
No offense to the actress who played Ginn, but I’m cynical enough to think that if her character is a fan favorite its mostly because unlike Chloe she actually wanted a relationship with Eli.
I’m de-lurking to say how much I’ve come to love this show. SGU has become the one show I just can’t miss, and Rush is fast becoming one of my all time favourite TV characters.
Season 2 is just going from strength to strength, I thought Greater Good was a season highlight but you topped it already with Malice! Beautifully shot, gripping story, some great character development and just amazing acting – I don’t know how you guys fit it all in.
Keep up the good work 🙂
p.s. Are we going to see the brown aliens again – I loved those little guys – I’m hoping that they aren’t hostile and didn’t eat Telford so we might see him again too.
Enjoyed Malice – thanks. I think you guys pull off some great stories, and changes of tack. More, please.
Hats off, too, to the actors bringing the axis of pursuit between Simeon and Rush.
Can’t figure out, though, Joe, why Simeon could be allowed to skulk the corridors of Destiny, and that there would be no way of there being an alert if he shook of his guard in a wet job. That seems plot driven, not what worried crew would do with Lucian types getting the chance to walk… especially as he’d blown his cool with his clan mate. No alarms. Not even Greer was on his ass.
Now, word count wise, the balance of the above weighs on the negative perspective – not complaint, as such. You guys are the storytellers. I go longer on the wee questions because I’d like to know how that was worked out, and so learn from the point.
Did like the stampede, though saw it coming – as you may have flagged.
Greer on Rush’s ass – that’s getting boring. But could flare anew as Rush, following his entente with Young, and his various life saving efforts of late has lost his secrets and his love…so, what’s he got left, but a step off the deep end. Unless…
And, The Code, possibly it is the key to accessing he ‘natural’ gates of the cosmos – giving us the perspective that the Gates as we know them we but crude emulations, mere stoneage tries by the ancients. And out they shall pop, where they want, possibly in space and time…
…Creators…
..Planet seeders…
having come to be tested in this journey to see value among themselves and the lives of other species – all life – though not all live shall value each other…
Destiny is a crucible. A forge within which to raise the consciousness of the remnant, for without such can they be worthy to wield such power?
Hmmm – did the Ancients get there by others means, or their Ascension was something else, to somewhere else, for some other reason/motivation. And, if The Code was not cracked by them by others means, and if it is a Greater Thing, well would they precipitate back onto the scene?
Which of humanity goes forward into the Deep Code, then, which is the more worthy, if not greater – the Ancient or our representatives?
SyFire-ing up the imagination. Enjoyed that. Thanks, again, for your storytelling and your colleagues’.
Hear from you.
On the comic project were you given a strict pagination per issue, and so per story (whether told in one issue or across a few)? Hence, the structural breakdown to page-turns and frames per pages, etc..
Oh, and have you sorted an artist yet?
Hear from you.
P
Hmm. I have some thoughts about what’s going on, which would neatly explain the lack of armed escort on Simeon, but I think I’ll be chicken and wait until next week to see where the story goes. But if you’re doing what I think you might be doing, it’s a pretty cool idea.
Joe,
First off, send a HUGE congrats from me to Rob Cooper for ”Malice” EXCELLENT EPISODE!
1) Hear any rambulings about a 3rd season renewal?
2) Would you guys be more than content with S3 (if we get one), being the last Season?
Ashley is a good sport. She always looks so pretty in the pictures you post.
Good news about Greer being showcased, too.
JeffW: Thanks for the additional cheesecake tips. Any ideas on a white chocolate version? If not, I’ll think of something…..
Loved the show last night, Mr. M.! Sad about Ginn. Are we going to hear any more about what happened on earth? I mean, Ginn could still be in Amanda’s body, right?
Good luck with the vet and Bubba.
I’m still struggling with secondary infections of my cold but I had to work my shift at the Humane Society. Those dogs ran rings around me today (literally). 😀 . Just had to laugh at them because they were smiling and having so much fun evading my leash. Bunch of goofballs!
I realized I missed the ‘What are you reading blog’ and feel I must make up for it! Terry Goodkind’s books are good; though, in my opinion, the first few books are much better than the last few, it just feels like the series is getting stretched out (kind of like ‘Left Behind’) towards the end. A few others compared the Sword of Truth to the Wheel of Time and I can only say, Wheel of Time is amazing!
My reading time right now is a bit more limited than I’d like, but I have a few books on my plate that I read when I can:
-Elizabeth Chadwick’s novels are great, anything I can get by her I enjoy. Her books put often anonymous historical characters in the spotlight.
-Sharon Kay Penman, another great history novelist, she introduced me to the crazy Plantagenet family for that I am ever grateful.
-Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins; the Hunger Games may have written for children, but it’s fantastic for all ages.
-The Psalms (I rarely manage more than two a day) and Revelation (somehow the NT always seems disproportionately shorter than the OT).
*SPOILERS*
AMAZING! There is no other word for this episode. Though I had a mild hate moment when Ginn died and almost oh no moments when I thought that Lt. James and Park respectively were going to die. A short summary of what was amazing: -the Greer and Park moment, short and perfect -T.J. working on the injured, a wonderful insight into her -Chloe entering the bridge, just wanting to help, she’s had such great development -Eli wanting to go kill Simeon
It was all beautiful the list could go on and on and on!
Malice was excellent, things are really developing now, the camaraderie is all coming together. I wonder, though if the SGU crew will ever come across any alien civilisations (aside from the blue guys), or an isolated human settlement or something? It seems like a very baron bunch of Galaxies they are passing through!
I hope the ratings are picking up along with the show, I for one am off to buy season 1 on DVD.
Quick point to those who keep asking – Simeon escaped his escort by taking the poor guy out – mystery solved, its explained in the episode!
Just expanding on my comment a bit, it wasn’t RCCs efforts on the Malice script I didn’t like more the way Simeons character was used.
I mean.
Varro, Ginn and everyone else who is talking to homeworld command, aka SGC are traitors in the Lucian Alliance.
Simeon being the only one out of everyone still loyal to the old ways and not actually liking the people from Earth.
If you go by the way Kiva acted, Simeon was just doing what any normal Lucian Alliance soldier would do. Which is killing the traitor.
Because of this Simeon had to escape Destiny so he shot to wound/incapacitate the Icarus guards, and left the unarmed people alone taking Park hostage and using her as bait for anyone that followed.
He attacked the Earth people out of self defence, had they of left him alone no one else would of been harmed.
So when the entire episode is based upon Rush trying to kill someone who really is just acting the way any loyal Lucian Alliance soldier would do, it makes it less enjoyable.
If you’re going for lots of action then this episode is amazing but the end of Simeon felt like a let down if anything.
I mean it had no real build up besides the episode he died on. Other Stargate villians take Michael from Atlantis gave the viewer a reason to dislike/hate him. I mostly just felt sorry for Perry/Ginn and thought Matt was being hypocritical, I mean had that been Chloe dead, he wouldn’t of accepted the whole *He had information* thing.
Maybe I’m nitpicking if anything but I wanted to get to know Simeons character more before he died Joe lol
I was very disappointed with the way this episode played out. I honestly believe that killing off Ginn and Perry was a senseless waste and not a good plot twist at all. There are so many ways (SCIFI ways at that) that this episode could have been pulled off that didn’t involve the demise of these 2 characters. It really comes off as killing them off just because you can and screwing with 2 of your major characters just for the heck of it. I don’t get it. Doing this just comes off as unimaginative and stale as far as plot twists go.
Latest ratings for Episode 8 if anyone wants to know.
Stargate Universe
– 1.025 million viewers
– 0.7/1 HH
– 0.4/1 A18-49
I’m not really all too interested anymore, I mean unless things change i.e new timeslot or a better lead in show I think we all can expect these kind of figures week after week, if the past 8 weeks have been anything to go by.
I kinda love how close the 18-49 is to Sanctuarys despite having 550,000 less viewers.
Sanctuary
– 1.574 million viewers
– 1.0/2 HH
– 0.5/2 A18-49
Still life in SGU, hate to state the obvious but now is the time to campaign for Season 3.
My first comment about Malice is:
Finally!
My second comment about Malice is:
Not to be too critical, but I’ve found Season 2 to be incredibly slow so far, relying more on twists/revelations that come in the last few seconds of an episode after a long slow-burn build up. Lost did this every week for entire Seasons, so much so that it became quite tiresome. For that reason Malice is great (as is the previous episode) because it was such a departure from the plodding pace Season 2 has had. I hope this energy can be maintained.
As far as the episode itself goes… flawless really (well, mostly flawless). Characters were used wonderfully no matter how small their part (with one exception). The stuff between Rush and Simeon was fantastic, the visuals were magnificent (good job on finding yet another ‘alien’ landscape that isn’t just, y’know, another forest in Vancouver), and like someone commented above it didn’t feel like a clichéd action movie, it felt like a desperate chase against someone who had a serious advantage over them.
Eli, Young and TJ only had a small amount of stuff to do this episode, but their scenes were fantastic. As someone who really couldn’t figure out what role TJ was meant to play in SGU at the start of Season 1, I have to say that now I couldn’t imagine the show without her. Young talking Eli ‘Rambo’ Wallace down and getting him back to work was great as well.
And the way Rush defeated Simeon was great. It was a great case of Simeon being the better solider, but Rush is just far smarter than him. He doesn’t defeat him with strength of arms or brute force (as Greer might), he uses his brain. Simeon knew he was defeated the moment he saw the herd of lizard cow chicken thingies coming at him. It wasn’t an “I’m about to die!” look, it was a “He beat me…” look. And that was great.
The bit with Lisa Park and the mine on her back was amazing. I really thought she was going to be pasted, but Rush stayed and figured out. Oddly when he put on his glasses I wondered if he was going to use them to help… and he did! I’m always a big fan of second tier characters, so the fact that you guys have stuck with Brody, Volker, Park and so on has made things feel more ‘authentic’. They’re not just throwaway background performers who can change week to week (a bit like SG-1, which had very few second tier characters outside of Walter). My only complaint is that the same consideration has not really been given to Lieutenant James. She just said “Yes sir” a lot into a radio this episode and then got blown up. More jarringly, when she got up her face was a mess – bleeding from above her eye – yet later one she shows up and her face is perfect. Obviously she would try to clean herself up, but it was almost as if she hadn’t been near an explosion. It just felt like an odd continuity break.
My only other real criticism comes from the character of Simeon himself. Robert Knepper is awesome. Earlier that day I had watched an episode of Criminal Minds where Robert Knepper plays the killer they’re hunting, and he was great – a man in his mid 40’s abducting women, dressing them up like his mother when she was an actress in the 50’s, and then cutting off the lips of a woman to pin to the long-dead body of his mother that he kept upstairs (all the while talking to his dead mother who only he can see). Wonderfully creepy and disturbing, and perfect for someone like Knepper. He can be equally charming and menacing at the same time, and can change calm and mannered to a violent rage in an instant. I actually want to see him playing a ‘good guy’ for a change, because I’m sure he could do it easily. But he just works so well as a creepy bad buy, and he did so on SGU.
When he was around.
I feel Simeon was underused. I feel the talents of Robert Knepper were underused. I think that while you had him for 6 episodes, he was only really a factor in 2 of them. I get that the idea was to build him up and build him up so that Malice would be the big payoff (and don’t get me wrong, it was a payoff, and a great one at that), but there is such a thing as being too subtle. Maybe some of this criticism stems from the fact that I think Knepper is a great actor, and loved him in Prison Break (and was overjoyed to hear his character from Prison Break would be returning in another show!)… but yeah, this payoff would have been better if we’d seen a bit more of him since the start of the season.
Otherwise great – lots of great stuff. Keep the momentum going! 🙂
This seems significant to science fiction fans. Something about producing anti-matter for reals. Dunno, too busy watching Seaquest on netflix.
http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2010/PR22.10E.html
Joe,
I’m an engineer, which means I have the 2nd worst handwriting known to man; just behind that of Doctors. But I now think Engineers come in a distant third behind Writers! 😉 I could comprehend maybe 1 word in 5 (which is similar to my Spanish comprehension).
Malice was great by the way! I have to say I’ve enjoyed the storylines better in this season and I’m staying tuned to see where it goes. Thanks and good job!
@Tammy Dixon:
Actually, I have done some White Chocolate Cheesecakes. I’m sensitive to regular Chocolate (similar to an allergy, I break out in skin rashes when I eat it). Yes, that means I did NOT eat any of the cheesecake in the picture 🙁 But my wife and kids loved it!
In my first attempt, I just substituted White Chocolate for the semi-sweet and baker’s chocolate in the recipe. It was okay, but it needed something. In later cakes, I tripled the amount of Almond Extract and that helped immensely, I also sweetened up the Black Raspberry Sauce and deleted the White Chocolate Sauce (it wasn’t really helping on the flavor front). The resultant cake was good, but I think it could be better.
Some things I’d like to try next:
– Use Red Raspberries or Strawberries instead of Black Raspberries (which are too tart for the delicate White Chocolate flavor in my opinion).
– A White Chocolate/Peanut Butter Cheesecake (although I’m afraid it would taste like a giant White Chocolate Reese’s Cup!)
– A White Chocolate/Butterscotch Cheesecake?
My oldest daughter requested for Thanksgiving a Chocolate/Caramel Cheesecake (which sounds like a Snickers bar to me, minus the nuts), but since she’s roasting the Turkey, I guess I’ll oblige. I might do a White Chocolate one as well (just so I can have some) and if I do, I’ll let you know how it turns out…any particular variant catch your fancy?
Sorry to hear about your cold hanging on…have you tried any Zinc? (i.e. Zicam?)
SPOILERS!!!!!!!!
I have to admit I’m glad Rush killed that horribly cruel person. He deserved it although a slow painful death would’ve been better.. Just kidding lol. But seriously he did deserve it. I can’t believe he killed Gin and Amanda. Who cares about the military people we RARELY see. But Gin and Amanda were my favorite characters.. Besides Eli. I like him a lot too.
Anyway it was a very good episode! I’m really getting in to SGU. Like as much as I was before (and I was!) I’m a lot more in to it now. This second season has really gotten amazing!!!!! 😀
Have a good night!!! Or.. Day.. Haha. 🙂
Joe,
Do you know why SGU fails in US but is all good in Canada? Do you have an explanation? You said North Americans have similar tastes but clearly not, I think someone had a point when they said SGU feels too Canadian. I think its valid, and it became very apparent with how you guys approached the sex storylines. Also ever since SG-1, there were just too many Canadian looking actors on the show tbh, and its funny when they pretend to be americans. lol But the main problem is syfy, it no longer became a science fiction channel. Time to change networks again, if you can. Thats an option, another would be a miniseries 3rd and final season. Obviously I don’t think a movie would be a good way to end it, so I’m not supporting that. And since you are into comics now, is it possible for you to continue SGU as a comic?
So what’s up with Varro lying to Young and co., when he says he knows nothing of the attack on Earth? In Pathogen we see him have a talk with Simeon, and its sorta implied that they all know about it. Maybe he’s not as innocent as we all thought?
My original query and your reply:
Viv writes: “If you are already working on the season two finale, when the mid-season finale has yet to air, how does this allow the writing team time to react to something that doesn’t air well? […] The only show I know definite production info about is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I think had more sets, actors, locations, and maybe special effects that an SGU episode, and by the end of each season, they were shooting the episodes a bare three weeks prior to airing.”
Answer: It takes us about six months from shooting to final and Buffy was a show that made use of visual effects as well, so I find it highly unlikely that they would have been shooting episodes three weeks prior to their airing. The realities of production simply don’t allow for that type of creative shifting.
New:
I promise I’m not making this up. Most network shows wrap in late March early April for shows that will air in May. Those with special effects lose the nice lead time they start with each summer by the time March rolls around.
But, your doubt aside, what sort of feedback would cause creative shifting for Season 3, or do you feel that it already is what it is?
Thanks for your time.
Hi Joe,
Kudos to you and the other writers – killing off Gin and Amanda was a shock in its own right (especially Gin – I thought she was going to last a while since she and Eli’s relationship had only just started) but I actually thought you were going to write out Park as well!
Normally, with almost every other TV show (especially Stargate) you pretty much know that all the characters with any decent screen time will be ok and nothing will happen to them – but i was on the edge of my seat watching the scene between Park and Rush – I honestly thought she was done for.
Well done Sir!
Whats the buzz on season 3 ? You must have some info on that subject.
Not related to SGU I’m curious what happened with the Ori ? How do the people they ruled cope with the fact their belief system was entirely false. Too bad the writers couldn’t explore that.
To all those people complaining about the killing off of Gin and Perry:
1. If they had killed off some unknown, undeveloped character that no one on Destiny cared about, there would be no drama and no plot! There would also be the risk that we would assume any characters that were well liked are invincible this would ruin the whole show! People complaining about this just don’t understand how drama needs to be written. If you don’t like this kind of thing I recommend sticking to Sesame Street.
2. This is SciFi, who knows what plot twist might bring them back if required? Give the writers a chance. (Besides isn’t it possible that Gin is still alive in Perry’s body?)
Wow…going over those cut notes I never I would ever get the opportunity to see ancient written by hand. You must have ancient gene?
ChrisB, I just think that the writers aren’t completely living up to Stargate standards. I tend to give SGU a B-, based mostly on cliches such as killing off Ginn and Perry just to screw over the Rush and Eli types that constantly get such treatment. If you want to “develop characters,” like they claim they want, then not using stereotypical plot lines and treatment that people like Eli and Rush normally get (even in the “real world”) would go much farther towards such ends. As I said earlier, there was nothing unique or imaginative about killing off these 2 characters. It came across as totally senseless!
Also, the treatment and “development” of military personnel is stereotypical and cliched. As is killing people off for convenience and the heck of it.
Oh, you are right about one thing, this is SCIFI and there were MANY unpredictable and unique ways this episode could have been accomplished. As it is, we didn’t get unpredictable and/or unique. I could tell from the start that we weren’t going to get unique or unpredictable. The writers need to get back their Stargate mojo, creativity and inventiveness to put this one up with the other 2.
BTW, I’ve see every episode of every Stargate, plus the movie (multiple times). I think I’ve got a pretty good feel for Stargate writing.
Hi Joe,
All I can say is… I can’t read ancient when it’s on the tv screen and I can’t read ancient when its written on a note pad 😀
Chloe might be able to decipher it!
@Chris B – 1. If they had killed off some unknown, undeveloped character that no one on Destiny cared about, there would be no drama and no plot.
Answer: Well they did. I just watched Malice… “thingy, whats-his-name and yer man are going to make it, infection is always a possibility.” “What about err him over there?” No response from TJ… See even TJ and Young couldn’t remember the names of all the soldiers that got shot and neither could I ^^
I will however never forgive Kiva for shooting Rivers just because she was in a bad mood. Evil, evil woman. Glad she’s dead.
@dioxholster – Too many Canadians in SGU?
Answer: Do you have any idea how (I’ll say funny) you sound to anyone reading this blog who resides outside of North America?
Like the rest of the planet can tell the difference between an American and a Canadian LOL xD
What would have been unique and startling is having Perry sit up in Ginn’s body half way through the episode and say something about having a very odd dream (but not revealing that “dream/vision”), while… at the same time, Ginn does the same thing in Perry’s body on earth (or having them wake in their own bodies), clearly pointing towards the same intelligence/aliens that “created” the mystery world. Think of the ways that could have been used now that they’ve revealed that there’s an intelligence based signal being broadcast that Destiny is headed for as well, even more so than Johansen’s baby.